Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Shopping Finds- Target

by Katie Haller

There is nothing that makes me more excited than saving money on new clothes.  I love to stretch my dollar as far as I possibly can.  That’s what I did this weekend at Target. 
Sometimes shopping the clearance section can be so hit or miss.  Target usually has a great clearance section, but you have to go at the right time to get really good deals.  I find that the end of the summer and early fall are perfect for finding clearance deals.  It’s easy to take summer clothes and style them into the fall and winter. 

 I had some Target coupons sent to me in the mail last week, so I was excited to use them.  I had a coupon for $5 off $25, so I knew I was going to try to get as much as I could for $25.  I was still on the hunt for a few more pieces from my fall wish list.  I ended up buying 5 new pieces of clothes and only spending $18.86 after tax!  I actually surprised myself, because I didn’t realize that I could use my Cartwheel app, with a coupon, on top of the clearance price. 

I ended up buying 3 new tops; one striped tank top (here) and 2 t-shirts; one striped and one green (here).  I also bought a simple grey dress (here) and a scarf (similar here and here).  Here are my dressing room pictures of the tops I bought.  (Don’t mind my little shopping buddy in the background.  He was busy trying to get the hangers.)

I can’t wait to style my new clearance pieces for the fall months! 
 Happy shopping everyone! 

What I Wore- Casual Work Week

by Katie Haller

I hope everyone had a great workweek.  I’m so happy that the weekend is here.  The last couple of weeks have been so busy, I’m looking forward to spending a quiet weekend at home with my boys.

As promised, I’ve been trying to step up my work week wardrobe a bit.  The weather is finally cooling down, so I can actually wear more of the clothes in my closet.  This week I kept it simple for work, as always.  I feel like these days a lot of people have a casual work dress code like mine.  My outfits are good ideas if you have a relaxed work dress code.  Because I work with kids and I’m also a mom, my work looks are also great if you’re a stay at home mom or work as a nanny.  Just because you’re around kids all day doesn’t mean that you can’t dress cute. Right?

Here are my work outfits from this week.

Monday
Top- Kohl’s
Leggings- Forever 21
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack
Shoes- Target
Tuesday
Top- Nordstrom Rack
Jeggings- Old Navy
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack
Shoes- Old Navy
Wednesday

Top- Target

Cardigan- H&M
Jeggings- Old Navy
Shoes- Target
Thursday

Tank Top- Old Navy

Cardigan- H&M
Jeans- Meijer
Shoes- Target
Friday

Top- Nordstrom Rack
Sweater- Old Navy
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Target
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Shopping Find From my Fall Wish List

by Katie Haller

This past week, I posted my fall wish list.  This weekend I was able to knock a few items off my list.  I love Labor Day weekend because there are great sales everywhere, plus I start to get really excited about all the fall clothes.  I was able to put together a cute fall look for under $70.

On my fall wish list, I had said I wanted a t-shirt dress and an olive green t-shirt.  I ended up combining the two and buying this olive green t-shirt dress (similar) at H&M for $12.99.  H&M has such great everyday prices on their basic clothing items and accessories.  It’s currently one of my favorite stores to shop at.  I also found a new cardigan while I was there (exact) for $12.99.  The cardigan wasn’t on my list, but I can’t resist a new cardigan for fall.  This one is great because it’s nice and lightweight.  I bought a similar one like it last fall, so I knew I would be happy with my purchase.  
After I left the mall, I was on a hunt for ankle boots.  I’ve been wanting a pair for a long time.  I had a $30 budget for my boots.  I looked at DSW and Nordstrom Rack and even though they had some awesome sales, I just couldn’t find boots under $50.  Then I remembered that I had never been to Burlington Coat Factory.  I had always heard that they have great prices, so I decided to check it out.  I was in luck because they had a great selection of ankle boots all under $30.  I found these suede ankle boots (similar) for $27.99.  They are exactly what I was looking for, plus they are super comfortable!
I also found a new pendant necklace that I had on my fall list.  This one below was on clearance for $3.99 and it caught my eye.  I don’t have any like it in my jewelry collection and I thought that it would complete my new fall outfit.

Here is my new outfit for fall altogether.
 Now I can’t wait for the cooler temperatures.  I know it’s right around the corner.  Look for more fall looks coming soon! 

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!

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