Spring Archives - Strictly Kendra

Anxiety,Inspiration,It's a Bug's Life,Life,Lifestyle,Mental Health,Pinterest,Seattle,Spring,Spring Break,Stnkrbug,Writing

Why I Spent a Week “Spring Cleaning” My Mind

posted on : April 1, 2017 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

Happy spring! Although the first official day of spring was a week or so ago, I am still super excited about it. This winter in Seattle has been especially dreary and cold, so I’m definitely looking forward to some warmer weather.

Going along with this dreary weather, I have felt so uninspired this year in terms of creativity. I’ve been getting caught up in school (which of course isn’t a bad thing), and I’ve let my creative side get a little lazy. It’s easy to put excuses before giving yourself a break to be creative, and to push things like writing or art to the side because they seem less important to things like homework and tests, which in a sense they are. I am first and foremost a college student, so I of course need to make my grades a priority, but I also need to relax every now and then and spend an evening doing something I love, like watercolor.

When I was writing my last post, How to Succeed in College: Mental Health, it became clear that I needed a break from stressing out so much. I was writing down tips that I myself needed to listen to and apply to my life, especially because I’ve felt like I have hit a creative STOP SIGN lately. Anxiety and panic attacks seem to relish the times of stress and lack of creativeness in my life, so I needed to take a break.

Spring cleaning has always been something I’ve loved. While growing up, my mom would enlist my brother, dad, and me to help her clean the entire house – we’re talking scrubbing the walls, floors, and everything in between. It would be a laborious couple of days, but afterwards everything felt nice and clean, and that a fresh start was much easier to be had. Because I experienced that every year while growing up, I realized that was exactly what I needed this spring.

It was spring break last week for my college, so I took the time at home to do a whole lot of nothing, besides workout, play with my family’s dogs and cats, and our new puppy.

Seriously, look how cute he is!!

I needed to take the week to give myself a mental break from stressing out about school, tests, law schools, finding a summer internship, and taking the LSATs in the fall. Real life can be hard, and I know that it’s just going to get busier and more stressful as I get older. When you’re really stressed out it’s easy to only think about how hard life is and will get, and forget that it’s also going to get more exciting, and more opportunities are going to present themselves to you after a lot of hard work.

Last week I talked to my parents a lot since I haven’t had the chance to in a while, and it was nice to forget about school for a week and just be their kid again. As a college student, I don’t get that chance a lot anymore. It’s funny, because the first break I spent at home during freshman year I resented that fact; I wanted to still feel like a young adult living on her own, without being a child anymore. I’m not saying that I don’t like being independent; on the contrary I love it. It’s just nice to be able to go home every once in a while and rely on my parents for a little bit, and just sit on the floor with my dogs, playing Pokemon, and eating fruit snacks. The world seems a lot less stressful from the floor of my parents’ living room with a puppy on my lap.

My “mental spring cleaning” really didn’t entail much: I slept for 8 or more hours every night (I don’t remember the last time I got to do this for a week!), watched movies with my mom, cooked my favorite food, played with my dogs, napped with my cats (also my dog who lives his life 50% crazy energetic and 50% the laziest dog you have ever seen), worked out, ran/walked outside with my dogs on the few days it wasn’t raining, and played Pokemon Moon. It really wasn’t a lot, but boy did it do a lot for my mental health and sanity. I didn’t think a whole lot about the more serious parts of my life, which helped me feel a lot more refreshed for the first week of the quarter.

Creativity isn’t something that just suddenly comes and goes on a whim, it has to be practiced and thought about a lot. Just as you have to practice other skills, it helps to try and be creative each and everyday. I’ve definitely let my “creative muscle” go, so I am gradually getting my groove back. I actually have more free time this quarter, so I’ve been trying to dedicate that time to my blog and channel, and my other creative outlets. Throughout all of the stress in my life, my blog and my YouTube channel have always been a source of great happiness and inspiration, so I owe it to myself to cultivate them more.

It’s so important to take these little breaks every now and then. They don’t even have to be as long as a week, a day or two is just as fine, and taking even more time is great as well. However long you feel you need to take is the right amount of time, there aren’t any guidelines for these things.

Spring is the perfect time for growth, and hitting a small reset button on your stress; reflect on the year so far, the things that have happened, and give yourself a little break. Your outlook on life will probably be at least a little better, and your life will look a little brighter.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

Birthday,It's a Bug's Life,Life,Lifestyle,Personal,Spring,Stnkrbug

Weekend Recap: 20th Birthday Beach Celebration

posted on : April 15, 2016 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

As you all know, this past weekend was my birthday weekend, and I got to spend it at one of my favorite beaches here in the Pacific Northwest with my best friends and family! I had such a great time, and I just wanted to share some photos with you all because I was able to get some really good ones.

