Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Creating a Fall Wardrobe in the Heat

by Katie Haller

One thing that has definitely been an adjustment for me with living in Las Vegas, compared to Michigan, is the long never-ending summer heat.  Since fall is my favorite season to dress for, it’s been hard for me to embrace the season with my wardrobe.  I guess wearing all my summer clothes can be a good thing because I’m not as eager to spend money on new fall clothes, but I’m still ready to put away the summer clothes and get back into wearing denim, boots, and scarves… just a few of my fall favorites!

Lately, I have decided to bring on the fall wardrobe, with or without the hot temperatures.  I’ve been going through my clothes and figuring out new ways to wear some of my summer clothes with a few of my favorite fall clothes and accessories. 

Here are just a few looks that I came up with.

This is a new outfit that I recently bought at Kohls.  The top (exact here) was $10.80, found in the clearance section and the leggings (exact here) were on sale for $6.99, both found in the juniors department.  I never shop at Kohls without checking Retail Me Not first for coupons.  I ended up getting 20% off of my purchase.  I decided to accessorize my new outfit with one of my favorite pairs of brown boots and my red beaded necklace.  This look is the perfect mix of fall and summer.

Scarves are one of my favorite accessories to wear in the cooler weather.  Last year I bought a few lightweight scarves at Charming Charlies (read about the scarves here).  They have turned out to be a great accessory for the warmer climate.  I wore this particular scarf with a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and black flats.  Wearing a tank top or short sleeve shirt with a lightweight scarf is a great way to accessorize some fall into your wardrobe when it’s still warm out.   
As I’ve mentioned before, I love my boots!  Boots are one of my favorite fall accessories.  Wearing your favorite pair of boots with a dress is a great way to bring them out when the weather is still warm.  I also love to wear denim in the fall, so I wore my denim jacket with a t-shirt dress. 

I love wearing maxi dresses in the summer, because they keep me cool, and I love scarves in the fall and winter because they keep me warm.  So when I combine the 2 it makes for a great warm fall day outfit.

 For all of you who live in warm climates, I’m sure you can relate to my fall dilemma, but hopefully these looks will help you figure how to bring a little fall into your life…even if you feel like the summer is never ending.

 

Weekend Wardrobe- Maternity Style

by Katie Haller

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Here are my Saturday and Sunday looks this week.

Saturday
Dress- Old Navy
Short-Sleeve Cardigan- Ross
Shoes- Target
Sunday
Dress- Savers
Blazer- Target
Shoes- The Goodwill
Here is my bump shot for the week.  I have to say that I’m enjoying this little baby bump.  It’s almost the perfect size.  Too bad I know it will be huge before I know it.
21-week baby bump

Have a great week everyone!!

Baby Registry

by Katie Haller

If you’ve ever been married or had a baby, you know how fun it is to register for gifts.  Who doesn’t like picking out their own gifts and being showered with them? 
I recently registered for my baby shower.  With all my experience working with infants and young children, I never thought that I would have any problem putting together a baby registry for my own child.  Well, I was wrong.  It’s really hard figuring out exactly what you’ll need for your little one when they arrive.  I really wanted to just stick to the basics, but what are the basics exactly?  Of course, there are a lot of resources out there when trying to figure out what to add to your baby registry.  I read lots of blogs, watched YouTube reviews and of course talked with my friends who have little ones, but when it really comes down to it, it’s your decision on what to put on that registry. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of sticking to the basic needs of a baby, but I won’t know for sure until he arrives.   

Before you start picking out your baby gear, you have the decision of where to register.  For me, all my family and friends live out of state, so I wanted someplace with good shipping prices and a decent website.  I ended up going with Babies R Us and Target.  I thought about Amazon, but I decided that I wanted to go to the actual store and see some of the baby gear for myself.  Of course, being the frugal person I am, I wanted to pick out the best baby gear for the best price.

