Katie Haller, Author at Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Daily Outfits- January Review

January 31, 2019 by Katie Haller

I’m so happy that we made it through January. The first month of the year is usually a long one for me. Kevin was away at training for most of the month, so it’s just been me and Jack during the week. It actually went a lot smoother than I thought. Jack was really good for me and I think it’s because he had all my attention and didn’t have to share me with his dad. It was a good bonding time and it really made me appreciate the fact that my husband is home as much as he is with his job.

Son anyway, Something that I wanted to start doing this year on thriftywifehappylife.com, is a monthly outfit review. I’m trying to make my blog more of a priority since this is what I love doing the most and sharing my daily outfits is what started it all. I share a lot of my outfits on my Instagram that never makes it to the blog because it can be time-consuming to put together a post. I also have a whole camera roll of outfits that sometimes never get shared. I know that not all my readers have social media, so that’s why I wanted to do some daily outfit round up posts this year. I like to share my daily outfits because I try to share real outfits that I actually wear in my daily life. Some of my blog posts are just me being creative with my wardrobe and put together fun cute outfits, but sometimes I never get around to actually wearing those outfits. With a daily outfit selfie, you get to see what I actually wore that day. You can also see how often I repeat my clothes and wear them in different ways.

This month, I’ve been wearing a lot of my clothes that I got around Christmas time. I’ve been trying not to shop too much, so I’ve also been shopping my closet a lot trying to make the most of my wardrobe. It’s been chilly this last month, but nothing compared to the rest of the country where it’s been ridiculously cold. I usually struggle with dressing for winter in Las Vegas, because I’m either too hot of too cold in my outfits. It all depends on the wind and the sun to determinant how cold you will feel. Another struggle for me has been the morning lighting. It’s been really hard to take outfit selfies in the morning, because the sun rises so late. I am really looking forward to longer days soon!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support!

Top- Nordstrom (Exact) || Jeans- Abercrombie (Similar) || Shoes- Madden Girls-ThredUp (Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (Exact)

Top- Old Navy (Exact, Similar) || Cardigan- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Leggings- Simple Addiction (Exact, Similar) || Boots- Target- Savers (Similar, Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (Exact) || Watch- JORD (Exact)

Top- American Eagel- Savers (Similar) || Leggings- Nordstrom Rack (Exact) || Denim Jacket- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Shoes- Kohl’s (Exact) || Scarf- Five Below (Similar) || Hat- Lids (Exact)

Jacket- Brand unknown- Savers (Similar, Similar) || Top- Nordstrom (Exact) || Jeans- American Eagle- Savers (Exact) || Boots- Target (Similar) || Purse- Coach Outlet (Similar) || Belt- hand me down (Similar)

Top- Nordstrom Rack (Exact, Similar, Similar) || Cardigan- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Jeans- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Shoes- Lulus (Exact, Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom (Exact)

Sweater- Kohl’s (Exact, Similar, Similar) || Jeans- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Shoes- Kohl’s (Exact)

Top- PinkBlush (Similar, Similar) || Cardigan- Target- Savers (Similar) || Jeans- Abercrombie (Similar) || Shoes- Madden Girl- ThredUp (Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom (Exact)

Top- Old Navy (Similar) || Cardigan- Target (Similar) || Leggings- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar) || Shoes- Target (Similar) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar)

Sweater- Kohl’s (Exact, Similar) || Jacket- Old Navy- Savers (Similar) || Jeans- Target (Exact) || Shoes- Kohl’s (Exact) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar) || Earrings-Esty (Exact)

Top- Nordstrom (Exact) || Cardigan- Merona- Savers (Similar) || Jeans- Express-distressed them myself-see post HERE! (Similar) || Shoes- Nordstrom (Exact) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar) || Hat- Lids (Exact)

Top- PinkBlush (Similar, Similar, Similar) || Cardigan- Target (Similar) || Jeans- American Eagle- Savers (Similar) || Shoes- Walmart (Similar, Similar) Earrings- Etsy (Exact)

Those are some of my favorite January outfits. Make sure you check in next month to see what my favorite February outfits are! If you want to keep up on all my daily outfit posts you can follow me on Instagram and also on the LiketoKnow.it app!

