kaldridge
In Outfits

Three Spring Styles 2018

Today I just wanted to go through a couple items that are on my Spring Styles list this year! I’m so excited to start pulling these out and styling them this year. There are so many gorgeous items out there this year!

I’m in love with Bliss Tulle!  Their products are just gorgeous, the Juliet Tulle skirt is my favorite of their products. The color is absolutely stunning and the way they are styled is just beautiful. From the customer photos I’ve seen and the many tagged photos from weddings, bridal showers, and parties; Bliss Tulle skirts are making a huge impact on Instagram. The only downside for me is that their price range is a little too much for me to afford, I am hoping to get one in the next couple months though, what a stunning look!

The Juliet Tulle Skirt

I am head over heels with Ohh La Luxe, they have unbelievable customer service I got a great discount on my first order with them, and shipping was fast and easy. The dress I got was this Luna Wrap Dress, which fit perfectly, the quality was great and I got tons of compliments on how it looked! Wrap dresses are in almost every boutique I’ve seen this year and I am in love with how they look and how flattering they are.

I’m trying so hard to save this dress for my husband and I’s photo shoot in May!

Luna Wrap Dress

I also found out that Ohh La Luxe has a JoJo Fletcher line… this was the best thing I had seen all day! In case you didn’t know, I was in love with her when she was the Bachelorette. She is gorgeous, graceful, and honestly seems so humble and down to earth. I love that one of the items on her line was a simple white tee. I love a good white tee and this one is just stunning. It has a deep v and a large pocket on the left hand side. It’s one of my favorite purchases from Ohh La Luxe, it was perfect! (Now if I can just keep it that way!) Can’t wait to see how many ways I can style this tee this Spring!

JoJo Collection White Tee

Do you have any spring must have’s I should get?! I’m on the hunt for some adorable new clothes!

kaldridge
In Lifestyle

Living a Life with No Regrets

There is a question that all people eventually ask. Do you have any regrets in your life? This is a loaded question as we all make mistakes in our life, we all question which decision we should make, we all wonder if we have done the right thing. But the real question is, at the end of your life are the mistakes, wrong choices, and missed opportunities regret, or are they lessons that shaped us into the people that we are?

If we look at our life as a series of lessons instead of a life full of regrets, can we say at the end of our life that we have no regrets? Could it be a possibly that you could look back and have no regrets, to know you did the best you could with the life you were given? I believe there are a couple ways that we can change our way of thinking so that we don’t look at our life as a series of regrets.

The first thing being that we focus each day on small acts of kindness. My pastor said once that people always say, “when I have more money I will give more” or, “when I get this promotion I can volunteer more”, no matter what happens it’s always, when I. Instead of waiting for something big to happen to you, do small acts of kindness for those around you. Instead of binge watching Netflix, take that time and help your neighbor, do something kind for your spouse, volunteer at the local shelters. But putting off helping others because you don’t have time is simply an excuse you make. I make these statements as I do this every weekend. Even though I normally have all the time in the world on the weekends because my husband is studying, I still don’t get up and help those around me. Complaints of being tired, or just wanting to relax creep up in my mind every weekend. These thoughts, while they may be true, lead me to be unproductive and not utilize my full potential.

So my challenge going forward is to push myself to step out of my comfort zone and start helping those around me. I don’t want to look back at the end of my life and wonder what I could have done differently. To live a life that is meaningful and full of hope and selflessness is to live a life of no regrets. Matthew 25:45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ When you take the time to help someone, you are really helping the Lord. You are only given one life, make sure you to take the time to help those around you.

The second thing you can do is stay humble. Humility goes a long way in looking back at your life with no regrets. People who spend their lives in a constant state of jealousy, who seek vengeance, who live a life full of lies and cheating to get to the top, those people will one day look back at their lives with regret for what they have done. They will regret stepping on top of someone else to achieve success, they will regret not forgiving those who have wronged them, and they will regret not being supportive to those around you. Stay humble in all circumstances, stay humble knowing that you are doing the best you can, just like everyone else around you. Ephesians 4:2 states, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

My challenge for myself and you in this is to remember that we won’t always be the one acknowledged, we won’t always get what we want, there will always be someone out there who is prettier, smarter, and more accomplished than you. Does that mean you don’t have value? NO! But it does help to recognize that we all need to be humble and treat others with kindness and respect.

Third and finally, my suggestion is to take risks. My husband and I took a huge risk moving across the country so he could pursue his dream of going to medical school. That move took everything I had in me. I left knowing I would only see my family a couple times a year, instead of every couple weeks. I left knowing that I would miss out on big events in the lives of my friends and family. I left knowing I would have to sacrifice my nights, weekends, fun trips, and finances to help my husband to accomplish his dream. This was the biggest risk I had ever taken, and it has been hard, but it has been worth every moment. It has strengthened my marriage, it has helped me grow up, and it has truly made me grateful for every moment I get with my loved ones.