 

My first stop for registering was Babies R Us.  Since it’s a store dedicated to babies, it’s definitely a great place to find some great baby gear. Not to mention, you are signed up for their rewards program automatically and anything not purchased on your registry, you automatically get 10% off, which will definitely be helpful after the baby comes when we figure out exactly what he will need.  One other thing that I liked about Babies R Us is that they will price match other stores like Wal-Mart and Amazon, so you will always be able to find the best price.

Here is the little freebie gift bag you receive when registering with Babies R Us. 
  • Pampers diapers and wipes with a $5 coupon
  • Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags sample
  • Chicco natural fit pacifier
  • $20 off Tiny Prints
  • $20 off Shutterfly
  • $5 off $25 or more at Babies R Us
I wasn’t planning on registering at two stores, but since I’m such a huge fan of Target, I couldn’t pass it up.  I actually like some of their nursery furniture a lot more than the other stores.  Plus they have some really cute baby stuff.  Just like Babies R Us, Target also offers a discount on any non-purchased items from your registry.


Here is a picture of the Target freebie gift bag.  I really liked this one because it was filled with samples and coupons for baby and mommy too!
  • Pampers Diaper and wipe sample with a $5 coupon
  • The Honest Co. Diaper and wipe sample with a $25 off $50 coupon
  • Mam newborn pacifier
  • Philips Agent 4 oz bottle
  • Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags and nursing pad samples
  • Seventh Generation Baby Free and Clear wipes sample
  • Dreft laundry detergent sample
  • Olly prenatal vitamin sample with a $2 off coupon 
  • Johnson baby head to toe wash sample with a coupon book
  • Babyganics 3x laundry detergent with $1.50 off coupon 
  • Zarbee’s natural baby vitamin samples with coupons 
  • Enfamil formula coupons
  • Seventh Generation diaper and wipe coupons
  • One a Day prenatal vitamin $2 off coupon 
  • Target 10% off nursing bra and 15% off maternity apparel coupon 
  • Not to mention all that comes in a cute grey chevron reusable bag

The great thing about getting all these free samples is that first-time moms like myself, who are a little clueless when it comes to baby products, get a chance to test out products and find out exactly what works for them and their baby.  I can’t wait until he’s here and we can start getting to know each other and start using all our new baby supplies!  I’ll have to follow up with this post after he’s born and share what my favorite baby products end up being.  Until then, I’ll just have to keep reading up on baby stuff and preparing myself for this little guy.

 



My Closet~ Throwback Thursday

by Katie Haller

I’ve really been trying hard to keep up with my blogging schedule.  I really enjoy writing new posts and sharing new ideas with all of you, but sometimes I fall behind due to the reality of my real life, especially when it comes to my outfits.  Unfortunately, for my wardrobe, my current job doesn’t allow me to explore my closet and put together cute outfits the way that my old job did.  That’s why I have decided to start doing a “Throwback Thursday” post.

Every so often I take a picture of an outfit that I wore and then I forget about it and never post it.  I was going through some of my pictures of outfits recently and realized that I still wanted to share these on my blog.  So Thursday can be a day that I can share a throwback outfit for me, but it will be new for you.  From now until February, most of the outfits that I share will be maternity.  With Throwback Thursday posts, I’ll still be able to share some of my normal outfits.

Here are 2 outfits that I wore early this summer before I found out I was pregnant.

Dress-Salvation Army (similar)
Necklace- Charming Charlie (similar)
Jacket- Meijer (similar)
Shoes- Macy’s (similar)
Tank Top- Old Navy (similar)
Sweater- Old Navy (similar)
Jeans- Kohl’s (similar)
Shoes- Target (similar)
Look for more Throwbacks in the upcoming Thursdays! 
 

My Closet~Weekend Wardrobe

by Katie Haller

Lately, I’ve been a little homesick for the fall weather.  I see pictures of all my friends back in the Midwest wearing all their cute fall clothes, and it makes me miss the season.  The good thing is that even though we have a long summer here in Nevada, it cools down and we get almost 5 months of fall-like weather, which makes me happy.