This was on my actual birthday, and if you follow me on Instagram, then you saw Julie the duck! She wandered over to the sheet Joycie and I had put down to eat lunch on, and I happen to carry duck food with me (there’s a lot of cute ducks to feed on campus, I’m not strange…), so she got to eat a little lunch with us too! She was seriously so adorable.

My parents sent me a bouquet of some of my favorite flowers on my birthday – they are so pretty, and are still alive!

I ended up finding this cute little rock shaped like a heart!

TJ, or “old-man-dog” as we lovingly call him even though he’s only four, completely passed out after the first long day at the beach.

Here’s some cute shots of my family and I! In this one our dogs had just spotted another dog they were dying to play with.

Completely normal.

Haha, I had to include these last two because they’re a pretty accurate representation of how Joycie, Rachel, and I actually are when we’re all together.

My 20th birthday weekend was honestly one of the best I’ve ever had, and I’m so glad Joycie and Rachel were able to come along with my family and I. We all had a blast, and I definitely did not want to leave! The beach was really gorgeous, and wasn’t even cold at all. I’m also really glad I got as many photos as I did (many of them courtesy of Joycie and Rachel) so I can look back on them and relive all of the happy memories.

Do you like going to the beach?

Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day! 🙂

Fashion,Fashion Week,How To,Inspiration,It's a Bug's Life,Life,Lifestyle,Outfit Ideas,Pinterest,Runway,Seattle,Spring,Stnkrbug

How to: Incorporate Spring Runway Trends Into Your Wardrobe

posted on : March 23, 2016 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

There are so many spring trends this year that I am loving! A couple of them were present last year, but this year are a lot more popular. Today I wanted to talk about how to incorporate these beautiful trends into your own wardrobe, and how to wear them in an everyday setting!

Cold Shoulder

I absolutely love clothes with cold shoulders because they look so nice, and offer a little bit more warmth than a traditional tank top would. They also have such a cool bohemian vibe, which tend to be the type of clothes that I love, and can be paired with so many different things. This year, there are a lot more options for cold shoulder tops, not only dresses, so I’m really excited for that!

Runway:

From Getty Images.

This look is super chic and I love the royal blue color! While it’s a little too fancy for everyday wear, it would look gorgeous to an evening event!

Your Way

Pacsun

I absolutely love this dress! The orange is so pretty (and is also something that will be big this spring), and I love the boho vibe! This is definitely something I would wear everyday.

Fringe

Okay, it’s taken me a little while to actually like fringe. For some reason I never liked it when I was younger, but now that I’m older, I realize that it’s such a fun and cute trend, especially for spring and summer! There’s going to be a lot of it this year, and I’m really excited!

Runway:

Image from wwd.com

The colors of this dress are so pretty! The whole dress seems to have an Aztec vibe to it, and I love the patterns around the waist. The fringe definitely adds an interesting texture, and really completes the dress!

Your Way:

Jacket from Pacsun

How cool is this jacket?! I love how versatile it is; you could throw it on top of a pretty dress for a boho look, or with a statement T, like the one in the picture, for a more rocker-chic look. Either way, the fringe adds so much to this jacket, and makes it so fun!

Suede

It seems that many of the trends for Spring 2016 are really inspired by the 70’s and I’m loving it so much! Suede is no exception, and is going to be even bigger this year than it was last. I have been loving all of the suede pieces, like skirts and dresses, because they add a new dimension to your wardrobe!

Runway:

Photo from fashionista.com

All of these suede pieces are so cool, and add a really great texture to the overall look. Although suede is usually in neutral colors, it comes in a lot of different ones as well, which is nice to switch it up!

Your way:

Skirt from Pacsun

I absolutely love this skirt! Not only does it have the 70’s vibe from the suede, but it totally reminds me of a skirt from the 90’s, or something the characters in Clueless would’ve worn. The maroon color is so pretty, and the scalloped edges add a really cute touch! The buttons down the front are super cool, too. I definitely need to get a skirt like this for the spring!

–

Those are three of my favorite trends that were seen on the Spring 2016 runway, and that are going to be big this year! I’m so excited for spring fashion this year, because it’s so 70’s inspired. For years, my dad has always called me his flower child, since I tend to choose clothes that are more “hippie” like, so this is definitely my year for fashion. I can’t wait to start incorporating these trends into my own wardrobe, and I hope this inspired you to do the same!

What spring 2016 trend are you most excited for?

