Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

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?

Instagram Outfit Review- End of 2016

by Katie Haller

 It’s been a while since my last Instagram outfit review.  This is the last one for 2016!  I have posted a lot of outfits on Instagram since my last review, so here are some of my favorites. 

Top- Old Navy
Cardigan-Target
Jeggings- Old Navy
Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory 
Purse- Savers
Top- Old Navy
Sweater- Macy’s 
Leggings- Last Call Neiman Marcus
Ankle Boots- Burlington Coat Factory 
Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus
Top- Kohl’s 
Cardigan- H&M
Jeans- Target
Necklace- Charming Charlie 
Top- H&M
Cardigan- H&M
Boots- Target 
Scarf- Kohl’s 
Top- Target
Cardigan- Target
Scarf- Target 

Top- Nordstrom Rack
Jacket- Meijer
Scarf- DSW

Scarf- Charming Charlie 

Blazer- Kohl’s

Necklace- Target
Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus 

Top- Target
Scarf- Five Below
Shoes- Target

Jeans- Meijer 

Necklace- Burlington Coat Factory 

Cardigan- Target 

Boots- DSW

Top- Target
Necklace- Target 

Scarf- Nordstrom 

Coat- Old Navy- thrifted from Savers
I hope you liked my looks from this year!  As always, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @thriftywifehappylife.  Have a great New Year and look for more affordable outfit posts in 2017!!

My Closet- Holiday Looks

by Katie Haller

Every year around the holidays, I like to do a post for budget friendly holiday outfits.  This year, I have put together a few simple looks that I am planning on wearing over Christmas break.  I am flying home to spend Christmas in Michigan and my week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is completely booked with family gatherings.  I can’t wait to see everyone, but of course, I like to have an idea of what I’m wearing.  It’s always best to plan your outfits ahead of time so that you don’t have to worry about thinking about what to wear on the day of an event.  Here are some of the outfits that I have planned to wear for the holidays. 
 
 I’m planning on wearing this look for Christmas Eve.  I love wearing leggings and boots with a simple dress.  I accessorized it with some of my favorite Christmas accessories; my infinity scarf from DSW (similar) and my red boyfriend cardigan from Target (similar).
I recently bought this cranberry colored cowl neck sweater from Target (similar).  I love how it looks with leggings, boots and leg warmers.  I think this would be such a cozy Christmas Day look. 
I love my new grey plaid scarf from Banana Republic Factory (similar and similar).  I love the neutral colors, it can be paired with any outfit almost.  For this look, I wore it with a forest green shirt which gives it that Christmas look. 
I bought this cream top at Target (similar) last year and I love accessorizing it with this green necklace from Charming Charlie (similar).  I always like to accessorize with green and red around Christmas time and this necklace is perfect for that. 

Those are my Christmas looks.  What are you planning on wearing over the holidays?

Thrifty Looks- Favorite Thrift Store Dresses

by Katie Haller

The last couple of months have just been a blur for me.  Jack is so busy that my days are filled with chasing him around the house, feeding him, cleaning up after him and pretty much spending every moment thinking about him.  I’ve been wanting to get back into doing some more outfit post, however, it’s not as easy as it used to be in my pre-baby life.  Sometimes I feel like I’m lacking in my creativity.  I decided that I would do a “Thrifty Looks” series of posts to share some of my favorite thrift stores finds.  I always like to stay true to the theme of my blog and show off my affordable clothing.  I thought that by sharing my favorite thrift store finds and how simple it can be to incorporate them into my everyday wardrobe, would be the perfect way to do just that!

  Today, I thought that I would share some of my dresses that I’ve bought at either the Salvation Army or Savers in the past few years.  I was recently looking through my closet and I realized that probably about 50% of my dresses have been bought at thrift stores.  Dresses are just one of those items that are always a great find at a thrift store.  They are usually cheap, and unless its something too flashy, they usually won’t go out of style anytime soon.  I love to adopt dresses into my own closet and accessorize them up.