Styling a Winter Dress

January 28, 2019 by Katie Haller

I have to say that I’m pretty thrilled with how fast January is going by for me. January is one of the longest months of the year and it always seems to drag on. I’m always ready to move on to February. The days start to get longer, it slowly starts to get warmer (at least it does in Las Vegas.) Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and then before you know it, it’s St. Patrick’s Day and then spring break is here. Something I really start to miss in January, besides the sun are dresses. I feel like I rarely wear dresses during the winter. The thing is, I have dresses, and they are actually really easy to wear in the winter. You just have to layer them up a bit. Today I want to share with you one of my favorite winter dresses and how I styled it for winter.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support!

I bought this long sleeve fitted striped dress at H&M way back when I was pregnant with Jack. I loved it when I was pregnant because it showed off my bump perfectly. (See how I styled it as a maternity dress HERE and HERE) Since then, I’ve worn this dress several times. It’s just a really great basic dress to have in your wardrobe. It makes for a great winter dress. For this look today, I styled it with my tan duster from Forever 21 and my riding boots, which were a recent thrift find. In the winter, I usually wear leggings or tights under my dresses. For this look, I’m wearing a black pair of tights that I actually bought at the grocery store. I guess tights are tights, so these are nothing fancy. My necklace is new. It’s a clearance find from Nordstrom Rack. I love how it adds a touch of color to all my outfits. My purse is my favorite purse in my closet. I love having a simple black satchel purse in my wardrobe. It can be worn with everything! The thing I love about this look is that it can be worn almost anywhere. Out for lunch with friends, to work, to church… it’s just a simple way to dress up your winter style a little bit.

Dress– H&M (Similar, Similar) || Duster Cardigan- Forever 21 (Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (Exact) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar, Similar) || Boots- Savers thrift find (Similar) || Sunglasses- Grocery Store (Similar) || Tights- Grocery Store (Similar)

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The Perfect Cardigan

January 24, 2019 by Katie Haller

My closet is filled with cardigan sweaters, but for some reason, I always feel like I never have the perfect cardigan. Every time I turn around, I see someone wearing a cardigan that I don’t have and now want. Since I don’t buy everything I always want, I have been on a search for the perfect cardigan to purchase. Of course, it had to be for the right price. I still try to stick to a $30 budget, but for a cardigan, I set my budget for under $20. I was thrilled when I stopped in at Target a few days before Christmas and found a bunch of cardigans on sale for 50% off. Sadly I’m slow to blog about it and it’s sold out, but I will still link it along with a ton of other similar options.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a post I will earn a commission for this blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I decided to go with a grey sweater because it’s a really good staple cardigan to have. I love my neutral colors to layer with because you can really wear anything under them. For this look I’m sharing today I styled it with my Amazon striped tie front tank top that you all seemed to really love. I also wore my Abercrombie jeans that I bought on clearance in the fall for under $20! I’ve decided that my 2 new favorite places to shop for jeans are Abercrombie and American Eagle. Of course, I always wait for a sale. I also have been looking for them at the thrift stores as well. To top off my look I wore my favorite cut out booties, my satchel purse, and bar necklace.

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Cardigan- Target (Exact– sold out Similar, Similar, Similar, Similar) || Top- Amazon (Exact) || Jeans- Abercrombie (Similar, Similar) || Booties- Zappos (Exact, Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom (Exact) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (Similar)

5 Tips for Building a Financially Successful Marriage

January 22, 2019 by Katie Haller

5 Ways to have a Financially Successful Marriage

My marriage is not perfect in any way, but when it comes to finances, I think my husband and I are pretty good at that part of our marriage. Money is not everything, but it sure is important. The number one thing that most couples argue about is money. That’s why it’s important to work together to find a way to be financially successful as a couple.

Before I met my husband, I would have to say that I wasn’t always very financially responsible. In college, I had taken out a large amount of student loans to pay for my last 3 years of school. I always worked hard and had jobs, but I didn’t save a dime. I spent all my money on going out with friends and shopping for new party outfits. When I graduated I had about $10 in my bank account and about $70,000 in student loan debt. My husband was the complete opposite of me. He was very responsible with his money, even as a college student. He had a plan for his future and he also graduated college with zero debt. It’s a blessing that I ended up with someone like him because I don’t know where I would be with money if I married someone like myself.

