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Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Blonde on a Budget

May 23, 2015 by Katie Haller

Blonde on a Budget
Did you know that only 2% of the world’s population is naturally blonde?  This is why blonde hair is considered a hair color minority.  For me, I love my blonde hair.  I was born blonde and I couldn’t imagine myself any other way.  Being blonde is a part of who I am.

When it comes to keeping up that light blonde look, it’s not always cheap.  I try to keep my hair as natural as possible, but I also like to lighten up the color with some highlights every so often.

I recently found a salon in Nevada and decided to finally spend the money and lighten up my hair for summer.  As I was paying, the stylist asked if I wanted to schedule my next appointment.  I told her no thank you,  I usually go a long time in between highlights.  She then said, “not a problem, we can put you down for 8 or 10 weeks out”.  That’s when I had to confess to her that when I say a long time, I mean 6 months, or whenever I can’t stand my hair anymore, whatever comes first.  The truth is a trip to the salon cost me around $140, and even though I know a lot of people spend more than that, it’s still a lot for me to fork out.  When you’re trying to save and be conservative with your money, a trip to the salon every other month can’t always be a top priority.  Even if I do feel that it’s well worth the money.  When it comes to my hair, it’s best to leave it up to a professional. 
So how do I keep up my blonde look without making frequent visits to the salon?  Here are a few tricks I’ve discovered over the years.  


Fun in the sun! 
I love living in the 5th sunniest city in the United States.  It has definitely helped me keep my hair lighter.  Back in Michigan, I would typically get my hair done in the spring and then I wouldn’t get my highlights done again until the late fall.  The summer sun always helped keep my hair stay nice and bright.  

Lemon juice
Lemon juice is a natural and easy way to help the blonde shine through.  I’m a big fan of spraying some lemon juice in my hair before a walk or sitting by the pool.  If you’re lacking sunlight, you can always use the heat from a blow dryer with the lemon juice to help naturally lighten up your hair. 
Curling your hair 
When my highlights are growing out a lot, this is when I start curling my hair every day.  For some reason, I feel like curls and waves help hide your roots, where straightening seems to showcase your roots.  I like to use my straightener to make some waves in my typically straight hair. 
Embrace your base color 
Thankfully the ombre look is in right now.  People pay to make their roots show, so why not show off those roots for free and embrace that natural color?
Keep it natural 
When your lightening your hair, it’s best to not make any drastic changes. Use you natural color as a base and lighten up from there.

Make a highlighting schedule
Save your salon visits the right time. Since I go so long in between my highlights, I like to set up a schedule, so that my hair looks best at certain times of the year.  I like to lighted up my hair in the early summer, so I’m all ready for summer weddings and vacations, then I get it done again in the late fall, so I’m all ready for the holidays.

How much money do you spend on your hair?  Do you think you could cut out a few salon trips a year to save your money? 

Filed in: Beauty • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

What I Wore

May 23, 2015 by Katie Haller

Happy Friday!  Here’s my work outfit from today.  Basically, everything I’m wearing in this picture was under $5 when I bought it.

Have a great long weekend! 

Blouse- Target
Sweater- Salvation Army
Jeans- Kohl’s 
Shoes- Target

Filed in: Daily Outfits, My Closet, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Celebrity Looks- Reese Witherspoon

May 18, 2015 by Katie Haller

From her portrayal of a California sorority girl in Legally Blonde to her country singing role as June Carter in Walk the Line, I’ve always been a fan of Reese Witherspoon.  But it’s not just her acting that makes me such a fan of hers, it’s her fun, feminine, colorful sense of style that makes her one of my favorite celebrities.  I love how she always looks so pretty where ever she is photographed.  Whether she’s wearing jeans and a sweater or a red carpet gown, she always looks great.
Here are a few of my favorite Reese Witherspoon inspired looks that I created using my own wardrobe. 
I love this look that Reese is wearing here.  It’s the perfect summer look!  She’s wearing a comfortable lightweight blue print dress with a jean jacket, fun strappy sandals, a brown purse and a fedora in hand.  I recreated this look with my new sundress from Old Navy (exact), wedge strappy sandals (similar), jean jacket (similar), brown leather coach purse and my fedora that I found in the dollar section of Target.
When I was researching Reese Witherspoon’s looks, I found tons of pictures of her in this casual summer look.  Light khaki shorts with sandals and a button-down shirt is a classic summer ensemble and Reese always looks great in this casual look.  I was inspired by this look to put together this outfit with a pink button-down (similar), khaki shorts from Old Navy (similar), and braided white sandals from Target (exact).
This look is similar to the first look, with a casual dress, long boyfriend cardigan, wedge sandals, and another fedora.  I recreated the look with a simple black sundress (similar), cream boyfriend cardigan (exact), wedge sandals (similar) and the same fedora from the first look. 

