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Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Shopping finds~ Thrift Store Deals

May 25, 2015 by Katie Haller

I love national holidays like Memorial Day, President’s Day and Labor Day.  It’s not just because it’s a day off work or a day to honor our country,  but because it’s the best time to find great deals at thrift stores.  Stores like The Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Savers have all clothes in their stores 50% off.  I find that pretty exciting! 

I started off my Memorial Day with a trip to Savers Thrift Store.   I had never been there before, but I have heard a lot of good things about it from my coworkers, so I was excited to check it out.  I did have pretty low expectations, since all my thrift store trips so far in Nevada have been disappointing, but not today.  Today I had some good luck, and I’m pretty thrilled with my purchases.  All the clothes, shoes and accessories at Savers were 50% off.  The store had a great selection with a nice layout.  Everything was sorted by style and size.  I got there right at 9:00 am when they opened, and I’m so glad I did because the store was packed.  I wasn’t really in need of anything, but I ended up finding some great deals I couldn’t pass up.

Here are my finds from my shopping trip

This was one of my favorite finds.  It’s a cotton wrap dress from Target.  It was regularly $3.99, but I got it for 50% off of that.  I love the summery print!
I also found a couple shirts.  This button-down top is super lightweight, it’s the perfect button-down for summer.  It was half off of $3.99
This top is another cute summer top that I found from H&M. It was half off $4.99. 
I’m also pretty excited about my bathing suit tops.  I would never buy bathing suit bottoms at a thrift store, but I see nothing wrong with buying some tops.  I love mixing and matching my bathing suits. These two tops were 50% off of $2.99 and $1.99
My grand total for these 5 items, with tax was $9.97.  You can’t beat that! 
If you didn’t get a chance to get to the thrift store this Memorial Day, don’t worry, 4th of July is right around the corner.

Filed in: Shopping, Thrifty Looks • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Blonde on a Budget

May 23, 2015 by Katie Haller

Blonde on a Budget
Did you know that only 2% of the world’s population is naturally blonde?  This is why blonde hair is considered a hair color minority.  For me, I love my blonde hair.  I was born blonde and I couldn’t imagine myself any other way.  Being blonde is a part of who I am.

When it comes to keeping up that light blonde look, it’s not always cheap.  I try to keep my hair as natural as possible, but I also like to lighten up the color with some highlights every so often.

I recently found a salon in Nevada and decided to finally spend the money and lighten up my hair for summer.  As I was paying, the stylist asked if I wanted to schedule my next appointment.  I told her no thank you,  I usually go a long time in between highlights.  She then said, “not a problem, we can put you down for 8 or 10 weeks out”.  That’s when I had to confess to her that when I say a long time, I mean 6 months, or whenever I can’t stand my hair anymore, whatever comes first.  The truth is a trip to the salon cost me around $140, and even though I know a lot of people spend more than that, it’s still a lot for me to fork out.  When you’re trying to save and be conservative with your money, a trip to the salon every other month can’t always be a top priority.  Even if I do feel that it’s well worth the money.  When it comes to my hair, it’s best to leave it up to a professional. 
So how do I keep up my blonde look without making frequent visits to the salon?  Here are a few tricks I’ve discovered over the years.  


Fun in the sun! 
I love living in the 5th sunniest city in the United States.  It has definitely helped me keep my hair lighter.  Back in Michigan, I would typically get my hair done in the spring and then I wouldn’t get my highlights done again until the late fall.  The summer sun always helped keep my hair stay nice and bright.  

Lemon juice
Lemon juice is a natural and easy way to help the blonde shine through.  I’m a big fan of spraying some lemon juice in my hair before a walk or sitting by the pool.  If you’re lacking sunlight, you can always use the heat from a blow dryer with the lemon juice to help naturally lighten up your hair. 
Curling your hair 
When my highlights are growing out a lot, this is when I start curling my hair every day.  For some reason, I feel like curls and waves help hide your roots, where straightening seems to showcase your roots.  I like to use my straightener to make some waves in my typically straight hair. 
Embrace your base color 
Thankfully the ombre look is in right now.  People pay to make their roots show, so why not show off those roots for free and embrace that natural color?
Keep it natural 
When your lightening your hair, it’s best to not make any drastic changes. Use you natural color as a base and lighten up from there.

Make a highlighting schedule
Save your salon visits the right time. Since I go so long in between my highlights, I like to set up a schedule, so that my hair looks best at certain times of the year.  I like to lighted up my hair in the early summer, so I’m all ready for summer weddings and vacations, then I get it done again in the late fall, so I’m all ready for the holidays.

How much money do you spend on your hair?  Do you think you could cut out a few salon trips a year to save your money? 

Filed in: Beauty • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

What I Wore

May 23, 2015 by Katie Haller

Happy Friday!  Here’s my work outfit from today.  Basically, everything I’m wearing in this picture was under $5 when I bought it.

Have a great long weekend! 

