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Toddler Gifts Under $15!

by Katie Haller


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Whether you are a parent of a toddler or you have nieces and nephews to buy for, kids are the best to Christmas shop for.  It always makes me happy to buy little kids Christmas gifts.  The best thing about kids is that it doesn’t take much to excite them.  My little guy gets excited over a sticker.  Today I’m sharing 9 toddler gifts under $15! These make great stocking stuffers or just small gifts for any toddler on your shopping list.

*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! 

I’m a huge fan of Green Toys! Jack has a couple of these toys and he really loves them!  They are made well and perfect for little kids, plus they are made from recycled materials so they are environmentally friendly, which is always a plus! 
Bath Foam Letters
This is one of Jack’s favorite toys!  He loves the alphabet and these letters helped him learn it.  I credit YouTube Kids for most of his alphabet knowledge, but playing with these letters let him practice them and get even better at the alphabet.


Ornament
My mom gave me an ornament in my stocking every year, and I still have them all.  I would love to start that tradition with Jack.  Ornaments are great because you can give them something that they are interested in or will help you remember that year.


Melissa and Doug Crayon Set
The Easter bunny brought Jack this crayon set last year and let me tell you, it’s our favorite set of crayons.  They are triangle, so they don’t roll off the table like other crayons.  They also are harder to break and they clean off of furniture and floors much easier than other crayons.


Blippi Coloring Book

I’m not sure if you have little ones obsessed with Blippi, but we love him at our house.  Jack learns so much from Blippi.  This coloring book goes along with a lot of the Blippi videos.  It’s really cute and perfect for toddlers.


Board Books
Books are always a good gift idea for every age.  I especially like books that talk about relatable topics for kids.  Books about becoming a big brother or sister, books about manners and in our case a book about potty training.


Color Bath Drops
These color drops are a great stocking stuffer.  They make bath time really fun.  You can mix the colors and experiment with them.  They sometimes are the only way I can get Jack into the tub at the end of the day.


Melissa and Doug 4 in 1 Puzzle Sets
I love Melissa and Doug toys.  They make the best toddler puzzles.  I love the little 4 in 1 puzzle sets, because they are compact and easy to clean up and store.


Honest Company Bubble Bath
Lastly, I have to share my favorite bubble bath.  Kids love bubble baths.  This always makes a nice stocking stuffer.  I love the smell of this bubble bath and it’s very gentle on skin, which is what you need during the dry winter months.

Hopefully, you find this gift guide helpful for your little ones.

Happy Christmas shopping!!

3 Must Have Scarves

by Katie Haller

I’ve always loved wearing scarves during the fall and winter, but after moving to a warmer climate, I find myself wearing scarves less than I used to.  I recently gave a bunch of scarves away on my last closet cleanout, but there are some scarves that are always worth keeping no matter what kind of climate you live in.  Believe it or not, it does get chilly in the wintertime in Las Vegas.  Scarves can offer the perfect amount of warmth sometimes.  It all depends on how you layer them.

 Today I want to share 3 types of scarves that are perfect no matter what kind of climate you live in.  These are the scarves that you will want to hold on to and not add to the cleanout bag.

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

Blanket Scarves are great!  They are still very popular and are perfect to layer over a t-shirt, sweater or cardigan.  I bought my blanket scarf I’m wearing above from ilymix, which they don’t have this particular scarf any more, but you can still find it on Amazon (HERE).

I love plaid!  There is nothing better than a plaid scarf around the holidays.  Whether it’s a blanket scarf or infinity scarf, the pattern always looks nice.  I found this grey plaid scarf at Banana Republic Factory a couple years ago on clearance for $6.  I love that you can find plaid in all kinds of colors to match whatever season it is.

Of course I was going to mention leopard.  I love to accessorize with leopard print.  A leopard scarf is the perfect way to add a little bit of print to your outfit.  I found my leopard scarf last fall at Old Navy.  Unfortunately, I can’t find it this year, but luckily Nordstrom has the almost exact scarf for the same price (HERE).

 Those are my favorite types are scarves.  Are you a scarf person?

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Teacher Gift Guide- Under $30!!

by Katie Haller

This is my 3rd year doing a teacher gift guide.  I love doing them because of not a lot of bloggers’ high light gifts for teachers.  For me, teachers are my favorite people to gift at Christmas time.  As a teacher myself, I know how much we appreciate being remembered by our students.  As a parent, I love being able to spoil my child’s teacher, because I want to show them how grateful we are for their hard work and care of our son throughout the year.  I’ve been asked before if teachers prefer gift cards over gifts and my answer is no. 


Personally, for me, I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a gift card, but it’s always nice to have a personal gift from one of your students.  I hold on to those gifts and I always think about the student who gave me the gift each time I use them.  It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, because it’s really the thought that counts, that’s why I have listed 7 affordable teacher gifts to give to your child’s teacher this year.

