Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Mom Wardrobe Essentials

by Katie Haller

When I became a mom, my whole life changed, including my wardrobe.  I went from having lots of free time to think about outfits and go shopping, to now, where I feel like I’m always in a rush.  I’m rushing to get to work, rushing to get home, rushing to make dinner and rushing to put together an outfit.  My life revolves around taking care of my little Jack, but I refuse to lose my sense of style.  Putting together a cute outfit always affects my moods and gives me more confidence.  I just feel better about myself when I feel put together, and I think that’s important as a mom.  That’s why these days I’ve had to adjust the way I dress and simplify my wardrobe to fit my lifestyle. 

Nowadays, I mostly dress very casual, more casual than I ever did in the past.  I have 10 essential pieces in my wardrobe that help makes styling an outfit extremely simple for me.  
1.) Stripe Dress- I love stripes and dresses are so easy to wear, especially in the warmer weather.  You can dress them up and down.  I like a stripe pattern because it’s a pattern I feel comfortable in and it’s easy to accessorize. 
2.) Long Cardigan- I love long cardigans.  They go perfectly with jeans, leggings or dresses.  My favorite cardigan right now is from H&M.  I love how lightweight it is and how I can wear it with almost anything in my closet.
3.) Long T-shirt- I’m really loving t-shirts right now, especially long ones.  T-shirts are a great staple to have in your wardrobe, especially when they fit nicely. 
4.) Denim Jacket- I love my denim jacket.  It’s perfect for layering over dresses or long tops.  I like that I always feel comfortable in it and it goes with everything. 
5.) Leggings- Leggings are the best kind of pants for busy moms.  They are comfy and when worn correctly, they can be quite stylish. 
6.) Distress Denim Jeans-  I love a good comfortable pair of distress jeans.  They are trendy and casual.  You can never go wrong with a good comfortable pair of jeans.
7.) Large Tote-  I kind of said goodbye for now to all my small clutches and crossbody purses, because large tote purses are the best choice for me.  I avoid my diaper bag, so I always need a purse large enough for all my little guy’s snacks, diapers, and toys.  A cognac color is my favorite for a purse because it can be worn with just about everything in your wardrobe.
8.) Ankle Booties- Heels is hard to do these days because I’m constantly holding my 20 lb little guy.  A cute pair of booties with a low heel are the perfect way to get away with wearing a heal and dressing up a look without overdoing it. 
9.) Sneakers- A cute pair of casual sneakers are the perfect way to complete your mom look.  You can wear them with anything.  I love my Converse Chucks Taylor sneakers. I’ve worn them all the time because they are comfortable and perfect for both work and home. They are the perfect shoe to fit my busy mom life.
10.) Nude Ballet Flats- Flats are always my go-to shoes.  They are easy to slip on and they look good with everything.  I’m due to replace my nude ballet flats from Target this spring.  I’m thinking these scalloped flats would be the perfect replacements. 

Here are some of the ways that I utilize my mom essentials in my wardrobe.

(I do try to link my clothes as much as I can, but because many of the clothes in my closet are clearance finds, thrifted pieces or older clothes, I can’t always find the exact link.  However, I try to link some similar affordable options for you.  You can check out my look below.)
Shop my closet
Dress- Nordstrom Rack (similar similar similar)
 Denim Jacket- Mejier (similar similar)
 Purse- Savers ( similar similar)
Pendant Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar similar)
 Green Statement necklace- Charming Charlies (similar)
 Coral Necklace- Charming Charlies (similar)
 Layered necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar)
 T-shirts-Target (similar similar)
 Jeans- Nordstrom Rack (similar similar)
 All other shoes are linked above!
I hope that you feel inspired to step up your mom wardrobe!  Do you have any go to pieces in your wardrobe?

St. Patrick’s Day Looks

by Katie Haller

I love dressing up for holidays.  It’s always been a fun way for me to celebrate the holiday, no matter what my plans are for that day.  One of my favorite holidays to dress for has always been St. Patrick’s Day.  I love the color green and I’m a little over a quarter Irish, so I feel that gives me the right to go all out and show off my Irish pride.  My St. Patrick’s Day is now celebrated a little differently than the St. Patrick’s Day’s of my past.  Instead of drinking at the bars with friends, I’ll be hanging out with my little family, probably enjoying a beer with my husband, while Jack plays in the yard. 
Even though my St. Patty’s Day plans might be a little lame to some, that doesn’t mean that I can’t have fun with my outfit.  Here are a few looks that I put together for St. Patrick’s Day, just by shopping my own closet.
For my first look, I wore this green polka-dot blouse that I’ve had in my closet for a couple years now.  I paired it with my distress jeans and nude pumps.

Top- Target (similar) || Jeans- Target (similar) || Shoes- Target (exact) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (similar) || Purse- Ross (similar)

I’m really loving this olive green color with my white pants.  It looks so springy!  I paired this look with some brown Steve Madden wedge shoes, a statement necklace, and my brown leather Coach purse.

Top- Thrifted from Savers (similar) || Pants- Target (similar) || Necklace- Savers (similar) || Shoes- Macy’s (similar) || Purse- Coach Outlet (similar)

If you don’t have much green in your wardrobe, you can always accessorize with some green.  I love to accessorize with big green statement necklaces.  I wore my green bubble necklace for this look, but you could always add a green scarf if you don’t have any green jewelry. 

