Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Stripe Tunic

by Katie Haller

I just couldn’t help myself and I bought another piece of clothing in black and white stripes.  Back in September, while doing some fall shopping, I found this long sleeve tunic at Old Navy (exact).  It was on sale for 50% off, which came to $8.49.   I thought about buying it in another color, but they didn’t have my size, so I ended up with the stripes.

I’m really loving this top right now.  I wish I had it in every color because it’s perfect for fall and winter in the desert.  It’s lightweight, so it’s perfect for layering and I love the length on it.  It’s perfect to wear with leggings or jeans.

Here are 4 ways that I accessorized the top.

I love this first look.  I’m wearing my favorite pair of distress denim jeans from Target (similar) with my ankle boots (exact).  I accessorized with my black satchel purse (exact) and my turquoise pendant necklace.
For this next look, I wore black legging and a jean jacket with some leopard flats and my black satchel purse.  
I’m always a fan of mixing stripes with leopard, so I love this look here.  I wore my distressed jeans and ankle boots again and  accessorized with my leopard scarf (similar) and cognac tote purse (exact)

This last look is great for a cool fall day.  I wore black leggings with my brown boots.  I accessorized with my fuchsia knit infinity scarf (similar) and my black satchel purse.

Hopefully, these looks can help you finger out how to accessorize your stripes.

Baby Update- 9 Months!

by Katie Haller

In my belly for 38 weeks, now in my arms for 38 weeks.  He is just as active on the outside as he was on the inside
It’s hard to believe that I already have a 9-month-old.  For the longest time, I was just thinking about him turning 6 months and how big of a milestone that would be, and now he’s already 9 months. 12 months is right around the corner.  Where did the time go?

The words to describe Jack these days are cute, loving, smart, crazy, busy, funny, cuddly, exhausting, wild, playful, determined…. those are just to name a few.  At about 6 months Jack started crawling, 7 months he started to pull himself up and by 8 months he was everywhere.  Our house is a complete mess on most days.  I find baby toys everywhere, but I love it.  We have baby proofed the living room as best we can, yet he still finds ways to get into the places he shouldn’t. 
I just recently started feeding Jack finger food and he seems to do really well with it.  Since he’s still so young, I still feed him his baby food, but I give him bits and pieces of our dinner.  He just got his first tooth the week of Halloween and a week later he had another one pop through.  I feel like he’s been teething forever, so it’s exciting to see his little teeth finally coming through.
Some of the cutest things about this age are how playful Jack is these days.  He loves it when we chase him.  He says “Uh Oh” now and “dadada”.  He also likes to wave and shake his head.  I’m trying to work on some sign language with him, but I think that will come with time.  His favorite song is the opening song to the show Dexter.  It’s funny because Kevin and I have been watching the show on Netflix now for a few months and every time we start a new episode, Jack hears the song and starts dancing and laughing.  It’s too cute, I just hope he doesn’t realize what the show is all about.
I’m still struggling to get him to sleep through the night.  That has been the most exhausting part of parenting for me.  I really don’t know what to do at this point.  I just hope and pray that one day he will stay asleep every night and I will finally get some sleep.

With each month it brings new joys and new challenges, but one thing is for sure, this little guy is very loved!  

Instagram Outfit Review

by Katie Haller

It’s time for another Instagram outfit review.  I’ve been posting so many of my daily outfits on Instagram, it’s kind of replaced my weekly “What I Wore” outfit posts.  It’s just easier lately to take a quick outfit selfie, rather than put together a full blog post.  When I find the time, I like to do an overview of my favorite looks from the past month or so.

I am loving the weather right now.  It’s absolutely perfect.  Mornings are cool and the afternoons have highs in the 70’s and low 80’s.  It’s the perfect kind of weather for layering, which is my favorite way to dress. 
Here are some of my looks from the past month.  As always, I try to link my clothes, but because many of my clothes are older and I buy so many of them on clearance or at thrift stores, I’m not always able to link it to the exact item.  However, I always try to find similar affordable items to link up.  Unfortunately, I’ve had a hard time finding similar items for a few of my accessories, so I will just list the stores. 
Shirt- Target (similar)
Jeans- Target (similar)
Cardigan- Target (similar)
Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory
Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (exact)
Top- Old Navy
Waterfall Cardigan- Target (similar)
Jeans– (Old)- Express (similar)
Shoes- Target (exact)
Top- Target (exact)
Cardigan- Macy’s (similar)
Jeans- Old Navy (similar)
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack
Top- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
Leggings- Last Call Neiman Marcus (similar)
Scarf- Charming Charlie (similar)
Sandals- Target (no longer in stock online) 
Top- Old Navy (exact)
Cardigan- Forever 21 (similar)
Scarf- Charming Charlie (similar)
Boots- Burlington Coat Factory (exact)
Top- Old Navy (exact)
Jeans- Kohl’s (exact)
Shoes- Ross (similar)
Necklace- Burlington Coat Factory 
Top- Target (similar)
Cardigan- H&M (similar)
Boots- Target (similar)
Denim Jacket- Meijer (similar)
Jeggings- TJ Maxx (similar)
Scarf- Nordstrom (similar)
Purse- Last Call  (exact)
Top- Target (exact)
Cardigan- Target (similar)
 Jeggings- Old Navy/ thrifted (similar)
Shoes- Old Navy (similar)
Leggings- Forever 21 (exact)
Denim Jacket- Meijer (see above)
Scarf- Five Below (similar)
Shoes- DSW (exact)

I hope you like the looks.  Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @thriftywifehappylife to see more of my everyday looks.  Have a great week!!