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂

Family,Fun,It's a Bug's Life,Life,Lifestyle,Personal,Seattle,Spring,Spring Break,Stnkrbug,Weekend Recap

Weekend Recap: Being a Tourist in my Own City | Yoga in Chihuly

posted on : March 7, 2016 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

This past weekend was incredibly busy. I had work every day, and also a ton of other things to do. Even though it was very busy, I ended up really enjoying myself! Friday was spent doing homework during the day, since I have finals coming up, and then I had work that evening. On Saturday, I woke up bright and early (we’re talking 6 A.M.) to go to yoga in Chihuly Garden and Glass here in Seattle! My roommate and I bought tickets a while ago since we both love yoga, and it was so much fun. Core Power Yoga put the whole event on, and they are known for giving incredible classes. It was so awesome to be able to do yoga in a huge room with a giant structure of glass flowers hanging overhead!

For those of you who don’t know, I go to school in Seattle, and I’ve really been wanting to blog more about “being a tourist in my own city” because there are so many incredible things to do in Seattle! I am not from Seattle, so it’s a lot of fun to go on adventures around the city, and experience all that I can. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to start this series! Chihuly Garden and Glass is essentially a museum of beautiful structures made of glass. Most of the structures represent plants of some sort, and it was truly incredible to look at all of them. Along with getting to do yoga there, we got to look around the museum! Here are some photos:

This was part of the ceiling of one of the rooms!

This is the room where we did yoga!

As you can see, the museum is right under the Space Needle.

It ended up being really sunny, so the light looked gorgeous through the glass!

All of these pieces are so intricate and unique.

The whole experience was so cool, and my roommate and I ended up having a lot of fun! It was really cool to do yoga in a place that you don’t usually do it, so the change of perspective was really refreshing. There were people at all kinds of different levels in their practice, so it was something that anyone could do! I think that’s one thing that I love about yoga; no one is yelling at you to be better, or telling you you have to do things a certain way. Yoga is up for interpretation (as long as it isn’t harming your body, of course!), and there is absolutely no pressure to be perfect.

After yoga in the morning, I had work all day until 4. I went home for the night, because my aunt and one of my cousins came into town to see our new property! I mentioned briefly on my blog that my family moved this past summer, but I didn’t say anything else about it. Most of my family hasn’t seen the new place yet, so it was really fun for my aunt and cousin to come up and see it! Our family that now lives close to us also came over, so Sunday was spent with the family, which was really nice. I have been so stressed out lately due to the impending doom of finals, so it was great to be able to spend some time with my family, and especially my dogs and cats. Speaking of which, here’s a cute picture of one of our dogs and cats!

Even though I was only home for less than 24 hours, it was great to get a relaxing start to the week. This week is dead week, but I actually have all of my finals before the real finals week. That means lots of stress and studying in the next couple of days, but at least spring break is close!

What did you do this past weekend?

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! 🙂

Decor,Decoration,DIY,Inspiration,It's a Bug's Life,Pinterest,Spring,Spring Break,Stnkrbug,Video,YouTube

DIY tumblr Inspired Spring Decor!

posted on : April 18, 2015 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

I love changing up my room for the different seasons, and since spring is probably my favorite (I feel like I say that about all seasons once they come around…), I was super excited to do some DIY projects to spruce up my dorm room for spring!

All of these projects were so fun to make, and pretty easy and inexpensive! I had a lot of the items lying around the house and you probably will too!

Distressed Mason Jars

What You Will Need:
-Mason Jars
-Acrylic Craft Paint
-Paint Brush
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Cotton Rounds
-Sand Paper (not pictured)

1. Start off by cleaning the Mason Jars with Rubbing alcohol to make sure all of the oils are off of the glass and the paint will stick.
2. Begin painting the Mason Jars with a thin first coat. Let the first coat dry completely before you put on a second!!
3. Paint on a second coat once the first is completely dry.
4. If using a lighter color, paint on a third coat once the second coat is completely dry. I had to do this with the pink since it was so pale.
5. Let all of the coats dry over night. This is very important!
6. Once they have all dried completely over night, you can start to sand them to create a distressed look. I had a 120 grit sandpaper, which I found to work great! Just go around and sand wherever you want the paint to look old and distressed, and make sure to especially sand the words so they stand out.

The finished products!

I used them as vases when my friend got me flowers!

This project isn’t difficult, you just have to make sure to wipe the jars down with rubbing alcohol or else the paint won’t stick well, and you have to let the coats dry really well!

