It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

When a weekend isn't rejuvenating enough, can we please get a do-over?...

Friday night was for relaxing, but Saturday was filled with a wild goose chase for costume supplies, my aunt's 50th birthday celebration, and a Halloween house party with decorations worth an Academy Award.

Then on Sunday we went to Salem, along with what felt like everyone else in New England. It was crowded af but it was magical in its chaos and a beautiful day to walk around. A section of street was completely shut down and packed to the brim with tents, vendors, mayhem, and people dressed in the BEST costumes I've ever seen.

I swear, L and I impressed ourselves with our Fairly Odd Parents costume from Saturday night, but we were nothing compared to these people. They do Halloween and they do it HARD.

We took in all of the insane stimuli - the ghosts, ghouls, creeps, creatures, and characters - as we walked all the way through the downtown area, popping into authentic witch shops and picking up some magical crystals and loose tea leaves, guaranteeing to aid with anxiety, bring good luck, and increase immunity. Bippity boppity boo.

Once we looped around, we found the Witch Dungeon Museum and watched a re-enactment of Elizabeth Proctor's witch trial. The history of the witch trials is actually fascinating, and something that I can't believe I didn't know more about. I actually used to be obsessed with witches as a young child... no, I'm not sure how much supervision my parents were giving me when I visited the town library...

We were then led into the re-creation of the actual witch dungeon, where as many as 200 people were held during the witch hysteria of 1692. The actual dungeon was found completely preserved in the 50's but DESTROYED.

What were they thinking?!

The Crucible hadn't been written yet (which really brought all the witch fame to the town) and the people living there were more than a little bit embarrassed that their ancestors convicted hundreds of people and hanged twenty in fifteen months of terror and chaos. Fortunately, one of the support beams from the original structure was kept by a demolition worker and donated to the museum. I touched it with my bare hand. Hopefully no spirits followed me home to Connecticut...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

And also, happy last day of October. Since my goals for October were a little bit different than my previous months (and I honestly loved it), this is what I learned this month.

I can't drink like I used to. Did you read this embarrassing account of me losing my shit at happy hour? My body is old and sleep deprived and I get drunk 700x faster than I did back in college. Oh, the good old days. I can still have a nice little adult beverage, but let's limit it to two. Our wallets and our livers will be much happier.

Having pink hair doesn't make you more fun, but it definitely doesn't hurt. In October I decided it'd be fun and different to dye my hair this pretty rosy color. It's faded a little bit, but I've been loving it. It's helped me to not take my appearance so seriously and also make me feel a little bit like a unicorn, which is of course my true calling.

Adventures come in all shapes and sizes. L and I went on some fantastic adventures this month, and I couldn't be happier. I think I've succeeded in finally giving him the adventure bug! We've been going to farmer's markets, on scenic road trips, and it was HIM who suggested we go to Salem this weekend! We're in the process of making a list of all the day trips in driving distance we want to try and go to. He even coined the term "Adventure Sunday". I couldn't be more of a proud mama bear. But adventures do come in all shapes and sizes and a relaxing drive through farmland is just as magical as a long weekend trip to Savannah. The small magic of our October adventures reminded me of this.

Being sore all week is a feeling that I missed. For the past two weeks I've been hitting the gym HARD, the way that I used to. My body is tired, aching, and craving my bed when I clock off from my shift but I suck it up like the cry baby that I am, change into my "gym leggings" (not to be confused with my "work leggings") and get my work out in. And my body loves being sore. Now I just have to shit up the Vitamin Shoppe and get some BCAA's so that sore feeling doesn't turn into not being able to walk down stairs for four days straight.

November 1st is tomorrow and while I honestly cannot believe this year is flying by so quickly, I am so excited to begin the holiday season this year. Adios October, you were pretty great.

The Friday Five

This week was just as full as previous weeks, and damn, it flew by.

Guess what, there's six things I want to talk about this Friday because rules are made to be broken! (but friday five just has a certain ring to it, so that's what the title shall remain). We're really living life on the edge over here.

The first snow. Does the first snow always happen in October? I feel like that's just the way Connecticut rolls.

I was eating my lunch in the break room - which is basically a closet with some cubbies in it - when my assistant manager BURST in. SNOW! SNOW! he excitedly pointed out of our giant windows at the front of the gym. I threw my hands up in disbelief. My quinoa salad went flying.

Fat flakes rained down from the sky. I moaned dramatically. So soon! I can't even believe it! But deep down inside, I love the first few snows. It's magical every year. So what if I'm still four years old. Until it's still snowing in May. Then Mother Nature can stop showing off. OVER IT.


