Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

What I Wore- Work Week Wardrobe

by Katie Haller

Happy Friday!  Here are some of my work outfits from this week. 

Tuesday 
Top- TJ Maxx (similar)
Cardigan- H&M (similar)
Jeans- Target (similar)
Shoes- Target (exact)
Wednesday 
Dress- Pink Blush (exact)
Jacket- Meijer (similar)
Shoes- Target (exact)
Thursday 
Top- Target (exact)
Blazer- Kohl’s (exact)
Pants- Old Navy (exact)
There they area short and sweet.  I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Building a Marternity Wardrobe on a Budget

by Katie Haller

When you’re shopping for your maternity wardrobe, it’s important that you keep in mind that you are only pregnant for 9 months.  It may seem like a long time, but it really flies by.  Plus, you’re really not showing at all during your first trimester, especially if it’s your first baby, so maternity clothes are something you only wear for a very short time.  When I was pregnant, my goal was always to look cute and stylish without spending a lot of money on maternity clothes.  I built my maternity wardrobe by buying only the essentials.  I mostly bought nonmaternity clothes, because I wanted to wear them after I was pregnant too, however, there were a few maternity clothes that I did purchase.

Here are my 7 essential items from my maternity wardrobe that I couldn’t live without during my pregnancy.

  1. Long Tank Tops- When I was pregnant, I stocked up on a bunch of long tank tops.  I didn’t even bother with buying any maternity tank tops, I just bought regular tanks in a size larger than I usually would wear.  I found that Target’s basic long tank tops (here) were great for stretching over my baby bump and H&M has some great long jersey tank tops (here) that worked great through my pregnancy. 
  2. Long Cardigan- I love my long cardigans and I loved them, even more, when I was pregnant.  I loved layering them with all my long tank tops.  I usually find really cute cardigans at Target (here) and H&M (here) for a great price.
  3. Leggings- I found that there was no reason to buy maternity leggings for me.  I fell in love with my Forever 21 leggings (here).  I usually would buy a size small, but while I was pregnant I bought them in a medium and they went up higher on my belly, just like maternity leggings would.  They worked great throughout my pregnancy and you really can’t beat the price at $3.80 apiece.
  4. A Simple Dress- I decided to buy one maternity dress while I was pregnant.  I was in my third trimester during the holidays, so I wanted a simple dress that I could wear over and over again.  I ended up finding a cute one at Target (here).
  5. Maternity Jeans- Even though I was able to wear my normal jeans throughout my pregnancy, I still wanted a pair of maternity jeans that I could wear comfortably.  I ended up finding a pair from Motherhood Maternity (here).  Since maternity jeans aren’t cheap, you really only need one pair, plus you really won’t need to wear them for very long.  I didn’t even fit into maternity jeans until my 3rd trimester.
  6. Maternity/Nursing bra- This is an absolute must-have maternity item.  One thing I didn’t realize was that your rib cage expands as your baby grows, causing your normal bras to not fit around you.  This is why it’s important to find a good comfortable wireless bra.  This nursing bra from Target (here) was a lifesaver for me.  I’m still wearing these bras and I may never go back to wearing my old underwire bras. 
  7. Belly Band- My belly band may have been the most important maternity purchase that I made while  I was pregnant.  The belly band helped me wear all my normal nonmaternity clothes all the way into my 9th month.  I bought mine at Target (here). 
Here are some ways that I styled my bump wearing these 7 essentials pieces.
These are 3 outfits wearing my 3 favorite cardigans that I wore while I was pregnant. 
There was nothing more comfortable than leggings when I was pregnant.  Here are 3 ways that I wore my leggings throughout my pregnancy. 
This is the one maternity dress that I did purchase during my pregnancy.  I stuck with a basic color like black so that I could wear it over and over again in different ways. 
These are 3 outfits I wore wearing my maternity jeans.
These 3 outfits are all worn with my regular jeans wearing a belly band.  My trick to fitting in my jeans was to wear low fitting jeans and use the hair tie trick, then I’d cover up with my belly band.  It worked great, even in my 9th month.  
Just remember when your building your maternity wardrobe, not everything has to be bought in the maternity section.  Shop smart and pick out pieces that you can wear after baby too!  Try to make the most of dressing your bump.  It goes by fast!

What I Wore- Casual Work Week Wear

by Katie Haller

I’m so excited that it’s the weekend!  It’s been a long week for me, but I’m excited because I was able to document a couple outfits that I wore to work.
I’m a preschool teacher, so I often find it hard to put together a cute workweek wardrobe.  I feel like I end up repeating a lot of outfits because it’s easy, but I’ve decided that this school year I would really like to step up my work wardrobe.  I spend 5 days a week at work, so I need to come up with some new looks that I feel confident in and will help motivate me into the new school year! 
Even though I work at a year-round preschool program, I am done with kids until our new school year starts.  This means that I have a couple weeks of classroom prep and training.  To me, this means that I get to explore my closet and wear whatever I want without worrying about getting paint or bleach or flour on it.

Here are my looks from Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday I wore my new navy top from Target (original post here).   I am really loving this top!  It’s a great summer top and I love the embroidery detail on the bottom.  I knew that I had to layer up because anyone who has ever been in a casino during the summertime in Las Vegas knows that it might be 110 degrees outside, but inside it feels like the arctic.