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

One || Leather Earrings
I’ve been seeing leather earrings all over Instagram this past year.  A few months ago I won a giveaway with Brinley & Co and I am loving these earrings.  I wear them to work almost every day.  They are the perfect earrings for a teacher because they are lightweight and easy to wear around children.

As a teacher, I am outside with the children every day.  To me, winter accessories are always a good gift.  I’m really loving all the cute winter hats out right now.  That’s why I think a winter hat would make a nice teacher gift.

 Blankets always make great Christmas gifts for everyone.  They are cozy during the winter months.  I love getting blankets as gifts.  I’ve gotten them from students before and I always find them a thoughtful and useful gift. 

Four || Makeup
Last year, one of my students gave me makeup for Christmas.  I thought that it was such a great gift because I personally love makeup.  Even if your child’s teacher doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, they still might appreciate a nice eye-shadow pallet.

Five || Ornament
 I love getting tree ornaments from students.  Each year that I put them on my tree, I remember my students.  Ornaments always make a great personalized gift.

Six || Graphic T-shirt
 Who doesn’t love a good graphic tee?  There are tons of cute graphic t-shirts out there for teachers.  These are something that teachers can wear to work on casual Friday or just wear on the weekends.  

Seven || Scarf
I think I add a scarf to my teacher gift list every year.  A scarf is such a good gift.  It’s something that all most all teachers would appreciate. 

Eight || Tote Bag
 Do teacher totes ever go out of style?  They always come in handy.  That’s why I think a cute teacher tote makes a great gift. 
I always feel bad that I leave out the guy teachers when I do my teacher gift guide, but in my personal experience, guys are extremely hard to shop for.  That’s why I say, stick with a gift card for them.  You can’t go wrong with that.  Hopefully, you find this post helpful and it gives you a few ideas.  For more teacher gift ideas you can check out my posts from the last two years HERE and HERE. 
Happy Shopping!! 

Thrift Store Look for $16!!

by Katie Haller

Hey everyone!  I hope you’re having a great week so far.  For today’s outfit post, I wanted to share my latest thrift finds.  I typically don’t buy an outfit when I shop, but on this particular thrifting trip, I ended up coming home with an entire look.

 On Veterans Day, I had the day off work.  I took Jack to school for the day and Kevin had to work, so I thought the perfect activity for me was to have a day of thrift shopping.  It is so much easier to thrift shop by myself, without Jack all over the place.  I went to Goodwill first, which was a little disappointing.  They didn’t have much of a selection at all, so I decided to go to Savers.  I completely forgot that Savers was having a 50% off sale for Veterans day.  Normally when I know they are having their big sales, I head over to the store right when they open because it can be kind of crazy.  That didn’t happen on this day, so I walked into the store and it was so busy.  The line was all the way to the back of the store.  I had to browse kind of quickly.  The fitting room line was ridiculously long too, so I didn’t want to try on anything.  I was excited because, despite all the chaos in the store, I was able to find 3 things that I really loved.

The first thing I found was a pair of Ann Taylor black jeggings for $2.50.  I’ve been needing a pair of black jeans for a while.  When I found this pair, in my size, for that price, I decided to take the risk and buy them without trying them on.  They ended up fitting great.  Next up, I found these cognac riding boots.  The brand is Sam & Libby and I couldn’t resist them.  They were $10.49 and they look like they have never been worn before.  I love the color!  Anything in that cognac or camel color is my favorite and it goes with everything.   Lastly, I bought another striped shirt.  This one is from American Eagle and I know it will go with everything.  It was only $3. 

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

 So there you have it, my $16 outfit!  When was the last time you went thrifting?

If you love the style of this look, I have similar affordable items linked below for you!

5 Things I Didn’t Know About Motherhood Before I Became a Mom

by Katie Haller

It’s hard to believe that in a few short months, I will have a 3-year-old.  Time is flying by.  I absolutely love being a mom.  Jack is my pride and joy.  He makes me so happy, but it’s not always easy being a mom.  When I look back on my pre-baby life, it seemed so easy.  I sometimes question what I did with myself back then.  Today I want to talk about what I didn’t know about motherhood before I became a mom.  It seems like everyone tells you things about what it’s like, but you never really know what it’s like until you live it for yourself.  Here are the things that I didn’t know about.  

