First Day of School :: A Peek in My Studio

As you probably know, I'm back at school and have been for a couple of weeks. This was my outfit for the first day of school which needed to be documented for a couple of reasons: 

A. My mom wanted my "First Day of School Picture". Cute huh? 

B. First day back outfits are usually the best of the year. 

Now, I don't have a printing studio this semester, meaning: I won't have to wear too many terrible clothes this year, but between dyeing and just being tired, it gets hard to pick out nice clothes sometimes. Or to want to wear nice clothes when you can be so much comfier in jeans and a tank top. {I wear tank tops so much more than t-shirts}

I was so excited to come back. Especially because I got to come back to this:

The weaving room

Weaving yarn room

Natural dyes

Natural dyed yarns

I love this natural dye poster that they hung up in our dye lab this year. So beautiful!

I love being back here :)

Where are you?

♥ Kenzie

T&T :: Black and Green Breakfast Blend

Sooo, I missed T&T on Tuesday but I have a great tea blend for you today! 

When I was home this summer, I found a tea called Breakfast Blend. It was black and green tea and it was delicious.

When I came back to school, this tea could not be found in my local grocery stores and I had no more in my tea box or in the tea overflow that fills my cupboard. 

Until yesterday. 

Back in the depths of my tea-filled cupboard, one little lonely tea bag popped it's head into sight and I was instantly ecstatic. I had totally forgot about this amazingness in my life. 

Since I only had one tea bag left, I decided to make my own blend since I have lots of black tea (obviously) and some green tea around. So, here's what I did:

You'll need: 

- black tea

- green tea

- a tea diffuser or you can make these cute tea bags to mix your blend

1) In a diffuser, mix 1/2 teaspoon of black tea and 1/2 teaspoon of green tea. 

{You can add more if you like it stronger}

2) Add boiling water.

3) Let infuse for 3-5 minutes.

4) Enjoy with a yummy breakfast!

What are you blending today? 

♥ Kenzie

On repeat :: We Owned the Night

Happy Fall Ya'll!

It's the first day of Fall and I'm super excited. It means October is right around the corner and do you know what October is? It's my favorite month, that's what! 

{Well, second favorite - my birthday month, April, is my favorite.}

October for SOS is going to be spectacular. I want to share everything about my favorite month with you! Here are a couple things I love about October for a start: 

:: Color - So much color everywhere! From the trees to the mums to the bright orange pumpkins on everyone's doorsteps. I can't get enough of it!

:: Boots - Obviously this is one of my favorite things about this season! I can't get enough of boots. Even when it's warm, I want to wear them. I may have a problem...

:: Apples - I come from apple country, so sue me. I love love loveeee apples. I get a craving for them right around this time. I hardly eat raw apples any other time of the year but I can feel the cravings coming. And don't forget apple cider -- Yum!

:: Layers - I love layering combinations of clothes so this is the perfect time to experiment with my wardrobe and try out the new styles coming off the Fall runway.

:: Cozy Quilts - Something about the crisp air makes me want to bundle up in a quilt with hot cider and read a good book.

What are you looking forward to this Fall?

♥ Kenzie

Things I'm Lovin' :: Sosie

Today's "Things I'm Lovin'" is a short one but there will be more later today! {Fun surprises!} My cold thingy has come down to just sniffles and a red nose {super attractive, I might add} so I'll be around here more. Yay!

I just ran into a new site {new for me} --- Sosie. They have a beautiful site and lookbook that you really should go check out. Here are some of my favorites:: 

^^^ I'm *in love* with these patterns! ^^^

The chic school girl look! So cute.

This skirt *killed* me when I first laid eyes on it. I love orange!

And these are just my favorites! The rest of the lookbook is so wonderful. Head over and let me know what your favorites are.

♥ Kenzie

Not feeling super colorful today for T&T...

Don't ask me what brought this on but all of a sudden I'm sick. 

I've been sleeping enough. 

Eating well. 

No cough, nothing. 

Then, BOOM I'm feeling like crap. 

I'm guessing it's the colder weather we've been getting. I love it but apparently my body, not so much.

But I'm drinking a Yogi tea today which will hopefully help me feel better. It's called Cold Season and it has ginger and licorice root in it which should help. It's not my favorite tea to drink {for obvious reasons} but it helped last winter when this happened.

I'll also be gargling salt water today for my throat and keeping a scarf on. I usually sleep with a scarf on when this happens to keep my neck warm. {though I was skeptical at first}

What do you do to feel better when you're sick? I'd love to know!

Hope you all are feeling healthier than me today!

♥ Kenzie

Pretty-jewelry-aholic

A recent obsession of mine is really big jewelry. And lots of it. 

But not just really big jewelry. Really big *awesome* jewelry. And I just came across a boat load of it to share with you! {Aren't you excited???}

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Ugh. I want all of them. 

I hope you enjoyed the wonderful jewelry I have been finding. I'll be at studio today, weaving away. What are you guys up to? Have you found any amazing jewelry lately?

♥ Kenzie

Things I'm Lovin'

The lookbooks over at Spanish Moss. Such beautiful inspiration!

Loveee these shorts. Found here. From here.

