Katie Haller, Author at Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Daily Makeup for a Busy Mom

March 8, 2018 by Katie Haller

You will rarely find me without makeup on. Unless I’m working out, at the pool or I just got out of bed, I always wear makeup. I think that makeup is one of the best things about being a girl! Every morning, I set aside a little bit of time to put on my daily makeup. It doesn’t take me long and I always feel like it makes such a difference.

If you don’t wear makeup every day, I can understand how you might be a little overwhelmed by it all. There are so many different products and makeup brushes. I mean, even I get overwhelmed when I walk into a Sephora store and start to question if I am supposed to be using all these different products. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of experimenting with my makeup. After watching lots of YouTube tutorials and reading a lot of beauty bloggers, I finally have a good routine down for how I apply my makeup everyday. I switch up my makeup products, but my routine usually stays the same.

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

I mostly wear budget-friendly drug store brands, with the exception of a few things. Maybelline and e.l.f. are just a couple of my favorite brands. I’d love to one day start wearing a few more higher-end products, especially with my foundation, but as of right now, drug store brands work just fine. I really think it’s all how you apply your makeup that makes all the difference. I use eco tools or e.l.f. brushes to apply most of my makeup and I have a beauty blender that I like to use for my concealer.

Since I have a hard time writing down in words my daily makeup routine, I decided to make my very first video to show you how I apply my makeup daily. Hopefully you will find it helpful!

Kid-Friendly Spots in Las Vegas

March 5, 2018 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas

Whenever I tell people that I live in Las Vegas, they are always surprised. A lot of people have a preconceived assumption that Las Vegas is Sin City and it’s no place for a family. That’s not true at all. I had about 5 months of life in Las Vegas before I found out that I was pregnant with Jack. Ask me what the best night clubs and shows are in Vegas and I have no clue. Ask me what to do with kids in Las Vegas, I could go on and on. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, there is a place for everyone in Las Vegas.

I have quite a list of places to visit. I’ve listed my favorites below. I’ve been to almost everyone, except for a few, but I’m sure I’ll visit them all soon. My husband suggested that I list them in order, but that’s just too hard to do. I did go through and rate my top 10 favorite places first, then the rest are in random order.

1.) Container Park
Container Park is by far my family’s favorite place to go. It’s a short walk down the street from the Freemont Experience (not always the greatest place for kids). We love that there is something for everyone here. Jack loves the slides and large blocks for building and Kevin and I love that we can get a beer and some yummy food. There is shopping, food, drinks, concerts, and even a Dome theater.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Container Park

2.) The Linq

The Linq is a great little spot that is perfect for families. It’s full of fun gift shops, restaurants and what kid wouldn’t love a cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes?

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, The Linq

3.) The Bellogio Fountain

Kids or no kids, you have to see a fountain show if you’re in Vegas. Jack goes crazy watching the water spray up. I love the beautiful view and atmosphere. It’s a great place to take pictures! I can never put my phone down every time we visit.

4.) Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
We love the gardens at the Bellagio too! It’s a beautiful garden that is always dressed up for the season. It’s a great place to go year round.

5.) Eiffel Tower Experience*
Can’t afford to take the whole family to Paris? Well, Las Vegas has you covered. The Eiffel Tower Experience is a great view for the whole family. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower last summer, but what I really love to do is just walk around the hotel and check out the little shops and cafes.

6.) The High Roller*
If the Eiffel Tower isn’t a good enough view, try the high roller. It’s a fun way to view the entire valley in one of the world’s largest ferries wheels.

7.) The Park
We love the Park. There are plenty of restaurants that are family-friendly. It’s right outside T-Mobile Arena if you want to catch a Golden Knights hockey game. Plus you are only a quick walk away from New York, New York with a roller coaster and Hersey’s World.

8.) Town Square

Town Square is what my husband and I call a fake downtown. It has all the charm of a classic downtown, but it was all constructed in the 2000s. Town Square is a great place for shopping, food and in the middle of it all there is a park with food stands that you would find at a local carnival, a splash pad, playground and lots of fake green grass for your little ones to run on.

