Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Instagram Roundup- Spring 2017

by Katie Haller

Spring 2017
Hey everyone!  It’s hard to believe that summer is almost here!  June is just around the corner.  I thought that now would be the perfect time to do an Instagram roundup of some of my favorite Instagram posts that didn’t make it to the blog. 

You may have noticed that I’ve been making a few changes around here.  I’ve kept this little blog of mine a secret for a long time and this year, one of my goals is to grow my following and share my blog with others.  I’m pretty shy and I’m not always comfortable putting myself out there,  but I do put a lot of time and effort into my blog, so I figured why not share my hard work?
 The one place I’ve been putting a lot of time into growing my following and promoting my blog is on Instagram.  I love Instagram, but it’s hard work trying to get followers, especially when I really don’t have the tons of extra time for social media.  Motherhood and my job take up the majority of my time, but since I enjoy blogging so much, I try to make the time for it.
 So today I want to go back and recap my spring through my Instagram (@thriftywifehappylife)
*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.
I love trying out new beauty products.  This spring I tried out a few new products and stuck with a few of my favorites.  I’m really loving anything pink right now!

The dress is thrifted similar here
Our Easter was nice and quiet.  I had a week off work, which was amazing!!  We spent the first part of my break in Denver visiting my sister in law, then we came home and finished off the week just relaxing and enjoying the weather.  I even got a cute picture on Easter with my cute little guy. 
Similar Bathing Suit || Similar Hat || Similar Sunglasses
Pool season has officially arrived and I finally got the chance to wear this cute polka dot bikini that I bought at the end of the summer last year at Walmart for only $2! 

Tank top || Cardigan || Similar Jeans || Purse 
I made a few trips to Old Navy this spring to stock up on some super cheap tank tops.  I’ve been loving my $2 tanks that I bought at the end of April.  They are perfect for wearing under my cardigans with jeans. 

Similar Hat || Similar bathing suite Top and Bottoms
I’ve been learning what it’s like to take a busy toddler to the pool and let’s just say that my summers at the pool aren’t as relaxing as they used to be, but that’s okay.  That’s mom’s life for you.  I’m loving my new pool hat.  I found this one in the dollar section at Target for $5.  It’s the perfect pool accessory. 

My go to outfits this spring have been dresses with my denim jacket.  It’s such a comfy and also safe look, especially when I feel stumped on what to wear.  

I’ve rediscovered my love for the color pink this spring.  I just love this bright pink tank top.  I especially love it with turquoise accessories. 

My poor baby had an ear infection over Mother’s Day weekend, so he was very cranky.  We had a hard time getting a good picture, but that’s okay, because he’s still cute, fussy or not. 
 Purse || Similar Shorts || Similar Shoes
Now that it’s pretty much summer, I have to break out the shorts.  I don’t really like wearing shorts, but it’s really hard to wear long jeans when it’s over 100 degrees, so it looks like I’m going to have to embrace my shorts.

So that’s my life through Instagram.  Don’t forget to follow me for the latest posts!

Bedtime Routine- Favorite Products

by Katie Haller

*This post contains affiliate links. 


My evening bedtime routine with Jack is a very important part of my day.  For the first year, Jack had a very hard time sleeping through the night.  I tried everything to get him to sleep.  During that time, I did a lot of reading for advice, and the one thing that seemed to be consistent in my research was to set up a daily bedtime routine.  This was something I did right from the start.  I feel that it’s so important for young children to have a predictable and comfortable evening routine.  Not only does our nightly routine calm down my little guy and prepare him for bed, but it’s also a special time for us.  It’s the time of the day that I get to spend the most one on one time with him. 

Today, I wanted to share with you some of our favorite products that we use during our evening bedtime routine. 

 1.) Honest Company Bubble Bath– My friend sent me a care package from the Honest Company with some of her favorite products when Jack was born.  My favorite product in the box was this bubble bath.  I love the smell and how gentle it is on Jack’s skin. 
 

2.) California Baby Shampoo and Lotion–  I got this set as a gift at my baby shower and I love this brand.  The shampoo is super genital with no fragrance and so is the lotion.  Living in the desert makes it hard to keep Jack’s skin from drying out, but this lotion does a great job of keeping his skin nice and soft. 

3.) Foam Bath Letters and Numbers– Jack got these foam letter bath toys for his birthday and he loves them!  They are perfect chew toys for babies and great for older toddlers and preschoolers who are learning their letters and numbers.
 