Here are 4 thrift store dresses, all under $5.  This is how I am accessorizing them for fall and winter this year.

 

This first dress is a simple brown dress that I bought a few years back at the Salvation Army.  Brown isn’t always my favorite color on me, but because of how comfortable and basic this dress is, I’ve kept it.  This fall, I’ve decided to style it with an infinity scarf and taupe ankle boots.  The purse is also a thrift store find from this past Memorial Day sale at Savers (post here).
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I bought this Forever 21 t-shirt dress at Savers last year at the Labor Day sale (post here).  I love how comfortable this dress is.  I recently styled it with my denim jacket, ankle boots, a silver scarf, and my thrifted brown purse again. 
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This dress is actually a hand me down from my mom, but it was purchased at a second-hand store.  I love how simple and classic this dress is on its own, but it also looks great layered up as well.  For this look here, I added my leopard scarf, denim jacket, black wedge shoes, and my brown purse again. 
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I bought this simple fitted black dress at the Salvation Army a few years ago.  I believe I only paid $2 for it.  I love black dresses because you can never go wrong with an LBD.  I feel that you can never have enough black dresses in your closet, especially when you’re buying them for only $2, right?  I styled up this dress with my grey blazer, turquoise pendant necklace, my blush crossbody purse, and black peep-toed shoes.  
Being a thrifty shopper will always help out your bank account and you can still have a great collection of clothes.  Just keep your eye out for those special pieces.  Do you have any great thrift store finds hanging in your closet?

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.

Fall Outfits in the Heat

by Katie Haller

I absolutely love fall and everything that comes with it, especially the fashion.  Fall fashion is my favorite.  I love to layer and I love scarves, boots, and jeans.  Summer is difficult for me because the heat makes it hard for me to dress the way I want to, but with fall, I get to pull out some of my favorite pieces in my closet.  However, in Las Vegas, our fall feels more like summer to most people.  It creates a bit of a challenge because the mornings are cool, but the highs in the afternoon are in the 80’s and 90’s.  It’s okay though because I always love a challenge when it comes to styling my daily wardrobe. 
Here are some outfits I’ve come up with for my transitional fall wardrobe. 
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Dresses are always great for transitioning into the fall weather.  I love being able to wear a dress in the warmer weather and accessorize it with some of my favorite fall accessories, like boots and denim.  I am loving my new ankle boots (exact) I bought last month.  They give the perfect fall touch with a few of my favorite dresses.  I also always love to layer with my denim jacket (similar).  Here are a few looks I’ve come up with. 
Dress- H&M (exact)

Dress- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
Dress- Pink Blush (exact)
You can never go wrong with a great pair of jeans.  I miss my jeans in the summer, so I always get excited when the temperatures cool off enough for some jeans.  Right now, I am loving the distressed denim look.  I have a few pairs of distress jeans that I rotate through.  I really love wearing flats with my jeans while the weather is still warm.  Flats and jeans are pretty much my workweek uniform.  Here are a couple looks wearing my jeans with some of my favorite new pairs of flats and accessorizing with my new Linea Pelle cognac tote handbag (exact) from Neiman Marcus Last Call.  I’m kind of obsessed with this purse right now. It’s the perfect fall accessory. 
 Top- Target (exact)/ Jeans- Target (similar) Shoes- Ross (similar)
 Top- Target (similar) Jeans- Kohl’s (similar) Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory (similar)
Who doesn’t love leggings?  They are so comfortable, I could literally wear them every day.  I love wearing leggings in the early fall because sometimes they are lighter than wearing jeans.  I love to style them with a long t-shirt or tunic top.  Here are a couple ways that I styled my leggings with my ankle boots to give them that fall touch.  
Top- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
Top- Old Navy (exact)
Those are some of my transitional falls looks for this year.  You can check out some of my older falls looks from last year’s post here to get some more ideas on how to style your fall wardrobe in the heat.  Enjoy the rest of the fall and remember that just because it’s hot out, doesn’t mean that you can’t embrace the new season and also stay on budget with your wardrobe! 

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