Today when I woke up there were clouds in the sky and the air was a bit cooler.  It made me feel like I was home.  I decided to put on some jeans and put together a fallish looking outfit.

Shirt- Savers
Sweater- Old Navy
Jeans- Meijer
Shoes- Target
I thought I’d show off my baby bump as well with my outfit since it’s an accessory I’ll be carrying around for the next 4 1/2 months.  The little guy is still pretty small, but I just hit the 20-week mark and so I’m sure there will be lots of growth in the next 20 weeks.  My goal is to stay in my normal clothes for as long as I can.  My jeans still fit, but I’ve been leaving the top button unbuttoned for comfort.  For my tops, I try to wear stretchy and loose-fitting top.  I did just buy a belly band at Target today.  I figured it will help me with staying comfortable in my normal jeans.
20-week baby bump

Have a great week!

 

Maternity Style- Before the Bump

by Katie Haller

Maternity fashion has definitely come along way over the years.  People used to think about maternity clothes as a bad thing because there were no cute options.  When I look back on some of the clothes that my mom wore in the ’80s when she was pregnant with me, I question how anyone ever thought that looked good.  Why would you put a pregnant woman in a giant sheet hiding her figure completely?  Now a day’s being pregnant is all about staying fashionable and cute.  Women have the chance to show off their baby bump proudly without hiding under a giant piece of clothing.
When I first found out I was pregnant, the one thing that I was really excited about was putting together cute maternity outfits.  I couldn’t wait to find ways to dress my baby bump.  Well, it takes a while to grow a baby, so really maternity fashion comes later in pregnancy.  I’m currently in my 5th month, so my baby is still very small.  My belly is slowly growing, but I still feel like it looks like I just ate 2 Thanksgiving dinners.  It won’t be long until I’m officially in maternity clothes, but as of right now, I’m still in that in-between stage. 
Even though I’m still pretty small, I am constantly uncomfortable in my clothes.  My jeans are tight, my tops are tight…all I’ve been wanting is to be comfortable, without looking like a slob.  So today, I thought I’d show off a few of my favorite “before the bump” maternity outfits.  These are just a few of my favorite clothing pieces that have helped me get through the first 4 months of pregnancy.
Left: Old Navy (similar) Right: Express (similar)
The first look that I have really been enjoying are my sundresses.  Sundresses are great during early pregnancy, especially during the summer.  It was so hot this summer and even though I wasn’t showing yet, I was sick and miserable.  Being able to throw on a cute empire waist sundress helped me dress myself up a bit and stay comfortable and cool at the same time.  Above are a couple of my dresses that I’ve worn recently.  Here are a few more sundresses I’ve posted in the past that I’ve also been getting a lot of use out of (here) (here) (here).

Another piece of clothing that I’m loving is my leggings.  Leggings are my best friends right now. Who doesn’t love a comfortable pair of leggings, especially when your feeling bloated?  Even though my jeans still fit, it’s just been too hot and they feel too tight, so I’ve been pretty much living in a legging.  I even bought a pair of jeggings a month ago at Ross, so that it didn’t look like I was wearing leggings to work every day.  I sometimes feel like leggings are a bit too casual for normal daily wear, but I think as long as you wear a long enough shirt and accessorize properly, leggings can be a cute option. 
Left: Skirt-Ross (similar)  Right: Dress- Target (similar)
Maxi dresses and skirts are another perfect options during early pregnancy.  I’m sure they will also be great to wear throughout my entire pregnancy as well.  I just love maxi dresses and skirts, because they’re comfortable and casual, yet they are dressy at the same time. 
Those are just a few of  my favorite “before the bump” looks.  I can’t wait to start putting together more maternity outfits and of course sharing them with you! 
What’s your favorite “before the bump” look?

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