Thrifty Wife Happy Life

My Closet-Throwback Thursday~ Denim Shirt

October 22, 2015 by Katie Haller

Happy Friday Eve! Here are a couple outfits that I put together last fall using my denim button-down shirt. I love this top because it’s so great for layering in different ways. In the looks below, I wore this top with white pants and with a black skirt. These are both perfect work outfits if you have a business casual dress code.

Denim Button Down- Target (similar)

White Pants- Target (similar)

Nude Shoes- Target (similar)

Navy Blazer- Target (exact)

Sweater- Express bought at the Salvation Army

Skirt- Ann Taylor hand me down from my mom

Hope you enjoyed my Throwback! Tomorrow is Friday, so why not close out the week with a cute work outfit? I’m sure it will make your day!

Making the Most of Non-Maternity Clothes~Second Trimester

October 20, 2015 by Katie Haller

I think it’s finally official. I cannot hide the fact that I am pregnant anymore. For weeks I’ve been looking at my belly wondering if anyone could tell that I had a baby in there and not just a big meal. It wasn’t until one of the dads of a child in my class asked me if I was expecting. I looked at him and thought, who told you? Then I looked at my belly and realized that it was getting pretty noticeable.

One great thing about growing a baby is all the fun that you get to have to find new ways to style your new body. Pregnancy is not always cheap though. There are doctor bills, buying things for your new baby and for many of us….unpaid maternity leaves to save up for. This is why my goal has been to stay in my normal non-maternity clothes for as long as I possibly can. Maternity clothes can be expensive and I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on clothing that can only be worn for such a short period of time. That’s why I’ve been searching through my closet and trying out all my normal clothes to see what still fits and figure out how to wear them with my growing bump.

I recently went through and tried on all my dresses in my closet. I was just trying to get a feel for what I can still wear and what I will be able to wear in the upcoming months. I ended up having a great idea of how to wear some of my dresses in a new way. I decided to try styling a few of my shorter dresses as a shirt with a pair of blue jeans. I ended up coming up with a few super cute fall outfits.

For my first look, I tried on this blue and white striped dress that I bought at Target a couple years ago for only $2. After I washed it a couple times, it was always a little short on me, so I usually wear it with leggings. When I tried it on with my blue jeans it made the perfect maternity top. I accessorized it with a white sweater and brown belt. I also wore my brown Steve Madden wedge shoes. I feel like wearing some kind of heal or wedge helps lengthen out my body a bit. (I’m going to try to wear heals through my entire pregnancy. I’ll stop either when my feet swell up too much or I can’t take the discomfort any longer.)

I bought this sweater dress years ago at Express on clearance after Christmas. It always looked cute with leggings, but when I tried it on with my jeans, I felt that is made a great maternity sweater with plenty of room to grow. Again, I wore a pair of wedge sandals to give me some height. I feel like this outfit will be great for the upcoming cooler months.

Last but not least, I tried on this sweater dress that I bought last year at TJ Maxx. It’s a cute sweater dress to wear in the winter with boots, but I really like the look with my blue jeans. I thought it was cute on it’s own, or I could layer it with my navy blazer.

I’ve got to say that I’m having fun finding ways to dress up my new baby bump. I’m sure eventually I’ll have to invest in a few key maternity items, but for the most part I’m hoping to be able to wear my non- maternity clothes for as long as I can. I can’t wait to share more maternity looks with you in the upcoming months!

Weekend Wardrobe- Maternity Style

October 18, 2015 by Katie Haller

I always feel like the weekends just fly by, even when you had a quiet one. This weekend I didn’t do much, but that didn’t hold me back from putting together some cute outfits. I always feel like getting ready and putting on something that makes you feel good can totally turn around your day. I especially feel like it’s important to try and look your best while you’re pregnant. Pregnancy can be a really exciting time, but it can also be kind of lonely and depressing at times. There is just so much going on with your body changing and hormones that it’s easy to get down sometimes. Dressing cute can really help with all those emotions. Besides, when you really think about it, pregnancy is a very short time in your life, so you really need to embrace this time and have fun with your changing body.

Here are my looks from the weekend.

Saturday

Tunic- Kohl’s

Leggings- Kohl’s

Cardigan- Target

Belt- Target

Boots- Target

Necklace- Charming Charlie

Sunday

Top- Walmart

Pants- Kohl’s

Shoes- Target

Blazer- Kohl’s

Here is my bump picture for this week. He has definitely been doing a lot of growth in the past couple of weeks. He’s also moving A LOT! The other night I thought he was trying to break out. It’s such a cool feeling, I can’t even describe it.

22-week baby bump

Have a great week!

Creating a Fall Wardrobe in the Heat

October 16, 2015 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

October 11, 2015 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

October 10, 2015 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.

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