Hi there and welcome to our blog! We are Lindsay and Kallie, and we have been friends since grade school. We love to laugh, create, and be inspired. ” Smitten By…” was conceptualized in the middle of the night as we sat and discussed people and things that are bright spots in our lives, and wanted to create a forum to share them with the world! We sincerely hope that you will join our community and have a fulfilling experience every time you stop by with our amazing monthly contributors from a variety of professions and walks of life. Authenticity at it’s best!
Our blog intends to inspire our readers and enrich your lives by giving away many things that make our lives sweeter, both in the form of advice, knowledge, and experience, as well as products through a variety of fabulous giveaways. Along with this life-changing community of writers, our website is unique in the fact that each month has a theme, where all our posts, contributors, giveaways, Pinterest boards and inspirational thoughts correlate. Come and join us! Find new friends, be inspired, get your business name out there, and perhaps find something new that you are “Smitten By…” along the way. Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you again soon!
” We make our own destiny. We can satisfy ourselves with mediocrity. We can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless, or we can so channel our lives to be clean, vibrant, progressive, colorful, and rich.”
-Spencer W. Kimball
Kallie Dalley- Creator & Editor of Smitten By
Hi! I am Kallie Dalley. Yes, you read that right. 8 years ago I was blissfully in love and happily married into a rhyming name… smiling. Then reality hit & 8 years later it is still a constant work in progress not to laugh every time I have to say my full name out loud!
I am a wife to Brian and a momma to 2 crazy, adorable boys, who ROCK my world! They are a never ending adventure in what they will say and do next & I find SO much joy in that. I love to laugh and make others laugh too. I am always up for a good dance party with my kids, and live to see their eyes light up with laughter because of it. I am an avid reader, and a good book can only get better if I were sitting on the beach, basking in the sunshine and listening to the ocean. I am smitten by interior design and old furniture. I love to take something old and broken and give it new life. I love lasting friendships, vacations with my family, and the feeling of being truly inspired.
Here on Smitten By… I will be openly sharing my road to recovery as I over come an Eating Disorder that has ruled my life. I will be sharing the ups and downs of my journey, along with the “ah ha” moments that speak to my soul and give me the courage to keep going. I know in my heart that no matter your size, large or small, if you don’t love yourself you will never be truly happy. Join me on my journey of recovery, hope and healing.
Monthly Contributors
Amy Balderree – Life Coach & Energy Therapist
Amy Balderree is a gifted Life Counselor and Energy Therapist, with a B.S. degree in Psychology and a B.S. in Human and Family Development. Amy has had extensive training in relationships, conscious and subconscious belief systems, stress management, cognitive and behavioral patterns, addictions, a vast variety of individual and family traumas, energy psychology and various energy techniques. Amy is skilled at working with individuals of all ages, couples, families and businesses. Amy is a believer in healing the past, being triumphant amid present challenges, and joyfully moving toward the future!
Amy is smitten by all things happy, finding strength through struggle, and discovering the truth of the story. She loves to uplift and be uplifted! She lives with 3 beautifully unique souls who call her mother, and one devoted soul who calls her wife. Laughter, lyrics sung from the heart, a great movie, palm trees, fortune cookies, beach sunsets, mountain hikes, fast cars, travel adventures, seeing faces of friends whereever they may live in the world, a cozy blanket, and the sun shining on her face are some of her favorite pleasures!
Visit www.kymahconsulting.com to schedule an appointment that will Change. Your. Life!!
Whitney Tibbs- Health and Home Decor
Motherhood has always been a dream of mine, and now that I have arrived, I endeavor to find a little joy in every day. My 2 year-old daughter, Monroe, is my little gal pal, full of sweetness and spunk. I’m lucky to have a wonderful partner in my husband, Jeff. He helps keep me grounded and happy, while working the crazy schedule of a CPA. I love to learn and am always seeking knowledge. I graduated in Health and Promotion from the University of Utah, and have a great passion for health and wellness. I also am a bit obsessed with home design and decor, which is mostly fueled by blogging and Pinterest. For me happiness is about balance, and I’m always striving to seek just the right formula.
Carolyn Mohler- LCSW, Private Practice
I’m a wife, mom of six, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, exercise enthusiast, native Las Vegan (yes, we do exist), lover of food, and admitted chocoholic. I write about life and how I live it, what I think about things, and what makes my days. I’ll honestly expose my plate-spinning, role juggling, three-ring-circus struggles and even some of my failures as I try to raise my amazing soon-to-be amazing adults. I’ll share what I know professionally and personally because we could all use some free therapy once in a while! If anything you read here makes your day, I’ll consider it a mission accomplished!