Shopping Finds- Thrift Shopping for Baby

by Katie Haller

If you follow my blog, you know how much I love to a thrift shop, so I’m sure it’s no surprise that I love to thrift shop for my baby too.  Baby clothes can be so expensive at times.  I hate to spend a lot of money on baby clothes because they grow out of them so quickly, plus they get their clothes so messy, that’s why a thrift store is a perfect place to buy clothes for my little guy. 
I am grateful that our family members and friends have kept Jack clothed for so long.  I have so many cute outfits for him that we got as gifts, but he’s quickly growing out of many of his clothes, plus the weather is slowly getting cooler, so it’s time to start shopping for the winter.  One nice thing about having a boy is that they are so low maintenance, even as babies.  All they need are some onesies, some pants and a jacket of some sort.

Last Friday, I went to my favorite thrift store, Savers.  They tend to have a very small boy selection, so when I find cute things, I buy a lot.  It was Nevada Day on the day I was there, so all the clothes were 30% off, plus I bought 2 yellow tag items that were 50% off.  I ended up buying him 3 pairs of pants, a button down shirt and a fleece jacket all for under $10.  That’s not bad considering I already know that my little guy will only wear them for 3 months, then it will be back to summer clothes again.  That’s okay, because I will just have another excuse to do some more thrift store shopping.

Making the Most of your Wardrobe- White after Labor Day

by Katie Haller

  I’m not really sure who the person was that made up the saying that you can’t wear white after Labor Day, but I completely disagree with that statement.  What a silly idea that you can only wear white for 3 months out of the year.  I like to get the maximum use out of my clothes and I don’t believe that certain colors and styles can only be worn during a specific time of the year.  I love incorporating white into my fall and winter wardrobe by wearing my white jeans.  I bought my white pants at Target on clearance for under $10 about 3 years ago (similar).  I love having a white pair of pants in my closet because it gives me the opportunity to switch up my outfits from normal jeans to white every now and again. 

Here are 4 different ways that I’ve styled my white jeans for fall and winter. 
For my first look, I wore my favorite cardigan from H&M (similar) with a black tank top from Old Navy, and my ankle boots from Burlington Coat Factory (exact).  I accessorized the look with my turquoise pedant and my new black satchel purse from Neiman Marcus Last Call (exact).  
I’ve been seeing gingham shirts everywhere lately, so for this look, I styled my gingham button down (similar) with my waterfall cardigan (similar) both from Target.  I accessorized my ankle boots with my brown leather Coach purse. 
I love Navy and I love stripes, so for this look, I wore my navy striped tank top (exact), with my navy blazer (similar) and my boots (similar), all three from Target.  I accessorized with my gold pendant necklace and my brown Coach purse again. 
For this last look, I kept it casual with my green t-shirt from Target (similar), layered with my denim jacket (similar) and my Madden Girl lace-up flats (similar).  I accessorized again with my gold pendant necklace and my brown tote purse from Neiman Marcus Last Call (exact). 
Those are just 4 ways to wear white pants this fall and winter.  How will you be styling your white pants for the cooler months this year? 

Fall Outfits in the Heat

by Katie Haller

I absolutely love fall and everything that comes with it, especially the fashion.  Fall fashion is my favorite.  I love to layer and I love scarves, boots, and jeans.  Summer is difficult for me because the heat makes it hard for me to dress the way I want to, but with fall, I get to pull out some of my favorite pieces in my closet.  However, in Las Vegas, our fall feels more like summer to most people.  It creates a bit of a challenge because the mornings are cool, but the highs in the afternoon are in the 80’s and 90’s.  It’s okay though because I always love a challenge when it comes to styling my daily wardrobe. 
Here are some outfits I’ve come up with for my transitional fall wardrobe. 
………………………………………………………………

Dresses are always great for transitioning into the fall weather.  I love being able to wear a dress in the warmer weather and accessorize it with some of my favorite fall accessories, like boots and denim.  I am loving my new ankle boots (exact) I bought last month.  They give the perfect fall touch with a few of my favorite dresses.  I also always love to layer with my denim jacket (similar).  Here are a few looks I’ve come up with. 
Dress- H&M (exact)

Dress- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
Dress- Pink Blush (exact)
You can never go wrong with a great pair of jeans.  I miss my jeans in the summer, so I always get excited when the temperatures cool off enough for some jeans.  Right now, I am loving the distressed denim look.  I have a few pairs of distress jeans that I rotate through.  I really love wearing flats with my jeans while the weather is still warm.  Flats and jeans are pretty much my workweek uniform.  Here are a couple looks wearing my jeans with some of my favorite new pairs of flats and accessorizing with my new Linea Pelle cognac tote handbag (exact) from Neiman Marcus Last Call.  I’m kind of obsessed with this purse right now. It’s the perfect fall accessory. 
 Top- Target (exact)/ Jeans- Target (similar) Shoes- Ross (similar)
 Top- Target (similar) Jeans- Kohl’s (similar) Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory (similar)
Who doesn’t love leggings?  They are so comfortable, I could literally wear them every day.  I love wearing leggings in the early fall because sometimes they are lighter than wearing jeans.  I love to style them with a long t-shirt or tunic top.  Here are a couple ways that I styled my leggings with my ankle boots to give them that fall touch.  
Top- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
Top- Old Navy (exact)
Those are some of my transitional falls looks for this year.  You can check out some of my older falls looks from last year’s post here to get some more ideas on how to style your fall wardrobe in the heat.  Enjoy the rest of the fall and remember that just because it’s hot out, doesn’t mean that you can’t embrace the new season and also stay on budget with your wardrobe! 

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