Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Shopping Finds for Baby!

by Katie Haller

I am definitely getting into the nesting stage of pregnancy.  I’m counting down the weeks until my little guy is finally here and I’m trying to prepare for his arrival.  Babies need a lot of stuff, and I am just hoping that I have everything he will need.  With all the major items already purchased, I felt that it was time for me to get a few extra little items with the leftover money on my gift cards.

When it comes to clothes shopping for my baby, I want him to look cute, but I also don’t want to spend a lot of money on his clothes.  Babies grow so fast, and not to mention, they also dirty up their clothes so quickly.  I feel like it’s a waste to spend full price on baby clothes.  This is why I plan to look for the best deals I possibly can find for this little guy.  I plan to be just as frugal with him as I am with my own clothing.

Here are some of my purchases from Babies R Us this past weekend.  All clearance clothes were 50% off the already marked down price.  I just couldn’t resist stocking up on a few things.

3 sleepers- $3.49, $2.99, $1.49
2 pack of pants- $3.49
Newborn mittens-  $1.49
Socks- $2.99
Total- $15.94
  I went to Babies R Us thinking that I would spend what was left on my gift cards, but I walked away still having money on my cards, which is never a bad thing. I guess I will just have to do some more bargain shopping soon.

What I Wore~ Maternity Style

by Katie Haller

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  I know that I enjoyed my time off work.  It was so nice to have the chance to go home to Michigan and be with family.  Now it’s back to normal life.  I have to admit that I haven’t been great at taking pictures of all my maternity outfits recently.  It’s kind of hard to keep up with that when you’re living out of a suitcase.  Luckily, before I packed for my trip, I took pictures of the outfits that I planned to wear.  I thought I’d share some of the outfits that I actually wore last week. 

Stripe tank top- H&M
Black cardigan- Target 
Jeans- Motherhood
 Necklace- Charming Charlie
Boots- Target

Top- Old Navy
Cardigan- Target
Jeans- Motherhood
Boots- Target
Necklace- Kohl’s

Sweater- Meijer
Jeans- Meijer
Necklace- Charming Charlie
Boots- Target

Top- Kohl’s
Sweater- Old Navy
Leggings- Forever 21
Boots- Target
Necklace- Kohl’s

Here is a bump update for the last 2 weeks.  I can definitely tell that I’m in my third trimester.  I have a month and a half left to go before I get to meet this little guy.  He’s welcome to come a little early if he wants (of course not too early though).  The reality that I’m going to be having this baby soon is starting to set in, and I’m not going to lie, it’s a little scary.  Even though I’m a little bit terrified of the pain of child birth, I just keep thinking of all the women who have done it before me.  I’ve never heard a mother say that the pain wasn’t worth it in the end.

32-week baby bump
33-week baby bump

As you can see by the pictures this baby boy is getting quite large and I’m feeling it.  I’m missing my little second trimester baby bump.  It was much more manageable and easier to dress.  That’s alright though, because I’m up for the challenge to find cute ways to dress this big third trimester bump.

Weekend Wardrobe- Maternity Style

by Katie Haller

 I almost didn’t think that I’d get a chance to post any outfits this weekend, because I’ve been so tired lately.  It’s getting a little harder for me to come up with new outfits each week, but since this is the last time I will have the opportunity to post a bump update in 2015, I figured I should at least try to pick out a couple cute new looks from my closet to share. 
I recently decided to finally bite the bullet and buy a pair of maternity jeans.  My normal jeans are still fitting, but I wanted a comfortable, stretchy pair of jeans for my last trimester.  I ended up finding a pair at Motherhood Maternity (exact here).  Since maternity clothes are not cheap, I waited until Cyber Monday to get a better deal on them.  The jeans were originally $44.98.  I was able to get 30% off with free shipping, bringing the price down to $31.49, more in my price range.  The jeans are cute and super comfortable, so I’ve already gotten a lot of use out of them, but my biggest complaint is that they are a little too baggy.  I’ve run into this problem with all the maternity clothes that I have tried on.  These jeans are just too saggy in the butt and thighs.  It’s annoying, but I’ll make do with them for now, especially since they’re so comfortable.
Here are some outfits I wore with my new jeans this weekend.

 Saturday

 Tank Top- H&M
Sweater- Express
Jeans- Motherhood
Necklace- Charming Charlie
Boots- Target

Sunday

 Top- Kohl’s
Scarf- Target
Jeans- Motherhood
Blazer- Target
Boots- Target

Here is my bump picture for the week.  Besides feeling tired, some of the symptoms I’ve been experiencing have been shortness of breath and feeling light-headed occasionally.  I know those are normal symptoms in your third trimester.  I’ve also been getting leg cramps a lot at night.  They are painful and feel like a growing pain, but I can usually make it go away by stretching or getting up and walking around.  The baby’s kicks are getting harder.  He likes to kick me in the ribs a lot, which doesn’t always feel great, but I still love feeling him move around.
Even though I complain about the uncomfortableness of pregnancy, I feel so blessed to be having such a healthy pregnancy with no major problems.  I honestly was expecting it to be harder than this.  Now I just pray that my little guy is born healthy and the rest of my pregnancy goes smoothly, including the whole labor and delivery thing.  That will be the hard part.  I’m hoping to meet my little boy in 8 weeks and 5 days 🙂

31-week baby bump
Have a great week and Merry Christmas!!