Over the last 8 years, we have worked together to create a pretty financially successful marriage. We haven’t always made the income we do now, so we have had to make a lot of sacrifices in our first years of marriage, but our sacrifices don’t seem that big in the long run. Because of our dedication to saving and living our lives on a budget, I have never needed to worry about not having enough money to pay a bill, I’ve never had to worry about having an unexpected expense come up, and I have never had to live paycheck to paycheck. It’s not always easy for couples to manage their money successfully together, so that’s why I wanted to share 5 tips that have helped us become financially successful in our marriage.

1.) Make a plan together

Before we got married, Kevin and I talked a lot about our money. Our number one priority was to pay off my student loans. Kevin always explained to me that we would never get ahead and save for our future with that kind of debt hanging over our heads. I agreed, and we both worked extremely hard to pay them off as quickly as we could. (You can read all about that story HERE.) Once the loans were out of the picture, we started saving as much as we could to catch up on lost time. We both understand that the younger you are when you save, the more money you will have in the future. Our plans are for me to stop working, hopefully, this year, and for Kevin to retire at 55. We want to have financial freedom in our future and saving your money is the only way to achieve that. We are always re-evaluating our plan to make sure we are on track, but we still stick to the basic plan that we made at the very beginning of our relationship.

2.) Be completely open and honest about all your spending

This one was hard for me at first. I didn’t want Kevin to know about every purchase I made, especially when I bought another new pair of shoes, but I quickly learned that honesty is always the best policy. Hiding your spending will only cause fights and a lack of trust in your relationship. You will never be able to work together if you can’t be honest with each other.

3.) Share a bank account

I know that a lot of couples don’t share bank accounts in this day and age and that works for them, but I personally think that it’s best to share a bank account. This just makes everything easier. I feel like you can’t work together on your plan if you can’t combined your finances. It’s important that you both know what is going on with your money.

4.) Assign one person to be in charge of the finances

Obviously in our marriage, Kevin is the one who is in charge of all our accounts. He pays all the bills and moves the money around when needed. I have all the information to all our accounts and he’s very good at sharing with me where our money is or if he’s moving it around or investing in something. He always asks me what I think before making a major move in our accounts. I would never make a major purchase without talking it over with him first and he does the same for me.

5.) Talk about money

It’s good to talk about money in your marriage. A lot of times people don’t want to talk about money. Obviously you don’t want to go around telling everyone you know how much money you make or save, but between spouses, it’s good to talk about it. It keeps it out in the open and helps you both understand where you are at with your financial goals.

3 Ways to Wear a Corduroy Skirt

January 17, 2019 by Katie Haller

I love it when I find a great versatile piece of clothing. I love it, even more, when I find it for a great price! Last month right before Christmas I got a notification on my phone that ThredUP was doing 24 hours of free shipping. I had been waiting for this for a while because I only had a little over $2 left in my ThredUP account. I love shopping at their online thrift store, but my biggest complaint is that you need to spend over $79 to get free shipping. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time spending that much money at a thrift store. That’s why I was waiting for free shipping. I ended up buying this super cute Old Navy corduroy skirt for $.99 plus an Old Navy tunic top (HERE), also for $.99. I was pretty excited about my finds and I still have some change leftover in my account for my next ThredUp shopping trip.

I’ve had really good luck with thrifting my skirts. You can usually find a lot of great basic skirts from thrift stores. I like the light khaki color of this skirt. I also think that corduroy is a great material for fall and winter. This skirt would make the perfect classroom skirt if your a teacher or for any office job. It’s also a perfect way to dress up a little bit more. Today I’ve styled it 3 ways to show you how easy it can be to add a corduroy skirt into your wardrobe.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Look #1- This look includes all my favorite things. A chambray top and a pop of leopard. This look is perfect for work. It’s really a simple look to pull off.

Skirt– ThredUp-Old Navy (Similar, Similar) || Top- Target (Similar) || Booties- ThredUP- Target (Similar, Similar) || Belt- Hand me down from my mom (Similar, Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom (Exact)

Look #2- I love to layer my button-down shirts with a cardigan. I love how it has a classic and preppy feel to it. The key is to cuff the sleeves. This shows off the blouse a little more and hides any imperfections and bumpiness you might get in your sleeves.