Top- Target
Cardigan- Target
Jeans- Meijer
Purse- Savers

On Friday I attempted to add some color to my look.  I feel like I’m so comfortable in dark and neutral colors, that sometimes I forget how much I love colorful patterns.  That’s why I wore this maxi dress with my denim jacket.  I also added my turquoise necklace to the colorful look.

Dress- Target
Denim Jacket- Meijer
Necklace- Kohl’s

I always think it’s a good idea to take a second look inside your closet to see what you can find.  I’m looking forward to doing that this new school year and sharing more looks from my closet.  I can’t wait to share more!

Weekend Wardrobe

by Katie Haller

It was another hot weekend in Las Vegas.  This is my first real summer of planning outfits while living in Las Vegas.  Last year I was pregnant with Jack and spent the entire summer indoors as much as possible with morning/ all day sickness.  This year I’m really trying to embrace the heat with my wardrobe, but it’s not always easy dressing in the heat.  I’m learning that I’ve been overthinking my outfits this summer.  I’m now just trying to keep my looks simple and comfortable.  That’s what I did this weekend.  I really haven’t had the opportunity to do much shopping this summer, so I’m trying to pull out old clothes that I haven’t worn in a while and find new ways to wear them.
On Saturday, I kept it really casual and wore cut off shorts that I actually made out of an old pair of Bermuda shorts that I wasn’t feeling anymore.  I cut them to a better length and now I’ve been getting a lot of use out of them around the house. 
Top- Old Navy
Shorts- Kohl’s 
Sandals- Target
Necklace- Target
On Sunday, I wore this green striped halter top dress that I’ve had since college.  I never got much use out of it, because I always felt like it was never hot enough to wear.  Well, it’s perfect for Las Vegas, because it’s defiantly hot enough around here to wear a summer dress like this, even if I do go into an air conditioned place.
Dress- Victoria Secret
Sandals- Target
Necklace- Kohl’s
Hope you liked my weekend looks.  Have a great week! 

What to Wear for the 4th of July!

by Katie Haller

I love the 4th of July!  It’s always been a special holiday for my family and me.  Not only is it our country’s birthday, but it’s also my dad’s birthday.  I have a lot of happy memories spending this day with my family while growing up.  Ever since I was a little girl, I always had to make sure that I wore my red, white and blue on Independence Day.  Now that I’m an adult,  not much has changed.  I still look for those colors in my closet to make sure I’m festive for whatever I have planned on that day. 

Some easy ways to put together a great 4th of July outfit is to look for basic pieces like shorts, tank tops, and skirts, then accessorize them with some holiday flair.  For me, I like to accessorize with my red beads and add some denim in for my blue.

Whether you plan to spend your day at the beach, a picnic, barbecue, parade, fireworks or even if you have to be at the office…here are some easy ways to incorporate red, white and blue into your look.
I like this casual maxi skirt look.  It’s perfect for a hot summer day, plus it’s super comfortable!
I love this white Ann Taylor dress.  I actually wear it as a bathing suit cover up most of the time, but when you pair it with some wedge shoes, red beads, and a denim jacket; it can really dress it up nicely. 
This casual look is perfect for a day time BBQ, then you can add the denim jacket to it for evening fireworks.  I love the navy and white stripes in this tank top. 
This is another great evening to look for fireworks.  Having a red sweater in your closet can definitely come in handy, especially for holidays. 
This look is a great work outfit for the day before the long weekend.  We all know that a workday can drag on, especially the day before a holiday weekend.  Dressing up a little bit festive can make your day more fun! 
Those are my 4th of July looks.  Follow me on Instagram @thriftywifehappylife to find out what I end up wearing this year on the 4th.  I hope everyone has a safe a fun holiday!

Weekend Wardrobe- Summer Style

by Katie Haller

The forecast for Las Vegas this coming up week is going to be hot.  The highs are between 111 and 117 degrees.  It’s hot!  As I mentioned last weekend, I’m kind of at a loss for getting creative with my outfits in the heat.  That’s why this weekend I just decided to play it safe and get some use out of my sundresses.  When it’s hot out, I feel like a simple sundress is the most comfortable thing that you can wear.  I don’t even like to wear a lot of jewelry or accessorize that much in this kind of heat. 
Here’s what I came up with…
Saturday
I spent the first half of my day in my bathing suit at the pool.  It was nice because Jack took a nap in his shaded stroller while Kevin and I enjoyed a swim. 
Top- Target (exact)
Bottoms- Old Navy (exact)
Sunglasses- Smith’s (I buy my sunglasses at the grocery store because they’re only $5)
When we came home I changed into this little black dress that I recently found at Savers.  I remember when I was younger, people always told me that you couldn’t mix black and brown.  I’ve talked to a lot of my friends my age and they still feel like you can’t mix these two colors, but I say that nowadays anything goes.  That’s why I wore my black dress with some brown accessories just to switch it up a bit. 
Dress- Target (bought at Savers) (similar)
Sandals- Target (exact)
Belt- Target
Purse- Savers
Sunday
I decided to wear this purple smocked dress that I’ve had for a while now.  It’s perfect for the heat and in a closet full of black and white, it’s nice to wear some color.  I’ll have to wear this dress again sometime soon! 
Dress- Forever 21 (bought at the Salvation Army)
Sandals- Target
Purse- Savers
Have a wonderful week!

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