Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Year of Color

by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Making the most of your wardrobe- 3 ways to wear a bright pink shirt
I’ve been dreading writing this Year of Color post for a while.  I always like to do some kind of outfit post with the color of the month, but this month’s color theme is neon. 
When I started to brainstorm outfits with neon colors all I could think about was an 80’s theme party outfit.  I felt completely stumped on how I could incorporate neon colors into my wardrobe.  But then I remembered that I do wear neon colors.  I typically stick to neutral colors when putting together outfits, but when I do dress in color, it seems that I always gravitate to bright neon pink.  I have a cute hot pink cold shoulder top that I’ve been wanting to share in an outfit post for a while, so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity.  Today I have 3 looks for you to show how you can easily incorporate a bright color into your wardrobe.

*This post contains affiliate links which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link I will receive a small commission.  Thank you for your support.
For my first look, I wore my bright pink top with white pants, then I accessorized it with some gold and turquoise accessories.  I really love how the turquoise looks with the bright pink.  The two bright colors go well together.  I also love how the white pants help keep the whole outfit bright.  It’s a great look for summer.
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Bright pink shirt with white pants and gold and turquoise accessories
Pants- Target (similar) || Clutch- hand-me-down (similar) || Shoes- Kohl’s (similar)
I’ve always liked pink and black together, that’s why for this next look I wore black shorts, black wedge sandals and a black satchel purse.  I accessorized with a turquoise necklace.  I figured that this would be a cute look for a summer date night out.  
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Bright pink shirt with black and turquoise accessories
Shorts- Forever 21 (similar) || Purse- Last Call (exact) || Shoes- Target (similar)
The last way that I wore my pink top was with my distress jeans and I accessorized it with a cognac bag and sandals.  This is a more casual everyday look for me.  I like keeping the accessories simple, because the bright pink is a big enough statement.  
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Bright pink shirt with distressed jeans and congac accessories
Jeans- Target (similar) || Purse- Last Call (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar)
Shop my closet
Here are some similar pink tops I found that you can style in similar ways.
Do you incorporate neon colors into your wardrobe ever?  If so, how do you wear it?
Don’t forget to leave your link below with your neon post.  Next month our color theme will be blue! I hope to see you there!  

How to Wear a Little Black Sundress

by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Making the Most of Your Wardrobe
I feel like out of all my closet staple pieces, nothing compares to a little black dress.  You just can never go wrong with it.  I have a ton of LBD’s in my closet.  Some are dressier and some are more casual.  I am more likely to hang on to a black dress for years if I like it.  The main reason I like black is that I can wear it over and over again in new ways each time.  It’s hard to get sick of a black dress.
For today’s posts, I picked out an older black sundress that I’ve had in my closet for a while. (similar here)  It’s from Target and I’ve always liked the style of this dress.  It’s fitted at the waist and has ruffles at the top.

 Here are 3 easy ways to style this LBD.

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

For the first look, I dressed it up with my grey blazer and black wedge sandals.  To accessorize I wore my blush purse and blush necklace.
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black ruffled dress with grey blazer, black strapy wedge sandals and blush purse
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Blush accessories with black strapy wedge sandals
 Blazer-LC Lauren Conrad Kohl’s (exact) || Shoes- Target (similar) || Purse- Ross (similar)

This next look is a perfect summer work look for me.  I wore my tan sweater and blush flats, then accessorized with the same blush purse as above and a pink bead necklace.
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black ruffle dress with blush accessories
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black ruffle dress with blush accessories
Sweater- Old Navy (similar) || Purse- same as above || Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory (similar) || Necklace- Target (similar)

This last look is my go-to weekend look.  It’s perfect to wear anywhere we go on the weekends.  I wore my denim jacket with my cognac braided sandals then accessorized with my favorite turquoise pendant necklace and cognac purse.
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black dress with denim jacket
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Black dress with denim jacket, accessoried with turquoise and cognac
Denim Jacket- Meijer (similar) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (exact) || Shoes- Target (exact) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar)

Below I picked out 8 black sundresses that I am loving right now.  They are all under $25!  You can’t go wrong with that!