9.) Mount Charleston
At 12,000 feet above sea level, Mount Charleston is a perfect escape from the Las Vegas Strip. If you come in the winter, you can enjoy skiing, sledding, and other fun winter sports at Lee Canyon. In summertime you can escape the desert heat by heading to higher elevations for some hiking.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Mt. Charleston

10.) Red Rock National Conservation*
Most tourist don’t even realize that only 30 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, you can find the beauty of the Mojave desert. Red Rock is the perfect place for a drive, family hike or a family photo shoot.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Red Rocks

11.) The Hoover Dam*

12.) The Springs Perserve*
13.) The Volcano at the Mirage

14.) Discovery Children’s Museum*

15.) Downtown Summerlin

16.) The District at Green Valley Ranch

17.) Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay*

18.) Nelson Ghost Town

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Nelson Ghost Town

19.) Pinball Hall of Fame
20.) Boulder City
21.) The Lion Habitat Ranch*
22.) Cowabunga Bay Water Park*
23.) Wet n’ Wild Water Park*
24.) Madame Tussauds Museum*
25.) Seven Magic Mountains

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Seven Magic Mountains

26.) The Adventuredome at Circus Circus*
27.) Coca Cola World
28.) Cactus Garden at Ethel M’s

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Ethle M's Cactus Garden at Christmas time

29.) M&M World
30.) Fall of Atlantis at Caesar’s Forum Shops

The best part about this list is that more than half of these places are free!! I’ve stared all the places that you have to pay. I think that you would be surprised just how kid friendly Las Vegas can be.

How to Wear a Dress After you Shrink it??

March 2, 2018 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || How to wear a dress after you have shrunk it in the dryer?

I am totally guilty of shrining my clothes in the dryer. No matter how hard I try to pull certain pieces of clothing out of the washer to hang dry, one always gets left behind. Sometimes I get lucky and it doesn’t shrink up, but every once in awhile that cute summer dress I bought turns into a tunic. So what do you do with your clothes when that happened? Do you get rid of them, or do you try to still wear them? For me, I try to still wear them. I hate to get rid of clothes that still have life left in them.

Today I want to share 3 ways that you can wear a dress after it’s been shrunk in the dryer. This dress below was from my fill-a-bag sale at Goodwill a while ago. After I picked out a few cute things that I wanted, I just started stuffing clothes in the bag without trying them on. I picked out this striped dress and when I tried it on at home, I realized that someone must have shrunk it in the dryer and ended up giving it away. Well, I always believe that someone’s trash can be someone else’s treasure, and since the dress was basically free, I wanted to get some use out of it. Here are 3 ways that I like to wear my shorter dresses.

1.) Wear it with tights. I love the look of tights in the winter. They might be uncomfortable, but they suck in your legs and smooth everything out, making your legs look flawless. When I add tights to this dress, I feel like it gives it a Parisian look.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with black tights and booties

2.) Wear it with leggings. Wearing this dress as a tunic with leggings gives it a more casual feel. I love throwing on leggings and boots under a dress for work. It always gives the appearance that I dressed up, but really I feel like I’m wearing pajamas.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || dress with leggings and boots

3.) Risk it and wear it on its own. Sometimes in the summertime, it gets so hot that I don’t care how short my dress is. If you do wear a short dress, I recommend wearing it with flat shoes. I also like to wear some shorts under my shorter dresses. What I do is take an old pair of leggings that I never wear and cut them to wear as bike shorts under my dresses. This is a great trick for moms with little ones and definitely teachers, specially preschool teachers!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with flats and denim jacket

*This post contains affiliate links.

So there you have it. There is no need to get rid of a dress that you really love just because it shrank up in the dryer. Try out these tips and see how you like them.

If you don’t have any cute dress that you’ve shrunk up on your own. Here are some fun stripe dresses that you could style up. All under $20!!

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN

Accessorizing Your Look With an Unique Wooden Watch

February 26, 2018 by Katie Haller

Today I want to talk about accessories. To me, accessories are the key pieces to any outfit. I love to put together budget-friendly outfits and pair them up with a nice classic accessory. I would much rather invest in quality accessories, over an expensive piece of clothing. Clothes get worn out and they go out of style too quickly. A good accessory can last you a lifetime.

A watch can be a great investment accessory. A watch can be worn every day, with almost any outfit. I hadn’t worn a watch in years. I recently started to wear them again, and I don’t understand why I ever stopped. I love how they look with an outfit. You can layer them with bracelets and I actually use my watches for telling time. It’s much more convenient to look at my watch on my wrist than to dig through my purse for my phone.