Window shopping. As in obsessively searching websites for the perfect fall sweaters, putting them in my cart, then never checking out. Does anyone else do this? Sometimes this is enough to satisfy my shopping cravings and sometimes I lose it and pull that trigger... sometimes I go trigger happy and place a mass order of BABW candles. #NoRegrets. But I AM on the hunt for the perfect, budget-friendly, super soft sweaters and I think I'm going to check out Old Navy sometime this weekend. Wish me luck.


Lovesick by Banks. This is my immediate favorite off of my all-time favorite singers new album.

It's achy, lovey, dark, and gooey. It's everything that I want out of a Banks song. It makes me crave that obsessive, unhealthy lovesick feeling you get at the veryyyy beginning of a relationship. I mean, looking back, that feeling is always kind of icky and addictive. People lose themselves in that feeling. Like I loose myself in this song.


No make-up, no problem.
Alicia Keys is maybe on to something. I've been going PRETTY MUCH make-up free for the past week. It's been sort of liberating forcing people to look at my oily T-zone and acne scarring. Listen, when you wake up at 4am, there are some sacrifices that have to be made. Obviously hitting snooze twice is not a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Looking put together is!

Not only that, but I have no desire to put on make-up when I do have time. It just seems a little bit like a waste of time if all I'm doing is going to work, working out, then teaching dance classes. Why clog my pores to impress a bunch of senior citizens on treadmills and 8 year olds? So my natural skin has actually been looking pretty damn good!


Whitney Simmons. This Youtuber is literally life changing. She is bubbly, quirky, high energy, and yes, slightly annoying in the way a chihuahua is slightly annoying. But she sure knows her shit about fitness.

She does SHORT, to the point workout videos using gym equipment that I actually like. I've had enough of the "27 minutes, you can do it anywhere, body weight workouts" that are all over the place. I do actually enjoy picking things up and putting them down. Girls can lift too!

So far I've done her back and biceps, chest and triceps, and legs and booty videos. I really like this order and workout schedule for myself and today I plan on doing one of her shoulder and ab videos. Abs are made in the winter (I made that up, they're made in the kitchen but I'd honestly rather make brownies in the kitchen).

Being a dance teacher. Being a dance teacher is so many things. It's exhausting. It's exciting. It's frustrating. But sometimes it's so, so sweet.

Yesterday was my last batch of classes for the week. I teach 7 classes total Monday through Thursday. On Thursdays I teach 3 back to back. It ain't easy but someone's gotta do it. I had to toss back a cup of coffee just to drag myself into the dance studio. Before the class started, I was playing music, deciding what to work on in the class, when two of the little girls in my beginner class came into the room. And they absolutely melted my heart.

I watched them, slightly concerned, "making up a dance" by throwing themselves around to the music I was playing - on the ground, around the room, onto each other.

"Try not to tire yourselves out you guys, class hasn't even started!"

I said, looking at the clock and scowling because it was 5:07 and every other damn kid in the class was late.

"I just love to dance so much Miss Danielle, it makes me so happy."

Cue heart melting into a puddle on the floor. This is why I do this, I thought as I gave this little girl a hug and tried to hide my teary eyes. Thank you Kailin, for the sweet reminder. But cartwheels are still not allowed in modern class.

Winter Birthday Probz

Having a birthday in the winter is literally the worst. All my peoples born November through March, raise your hands if you agree.

My birthday inconveniently falls on December 20th, yupp five days before Christmas. At the risk of sounding like a brat, I've been getting gypped for 23 years. Friends have always been busy with family functions around my birthday time, no one is in the mood to spend any money after dropping it all on Christmas presents. Like c'mon you guys, I know Christmas is important, but IT'S MY BIRTHDAY. *stomps feet, pouts, and whines*

In all seriousness...
I haven't done anything actually fun on my birthday in many years. For year 22, some friends and I tried to go to the casino but I was suffering from a broken heart and was, in laymens terms, a fucking disaster. Crying, refusing to have a drink, trying to text my ex, the whole 9 yards. Not fun for anyone.

Last year was lowkey and we went to Margaritas and I got one margarita and a cheese quesadilla and went home and went to sleep. Definitely an improvement over year 22, but... I think I can do better.

I have these two options in my head that I can't get out, so I need a little bit of help from the blog world (if you're out there!) deciding what it is exactly that I want to do, keeping in mind that my friends oh so kindly expressed to me that they weren't born into royalty so they can't go blowing all their money just for my special, only comes once a year, day. So here are the options.