Making the Most of your Wardrobe- Grey Tee

by Katie Haller

Lately, I feel like I’ve been dressing extremely casual.  It just fits my life at the moment.  My favorite piece of clothing in my closet right now are my t-shirts.  I love how simple and casual they are.  I feel like I can get a lot of use out of them and wear them again and again just by styling them a little differently each time. 

Today I wanted to share this simple grey t-shirt from Zappos, that I got a few months back.  Because I’m such a bargain shopper, almost all my clothes have a story behind them.  The story behind this one is that I paid $0 for this top.  No Zappos did not sponsor this post.  It’s actually thanks to my cell phone company.  I have T-Mobile, and if you are a T-Mobile customer you can get the app T-Mobile Tuesdays.  Every Tuesday they have free stuff that you can redeem.  Back in December, they had $25 to use on any Zappos purchases.  I ended up going with this Hurley Staple Perfect v neck Tee.  I picked it out because it was simple, casual, versatile and under the $25 price range.  
Here are 3 ways I’m styling my grey tee this spring…
The easiest way to wear a t-shirt is with jeans and right now it’s all about distress jeans!  This look is so casual, but when you add a statement necklace to it, it turns into a whole new look.

Jeans- Nordstom Rack (similar) || Shoes- Target (exact) || Necklace- Savers (similar) || Purse- Coach Outlet (similar)
I’ve been really loving my white jeans lately.  They are so springy.  I love the way they look with the grey.  It’s such a neutral look.  That’s why I like to add a pop of color with a necklace.
Pants- Target (similar) || Shoes- Macy’s (similar) || Belt- Old Navy (exact) Purse- Ross (similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar) 
As the weather heats up, I’ve been wearing shorts more and more.  Tee’s are perfect to pair with shorts.  I am absolutely loving the way my converse chunks look with shorts.  I think it keeps the look youthful and fun.  I accessorized with a long pendant necklace to add some bling to the casual look. 
Shorts- Abercrombie- Thrifted (similar) || Shoes- Nordstrom (exact) || Purse- Savers Thrifted (similar) || Necklace- Old Navy (similar)
 

How will you style your T-shirts this spring?

9 Ways to Wear a Cardimom

by Katie Haller

If you haven’t already read my review on the CardimomⓇ by Multiwear.co, I suggest you go back and read my last post on this great little piece of clothing for moms.  The one thing that I really love about the CardimomⓇ is how versatile it is with my wardrobe.  I’m all about making the most out of my wardrobe.  I love to find new ways to wear my clothes so that I don’t have to repeat my outfits all the time.  The CardimomⓇ is perfect for that!  Honestly, I had a hard time finding clothes in my closet that it doesn’t go with.
Today, I wanted to share 9 outfits that I put together wearing my CardimomⓇ.  The great part about these looks is that they would all double as maternity looks, as well as look for nursing moms.

This is my go-to running errands look, with my converse sneakers, distress jeans, and stripe tunic. 
This is another running errands look.  It fits perfectly into my life with a blush tank, distressed jeans, and flats. 
The CardimomⓇ works great for layering over button-downs.  I’m a huge fan of gingham, and I love how the green cardigan looks with it. 
I also like to wear my CardimomⓇ as a poncho.  For this look, I belted it up with a pair of jeans, nude pumps and a colorful statement necklace.  This would look cute for an evening out for dinner or a casual church look.
I love to layer a cardigan over a sundress.  For this look, I took a simple black sundress and layered my CardimomⓇ over it.  I accessorized the look with my ankle booties, perfect for a transitional look for spring. 
It doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant or not.  We all like to have a big oversized cozy top on sometimes.  This look is completed with leggings, boots and a gold pendant necklace. 
If you’re not in the mood for the poncho look, you can always flip it up and make it a cardigan look.  This is the same look as above, just worn as a cardigan, instead of the poncho.
For this look here, I wore a long-sleeve stripe dress with some black strappy wedge sandals and a statement necklace.  This is another great transitional spring look.

