Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Effortless Style with Pink Blush

December 1, 2017 by Katie Haller

This week has been one of those long, busy, exhausting weeks that I’m just happy to get through. My in-laws came into town for Thanksgiving and we had a fun long weekend visiting with them, but Monday hit me hard. Sometimes when I have a long period of time off work, I forget that I have a job. I went back to work this week with a ton of parent-teacher conferences that needed to be done by the end of the week, paperwork that needed to be turned in and of course 16 crazy 4 and 5-year-olds who had been off school for a whole week.

It didn’t help that my toddler has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming his head off every night, which means I’ve been sleeping at least 3 hours of the night in a toddler bed. He’s also started the terrible two’s, even though he still has 2 months to go until he’s officially a 2-year-old, so it’s just been hard to keep him satisfied.

It’s weeks like this that has me at a loss for what to wear in the morning. I think a lot of moms feel this way and that’s how so many of us get into a rut with our wardrobe. I love planning out what I’m going to wear every day, but this week I was just lucky to blow dry my hair before work. Instead of picking out accessories and figuring out which shoes would look best, I was holding a cranky baby putting on makeup with one hand (I’m getting pretty good at this skill.) Weeks like this make me so thankful for a store like PinkBlush.

I’m always able to find trendy fun tops that fit perfectly into my everyday wardrobe at PinkBlush. This grey hooded lace trim sweater saved me this week when I was at a loss for what to wear. There’s no need to worry about what kinds of accessories to wear with it because it’s perfect on its own. I love that it has the look of a cozy sweatshirt, but it’s lightweight and not bulky. For work this week, I wore this sweater with jeans, but when I’m home on the weekends I like to stay comfy in my leggings and that’s how I styled this look today.

*This post is part of a collaboration with PinkBlush. All opinions are 100% my own.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Casual grey hoodie sweater with lace trim

Hopefully, next week will be a little less hectic, but at least I have a go-to sweater to wear.

Teacher Gifts Under $40!

November 24, 2017 by Katie Haller

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am getting really excited for Christmas. I’m officially ready to start my shopping. I have to say that my favorite people to shop for are Jack’s daycare teacher. I truly appreciate everything that they do for him, so when Christmas comes, I get excited to spoil them. Being a teacher myself, I’ve received a lot of great teacher gifts over the years. It’s always the thought that counts and us teachers always love to be remembered.

This year, I’m going to try to do most of my Christmas shopping from my couch to avoid shopping the crowded stores with a toddler. Amazon happens to be my go-to place for gifts this year, because you can find almost anything there, including great teacher gifts. Here is a list of teacher gifts that I have my eye on this year. Best of all, these gifts are all under $40 and most of them are under $20!!

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

One || “After School Snack” wine glass

This wine glass just cracks me up because it’s so true. Teachers deserve to have some time to wind down from a long day with kids.

Two || Blanket Scarf

Us teacher love our scarves! I like to give scarves as a gift because they are easy to pick out and one size fits all.

Three || Kate Spade bow bracelet

This was actually a teacher gift that I received from one of my students at the end of the year last year, so I just had to add it to my list. Jewelry always makes a good gift. It’s extra special when it comes to a student.

Four || Apron

I love giving and getting aprons as a gift. I always like to wear an apron while I’m cooking or cleaning in the kitchen, but it’s not something that I would buy for myself. That’s why it’s the perfect gift.

Five || Teacher definition makeup bag

While I was looking for a cute makeup bag, I stumbled upon this adorable teacher definition makeup bag. This would make a great teacher gift and you could even fill it with some goodies and gift cards to go along with the gift.

Six || Kate Spade travel coffee mug

Teachers love their morning coffee and usually, we have to be to work so early that we don’t always have time to make a stop for coffee. That’s why a travel mug makes such a great teacher gift.