Option #1: Isolated Cozy Overnighter 
Split an Air Bnb up in Vermont with 4-6 of my close friends for a two day getaway. Highly preferably a log cabin. We can drive up by carpooling together in L's dad's minivan, saving money by splitting on gas.

I'm envisioning:
- cozy blankets and a roaring stone fireplace
- hot chocolate spiked with Bailey's
- a DIY wine and cheese platter
- a movie marathon (Harry Potter, because it's my freakin' birthday)
- board games and card games a la Cards Against Humanity
- a snowball fight outside if we're feeling frisky

It's cozy, it's personal, it's quite possibly the definition of hygge. Which brings me to option #2, which is the completely opposite vibe...

Option #2: NYC Winter Wonderland 
Take a train from New Haven to NYC to experience the Great Apple in all of it's
Christmas-ified glory (which I've never done!!!). Possibly a day trip, possibly stay one night depending on if I can find a reasonably priced hotel on Groupon.

I would love to:
- see the giant Christmas tree all lit up
- go ice skating at Rockefeller Center
- walk through Chelsea Market
- see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular (I've never seen it!!!)
- go to a bar one of my coworkers told me about that is 100% decorated in all Christmas everything
- ride a horse drawn carriage through Central Park if I'm feeling like a really over the top birthday bitch

It looks magical, something that would celebrate my birthday AND get me deep into the Christmas spirit. But it could also be crowded, stressful, and freezing cold. Which L and my friends haven't failed to point out to me.

What do you think? What would you do? 

I'm trying to plan this super in advance so that I can actually DO SOMETHING for year 24, be it cozy and warm or slushy yet marvelous. Help a sister out?

Haunted Spooks + Scenic Routes

If you missed where I left off, here's exactly how a happy hour can go wrong in under two hours. Let's all learn from our mistakes - and not snapchat all of our college friends who we haven't really spoken to in over a year while we're drunk in the bathroom at 6:30pm. Great idea!

On Saturday night 12 mutual friends, some of whom had never met each other before, were organized by my crazy friend Shawn (a self-proclaimed "spooky boy" aka someone more than a little bit obsessed with Halloween) to take a white 12-seat passenger van to Agawam, MA for the much anticipated New England Scare Fest. The ride up there felt like a field trip in a school bus, it was hilarious. The actual event was... meh. It was fun to go to a haunted house with such a big group of friends but it was truly just a glorified haunted house.

I think I was expecting a bigger area transformed into a spooky village a la Halloweentown. Give me a real life Halloweentown and I'll be one happy cookie. But this was okay. The actual haunted house took about 15 minutes to go through (thank god because my poor heart couldn't have lasted any longer, especially when L dropped my hand and sprinted away from me as a Texas chainsaw murderer chased us through a fenced maze). After the haunted house part there was an after-party in the parking lot with live music, drinks, and backyard games. We played a little cornhole and had our own dance party, then relocated to Bobby V's Sports Bar for cheese quesadillas, some more adult beverages, and a little bit of warmth since it was cold and drizzly and we were all shivering outside.

Saturday morning started slow. L and I went out for breakfast sandwiches and bagels since some of his extended family had stayed over that night. We had every intention of laying around and doing nothing the rest of the day, until I got that restless itch I sometimes get that turns me into a psycho bitch if I don't do something to satisfy is.

So we took the scenic route.

Literally. We packed road snacks and "road sodas" (spiked seltzers, 'cuz we're oh so bad) and took off on a spontaneous road trip. Best decision we made all weekend. Shawn and his boyfriend were kind of doing the same thing... so what if we stole their idea. We ended up meeting up at a castle and taking adorable pictures together. None of which I have to show right now because we were using a real camera with amazinggggggg quality that requires me to upload to a computer, which of course I don't actually have time to do.

After driving down to the Essex area (somewhere that I've somehow never been), I put a pre-planned route into my GPS via this dope app called Round. It's glitchy as hell but has scenic routes already planned in that direct straight into your GPS. We took the Connecticut Lower River Valley Scenic Route around Essex, East Haddam, and Old Lyme. After starting out our journey, we stopped for some beautiful foliage pictures near a pond that was probably (definitely) on someone's private property. Yolo.

It was probably the most beautiful day we could have picked for this random road trip. The sun was shining but not too brightly, it was brisk but not too chilly. The perfect fall day. We munched on turkey and cheese sandwiches and Goldfish crackers and rode into the sun while blasting Third Eye Blind. 