4.) Skip Hop Zoo Bath Stack and Pour Buckets– These are another one of Jack’s favorite bath toys.  He loves filling the cups and listening to the water.  He loves these cups so much that he plays with them around the house and outside too!


5.) Blanket Animal- Jack loves sleeping with his little blanket animal.  He loves how soft it feels.  He calls it “ni ni” because he knows that he sleeps with it.  It helps soothe him at night, and as a mother of a child that could not self-sooth themselves for 12 months, I love his little blanket animal too.


6.) Carter’s 2 Piece Pajamas–  I just love freshly bathed babies in their jammies.  There is nothing better.  I love the 2 piece pajama sets.  They are much easier for diaper changing.  I’m a big fan of Carter’s clothes because they seem to hold up pretty well and their sizing is pretty true to size.  Jack has this pajama set with dinosaurs, but obviously, we would love to have the airplane set!

 7.) Huggies Overnite Diapers- I can’t lie, I buy a lot of generic brand baby products, but sometimes there are just things that you need to buy name brand.  One of them is overnight diapers.  These diapers have been a game-changer for me.  Around 12 months Jack finally started to sleep longer stretches through the night, but he would still wake up around 3 am with a soaked diaper that had leaked through.  As soon as I started using Huggies Overnite Diapers, he started sleeping through the night without the 3 am wake up.  This makes me a very happy mama!


8.) Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See?-  You always have to have a good bedtime book.  This is one of Jack’s favorites.  This series of books are perfect for toddlers because they are repetitive and do a great job keeping your little busy body’s attention.

That’s my list for my favorite products that are apart of our bedtime routine.  What are your favorite bedtime products?

Navy Stripes with Blush Accessories

by Katie Haller

If you have been following my blog for a long time, you know that one of my favorite fashion icons is Kate Middleton.  I’ve always admired her classic, effortless, chic style.  A few years back I was so inspired by a look she wore with a navy blazer and navy striped shirt.  I just had to find the look myself (check out her look here).

Today I wanted to share my affordable version of a Kate Middleton inspired look.  I wore my navy blazer with my navy striped swing tank top and white pants.  I am really loving the blush and navy color combo right now, so I accessorized the look with a blush purse and jewelry.   For shoes, I wore my nude pumps, that were inspired by the Duchess’s L.K. Bennett nude pumps.

Shop my closet
Blazer- Target (similar) || Top- Target (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar) || Purse- Ross (similar)



Who’s style are you most inspired by?

Striped Swing Dress

by Katie Haller

Did you know that May is one of my favorite months?  I have so many great memories of the month of May.  There are flowers blooming, great weather, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, my wedding anniversary is in May… what’s not to love about May?  That’s why today I wanted to share a look that would be perfect for any event you do this month, featuring one of my favorite dresses that I bought last Spring. 

 I found this adorable striped swing dress last spring at Nordstrom Rack. (original post here)  I just love how lightweight and flowy this dress is.  My favorite way to wear it is to layer it with my denim jacket.  I swear this jacket goes with everything and I wear it all the time.  I accessorized the look with my cognac purse and wedge sandals.  I love accessorizing with cognac, especially with black and white stripes.  People used to tell me that you can’t mix brown with black,  but I think that’s such a silly fashion rule.  Cognac is the perfect shade of brown to mix up with your black and white.
Here is the look.  Oh yeah… did I mention that it was really windy the day I took these pictures?  Even though it was hard to get good pictures with the wind, it did make for some fun photos. 
*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.

Shop my closet
Dress- Nordstrom Rack (similar similar) || Denim Jacket- Jessica Simpson (similar) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus- (exact) || Shoes- Old Navy- Thrifted from the Goodwill- (similar similar)
I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Confessions of a First Time Mom- Pregnancy