For the last Reese Witherspoon look, I recreated this casual jean look.  I wore my LC Lauren Conrad jeans (similar), boyfriend cardigan from Target (exact), Steven Madden brown wedge shoes (similar), white t-shirt (exact) with my brown coach purse.

Which one is your favorite Reese Witherspoon look?

Filed in: celebrity looks, looks, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Simple Sunday

May 17, 2015 by Katie Haller

To say that Sunday is my favorite day of the week would be an overstatement.  I’m more of a Friday kind of girl, but I do have to say that I love Sunday.  It’s the perfect day in the week to sit back and reflect on life and be grateful for all the blessings you have. 
Today, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying the very simple things in my life.  (I’m also avoiding the fact that I have a bunch of observations and checkpoints due at the end of the week and I’m doing anything possible to distract myself from that, but that’s beside the fact.) 
I’ve officially been living in Las Vegas for 3 months now and I have to say that I love it here!  I wasn’t sure what to think at first about moving to sin city, but it’s been a great experience.  Kevin and I are both really happy with our lives here.  Today I went to church, stopped at the grocery store and now I’m relaxing by the pool watching the palm trees blow in the breeze.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  I basically live the same life I did in Detroit, only now I have palm trees 🙂  I have to say that I can definitely see a future here.  It feels good to be settled for the moment and content with the life I have.

Here are just a couple pictures of why I love my new home. 

I love my Saturday morning walking route. The parks are so green here that I completely forget sometimes that I live in the middle of the desert.
There is nothing better than a pool surrounded by palm trees.

What’s your simple Sunday thought?

Filed in: Living Life, simple sunday • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

My Closet~ Weekend Wardrobe

May 11, 2015 by Katie Haller

Here are my outfits from the weekend. 
Saturday 
Dress- Ross (similar)
Sweater- Target (similar)
Sunday

Dress- Old Navy (exact)

Blazer- Target (similar)
Shoes- Target (exact)
Have a great week!

Filed in: Daily Outfits, My Closet, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Planning Your Work Week Outfits

April 26, 2015 by Katie Haller


I know that there are some people out there who prefer to wear a uniform to work.  They enjoy the feeling of knowing what they will wear each day.  That’s not me!  I’ve had to wear a uniform in the past and I absolutely hated it!  I feel that a uniform takes all the fun away from putting together an outfit.  I feel that when I’m wearing something that I feel good in, I’m going to have a better day.  That’s why for me, planning out what I wear to work is important.

My job has a very casual, relaxed dress code.  It’s nice to be able to go to work and be comfortable, especially when working with little kids, but sometimes people can take a casual dress code a little too far.  That’s why I always try to put together something cute, casual and professional.

I sometimes find it challenging to put together my workday outfits because I always have to keep in mind that I work in a preschool classroom.  We do messy art projects, their little fingers are always in their noses and don’t even get me started about lunchtime.  This is why to save time during the week, I try to plan out my outfits on Sunday night.  It helps me brainstorm for the week ahead and saves me time in the morning.  I lay my outfits out and pick out my accessories on Sunday night, then I fold up the clothes and lay them out in my bedroom, making it easy for me to grab my clothes without having to search for them in the morning.  It works out well, and even saves me enough time to enjoy an extra cup of coffee if I want!
Here is an example of my outfits from last week.  I tend to stick with jeans on most days, but Friday’s are teacher workdays without the kids, so I get to wear something a little nicer on that day. 
Shirt- Old Navy/ Sweater- Salvation Army/ Jeans-Salvation Army/ Necklace-Target
Shirt-Old Navy/ Jeans- Meijer/ Necklace- Kohl’s
Shirt- Target/ Sweater- Target/ Jeans- Express/ Belt- Target
Shirt- Old Navy/ Sweater- Target/ Jeans- Salvation Army
Shirt- Target/ Sweater- Old Navy/ Maxi Skirt- Ross
 I definitely encourage everyone to plan out their outfits!  Try it this week and let me know how it goes!  Have a wonderful week!