We stumbled upon the Essex Steam Train, and took Halloween pictures with some impressive decorations in front of a home improvement store. Hey, it doesn't take much to impress me! On our way to Gillette Castle, one of the major highlights in East Haddam, we pulled into a cafe called Two Wrasslin' Cats for a raspberry iced mocha. I wish I could teleport you to this place because it was like nowhere I've ever been. Every single surface, wall, and table was COVERED with cat memorabilia.

Cat pictures, paintings, statues, stuffed animals, books, mobiles, and more cluttered every single surface. It was stuffed to the brim, colorful, bright, in your face, yet somehow relaxing enough for high school students to sit in overstuffed armchairs by the windowsills and work on their homework. It was amazing.

Gillette Castle didn't disappoint either. Shawn and Trevor magically met up with us there - we even managed to snap some candid pictures of them sitting on a castle wall as we approached. Just call us the paparazzi. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair.

The views from the outlook were exactly what autumn colors are made of. We used the turrets and scenery as a backdrop for a myriad of adorable, yet shamefully basic pictures of lovers and friends. And a more fun time hadn't been had in a long time. Then they lived happily ever after. The end. 

Except not quite the end.

On our way toward finishing off the route, we saw FIFTEEN WILD TURKEYS CROSS THE ROAD. I'm sorry but ya girl is from the dense suburbs so this is not an every day occurrence for me. Along a desolate dirt road we stopped dead in our tracks when we saw two seemingly wild horses romping in a field, encompassed by a low wooden fence. I got out of the car and approached for some pictures, but immediately backtracked when they stopped what they were doing, gave me a dirty look, and started slowly approaching our car.

Nature is beautiful and scary.

We turned back because the sun was starting to set. But this was one of the most magical spontaneous adventures I've had in a long time - and it was all in my backyard. So go on a freakin' adventure. Pack some road snacks and take the scenic route. And don't forget your camera and the road sodas.

It's all right there, just a drive away. 

Happy Hour Gone Wrong

Good morning and happy happy Monday. But I am honestly devastated that this weekend is over because it was some of the most fun I've had in a damn long time. It starts out with me being the most drunk that I've been in... over a freakin' year. Because happy hour hit and it hit hard on Friday night. And when drinks are BUY ONE GET ONE FREE (literally, free. Totally free. I can't believe it either), happy hour can knock you flat on your ass. Also literally.

this shit is dangerous... 

So L and I were just chilling out, planning on having a totally relaxed Friday night, when we spontaneously decided to go to Asian Bistro, this magical happy hour place just minutes up the road. He was only drinking wine, so naturally he had three glasses - meaning that to take advantage of the happy hour special and "get our money's worth", as I kept saying, I had to get three drinks. So naturally I had one and a half personal scorpion bowls and a mai tai. And when I say that I was shitfaced, I mean it wholeheartedly. Because that shit tastes like JUICE and it's impossible to tell how much you're drinking. From what I remember of trying to run away outside the restaurant, refusing to give L my keys to drive us home, rolling in the grass in his side yard, refusing to enter the house, running into the storage room and throwing myself down on an extra mattress on the floor - yes, I was a disaster.

And this was all before 7:00pm.

Needless to say, we did nothing else on Friday night because ya girl was laid out. I woke up at 4am with the worst hangover I've had in over a year. After tossing, turning, moaning, puking, and fighting to stay alive for a few more hours, I had L run to CVS for me to get the only things I know to work to cure my unreal hangovers - yellow Gatorade and original cheddar Goldfish crackers.

I was so insane in college that I've probably been hungover to a point near death over 30 times. I pretty much have my hangover cure down to a science, and no matter what anyone tells me, this is the only thing that I'll believe works for me. 

THESE ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT CURE MY HANGOVERS: 
- no less than 10 hours of sleep

- throwing up quite a lot 

- yellow Gatorade

- original cheddar Goldfish crackers

- not being touched or spoken to for no less than 10 hours 

- a lukewarm shower when I'm finally a little more human

After coming to around 2pm I was finally able to interact with the living, help L clean our apartment (which I'd partially destroyed) and settle in to binge a little bit of this season's American Horror Story. This show is usually too freaky for me and don't get me wrong, IT IS STILL SO CREEPY. But I'm kind of enjoying the plot line and different set up of this season. We're only on episode 3, so we'll see if this changes. 

The first day and a half of my weekend was eventful enough because of my intolerance to anything besides tequila (what was I thinking), but the rest of the weekend was so amazing that it deserves its own post so this one doesn't get too long. Check back to hear all about a haunted house, too many Coronas, a white van full of 12 adults, and a spontaneous decision to take the scenic route.