Seven || Coach ID lanyard

I love these Coach lanyards. They are perfect to wear every day with your work ID. They are pretty popular with the teachers at my school. If you happen to notice that your child’s teacher is wearing her work ID in a boring plastic lanyard, then this would make a perfect gift for them!

Eight || Knock Knock notepads

I personally love these little knock knock notepads. They come in all different colors and sayings. They help keep you on track. I use them to keep me organized with work and blogging too. All teacher’s appreciate help with organization.

Nine || Kate Spade lunch box

A lunch box is a perfect teacher gift. Teacher’s often have short lunch breaks and we prefer to pack our lunch. No one likes a boring lunch bag though. That’s why a teacher would appreciate a Kate Spade lunch box like this one.

Those are my favorite teacher gifts for this year. Hopefully you can spoil your child’s teacher this year!

Happy Shopping!!

Pink Blush- Winter Floral Wrap Dress

November 20, 2017 by Katie Haller

*This post is part of a collaboration with PinkBlush. All opinions are 100% my own.

I am so excited to announce that I recently became a style ambassador for PinkBlush. I’m sure most of you are already familiar with Pink Blush, but for those of you who are not, Pink Blush is an online boutique that sells trendy maternity, women and plus size women clothing. I love how they sell effortless fashion targeting moms looking to up their style. Their clothes are of high quality and affordable. Plus they always have a sale going on and there is always free shipping for all U.S. orders, which always makes me happy!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Trendy effortless fashion for moms with Pink Blush

Pink Blush has a gorgeous selection of maternity and nonmaternity floral print wrap maxi dresses. When I think of Pink Blush, I always think of this style of dress. I wanted to share my first post as a style ambassador showing of this classic Pink Blush style.

I chose this black floral hi-low wrap dress to feature today. I love how feminine and flowy this dress is. I feel like the empire waist makes it a flattering fit for all body types. It’s so comfortable that I didn’t want to take it off. I always think of floral prints for the spring and summer, but with the darker print on this dress, it can easily be styled for the fall and winter. I wore my denim jacket with cognac accessories to give it more of a fall/winter feel.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || winter floral hi-low wrap dress with Pink Blush

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Pink Blush floral hi-low wrap dress

I can’t wait to share more Pink Blush styles with you in the future! Thanks for stopping by!

Year of Color- Making the Most of Your Wardrobe – Orange Cardigan

November 17, 2017 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life-3 Orange Cadigan Thanksgiving Outfits

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

I can’t believe that it’s already mid-November! Christmas is right around the corner, but first, it’s one of my favorite holidays… Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday devoted to eating yummy food, being with family and friends and reflecting on what you’re thankful for. I hate that Thanksgiving gets overshadowed by Christmas. I like to take it one holiday at a time.

Just like every holiday, I love to come up with fun festive outfits. Since Thanksgiving is still a fall holiday, I like to wear some sort of fall color…like orange, which happens to be the color for November’s Year of Color linkup!

I don’t own a lot of oranges, but I do like it. Last spring I found this H&M cardigan at Savers on one of my thrifting trips. I really liked the rust orange color. I felt like it would be perfect for fall. Today I have put together 3 fall outfits that would be perfect for wearing for Thanksgiving.

Sometimes you might want to be a little dressier for Thanksgiving, so I picked a stripe swing dress for this look. A swing dress is perfect for eating a big meal because it’s extremely comfortable. It’s also perfect if you’re in you’re early stages of being pregnant or postpartum. It hides your tummy perfectly. I like to wear tights with my dresses when it gets cold out. I love the way the tights look with my black booties. I choose to mix it up a little and add a leopard clutch.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripes and leopard

This next look is more casual. Just like the swing dress above, I love my swing tank tops. They are super casual and comfortable. I like to tuck mine in and layer a cardi over it. To accessorize I added a statement necklace, booties, and a cognac purse.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripe tank and distressed jeans

I often find myself wearing leggings for Thanksgiving because let’s be honest, what’s more, comfortable than leggings? I tend to eat a lot of stuffing, so I hate feeling uncomfortable in jeans. A cardigan, scarf, and boots are the perfect way to dress up your leggings.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with leggings and leopard scarf

Now I just need to decided what I will actually wear for Thanksgiving this year.