*This post is a collaboration with JORD Wood Watches. As always all opinions are my 100% my own.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Unique Wooden Watch

I was recently gifted this unique wooden from JORD Watches. JORD sells a variety of unique timepieces that are so classic, but also have a modern feel. They have so many great styles to choose from. I went with the Cassia series in Walnut & Vintage Rose (HERE). I love the rose gold face of the watch and the thin band. It fits perfectly into my daily wardrobe. I love the quality of this watch. It’s definitely something that is going to stand the test of time in my wardrobe. JORD watches are the perfect gift for both women and men. They even offer watch engraving, which would be perfect for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in the coming months.

Below, I picked out a thrifted outfit from my closet. It’s very basic and something that I would wear any day of the week. I love how the watch adds so much style to the look. You would never know that my outfit was under $20 before I added my accessories.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Thrifted outfit styled with a wooden watch

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || wooden watch

I love my JORD watch and I’m so excited that I get to share their watches with you. JORD has generously offered to give one of my followers a $100 e-gift card to JORD Wood Watches. (click HERE to enter) If you’re not a winner, that’s okay! You can use my code thriftywifehappylife25 and take $25 off your purchase. You will have until March 11th to enter the giveaway. Good luck!

Luxury Wooden Watch

The Perfect Black Dress for Spring

February 18, 2018 by Katie Haller

People always think of spring dresses as floral prints and bright colors, but not for me. For me, my go-to spring dress is always a black dress. I can’t find anything wrong with the color black. It’s slimming, versatile, you can wear it year-round. A black dress is always a safe way to ease me out of my winter clothes and into my spring dresses.

*This post is part of a collaboration with PinkBlush. As always opinions are 100% my own.

I have a million back dresses in my closet (not literally, but I have A LOT of back dresses!!) That’s why I wanted to find something a little more trendy. I wanted a back dress that was different than just a sleeveless black sundress. My go-to place for affordable trendy clothes is always PinkBlush. This black cold shoulder dress (HERE) is exactly what I was looking for. I love the exposed shoulders. As a mom of a toddler, it’s hard to wear dresses that are off the shoulder, but this dress is perfect because it has a high neckline and off the shoulder sleeves. For the look below, I wore peep-toe booties, which I think are the perfect shoes for transitioning out of winter and into spring (or transitioning out of summer into fall). To accessorize, I felt like my leopard print clutch was the perfect way to add a pop to the black dress.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black dress for Spring

PinkBlush is having a Presidents Day sale this weekend! Take 30% off your purchase! Plus there is always free shipping!! Happy Shopping!!

Shein Review

February 15, 2018 by Katie Haller

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’ve been wanting to try the store Shein for a while now. I keep seeing their ads pop up on my Facebook and Instagram. Their clothes are so cute and trendy and even better, their prices are amazing! I was a little skeptical of them at first. It’s always a little nerve-racking ordering clothes online when you’ve never tried out the brand before. I finally decided that I would just give it a try anyway.

A couple weeks ago they had a flash sale going on. I wanted to play it safe, so I ordered 2 stripe tops that were on sale for $8. I figured that tops fit me pretty true to size no matter what, but the site has the measurements listed for each size, so I knew they would fit just fine. My shirts arrived in a little over a week after I ordered them. The quality of the shirts is similar to Forever 21 or H&M, which I have always been a fan of. I wanted something a little more trendy, so the first shirt I ordered was a peplum top. I’ve been wanting to find a cute stripe peplum top for a while, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. This top is perfect for what I was looking for. The second top was a striped t-shirt with ruffled sleeves. I love love this shirt. It’s so simple, but the sleeves give it the perfect pop of style.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Shein Reveiw- Stripe peplum top

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Shein Reveiw- Stripe top with ruffle sleeves

Shop SheIn for the latest in Fall and Winter Fashions

I think that a lot of people are afraid to order from Shein because their prices and cute styles seem too good to be true. Well, I can tell you that I was really happy with my Shein experience. I love my new tops and I know that I will be ordering from them again. I’m already eyeing their swimwear for this summer. If you’re looking to add a few trendy pieces to your wardrobe this spring, I would definitely not overlook Shein!

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