Top- Nordstrom Rack (similar) || Pants- TJ Maxx (similar) || Jacket- Meijer (similar) || Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory (exact) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (exact) || Necklace- Charming Charlies (similar)

Sometimes a simple green t-shirt is all you need to dress up a St. Patrick’s Day look.  Back when I had little money to go shopping with, I bought this Kelly green t-shirt at Kohl’s and it’s always been a good go to top for St. Patrick’s Day. 

Top- Kohl’s (similar) || Jeans- Kohl’s (similar) || Cardigan- H&M (similar) || Shoes- linked above || Purse- linked above

Those are my St. Patty’s Day looks.  Hopefully, I’ve inspired you to shop your closet and find ways to incorporate green into your day!

Weekday Wardrobe

by Katie Haller

Back when I first started my blog, I loved to document what I wore to work every day.  It always challenged me to come up with new looks using all the clothes in my closet.  It’s been a really long time since I last did a weekday wardrobe post, so I decided it was about time for one.  

I always struggle with getting dressed for work in the morning.   Let’s face it…Preschool teachers aren’t normally known for being very stylish people, but I try my best not to fall into that stereotype.  You never know what messy activities are on the plans for the day.  We paint, play with playdough and you never know who will accidentally get a marker on your sweater.  That’s why I never spend a lot of money on my clothes, especially my work clothes.  I try to dress smart, practical, comfortable and of course… stylish too.  My work clothes transfer over into my mom’s life perfectly.  I spend my whole day with other people’s kids, then I come home and take care of my little guy.  My workweek wardrobe would also be great for stay at home moms as well.
Here is what I wore to work this week…
Monday
Cardigan- Savers
Tunic- Old Navy
Leggings- Last Call Neiman Marcus
Shoes- Nordstrom
Necklace- Kohl’s
Tuesday
Top- Nordstrom Rack
Cardigan- Old Navy
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory
Wednesday
Top- Old Navy
Cardigan- H&M
Leggings- Last Call Neiman Marcus
Thursday
Top- Target
Cardigan- Target
Jeans- Kohl’s
Friday

Dress- Target
Jacket- Meijer
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack

That’s what I wore this week.  I really enjoyed all the beautiful spring weather we had this week. I can’t wait to put together some fun looks for the spring!
 Have a great weekend!

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!

The Cardimom

by Katie Haller

Back when I was nursing Jack, I was always challenged by what to wear.  It was hard when we would go out because I never felt very comfortable nursing in public.  I had to be creative when putting together outfits.  I had a nursing apron, but it was bulky when I tried to pack it into my diaper bag.  Blankets always slipped off and I tried using scarves to cover up, but they never worked out as well as I had hoped for.  I was always trying to figure out a way to cover up, look stylish, yet also easily feed my baby.

The CardimomⓇ, by Multiwear is the answer for all the breastfeeding moms out there trying to figure out how to dress stylish, yet still, be able to cover up and easily feed your baby.  The CardimomⓇ is a shrug cardigan, that easily converts into a poncho, perfect to use as a nursing cover.  I feel like the cardimomⓇ is such a clever clothing item for moms.  The great thing about the CardimomⓇ is that it’s not just for nursing moms.  It can be worn as maternity wear, a shrug cardigan with any outfit, a car seat or stroller cover, a blanket, a shopping cart cover…. the list goes on.

I’m not currently in need of a nursing cover, but I am loving how comfortable and wearable my cardimomⓇ is.  It fits perfectly into my everyday mom wardrobe.  I can’t wait until I have the chance to wear it as a maternity top when it’s time for baby number 2…..one day. 

Weekend errand running look.

A big thank you to Multiwear for sponsoring this post!

Look for more CardimomⓇ outfit ideas in my next post! 

Shopping Finds- Thrift Store Looks

by Katie Haller

Whenever I have a Monday off work for a holiday, I always try to make a trip to Savers to check out their sales.  This President’s Day, I couldn’t help myself but to drive up and check out the 50% off sale.  I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I ended up finding some really cute things at a great price as always! 

Here are some of my findings.  I put together a few looks that I can’t wait to wear!

This grey Target cardigan was only $3.  I love cardigans and grey goes with everything.  I thought it looked really nice with this teal tunic, which was only $3 as well. 
I really liked this olive green long sleeve top.  It’s super lightweight and it has a nice fit.  It was only $2. 
I also found this brown cardigan for $4.  I don’t have anything brown like this, so I thought it would be nice to have in my cardigan collection.  I paired it up with the olive green top.

I always feel like my closet is lacking color, so I bought this rust orange color cardigan.  It’s the same as my grey H&M cardigan that I wear all the time, so I knew I would like it.  It was only $3. 
I’m always looking for cute shorts, so I was excited when I found these Abercrombie jean shorts for only $5.  With the hot Las Vegas summers, I knew I would be needing more shorts.  I also love the statement necklace I found for $2.99.  I love how simple it is and how you can wear it with any look to dress it up. 
I can’t wait to incorporate these items into my everyday looks!
Happy thrift shopping!

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