by Katie Haller

Lately, I’ve been seeing so many people I know announce that they are pregnant with their first child.  I always love seeing this, because it wasn’t long ago I was in their shoes.  It brings back a lot of memories and emotions about my own experience.  I was so excited for the future, yet so scared of the unknown.  Today, with Mother’s Day being at the end of the week, I wanted to share my personal experience of being pregnant as a first time mom.
I had a difficult beginning to my pregnancy.  I learned that I was pregnant not long after experiencing my second miscarriage.  I never thought that I would go through anything like that when the time came to have a baby, so it caught me off guard and left me with a very distraught feeling that wouldn’t go away.  The first time I miscarried, I was very disappointed, but also hopeful.  The second time that it happened, I felt very alone.  We had only been living in Las Vegas for a couple months and I hadn’t told anyone that I was pregnant.  I was so saddened by the whole experience, that I was afraid to try again.  It wasn’t long after that second miscarriage, that I felt like something was off.  I kept waiting for my period to start, but nothing happened.  I decided to take a pregnancy test and sure enough, it was true.  I kept it to myself, in fear of it being too soon to tell, so I took one more test later in the week.  Sure enough, it showed I was pregnant.  The next morning I threw up and knew it had to be true.
18-week baby bump

My first trimester was long and miserable.  I threw up almost every day.  I was so tired and sick.  I remember feeling so sad because I thought pregnancy was supposed to be an exciting and happy time in my life.  I was worried all the time because I thought that something bad was going to happen to the baby.  The one thing that saved me during this time, surprisingly, was going to work every day.  As sick as I was, I never called in and I never threw up at work.  It kept me busy and kept my mind off how yucky I felt.  When I hit 12 weeks and was still sick I got concerned that the morning sickness would never go away.  Then one day, probably around 15 or 16 weeks I didn’t throw up my breakfast.  After that, I magically started to feel like a human again. 

Once I got over my morning sickness, I started getting excited about my pregnancy.  My ultrasound at 18 weeks was definitely a high light.  I found out that I was having a boy and that everything was developing well.  I was able to worry less and start to enjoy myself a little more.  My belly popped out right around 20 weeks and that’s when I got really excited about styling my bump.  I started my weekly maternity post on my blog which I really enjoyed. (You can check those out here) I felt good in my second trimester, for the most part.  I did start to feel very uncomfortable around 22 weeks.  As the baby grew, my body grew and stretched in ways it never had before, making it very uncomfortable. 
28-week bump
By my third trimester, I had the perfect size bump and I felt as good as I could feel.  I do remember feeling extremely anxious.  I started watching people’s birth stories on youtube and reading lots of other blogger’s birth stories.  I prepared myself for the worse.  I was ready to get my little guy out, it didn’t matter how.  Despite all my research, when the time came and I went into labor, I didn’t believe it.  I had to google “water breaking” over and over again.  It wasn’t until I started having strong contractions that I believed I was in labor.     
It was a really weird feeling when I finally got to hold my little man in my arms.  I was in awe of him and couldn’t stop thinking about the whole experience.  As much as I was ready to get him out, I immediately missed feeling him inside me.  I wanted to be pregnant again….if that made any sense? 

Snuggling with my newborn
I would love to have another baby someday, but I’m not in a rush.  I’m enjoying all the moments I can with Jack right now and our little family of 3.  I do miss that feeling of being pregnant at times, and I look forward to experiencing it again one day.  It makes me a little sad to think that nothing will be like the first time, but it does excite me to know that the next time I am pregnant, I will be sharing it with Jack too.  I look forward to the day that I can make him a big brother.

What was your first pregnancy experience like?  How was it different from your others?

Pink top- Adding Color

by Katie Haller

Believe it or not, I have a bit of a fear of wearing color.  Don’t get me wrong, I love color, especially when accessorizing, but most of my closet is full of neutral colors.  I rarely wear a bright colored piece of clothing.  That’s why on my last shopping trip to Old Navy, I bought a few solid bright colored tees and tanks.  I figured that summer is almost here and I should brighten up my wardrobe a bit.

Today, I wanted to share this look wearing the new bright pink tank top that I bought on my Old Navy shopping trip last weekend.  I found it on clearance for only $7.99.  I really love how lightweight this top feels.  I figured it would be perfect to wear with jeans or shorts.  For this look, I wore it with my white pants and nude heels.  I accessorized with a turquoise necklace and wristlet clutch.  I thought that this look would be perfect for a date night out with your husband or maybe drinks out with the girls…. those are both outings that are rare for me these days, but at least I have an outfit all ready to go! 
*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.

Shop my closet
Top- Old Navy (exact) || Pants- Target (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar) || Necklace- Kohl’s (similar) || Purse- Hand-me-down (similar)

I hope you feel inspired to add some color to your wardrobe!

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