Next month is the last month of a Year of Color. It’s all about metallic colors for December. Get all your fun outfits, makeup, decoration, recipes and craft ideas ready to share. It should be a great way to end the year! Don’t forget to leave your orange link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Grey Plaid Scarf

November 9, 2017 by Katie Haller

I have to say that I am pretty spoiled with weather living in Las Vegas. November through March the weather has that cool fall feel, which is my favorite kind of weather to dress for. It never gets too cold, but you still get that chill in the air where you want to layer up a little.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will receive a small commission for this blog.

For today’s look, I wanted to share a way I like to layer up when the weather is not cold yet, but you still want to embrace the fall/winter styles. This grey t-shirt is quickly becoming one of my favorite tops in my closet. It was one of the tops I purchased with my ThredUP credit. It’s so soft and so comfortable. If I could, I would wear it every day. I paired it with the jeans that I recently distressed myself. For accessories, I wore my grey plaid scarf that I found on clearance last fall at Banana Republic Factory. My ankle boots are Forever 21 boots that I bought on ThredUP. I usually stick to brown when it comes to boots, but I am loving these boots in black. Plus they are super comfortable and I’ve been able to wear them to work a lot. This black satchel purse is one of my favorite purses in my closet. I bought it last fall at Nemain Marcus Last Call. I thought it was a cute cheaper option to the black Kate Spade satchel purse that I was eyeing at the time.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Distressed jeans with grey plaid scarf and black ankle boots

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- grey plaid scarf

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Distressed jeans and black ankle boots

Shop my closet

Top- ThredUP (similar) || Jeans- Jessica Simpson (similar) || Scarf- Banana Republic Factory (similar) || Boots- ThredUP- Forever 21 (similar) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (exact, similar)

Confessions of a First Time Mom- Appreciating the Moment

November 6, 2017 by Katie Haller

Sometimes I feel like it’s hard to appreciate the present. I’m always thinking and planning for the future or reminiscing on the past. Sometimes I forget to take in the moments and appreciate where I currently am in life. I often look back on certain times in my life and wonder why I didn’t just appreciate that time. Time goes by so fast, especially when you have little ones. I feel like I had a newborn just yesterday.

My current life is so busy. I work full time, then when I’m home, I’m trying to catch up on all my responsibilities at home. My weekends are spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, meal prepping and cleaning. I’m really trying hard to set aside my busy life and just soak in my time with Jack. My husband has been busy this fall training on a new airplane, so I’ve had a lot of one on one time with my little guy. I’ve been trying to just enjoy my time with him as much as possible. I know that he’s only going to be little and sweet for a short time. I don’t want my busy life to take me away from those little moments. That’s why I take him to the park as often as I can. I push him on the swing and I go down the slide with him. I read him books. I tickle him and give him as many kisses as I can. At bedtime, I lay next to him until he falls asleep. I have been the only one who has put Jack to bed every night since he was born, and I’ve never spent a night away from him. That’s important to me because one day he won’t need me to put him asleep.

I’ve taken a little step back from blogging, just to get that extra time in with Jack. I love writing and working on new blog posts, but I’m not going to stress if I can’t get all my posts out that I’d like to. I usually do most of my blogging on the weekends and at night after Jack goes to bed, but lately, he’s been staying up later. I put him to sleep around 8:30 and after he falls asleep, I’m ready for bed too. If I don’t get around to working on a post, then that’s okay.

One thing I’m learning as a parent is that you just need to slow down and look at what’s in front of you. I once was told that when you have kids, the days are long, but the years are short. It’s so true. Not to mention, one day I hope to have 2 kids and that means life will get even crazier. I need to soak in this one on one time that I’m getting with my little guy while I can.

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