I don’t regret my decision to move out here, and I am excited instead of fearful of our moves in the future because I know that with each step, I learn and grow. With each risk, we challenge ourselves and our situation, with each risk we become a better version of ourselves.

What can you do today, that is a risk you know you should take, that you haven’t? What can you do to achieve the life you’ve always wanted? God will be there every step of the way, so walk out in faith, not in fear!

What do you do to live a life without regrets? Any advice I should implement in my own life? I’d love to hear from you!

 

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

 

 

kaldridge
In Travel

Destination List 2018

This year I cannot wait to share the places I plan on visiting in 2018! This is my husband’s last full year in Arizona so I am hoping to hit all my bucket list places here before he leaves on rotation!

1.) San Francisco-This was on the bucket list when Evan and I set off to Arizona. We wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and China Town! Growing up with a dad who was a structural engineer and an architect, I have a huge appreciation for the Golden Gate Bridge and what it means to the city. My husband and I love exploring historical sites, even ones with a rough history, see Alcatraz would be a memorable moment for us. China town, seriously who hasn’t wanted to go to Chinatown and see everything that is there. I mean who hasn’t seen Rush Hour and not wanted to see Chinatown?

2.) Zion National Park in Utah. I have heard nothing but amazing things about this park and the unbelievable views from the hikes. Zion park is only six hours away from Phoenix ad I am so excited to explore these views! One thing I will say I have heard from those who have gone, is that some of the hikes are precarious, and I don’t do so well with life threatening situations. So, I might need to be a little more picky about which hikes I choose!

3.) Tombstone- My grandfather has been telling me to go to Tombstone and Old Tuscon since I moved out to Arizona. He had a huge love of western movies and absolutely loved this side of Arizona. At the end of this year, I am hoping to go down to Tombstone and see all the marvelous views he has raved about for so long!

4.) WINE SAFARI– Two words, wine and animals. Seriously there could be nothing better than seeing exotic animals and getting to drink wine! I heard about this place from Amanda Stanton on Instagram and let me tell you, I have never been so excited! From the couple times I have looked at booking a trip, weekends fill up quickly, so if you know you want to go on a weekend you need to book at least a month in advance. Weekdays seem to have more flexibility as these are offered year round and weekends are only available November to March. Prices range from $65/person to $190/person depending on what type of safari you want to go on.

5.) Napa Valley- As you all know Napa was hit hard by wildfires last year. The wildfires destroyed many vineyards and put other with thousands of dollars of repairs and damages. I have always wanted to go to Napa and ever since the wildfires I feel even more desire to visit. Not visiting a tourist area after a natural disaster only hurts their economy more. The best thing you could do is be considerate and continue to go so you can be a light that helps rebuild the vineyards and the gorgeous views of Napa Valley.

Do you have any suggestions on where I should go this year?!

 

kaldridge
In Uncategorized, Workout

Tone It Up- First Impressions & New Challenge

When it comes to fitness, I have zero ideas! I mean my idea of a good fitness day is just getting to the gym at all! The last couple months I have been trying to get some motivation to get into shape and into the physique I’ve always wanted. Since I spend so much time on Instagram, I have been watching who people look for as fitness inspiration and from what I’ve seen Tone It Up is the place to be.

There are a couple reasons why at first glance, Tone It Up is who I would choose as a fitness regime.

1.) The comradery I see not only between the owners of Tone It Up and their followers is unbelievable. From the short amount of time I have been following them, there has been this overwhelming feeling that if I was to embrace Tone It Up and get involved in their community I would be accepted with open arms.

2.) I am absolutely in love with the positive attitude from the owners of Tone It Up. There has not been a single post that has not been positive and uplifting and there hasn’t been a single picture that doesn’t show smiling and encouraging faces! Talk about a way to build a fitness community, especially for people like me who are fearful of getting into fitness programs.

3.) They have moves that I can do. I don’t know how to do a lot of fitness moves, so when I try something new, it needs to be something I can learn pretty easily. I also see tons of posts and move that are easy to do if you don’t have a large gym to go to. Having the flexibility to do these moves at home or at my small apartment gym makes this an amazing option for me.

4.) Now there is a downside, they have a fitness app that is only available to apple users. While I understand that the majority of people use apple products, for those of us (me!) that have android phones, we can’t use their new app! Probably my biggest complaint is that I am not able to access their new information because the app isn’t available for me. Hopefully this will change in the coming months!

5.) They have FREE Workouts and Meal Plans for you to try, Which is why I am starting a one week challenge for myself. I will be following workouts from Tone It Up to see how things go and how I feel at the end of the day!

So excited to share this journey with you! If you would like to follow along with me you can get their workout HERE.

 

Do you have any workout suggestions? Have you tried Tone It Up before? Let me know in the comments!