Filed in: Daily Outfits, My Closet, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

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Hi I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog! I am on a mission to help women build a wardrobe that they love without spending a lot of money doing it. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their outfit, no matter what your budget is! I am excited to have you here!
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thriftywifehappylife

Affordable everyday petite (5’1) mom style
A mix of affordable retailers + thrifted fashion
👨‍✈️Wife + Mom of 2 💙💗
💌 katie@thriftywifehappylife.com

Are you looking for some cute affordable workwear Are you looking for some cute affordable workwear pieces? I have have covered! I’m loving these looks from @amazon! 

✨Check out my stories for discount codes!! 

🛍️ Comment WORKWEAR and I will send you the shopping link to this post! 🔗https://liketk.it/5iXy1

c/o @gracekarin_brand 
#amazonfashion #amazonfinds #founditonamazon 
#outfitideas #workwear #workwearstyle #summerworkwear #affordablefashion
👗Wearing a dress is an easy way to make it look 👗Wearing a dress is an easy way to make it look like you put a lot of effort into your outfit, but the truth is it’s the easiest way to get dressed! You don’t even need to put on pants! 😂 Not to mention they are super comfortable! 

🛍️Comment DRESS and I will send you the shopping link to this post! 🔗https://liketk.it/5iYbp

#amazondress #amazonfinds #summerstyle #effortlessstyle #outfitideas #momstyle
How to wear a linen vest this summer! I’ve bee How to wear a linen vest this summer! 

I’ve been waiting for the right linen vest to come along to try. I found this one at @walmart and I’m not going to lie, I’m loving this trend! 

This vest definitely can elevate your style this summer!! Here’s some ways I styled it with the clothes in my wardrobe! 

🛍️Comment VEST and I will send you the shopping link to this post! 🔗https://liketk.it/5iRSR

#walmartfinds #walmartfashion #outfitideas #howtowearit #affordablefashion #outfitideas #summeroutfits
Healthy (and easy) summer meal ideas! Part 2! Tod Healthy (and easy) summer meal ideas! Part 2!

Today I’m sharing sweet potato taco bowls. This is a great week night meal and easy to modify for picky kids! (My kids eat this one on flour tortillas instead of the sweet potatoes. 🌮) 

Sweet Potato Taco Bowl Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes 
Garlic powder 
Salt and pepper 
1 lb ground chicken or turkey 
3 Tbs taco seasoning 
2/3 water
Tomatoes 
Avocado 
Cilantro 
Lime juice

#summermeals #cleaneating #easymeal #summerrecipes #summermealideas
What I wore this week as a 40-year old mom of 2! What I wore this week as a 40-year old mom of 2! 

Summer life is in full swing! Here’s what I wore this week! 

🛍️Comment OUTFITS and I will send you the shopping links to all my daily outfits! 

#wiwtw #dailyoutfits #momstyleblogger #momoutfits #momootd #momoutfitideas
I don’t share my husband much on here, but this I don’t share my husband much on here, but this trend felt like a fun way to look back at our story! I had to dig deep on Facebook for some of these photos! 💕

He was the one who told me that shopping wasn’t a hobby and I needed to find a free hobby to keep me busy when we were first married. 😅 So I started a blog about living life to the fullest and dressing my best on a super tight budget.

Little did we know that “free hobby” would not only one day turn into my job, but it would also be a way to fund my shopping habit. Even helping me become a smarter shopper along the way! 😉

Fun fact: The name “Thrifty Wife, Happy Life” came from him. When making big decisions, Kevin always said “happy wife happy life”. So when I was brainstorming a name for my blog that popped into my head and I decided to do a little play on words. The original name I was going to pick was “Katie’s Closet”. I’m glad I went with the name I did!
I’m loving this beautiful blue floral dress from I’m loving this beautiful blue floral dress from @amazon! Here are 6 ways to wear it and yes it is on sale for Prime Day!! 🙌🏻

🛍️Comment DRESS and I will send you the shopping link to this post! 🔗https://liketk.it/5ircc

#amazonfashion #amazondress #founditonamazonfashion #howtowearit #howtostyle #amazonfinds
I finally posted all my outfits I wore on my cruis I finally posted all my outfits I wore on my cruise vacations and realized that most of them are from @amazon and on sale for prime day!!

🛍️Comment VACATION and I will send you the link to my blog post with all my cruise outfits! 🔗https://thriftywifehappylife.com/2025/07/what-i-wore-on-my-caribbean-cruise-family-vacation/

#amazonfinds #amazondress #vacationoutfitideas #cruisevacation #cruiseoutfits #momstyle #outfitideas #amazonbathingsuit
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