Blouse- Target
Sweater- Salvation Army
Jeans- Kohl’s 
Shoes- Target

Filed in: Daily Outfits, My Closet, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Celebrity Looks- Reese Witherspoon

May 18, 2015 by Katie Haller

From her portrayal of a California sorority girl in Legally Blonde to her country singing role as June Carter in Walk the Line, I’ve always been a fan of Reese Witherspoon.  But it’s not just her acting that makes me such a fan of hers, it’s her fun, feminine, colorful sense of style that makes her one of my favorite celebrities.  I love how she always looks so pretty where ever she is photographed.  Whether she’s wearing jeans and a sweater or a red carpet gown, she always looks great.
Here are a few of my favorite Reese Witherspoon inspired looks that I created using my own wardrobe. 
I love this look that Reese is wearing here.  It’s the perfect summer look!  She’s wearing a comfortable lightweight blue print dress with a jean jacket, fun strappy sandals, a brown purse and a fedora in hand.  I recreated this look with my new sundress from Old Navy (exact), wedge strappy sandals (similar), jean jacket (similar), brown leather coach purse and my fedora that I found in the dollar section of Target.
When I was researching Reese Witherspoon’s looks, I found tons of pictures of her in this casual summer look.  Light khaki shorts with sandals and a button-down shirt is a classic summer ensemble and Reese always looks great in this casual look.  I was inspired by this look to put together this outfit with a pink button-down (similar), khaki shorts from Old Navy (similar), and braided white sandals from Target (exact).
This look is similar to the first look, with a casual dress, long boyfriend cardigan, wedge sandals, and another fedora.  I recreated the look with a simple black sundress (similar), cream boyfriend cardigan (exact), wedge sandals (similar) and the same fedora from the first look. 

For the last Reese Witherspoon look, I recreated this casual jean look.  I wore my LC Lauren Conrad jeans (similar), boyfriend cardigan from Target (exact), Steven Madden brown wedge shoes (similar), white t-shirt (exact) with my brown coach purse.

Which one is your favorite Reese Witherspoon look?

Filed in: celebrity looks, looks, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Simple Sunday

May 17, 2015 by Katie Haller

To say that Sunday is my favorite day of the week would be an overstatement.  I’m more of a Friday kind of girl, but I do have to say that I love Sunday.  It’s the perfect day in the week to sit back and reflect on life and be grateful for all the blessings you have. 
Today, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying the very simple things in my life.  (I’m also avoiding the fact that I have a bunch of observations and checkpoints due at the end of the week and I’m doing anything possible to distract myself from that, but that’s beside the fact.) 
I’ve officially been living in Las Vegas for 3 months now and I have to say that I love it here!  I wasn’t sure what to think at first about moving to sin city, but it’s been a great experience.  Kevin and I are both really happy with our lives here.  Today I went to church, stopped at the grocery store and now I’m relaxing by the pool watching the palm trees blow in the breeze.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  I basically live the same life I did in Detroit, only now I have palm trees 🙂  I have to say that I can definitely see a future here.  It feels good to be settled for the moment and content with the life I have.

Here are just a couple pictures of why I love my new home. 

I love my Saturday morning walking route. The parks are so green here that I completely forget sometimes that I live in the middle of the desert.
There is nothing better than a pool surrounded by palm trees.

What’s your simple Sunday thought?

Filed in: Living Life, simple sunday • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

My Closet~ Weekend Wardrobe

May 11, 2015 by Katie Haller

Here are my outfits from the weekend. 
Saturday 
Dress- Ross (similar)
Sweater- Target (similar)
Sunday

Dress- Old Navy (exact)

Blazer- Target (similar)
Shoes- Target (exact)
Have a great week!

Filed in: Daily Outfits, My Closet, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

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Hi I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog! I am on a mission to help women build a wardrobe that they love without spending a lot of money doing it. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their outfit, no matter what your budget is! I am excited to have you here!
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Affordable everyday petite (5’1) mom style
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Wear to wear this $18 dress from @walmart! This Wear to wear this $18 dress from @walmart! 

This dress is so cute and comes in other colors! It’s great to wear anywhere this summer! 

🛍️Comment DRESS and I will send you the shopping link to this post! 🔗https://mave.ly/thrifty-wife-happy-life/post/walmart-dress

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Best Sellers from May!! 🌸 Here are the pieces Best Sellers from May!! 🌸

Here are the pieces you have been shopping on the @shop.ltk app! 

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What I wore then vs. what I wore now! Today I’m What I wore then vs. what I wore now!

Today I’m updating a longtime favorite look with a maxi dress that has a little more shape and structure—but still has all the things I loved about the original. Same formula (maxi + denim jacket), just a bit more refined.

🛍️Comment UPDATE and I will send you the shopping link to this outfit! 🔗https://liketk.it/5eYBg

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My favorite bathing suits as a 40-year old mom of My favorite bathing suits as a 40-year old mom of 2! 👙

What mom-friendly bathing suit means to me:
✔️ Good booty coverage
✔️ Hides my stretch marks + tummy support! 
✔️ And I can actually move, swim, and chase my kids without worrying about anything falling out 🙃

Swipe to see some of my favorites!! 

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Mom-Friendly Summer Capsule Wardrobe: 20 Pieces, 9 Mom-Friendly Summer Capsule Wardrobe: 20 Pieces, 96 Outfits!! 

All the shopping details are LIVE on the blog!! Comment CAPSULE and I will send you the link to the post!! 

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What I wore this week as a 40-year old mom of 2! What I wore this week as a 40-year old mom of 2! 

The weather had been terrible this week 😩 So I basically wore my go-to comfort outfit combo all week long— thrifted jeans + cardigan/sweater + ballet flats. 

How is the weather where you live this spring?? 

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My Mom-Friendly Summer Capsule Wardrobe is LIVE on My Mom-Friendly Summer Capsule Wardrobe is LIVE on the blog! ☀️

✨See all 96 outfits in blog post!! Outfit reel coming soon!! 

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link to the blog post!! 🔗https://thriftywifehappylife.com/2025/05/effortless-summer-mom-capsule-wardrobe-2025/

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What I wore then vs. What I wore now I have alway What I wore then vs. What I wore now

I have always loved cardigan sweaters. Lately I’ve been wearing them buttoned up, which is an easy way to update the style and wear it in a new way! 

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