Carolyn can be found riding the eye of her own tornado at : http://confoundedwoman.com
Brook Hammond- Attorney and
Motivational Author & Speaker
Question: “Why do you want to listen to anything I have to say?” Answer: “I haven’t a clue.” But, I think we likely have something fundamental in common, which is that our lives don’t look and/or feel like we expected them to. Each day I am learning to find joy in the unexpected.
My dream was to get married and be a stay at home mother of five kids. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s in Family Science with the idea that I would always need that education because the most certain thing in my life was that I would surely get married and have a large family—ironic. My girlish dream was to go to law school; so when I was not married and wasn’t having my five children at age 23, I decided to go for it. It was more of an “insurance policy” in the event that my “unknown” but surely soon-to-be husband left me widowed in my unknown future. I did marry and have one amazing son, but life changed dramatically and I cashed in on that insurance policy when I became a young single mother. I do not have any more children(yet!), and I am not married(yet!). But, I still have hope! My life’s dream may have shifted a little, but I am happy and have been well cared for by my Heavenly Father.
Professionally, I have earned the right to belong to an exclusive attorney group called the “Million Dollar Advocate Forum.” I am a trial attorney and have been practicing personal injury law for ten years (licensed in both Nevada and Utah.) A fun tidbit about me is that I am a part of Nevada’s history as Miss Nevada USA 1995, and a motivational youth speaker since 1991. I am a monthly contributor to PRISTeen Magazine, a teen fashion magazine that focuses on girls’ inner beauty.
Kim Fidler- Travel Planner with Get Away Today
Kimberly Fidler is the Internet Sales Director at She has worked in the travel industry for 12 years and loves to get away with her husband anytime they can. Their favorite trips include visits to the Disney Parks, San Diego, Arizona, cruising, and anything international.
Melinda Chaffee
I am a mother of “four”: ages 4, 4, 2, and a bun in the oven. I love to laugh, learn, sing, write, dance in the kitchen with my kids, stargaze on the trampoline, go camping and backpacking, and spend time with my best friend and husband of almost 5 years, even when he gangs up on me in Settlers of Catan. And I HATE to get my hair cut (even from the time I was a little girl).
I used to be a runner and am anxious to get back to it after Baby #4 and FINALLY complete my first Marathon!!! I am passionate about understanding and empowering our bodies, about engaging and inspiring women to tap into their potential, and about creating instead of waiting for my Happily Ever After.
In my pre-”Mommy” years, I earned my M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition, taught College Composition, and ran my own editing business for a time. But my favorite “jobs” hands-down were working as a Volunteer Coordinator and Service-Learning Educator at two universities and volunteering as an event coordinator, trainer, and motivational speaker. Though someday I absolutely plan on getting at LEAST two more degrees (did I mention I love learning?), I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to stay at home now and raise my children.
For the last year I have also been blessed to work my own hours from home, working as a designer, copywriter, editor, and weight loss coach for JillBirth.com. I am also passionate about helping families find physical and financial freedom as a Health and Business Coach for Isagenix International.
You find Melinda at:
Kristen Clove- Graphic Designer for Smitten
Hi! I am Kristin. I love pretty things. I love color. I love making areas beautiful. I love finding beauty in unexpected places. I love modern. I love vintage. I love words. I love design. I love making people happy.
I have always loved designing things for people – mostly it has just been a quote for my mom, a shower invitation for my sister, a baby announcement for my baby. In 2012, I decided to turn my hobby into, well, a more productive hobby.
I am a mom of two beautiful girls – almost 5 years old and 1 year old. My awesome husband teaches high school Biology and business and coaches, well, whatever is in season. I love to spend time with my family! Besides designing word art and growing a photography business, I do try to find time to read, garden, and occasionally (oh, SO very occasionally) take a nap. Lately, I have been a cooking disaster, so I am trying to get better at that as well.
Check out my latest work at my blog: CdotLove.blogspot.com, my etsy shop: or on Facebook:
Gina Crotts
Gina Crotts is the Director of Parentfinder.com, an internet based system that connects birth parents with waiting adoptive families. She is a social media guru, a public speaker on the topic of adoption, with additional strengths in writing and design. She enjoys guiding adoptive couples to write, build, and market their dynamic profiles. She is a birth mother who has been working in the adoption industry for over 12 years.
Gina is also the Founder and President of Birth Mother Baskets, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that delivers gift baskets to birth mothers who have recently placed their babies for adoption. Gina and Birth Mother Baskets have been featured on Channel KSL5 News, Channel ABC4 “Good Things Utah”, Utah Valley Magazine as an “Angel Among Us”, Desert News, Daily Herald, Adoption.com, and America Adopts. Gina also served as a Teen Pregnancy Ambassador with the “Power In You” organization formed by former Utah first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman.
Currently, Gina lives in Utah with her husband and three children JD 11, Evie 8 and Jett 2 years old. When she isn’t working you are most likely to find her at the baseball park, a dance competition, creating art or a yoga class.