Dressing Your Baby Bump for the Holidays

by Katie Haller

Last year, I wrote a post called Dressing for the Holidays on a Budget.  It was all about how to add some Christmas into your wardrobe, without having to spend money on a whole new outfit.  This year, I’m still following my own tips on dressing for the season, the only difference is this Christmas season, I’m 8 months pregnant.

I’m excited to be pregnant during this Christmas season.  Besides having to skip out on the holiday drinks I enjoy so much this time of the year, I’m very happy to be expecting our little man this Christmas.  There is just so much to celebrate and be thankful for!  Plus, I have this fun little baby bump to dress up!

While going through my closet, I’ve realized that there are a couple important things to keep in mind while planning out your maternity holiday outfits.  The first thing is to remember to be comfortable.  Between eating all the yummy holiday food and your growing baby smooshing your insides, comfort is my number one priority when picking out my outfits.  The second thing to remember is to stick to very basic clothes that you can easily accessorize with some of your favorite Christmas accessories.  My favorite way to accessorize during the holidays is with green, red or anything sparkly.

Here are some outfits that I’ve picked to wear this holiday season, using my favorite holiday accessories and comfortable maternity clothes.

This striped dress is one of my favorite dresses right now.  It’s simple and comfortable.  I love that I can accessorize it however I want.  Here I wore it with my red cardigan and red bead necklace to give it that Christmas look.  I also wore black tights and black ankle boots to complete the look. 

For my next look, I wore this simple black cotton maternity dress from Target (similar here).  This is the only actual “maternity” dress that I have bought so far.  I figured if I was going to spend money on maternity clothes, it should be something simple that I could wear over and over again, and what’s more simple than a plain black dress?  I added my green bubble necklace and my most comfortable pair of heels.  I wore this look to my husband’s company Christmas party.

Here is the same black dress, I just tried it out with my shimmery gold scarf instead of the necklace.  I also wore my black tights and ankle boots to give it more of a wintry look.

Continuing on with my all-black outfits, Here is an example of sticking with very simple comfortable clothes and just accessorizing them.  Here I wore a black long tank top, leggings and a black blazer.  I accessorized it with an infinity scarf that has some red and green in it and my boots.

 I thought this look would be a great casual Christmas day look.  I wore my polka-dot blouse, jeans, a red cardigan, green statement necklace and brown boots. 

Those are just a few ideas that I have for this Christmas season.  If you’re pregnant this year, hopefully these looks will help you figure out some ways to dress up your baby bump.  If you’re not pregnant, this can still be a great guide to help you figure out what to wear this Holiday season!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Weekend Wardrobe- Maternity Style

by Katie Haller

Lately, Kevin and I have been trying to take advantage of our weekends together, by getting out and exploring new places.  It’s been just the two of us for the last 4 1/2 years and that’s all about to change very soon, in a wonderful way! 
Here is what I wore this weekend…

Saturday

 Top- H&M
Blazer- Forever 21
Leggings- Forever 21
Scarf- Nordstroms
Boots- Target

 

 Sunday

 Top- Kohl’s
Cardigan- H&M
Leggings- Forever 21
Boots- Target

I almost forgot to add my bump picture for the week.  I’m 30 weeks this week and so the count down is officially on.  I’m getting very excited and anxious for this little guy’s arrival! 

30-week baby bump

Have a great week!

Throwback Thursday- Baby Shower Outfit

by Katie Haller

I’ve been meaning to post my outfit that I wore a few weeks ago to my baby shower, but I just haven’t had a chance.  I figured I’d do a throwback post about it today. 
Just like any special occasion, I started searching for a dress for my shower way in advance.  I looked at a lot of different maternity dresses online, I shopped around at a few stores and I basically struck out.  I knew I wanted something blue, since I’m having a boy, and I also wanted something that would show off my baby bump.  I ended up settling on a simple black maternity dress from Target.  I ordered it online, but when it came in the mail, I realized just how big maternity clothes are.  My 26-week bump barely filled out the x-small maternity dress.  I decided to re-evaluate and take a closer look in my closet to see if I had any dresses that would work.  I remembered this navy blue dress that I bought almost 4 years ago for my sister-in-law’s wedding.  I remembered that I always really liked this dress, plus I found it for such a great price at TJ Maxx.  I think it was only $19.99 when I bought it.  Anyway, the dress worked out great.  The material is nice and stretchy, and I was super comfortable in it all day.  I accessories it with a tan sweater and nude pumps.

Dress- TJ Maxx
Sweater- Old Navy
Shoes- Target

Left: My husband and I at his sister’s wedding, not pregnant. Right: Me at my baby shower, 26 weeks pregnant.
When it comes to planning an outfit for any special occasion, my best advice is to not overthink it and look to see what you already have in your closet before you spend money on something new.  You can always accessorize differently and make it a whole new look!

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