This DIY by Lune. So beautiful!

These boots are to DIE for. I can't even deal.

Lace coffee table DIY? Um... YES, PLEASE. 

Isn't this the cutest?

I love this tattoo. OH so much.

What are you lovin' this week?

♥ Kenzie

Ohhhh back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool.

I always think of that song when I think of going back to school... 

I have History of Western Music and Weaving II today. Excited :) 

Are you doing anything fun and exciting today? What is it?

♥ Kenzie

DIY @ WHT

I'm over at WHT today with a fun DIY that I can't stop carrying around with me! It's my new favorite thing! I hope you love it and make it too. 

If you have done any of my DIYs, I would love to see them. Send them to me here: strokesofserendipity@yahoo.com

♥ Kenzie

Tea and Tell Tuesday

I have a story for you today. It's not super exciting, but I'm going to tell it anyway. 

It was exciting for me.

Ever since I spent that semester in Argentina, I have loved club soda. {also known as sparkling water or agua con gas} It's a nice refreshing drink without all that weird stuff that soda has in it. 

Today, since it was a little warm outside, I decided to pour myself a glass of club soda. As I sipped away and was thinking about the remainder of the day, I thought about zee blog and T&T and had this *genius* idea to mix two of my favorite drinks. Club soda and tea. Genius, I know. 

Okay, so it's been done before, but at the time, I was pretty darn proud of myself. 

Step two was to find the perfect refreshing tea to mix with the club soda. I immediately thought of a green tea and to make it even better, I had Harney & Sons Citron Green tea which is simply fantastic. Citrus-y iced green tea. With club soda. I mean really.

Final result? Perfection. 

Perfectly light. Perfectly flavored. Perfectly perfect.

It might be my new favorite drink.

It's nothing too complicated >>> Brew the green tea and let fully seep. Then, in a glass with ice, pour half green tea and half club soda. I poured even a little more tea then club soda. 

I think it would really be good with some mint leaves in it too! Or a lime to compliment the citrus in the tea! Oh the possibilities...

Have you guys ever tried this? Or something similar? 

Tell me about it!

♥ Kenzie

Five Things :: Goals for this month

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- Do little things to be healthier

- Take more photos

- Try out more hairstyles 

- Plan the work and work the plan

- Make daily rituals

All of these things may be a little general but I feel like they will help me start this semester out right. 

What are your goals this month?

♥ Kenzie

Tea and Tell Tuesday

You all are in for a treat if you take my advice and go grab a tin of this tea. I promise! 

This *may* be my favorite, FAVORITE black tea ever. {Well, that I've ever had} Harney & Sons is amazing and no matter what tea you buy from them, it'll be delicious. But, this tea... this tea I love to pieces. 

It's a great afternoon black tea. Not too caffeinated that you'll be up all night, but just enough for that afternoon boost. It has a little touch of vanilla and is a little fruity. It doesn't make your mouth pucker like some black teas do either - it's nice and light. The scent is just *amazing* when you open the tin too. 

It is a little on the expensive side {for a college student} but honestly, it's worth it. Even if you just buy one tin once a year. Which is probably what I'll be doing... 

What are you drinking tonight?

♥ Kenzie

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy DIY :: Scarf to Vest

Try this with any of your scarves! I do this whenever I want a little extra something added to my outfit. Have any of you done this before?

♥ Kenzie

Hello again!

This has been my life for the past couple of weeks. Let me tell you a story. 

A couple thursdays ago, I traveled to Rhode Island. My car was loaded full of all of my things and I was headed back to school. My mom was going to arrive the next day to help me pack up and move my entire apartment two buildings down to my new apartment. 

About halfway through the drive, I got a call from the RISD Housing Coordinator saying that I might not be able to move in the next day and that they might have to turn off the power in my apartment for the weekend if the hurricane hit bad. Cool. I drove the remaining 3 hours and was so tired that I collapsed on the couch upon arrival, drinking some tea to wake up a bit in order to pack up my apartment in case I did end up moving the next day. I flipped through a few cable stations and made it to the weather report. Irene was headed our way and she was not happy, nor was I about her visit.

In the next couple of hours, I got a bunch of emails from RISD telling the students that were in summer housing how to prepare for a hurricane and be safe. I called my mom - "I don't know what to do." We talked and decided to wait until the next morning to look at the weather report and see if Irene got any happier. It wasn't looking good though. 

I woke up the next morning, watched the weather and still was not happy about what I saw. Being alone in my apartment through a huge hurricane was not what I had expected for this weekend. I called my mom again and we decided that I should come home. I drove the 6 hours back home, my car still packed full and felt a little relieved to not be in the Ocean State for a huge hurricane. 

So my car has been packed for about two weeks and my life has been crazy for the past two weeks. I'm back in the Ocean State now and finally have my new apartment a little settled. Thank god my parents came to help me because I could not have done this alone. They were amazing. It was insane. Honestly. 

I expect things to get back to normal around here this week. I'm excited to be back! It was a great break though - thanks for the understanding guys :) 

How have ya'll been??? Does anyone have hurricane stories? I missed you guys!

♥ Kenzie