Sea Glass Jars

What You Will Need:
-Cheap plastic cup
-Milk bottles (I got mine from Michael’s)
-Elmer’s glue
-Dawn Dish Soap (any dish soap will work just fine)
-Blue and green food coloring
-Paint brush

1. Add 2 tablespoons of Elmer’s glue to the cup, and 1 tablespoon of water (it’s a 2:1 ratio if you want to change up the amount). Mix until water is incorporated.
2. Add 3 drops of blue food coloring and 1 drop of green, as well as 1 drop of Dawn dish soap. Mix until the “paint” is a nice sea-foam green color.
3. Begin painting one, thin layer onto each milk bottle.
4. Once each milk bottle has a thin layer, you are done! Just let them dry overnight and they will look like the picture below! Don’t worry if they look streaky while drying, they will dry to be a nice opaque color! I was skeptical while I was watching mine dry but they turned out just fine.

The finished bottles! I put some fake peonies in them because I thought it looked so adorable.

This project seems like it would be difficult, but it was actually really easy! I love how they turned out, and I’m so excited to change up the flowers in them!

Mini Flower Wreath

What You Will Need:
-Small grapevine wreath
-Little fake flowers on a “vine”

1. This project is really simple and self-explanatory; just take the “vines” of flowers and weave them through the wreath! Keep doing this until you are satisfied with how the wreath looks, at which point you are done.

I think it turned out so cute, and it’s the perfect way to add some color to your room!

Alright, well those are all of the projects! I basically went on a DIY frenzy over spring break which was so much fun. I think I’m going to do a lot over the summer when I have more time! So expect a lot more hehe. You can also check out the video I did on all of these projects to see a more in-depth explanation for each one!

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂

Birthday,College,It's a Bug's Life,Life,Lifestyle,Outfit of the Day,Party,Pinterest,Spring,Stnkrbug,YouTube

19th Birthday Snaps

posted on : April 10, 2015 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

I am now officially nineteen. What?! When I woke up yesterday it actually hit me that I’ll now reply “nineteen” to the question “How old are you?” Twenty will most likely be much more scary, but I think nineteen is significant because it means I have been an adult (okay, legally) for a whole year. It was also my very first birthday away from home, which was really strange! I ended up having a wonderful birthday, and got to go out with my two best friends during spring break a couple of weeks ago to celebrate with them as well.

My outfit that I wore!

Good company meant lots of smiles!

Look at how beautiful my risotto was. It tasted as good as it looked!

They even put a candle on my creme brûlée!

I would just like to point out the man in the top left corner…

And again….

The exact moment my candle went out before I blew it out!

I had such a wonderful evening with my two best friends, and I’m so glad I got to celebrate early with them. As you get older, you start to realize who is truly important in your life, and who really cares for you! And even though it gets more difficult, spending time with them is really the best thing in the world.

On my actual birthday, one of my best friends and my floor mates in my dorm threw me a little surprise birthday party! I was so surprised, and super happy! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take any pictures but it was caught on camera! If I end up putting it into a vlog I will definitely post it here. My parents also surprised me (and brought my dogs!) so that was so great as well.

Thank you as well to all of you who have wished me a happy birthday! I had a wonderful day overall, and I also got the CANON T5I!!!!! I cannot contain my excitement, so expect lots of pictures soon.

Also, if you would like to see it, I filmed a ‘Get Ready With Me’ for my birthday!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂

Clothes,Dress,Fashion,Favorite,Life,Lifestyle,Outfit Ideas,Pinterest,Spring

Spring Dress Lust List

posted on : March 4, 2015 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

This past weekend actually turned out to be really nice; consequently, now I really want to go out and buy all of the spring dresses I can find. As soon as it starts to get sunny, I can’t help but wear all of the dresses and skirts I possible can! I have since made the mistake at looking at all of the spring collections from some of my favorite stores, so I thought I might as well make use of my searches, and share what I have really liked!

How pretty are all of these dresses?! I think the very first and last are my favorites, but it’s hard to choose because I love all of them so much!

Which ones are your favorites?

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Beauty,Favorite,Review,Skin Product,Spring

Review: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer

posted on : April 23, 2014 posted by : Stnkrbug 0 Comment

Hey guys, sorry it’s been so long!

I, yet again, have had a crazy week. April is usually pretty busy for me, and this year is no exception! Last week I went on a couple of college visits in Seattle, and the rest of the week and this weekend was insane with just random things.

But anyway, today I have a review for you guys!

I am a big fan of this line, and have the heavier ultra repair lotion that I used for the winter since my skin gets super dry. So now that it’s spring, I needed something lighter and that’s where this bad boy comes in! I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and I love it! It’s the perfect texture for my skin; it isn’t too heavy or too light. I use it morning and night and a little bit goes a looong way haha I was so surprised at how little I actually need in order to moisturize my whole face! It makes my dry patches go away but doesn’t make my skin oily – I could probably go on and on about this product! If you’re unhappy with your face lotion right now, I highly recommend this one!

As always thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day! (:

Beauty,Favorite,Review,Skin Product,Spring