Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Striped Dress

by Katie Haller

I always love doing my “Making the Most of Your Wardrobe” post, because I love sharing how I accessorize my clothes.  My closet is full of simple clothing pieces that can be re-worn over and over again, I just accessorize it a little differently each time.  I feel like this is the practical way to make the most of your clothing.

 I bought this simple stripe racerback dress at Walmart back in August (similar here here and here).  Every August, I go get my school supplies at Walmart and I can never help myself but to take a quick peek at the clothes.  I found that a lot of their junior summer clothes were on clearance for really low prices between $1-$5.  I stumbled upon this little dress and couldn’t reset it.  It was only $5.  As I’m sure you can tell, I have a bit of an obsession with stripe patterns, especially black and white stripes.  I just find stripes to be so classic and simple to accessorize.

Here are some ways that I’ve worn this little dress.

This first look is my favorite!  I wore my black blazer from Forever 21 (similar), my new turquoise pendant necklace from Nordstrom Rack (similar), my nude flats from Target (exact) and my cross over blush purse from Ross (similar). 

This is a perfect weekend look.  I wore the denim jacket that I bought a couple summers ago while grocery shopping at Meijer (similar), my white sandals from Target (exact), a coral statement necklace from Charming Charlie (similar) and my coral Coach purse.

This is a great transitional fall look, perfect for the Las Vegas fall temperatures.  I wore my long cardigan from H&M (similar), my gold pendant necklace from Burlington Coat Factory (similar) and my new ankle boots also from Burlington Coat Factory (similar).

For this last look, I really love wearing sneakers with a dress.  It just helps to dress it down and give it a casual look.  I wore my same denim jacket as above, with a simple long silver necklace (I’ve had this one so long I can’t remember where I bought it.) and my pink sneakers from Target (similar).

  This dress has quickly become one of my favorite dresses.  I love how a little $5 purchase can add so much to your wardrobe.  Look for more posts like this, because I have a lot more closet favorites that I would love to share!

Baby on a Budget- Homemade Baby Food

by Katie Haller

 
When it comes to baby food, I always knew that I wanted to make my own when I had a baby of my own.  For one, I feel like it’s healthier for the baby to have fresh food.  Another reason is that it is so much cheaper!  I’ve browsed the baby food aisle and what I’ve found is that it would get pretty expensive to feed my baby store-bought food every day, especially if I wanted to use the organic baby food.  
 

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Instagram Outfit Review

by Katie Haller



I love Instagram right now.  It’s probably my favorite form of social media at the moment.  I decided to start an Instagram account for my blog about 6 months ago.  I’m so glad that I did because I feel like I have a second blog.  I love sharing my outfits of the day, my shopping finds and of course a few cute baby pictures here and there.  Sometimes I get really busy and it’s hard to find the time to put together a blog post, that’s why I love being able to take a quick outfit selfie and post it on Instagram.  It’s much faster than putting together a whole post. 



Today I wanted to just share some of the outfits I wore in the last 2 months that never made it to the blog.  Here is a quick recap.

Top- Target
Sweater- Old Navy
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Target 
Necklace- Charming Charlie
Dress- Walmart
Sweater- Target
Shoes- DSW
Necklace- Target
Top- Kohl’s
Sweater- Old Navy
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Target
Necklace- Target
Top- Forever 21
Sweater- Target
Pants- Target
Shoes- Target
Necklace- Target
Dress- H&M
Shoes- Target
Necklace- Target
Top- Nordstrom Rack
Blazer- Target
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack
Top- Target
Sweater- Old Navy
Jeans- Meijer
Shoes- Ross
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack
Top- Old Navy
Cardigan- Nordstom Rack
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Burlington Coat Factory
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack

Top- Nordstrom Rack
Jeans- Target
Shoes- Ross
Necklace- Charming Charlie

Those are my looks.  Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @thriftywifehappylife for more quick outfit selfies and my latest blog post! 

Bloggers Brunch at Neiman Marcus

by Katie Haller

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a bloggers brunch hosted by Christie Moeller at Neiman Marcus here in Las Vegas.  It was such a treat for me to attend an event surrounded by so many talented and creative women.  I have to say that one of the major high lights for me was sampling some of the latest beauty launches for fall at Neiman Marcus.  We sampled luxury brands such as Jo Malone, Clive Christian, Fresh, Tom Ford, and Kevyn Aucoin.  I may be the Thrifty Wife, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a soft spot for the finer things.  I even won a $100 gift card to Neiman Marcus!!

Here are just a couple pictures that I took from the morning.