Top- ThredUP- J.Crew (Similar, Similar) || Cardigan- Target (Similar) || Shoes- ThredUp- Madden Girls (Similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom (Exact)

Look #3- Sweaters tucked in are such a trend right now. I never thought that would be a thing, but it looks so polished when you tuck your sweater. Wearing a sweater with a skirt can be the perfect combination in the winter.

Sweater- Target (Exact) || Booties– Zappos (Exact, Similar)

For more styling ideas to make the most of your wardrobe check out my other posts HERE!!

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How to Put Together an Athleisure Look

January 14, 2019 by Katie Haller

As a native Michigander, I really can’t complain too much about the 50-degree temperatures of the Las Vegas winter, but I’m still feeling the winter blues. The days are short and days are colder, it still puts me into a funk with my wardrobe. Thankfully winter in Las Vegas is very short. Before I know it the sun will be out and it will be 70 degrees every day, probably before I ever get around to posting these posts. To be honest, all I want to do lately is to wear comfortable clothes. Leggings, cozy sweaters, t-shirts… anything to keep me comfortable and warm. That’s why every weekend I’ve been wearing athleisure wear. I love athleisure clothes because it’s a perfect combination of workout athletic clothes with everyday casual clothes.

Today I want to share one of my favorite athleisure looks and also what the key components are to putting together an athleisure look. It’s actually really easy and most of you probably already have these pieces in your closet.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

1.) Tennis shoes- The most important piece of an athleisure look is athletic tennis shoes. I personally think that black athletic shoes make for the best athleisure look, but. I just feel like the black and white look so polished, but I also love other tennis shoes with these looks too. I bought my tennis shoes (HERE) at Kohl’s back in the fall. Tennis shoes seem to be my most expensive shoes in my closet because I always buy name brand. I love Nike, Adidas, New Balance… they all have great styles. The key is to find them on sale! I’ve linked some of my favorite shoes below.

2.) Leggings- I think we can all agree that leggings are the best! When I buy leggings, I look for 3 things; comfort, thickness, and affordability. I like something comfortable that sucks in everything with a high waist. I also look for something with a decently thick material. One of my biggest fashion fears is to be the person who bends over in leggings and you can see the pattern on their underwear perfectly. Lastly affordability. My dream leggings are the Zella Live in High Waist Leggings (HERE), but I just can’t bring myself to spend the $59 for them. (Maybe the next big Nordstrom Sale). I typically will look at stores like TJMaxx or Marshalls for decent brands of leggings. I recently bought this pair of leggings (HERE) at Nordstrom Rack for under $10. I really like the thickness of the leggings, but I will say that they are not as soft as some of my other leggings. Another legging steal is at Forever 21 (HERE). Their leggings are really nice everyday leggings and they are under $4!! I still have a pair of Forever 21 leggings that I bought when I was pregnant with Jack, but I will say that their thickness wears out a lot, so I save those ones for my around the house leggings.

3.) Graphic tee or loose-fitting top- I love my stripe tunics and I also love a good graphic tee. For this look I’m sharing today I stuck with my comfy thrifted striped American Eagle top (HERE). With tops, I like something that’s loose-fitting and long enough to cover my front and backside.

4.) A layering piece- When I say a layering piece, I mean anything you can wear casually over a t-shirt. It could be a vest, cardigan, jacket… really anything that you like to layer with during the cooler months. I personally like denim jackets or boyfriend cardigans. For this look, I went with my grey boyfriend cardigan (HERE) from Target. It’s super cozy for the winter.

5.) A hat- I love wearing hats lately, especially when it’s cold out. For this look, I wore my winter pom pom beanie hat (similar HERE) that I got in the dollar section at Target before Christmas. I also wear my Tigers baseball cap (HERE) all the time with my athleisure clothes. It’s the perfect way to hide the fact that I didn’t want to do my hair.

So there you have it, 5 key components to completing an athleisure look. If you like this post, check out my post on 5 Ways to Make Your Momiform More Stylish. Post HERE!!

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