1.) The lack of personal time I would have- I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been alone in my house since Jack was born.  It’s very hard to fit in me-time.  Painting my nails after Jack goes to bed on a Friday night or sneaking in an episode of Very Cavallari is about all the me-time I get these days.  I knew that becoming a mom would make me busy, but I think I imagined having a little more time for myself.  I guess I imagined that I would have a child who would sleep and I wouldn’t be so tired all the time. 
2.) How much I miss my husband- I see my husband every day, but I miss him.  Jack demands a lot of my attention and sometimes I miss having one on one time with my husband.  We do not have the luxury of having family close by as babysitters, so we don’t get to go on date nights every weekend like some people do.  Occasionally, when we both have the day off work and Jack’s school is open, we will take him into school and we will go out and have a date day together.  Those days are the best, but we haven’t done it since last winter.   I look back on my pregnancy and I cherish all those outings we went on together because I didn’t realize then just how much our relationship would change when we became parents.  
3.) The mom guilt- I didn’t know anything about this thing they call “mom guilt”, but it’s a real thing.  I feel guilty all the time.  I feel guilty that I work, guilty that I live far away from our family, guilty that I don’t pack Jack a lunch for school… I could think of a ton of things that I feel guilty about.  It’s something that doesn’t go away, but you can manage it.  All you can do is do what’s best for your family and tell yourself it’s okay.  
4.) How hard it is to balance work and motherhood-  Working is my greatest challenge as a mom. I feel like I was a better teacher before I was a mom.  I don’t know how other people work full time and have more than 1 or 2 children.  I give them a lot of credit because it is not easy.  If work is such a hardship for me, then why do I still work?  That’s something I get asked from people.  My answer is because I’m working for our future.  Most of my paychecks go into our retirement accounts.  The more you save when you are young, the more money you will have in retirement.  Basically, I work now, because I don’t want Jack to have to pay for any of his education, I don’t want Jack to ever have to struggle to pay off student loans like I did.  My husband is going to be upgrading to captain early next year and the topic of quitting my job has been coming up a lot.  I do plan to stop working one day, but as of right now it just doesn’t make sense to lose my income.  Plus, we would need to pay for preschool for Jack anyway and he loves going to school.  I would hate to take him away from his social life right now.  Right now, I’m making the most of my working days and if I’m a bad cook and my house is always messy because of it, it’s okay because I’m a working mom. 
5.) The amount of joy and pride a child brings-  After saying all that above, I have to say that being Jack’s mom is my greatest title.  I am so proud of that little guy.  I love watching him grow and learn.  He’s talking so much more lately and has his own little personality.  He brings both my husband and I so much joy.  Yes, I miss our life before kids, but I know that once Jack is grown, I will look back at this period of my life and miss it the most.

PinkBlush

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

PHOTO CREDIT: Chasity Jean Photography

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LuLaRoe Review

by Katie Haller

Have you heard of LuLaRoe yet?  If you are like me, you probably know of them or maybe even know someone who sells it.  I mostly know LuLaRoe for their colorful prints and leggings.  The clothing brand focuses on selling comfortable clothing for all women, all sizes.  You can buy LuLaRoe from an independent retailer, through Facebook groups and pop up parties.  I was recently contacted by one of my followers, Crystal, from @coffeewithcrystallife.  She sells LuLaRoe and wanted to send me some of their clothing to try out and see how I liked it.  Of course, I said yes!  I had never actually looked closely at anything from LuLaRoe, so I was expecting a lot of leggings with big prints.  That was not the case at all.  Crystal had a lot of really pretty dresses and tops in her boutique.  Some had patterns, some had simple prints or solid colors.  There really was a wide variety to choose from, something I wasn’t expecting.  I picked out 3 items, so today I want to share them with you.


The first item I picked out was this striped dress called the Amelia.  I can never pass up a striped dress.  This dress is super comfortable and I love the fit.  I really love the quality of the fabric too.  It’s very lightweight and breathable.  I tried styling it casual, but I personally think that it looks better dressed up.  I’m thinking that I’m either going to save this dress for a wedding we are going to next fall or I will wear it to a Christmas party this year, who knows maybe I’ll wear it twice!

The other 2 items I picked out was a black tank top and a long grey duster cardigan called the Sarah.  Again, both of these clothing items are very good quality and extremely comfortable.  I feel like you can’t go wrong with a simple tank top because they are perfect for wearing under cardigans and jackets, then in the summertime, you can wear them on their own.  The duster cardigan is so cozy!  I’m loving the length of it!  The other day I wore it with leggings and I didn’t want to take it off.  I also love that it has pockets! 

I’m so happy that I had the chance to try out LuLaRoe because I can finally find out what all the fuss is all about.  I was really impressed with the quality and the comfort of all these items.  I also really love that LulaRoe caters to all women.  Their sizes go from XXS to XXXL.  Fashion is for everyone, no matter what size you are and I love that this company recognizes that.  The only downfall that I could find is that their clothes are a little pricey, at least for my budget.  I typically don’t spend that much on my clothes, however, I am never afraid of a splurge.  
If you are interested in trying out LuLaRoe, head over to Chrystal’s Instagram (HERE) or Facebook group (HERE) to learn more. 

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