Last but not least, I love wearing my CardimomⓇ with my yoga or workout clothes.  It’s the perfect way to accessorize your workout look. 

  Those are my 9 looks with my CardimomⓇ.  Don’t forget to check out Multiwear.co to see what other great mom accessories they have!

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Blush Long Cardigan

by Katie Haller

Happy New Year everyone!  I know I’m a week late, but it’s been a busy couple of weeks.  We were in Michigan over Christmas and then I went back to work on Tuesday.  My month is only going to get busier because we are moving into a new house at the end of January.  I’m so excited, but I have so much to do to prepare.  I apologize in advance for the lack of a blog post this month.  

As you can see, I’ve made a few changes to my blog for the new year.  One of my new year goals was to make some changes to improve my blog this year.  I still just enjoy blogging for fun, so I’m not ready to make any major changes yet, but I thought a new look might freshen it up for the new year.  This blog is always a work in progress.  I just want to thank everyone for your emails, pins likes and just for reading Thrifty Wife, Happy Life!  I felt like 2016 was a major year for my blog.  I gained so many new readers and followers, so thank you!  It means a lot to me!  I look forward to making 2017 an even better year! 
Today, I thought that I would share a post that I started working on before Christmas.  I bought this blush long cardigan sweater at Target (exact) while I was doing a bit of Christmas shopping.  My closet is full of neutral colors, so I thought it might be nice to have a blush cardigan to add a touch of color.  I love how versatile cardigans can be.  You can layer them over almost any top.  Here are four ways that I’ve styled my blush cardigan. 
For this first look, I layered the cardigan over a black LC Lauren Conrad top from Kohl’s (similar).  I like how the blouse dresses up a simple look with leggings. 
I feel like I’m always wearing stripes, so of course, I layered the cardigan with my stripe tunic from Old Navy (exact).  I like to cuff my long sleeve shirts when I layer them with a sweater.  I just like the look that it gives. 
For this look, I added a green statement necklace to add some more color to the look.  Pink and green are 2 of my favorite colors, so I always like to mix them together.
I always love a good scarf layered look.  I really love this simple silver scarf.  I found it at Five Below for $5 a few years back.  I always say that I will buy my clothes and accessories from any store, as long as it’s cute and a good deal.  Sometimes you never know what you will find at stores like Five Below or the Dollar Tree.  This simple scarf is one of my most worn scarves because it’s so basic and matches every outfit. 
That’s how I’m styling my long cardigan.  How do you style your cardigans?

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Stripe Tunic

by Katie Haller

I just couldn’t help myself and I bought another piece of clothing in black and white stripes.  Back in September, while doing some fall shopping, I found this long sleeve tunic at Old Navy (exact).  It was on sale for 50% off, which came to $8.49.   I thought about buying it in another color, but they didn’t have my size, so I ended up with the stripes.

I’m really loving this top right now.  I wish I had it in every color because it’s perfect for fall and winter in the desert.  It’s lightweight, so it’s perfect for layering and I love the length on it.  It’s perfect to wear with leggings or jeans.

Here are 4 ways that I accessorized the top.

I love this first look.  I’m wearing my favorite pair of distress denim jeans from Target (similar) with my ankle boots (exact).  I accessorized with my black satchel purse (exact) and my turquoise pendant necklace.
For this next look, I wore black legging and a jean jacket with some leopard flats and my black satchel purse.  
I’m always a fan of mixing stripes with leopard, so I love this look here.  I wore my distressed jeans and ankle boots again and  accessorized with my leopard scarf (similar) and cognac tote purse (exact)

This last look is great for a cool fall day.  I wore black leggings with my brown boots.  I accessorized with my fuchsia knit infinity scarf (similar) and my black satchel purse.

Hopefully, these looks can help you finger out how to accessorize your stripes.

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