Thrifty Wife Happy Life

How to Wear a Little Black Sundress

July 25, 2017 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

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!

Adding a Pop of Red to your Summer Wardrobe- A Year of Color

July 21, 2017 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- How to add a pop of red to your summer wardrobe

Happy Friday everyone! I’m very excited to be teaming up with some of my fellow blogger friends to join in as a host for the monthly link-up “A Year of Color”. Each month of the year there is a new color theme and this month’s color is red.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- A Year of Color Link Up

I don’t think that anyone can ignore the color red. I mean think of a red sports car, a red room, a red dress or even red food. It’s so bright and bold. That’s why when I do red, I like to take it in with small doses.

When it comes to my wardrobe, I have a couple ways that I like to add a little pop of red to my looks without standing out more than I want to. I typically save red for Christmas time, but there is another time of year that I love to wear red and that is summertime. With all the patriotic holidays during the warmer months, it always gives me an excuse to bring out some red in my outfits. That’s why today I’m going to share 3 ways that I like to add a pop of red into my everyday looks during the summertime.

*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.

The first way I will wear red is to wear my red cropped jeans. A few years back, when I was in need of some business casual clothes for work, I wanted to find a pair of colored pants that I could wear to work as an alternative to my black pants. I ended up finding these cute cropped pants at Kohl’s on clearance for only $5. I just had to buy them. I have gotten a lot of use out of these pants over the years. I feel like they are such an easy way to add a little pop of color into a typical neutral look.

Here is an example of a summer outfit I would wear to work.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Adding a pop of color with red jeans

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- red jeans with black wedge shoes

Top- LC Lauren Conrad (exact) || Bottoms- Kohl’s (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar)

The next way I like to add some red to my look is to accessorize with red jewelry. I love my red bead necklace. I’ve had it for years. I actually bought this necklace when I went through a red accessory phase in college. I love pulling it out for Christmas and most recently I wore it for the 4th of July. (You can check out my 4th of July look here)

This is an example of how I wore my necklace a couple weeks ago with a simple striped dress.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Stripe dress with a red bead necklace

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Adding a pop of color to a black and white dress

Dress- Target (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar) || Necklace- Aldo (similar)

The last way that I like to add red into my wardrobe, is with red nail polish. I love red nails! It’s so classic and reminds me of the women from the 1950’s and 60’s. I do my nails every week and I probably rotate this cherry red color once or twice a month.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- cherry red nails for summer

Nail Polish- Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Cherry Red (similar color)

How do you incorporate red into your wardrobe? Be sure to leave your link below and share your red posts for July!!

Next months link up will be on August 18th and our color theme is Neon! Hope to see you then!

An InLinkz Link-up

Mom Blog Picture Fails

July 17, 2017 by Katie Haller

Hey everyone! It’s Monday and on Monday’s I like to try to share a mom or family post for Mommy Monday. I don’t always get around to posting one, but today I had an idea for a fun mom post.

I’m not sure about you, but I spend a lot of time on social media looking at other people’s pictures and I love it and hate it all at the same time. I love getting inspired by other people’s photos, but at the same time, everyone on social media makes their lives look so perfect. They post these perfect pictures of their perfect lives and for some reason, we all feel like we need to keep up with that perfect image. I’m defiantly guilty of that. I don’t want to share an ugly picture of myself, or talk about a fight I got into with my husband. We only share the good.

Recently, I was going through my pictures on my phone and deleting the photos I don’t need when I came across some funny pictures that didn’t really turn out so great. If you’re a mom and you have ever tried to capture the perfect picture with your little one, you know how hard it can be. All those perfect moms with their kids didn’t get that shot on a first try. Trust me. Today I wanted to get real with you and share some of my not so great mommy and me pictures with Jack.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Mom Blog Picture Fails

Trying to bribe him to look cute with toys.

He’s always running off on me.

He has mastered the whole boneless move

No smiles for mommy

Trying to jump into the pool.

Screaming and pulling my hair on Mother’s Day

I love this one. It looks like he’s trying to escape me, but I’m blocking the way.

Taking your own outfit pictures is not always easy when you have a clingy teething one-year-old.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures as much as I did. Do you have any photo outtakes that make you laugh with your little ones?

Summer Tank Cardimom

July 13, 2017 by Katie Haller

*This post is sponsored by Multiwear.co. All opinions are 100% my own.

It was about this time of the year last summer that I was in the heart of breastfeeding and pumping. Jack was 5 months and I had finally felt like I had a good handle on my breastfeeding/pumping schedule and routine. I look back and think of the happy bonding time that I had with my baby. The only negative thing I can think of was the challenge of breastfeeding during the warm summer months. Summertime is not always the ideal time of the year for snuggling up and nursing your baby under a nursing cover, especially when you live in the desert.

That’s why I was so excited when Multiwear.co asked me to work with them again and share the Summer Tank CardimomⓇ Open Weave Sweater. This cardigan/poncho is similar to the original CardimomⓇ that I did a post on earlier in the year (see post here), but it’s designed as a summer option. I like that this cardigan has an open weave to it making it lightweight and cooler to wear in the heat. It’s also sleeveless which is really nice. I only wish I would have had this CardimomⓇ last summer while I was still nursing. The great thing about this nursing cover is that you can wear it long after your breastfeeding and maternity days are over. It’s so practical and fits in perfectly with my summer mom wardrobe.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Summer mom look

Here are a few ways that I’m wearing my Summer Tank CardimomⓇ.

I spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer, and I love how this CardimonⓇ works as a simple cover-up that I can easily throw over my bathing suit. It’s shorter in the front and longer in the back, so it provides nice coverage over your backside, which I like.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn as a pool cover up

I like to wear shorts and a tank top a lot in the summer, but I always like to layer with something, especially when going in and out of air conditioning, but long sleeves are no fun when it’s 110 degrees outside. That’s why it’s always nice to have a sleeveless cover-up as an option.

One of my summer essentials in my closet is a little black sundress. This neutral color is perfect to pair with the black. I like how it can be worn casually or you can dress it up depending on how you accessorize.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn with a black dress

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn with a black sundress

If you are looking for the perfect summer nursing cover up or just a great practical summer cardigan, I suggest checking out multiwear.co!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Summer tank Cardimom

How would you wear your CardimomⓇ?

Michigan Trip

July 10, 2017 by Katie Haller

Hey everyone! I feel like I’ve been out of the loop for a while because I was on vacation and away from my computer for a week. Now I’m back and just trying to get back into my normal routine.

Last week, my family and I spent a week in Michigan visiting our family. Ever since we moved to Las Vegas, our number one destination has been Michigan. We have been trying to go back twice a year so we can spend time with both sides of our family and share Jack with everyone. I always thought that Kevin and I were so lucky because our family is all in the same place, but ever since we moved away, I find it to be difficult to have all our family in one place. We get one week to squeeze in a visit with everyone and it can get a little overwhelming at times, especially with a baby. That’s why this trip was our last Michigan trip for a while. We decided we want to take some time to visit some other places this next year and hopefully we will have lots of visitors come out our way.

It was our 3rd trip to Michigan with Jack, but it was our first time going back on Kevin’s airline and traveling with our flight benefits as a family. If you have ever traveled standby, you understand how nerve-racking it can be. We totally lucked out though and ended up making it onto 2 initially full flights. On top of making the flights, Jack was the best little traveler that he’s ever been. I was so proud that I wasn’t the one on the flight with the screaming child.

We flew into Grand Rapids, MI, because that’s the closest airport to our families that Kevin’s airline flies to Vegas from. I actually prefer the Grand Rapids airport. It’s smaller than DTW and it’s easier to get around with a baby. They even have a kid’s playroom that Jack loved.

Our trip was pretty non stop and the week flew by so fast. We visited both sides of our families. Jack got to see grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In our short week, we squeezed in a trip to the Detroit Zoo, visited a couple lakes, the Yankee Air Museum, a tour of downtown Detroit and a 4th of July parade. I even got to be reunited with my favorite Michigan beer that we can’t get out in Nevada.

Here are a few pictures from our week.

Excited to go for a ride on daddy’s airplane!

We have grass in our yard, but it doesn’t compare to the big grass yards in Michigan!

First time at the lake. He had a blast until he tried to eat the sand.

He loved playing in the baby pool.

4th of July

He wasn’t sure what to make of the boat.

The penguin exhibit at the zoo was the best! It put a huge smile on my little guy’s face.

Detroit riverfront

Best airplane trip ever! Jack slept half the flight.

Shop Jack’s wardrobe. A lot is on sale right now!

It’s always nice going home, but it’s also always nice coming back to my other home. I only wish we would have had more time to see more people, but there’s always next time!

Do you live away from family? Does anyone else spend their summer vacations in their home state?

Favorite Summer Sunglasses

July 5, 2017 by Katie Haller

*This post is sponsored by Glassesshop.com. All opinions are 100% my own.

I’ve always loved a cute pair of sunglasses, but recently I’ve been obsessed with them. Maybe it’s the summer months or the sunny skies of the desert, but I can’t get enough of my sunglasses. That’s why I was so excited when glassesshop.com asked me to collaborate with them on a product review.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cat eye sunglasses from glassesshop.com

I don’t like to spend a lot of money on sunglasses, yet I am always looking for something that’s stylish and good quality. Glassesshop.com has an amazing selection of sunglasses, prescription sunglasses, and eyeglasses at an affordable price. I am in love with these Amanda Cat Eye Toroise colored sunglasses. They are my new favorite pair! I love the style of them and how comfortable they are. I find myself forgetting to take them off when I’m indoors because I forget that I’m even wearing them.

If you’re looking for sunglasses or eyeglasses online, glassesshop.com is the way to go! Since I’m such a big fan of finding a great deal, the one thing I really love about them is that there is always a sale going on. They also have a great clearance section with glasses starting as low as $5.95! If you want to check out Glassesshop.com for yourself you can use this special promo code GSHOT50 and get 50% off your purchase! Have fun shopping!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- summer look with jean shorts and white tank top

Shop my closet

Top- Old Navy (exact) || Shorts- Ambercrombi-thrifted (similar) || Shoes- Nordstrom (exact) || Hat- Target (similar) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar) || Sunglasses- Glassesshop.com (exact)

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