These are just a few of the fabulous table displays.
Me and my friend and co-worker, Lori. Her Instagram page @stylewithlori is a great place to find great style inspiration.
The goodie bag I came home with.  I can’t wait to try out all my new samples!

For me, one of the best parts of the brunch was having the opportunity to mingle with the other bloggers from Las Vegas.  It was such a privilege for me to meet so many other talented bloggers.  One thing that I love about blogging is that there is this awesome blogging community that is out there.  It was nice to have an event where the small community of bloggers who exist here in Las Vegas can meet and support each other.

I started this little blog over 3 years ago and I’ve never thought of it as more than just a hobby.  It’s just a place for me to share my interests and passions with others.  As you get older in life, your friendships change.  With careers, husbands, and babies it gets harder to keep in touch with the people you have the most in common with.  I love that I have this space to communicate with my friends and family.  Even more, it’s exciting that I get to share my interests and ideas with new readers who come across my blog.  I just love having this creative outlet to share with all of you.

  Honestly, I’m honored that anyone actually reads my blog.  Every time I get a repin on Pinterest or a new follower on Instagram or a like on Facebook, I’m so flattered.  I learn a little more about blogging each day.  Even though life gets busy with work and my family, I know that I always have my blog to turn to as my own space.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me and read my posts over the years.  I love hearing from you and I’m so grateful for everything!  I hope that you continue to stay with me and keep following me to find out what I’m up to next.

Fall Nail Polish

by Katie Haller

I love nail polish and you will rarely find me without color on my nails.  I like to pick polish colors to match the season.  Right now, I’m all about fall colors.  For fall, I like to switch from my bright pinks and pastilles of the spring and summer months and go a bit darker with a mix of jewel tones, neutrals, and metallic colors.  I have 3 favorite brands of nail polish and they are  Sinful Colors.   NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish. and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.  I like these 3 brands because the nail polish always goes on nice and smooth, they dry quickly, the polish lasts and best of all they are all under $5!

Here are some of the colors that I’m feeling this fall. 

One// Chinatown
I bought this color last year.  I love that it’s dark, but it’s not quite black.  I wore it a lot in October around Halloween. 
This fuchsia color is fun for fall.  Instead of the bright pinks, I lean towards the darker pinks like this.  They transition perfectly to the winter season as well.

I found this brown bronzy color while I was searching for new fall colors and I can’t wait to try it.  I like a nice brown at times to match the autumn season.

 Four// Mauve It
 If I go with a light pink during the fall, I will often keep it more neutral pink.  This color is a nice soft pink for the fall.

Five// In a Flash

I’m a big fan of this pearly beige color.  It’s a very neutral color that goes well with all my fall outfits.

I love the name of this color because it describes it perfectly.  I love to have a grey metallic color and this one almost has a hint of purple in it.
Seven// Aubergine
I love a dark burgundy on my nails in the fall.  It reminds me of the color of red wine, which I also love to have in the fall months.

Eight// Dream On
Purple is another fun color for when the weather cools down.  I like to mix it up with a dark amethyst color.

I’ve yet to take a risk with the blue polish, but I came across this blue and I love it for fall.  I’m born in September and this color reminds me of my birthstone, the sapphire.  I will have to pick this color up next time I’m out and take the risk. 

Those are some of the colors that I’m feeling this fall from my favorite brands.  What are your favorite nail colors for fall?

Shopping Finds- Target

by Katie Haller

There is nothing that makes me more excited than saving money on new clothes.  I love to stretch my dollar as far as I possibly can.  That’s what I did this weekend at Target. 
Sometimes shopping the clearance section can be so hit or miss.  Target usually has a great clearance section, but you have to go at the right time to get really good deals.  I find that the end of the summer and early fall are perfect for finding clearance deals.  It’s easy to take summer clothes and style them into the fall and winter. 

 I had some Target coupons sent to me in the mail last week, so I was excited to use them.  I had a coupon for $5 off $25, so I knew I was going to try to get as much as I could for $25.  I was still on the hunt for a few more pieces from my fall wish list.  I ended up buying 5 new pieces of clothes and only spending $18.86 after tax!  I actually surprised myself, because I didn’t realize that I could use my Cartwheel app, with a coupon, on top of the clearance price. 

I ended up buying 3 new tops; one striped tank top (here) and 2 t-shirts; one striped and one green (here).  I also bought a simple grey dress (here) and a scarf (similar here and here).  Here are my dressing room pictures of the tops I bought.  (Don’t mind my little shopping buddy in the background.  He was busy trying to get the hangers.)

I can’t wait to style my new clearance pieces for the fall months! 
 Happy shopping everyone! 

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