New Site!

I've been spending the last few weeks setting up my new Wordpress blog site and I am so excited to finally reveal it to you!! This new site is redesigned and much easier to use. I've added a bunch of new features that I think you'll enjoy. I will not be posting on this site anymore, so to follow The Lime Tree, click HERE. Head over to my new site and check it out!

Enjoy!!

-Katie 

** the-limetree.blogspot.com will no longer be featuring any material. All posts will be featured on www.thelimetreeblog.com **

Big News!

 

I have some exciting news to share with you tomorrow! I've been working on it for awhile now and I can't wait to show you the finished product! It's defintely going to be a big day!

 

Come back tomorrow to find out what it's all about...

Plaid Scarves

It's no secret I'm totally loving plaid right now. That's why I was so excited when my roommate Katie got me a plaid scarf for my birthday...she knows me too well! I've already worn it so many times since my birthday. It's so cozy and soft - plus it looks good with just about any sweater/shirt/skirt/anything....

Here are some looks I've been looking to when wearing my new plaid scarf. I love all of the different ways you can wear a scarf. It's the perfect accessory for winter :)

 

 1

2






3 

4

 

-Katie

Gift Guide: For The Home

C Wonder crystal wine stopper / C Wonder bar tool  /  C Wonder bar tool  / C Wonder gold plate / C Wonder blue dinnerware  /  C Wonder kitchenware dining  /  C Wonder kitchenware dining  /  C Wonder monogrammed cheese board

C. Wonder is the perfect store for holiday gifts. They have clothes, jewelry, bags, and home decor. Personally, I love their home decor section because you just cannot go wrong. The gifts I chose above are all under $50. Most of my friends live on their own now so we are all just now starting to decorate our places. I know they would love any of these gifts. These gifts are also good for moms, aunts, or grandmothers. Where do you shop for your holiday goodies?

-Katie 

Glam

I've been taking a lot about sparkles in sweaters and skirts so when I found this jacket from Nordstorm with sparkly sleeves on Pinterest I knew I had to blog about it. 

I've been looking for a military-style jacket recently. I want one that is on the lighter side to wear when it's not that cold out. J. Crew has one I love - my friend Elana has it and it's so cute on her! But when I saw this one on Pinterest I fell in love. I love the sequin sleeves that glam up the military look. However, I'm on the fence about buying this jacket. There are definitely pros and cons. The pros being that it's super cute and the perfect amount of sparkle. The cons are you can only really wear this jacket around the holidays. I think you could pull it into January and February, but it would fit best in November/December. I think when you are buying a jacket like this one (one with a lot of detail or one that's on the trendy side) you need to picture what you would pair it with. Think about when you would wear it and then decide if it's worth the money. I would wear this jacket to holiday parties or dinner and drinks. It's definitely a jacket you could wear all night long - it's decorative enough you wouldn't need to take it off (definitely a plus!) I think I might have just sold myself on buying this jacket! 

1

-Katie 

Friday Favorites

This week was such a fun week for me. I had my birthday on Tuesday and even lucked out with two snow days! I still don't even feel like it should be Friday yet - which is so different from my usual postings!

Here are my Friday favorites of this week...

I like the glass look of the vase and hand to hold the jewelry. I would love to add this to my dresser to display some necklaces and bracelets. 

1

These chocolate covered orange peels from Cupcakes and Cashmere look so good! I've never tried orange peels before, but anything is good dipped in chocolate, right??

2

I'm loving the look of all the Christmas lights around town. Katie and I went to Old Town Alexandria Monday for some shopping and happy hour....perfect snow day if you ask me...and I loved seeing all of the Christmas lights. It's such a magical time of year :)

3

A touch of sparkle to a sweater makes a perfect holiday outfit. I have a few sweaters with some sparkle that I wear around the holidays, but I'm starting to bring the sparkle into other outfits too - I just bought a skirt with sparkle in it that I plan to wear to a few holiday parties this year. 

4

I laughed so hard at this video of Billy Eichner and Amy Poehler singing Christmas carols with random people on the streets. Take a look and tell me this video is not hilarious! 

I'll be posting all about my birthday and celebration (which turned into 4 days) next week. I really had such a fantastic birthday and I am so thankful to have such amazing friends. I'm one lucky girl!

Hope you had a fantastic week like I did! 

-Katie 

Birthday

1

It's my Birthday today and I honestly could not be any luckier. I have amazing friends, family, and so many sweet people bringing wishes to me today. Thanks to all of you too who read my blog. Means the world to me! 

Now, 15 days until Christmas...

-Katie 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I'm especially excited for this weekend because my birthday is next Tuesday. I'm happy to be celebrating with family and friends this weekend. My parents are coming down on Saturday to take me out to my favorite brunch place and I'll probably have a little get together with friends Saturday night. I'm just happy to hang with all of my favorite people :) 

Some of my favorites from this week....

I have no idea what I'm going to wear for my birthday get-together this weekend. I like this sweater and sparkly skirt combo though. You always need something sparkly to wear on your birthday, right? Plus, it's Christmas time! 

1

I like this knitted beanie with plaid shirt. I think the combination screams "cozy". I'm ready for some colder weather snuggled up to a fireplace with hot chocolate in hand. It's 60 (yesterday it was 70!!) degrees here in DC today - crazy for December! 

2

I love this picture. It captures all of my favorite things about Christmas - Christmas trees and Christmas lights :) Makes me happy! 

3

My silver heels are a go-to during  the holiday season. They add a little something extra to any outfit I wear. Mine have become so scuffed up over the years that it's probably time for a new pair. I love the pointed look of this heel. Perfect for the holidays! 

4

This was one of my favorite pictures I took while in Amsterdam. My brother and I happened to stumble upon this bridge (we were quite good at that this trip) and I feel in love. I love the quaint row boat off to the left and the church steeple in the background. Amsterdam sure was a pretty place. 

Happy Friday! 

-Katie 

Christmas Songs

I thought I'd change it up a little bit and instead share a few of my favorite Christmas songs today. It was very difficult to narrow it down to just 10. I love Christmas music and listen to it non-stop from Black Friday until December 25th. What are some of your favorites?

10. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mirah Carey

9. Christmas Lights - Coldplay

8. Santa Baby – Taylor Swift

7. Tennessee Christmas – Amy Grant

6. Cold December Night – Michael Buble

5. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – James Taylor

4. Misletoe – Colbie Caillat

3. Shake Up Christmas - Train

2. Believe – Josh Groban

1. The Christmas Song – Michael Buble

-Katie 

Cyber Monday

Yesterday was Cyber Monday and I had every intention of shopping online for some holiday gifts since I missed out on Black Friday shopping. But, the outcome was quite different. After a long day back at work I got home to my roommate telling me there was a 50% off sale at Anne Taylor Loft. Well, that settled it. Not only did I not get any gifts for family or friends (I know, I know), I ended up only getting myself some presents. I have a birthday coming up so I'm playing it off as an early birthday gift to myself...please tell me others do that too?

Most of the items I got were for work, but a lot can be worn for holiday parties and outside work too. Here's what I picked up...

I got this corduroy shift skirt in this port color as well as navy. I can easily wear this when I'm teaching since it has a little stretch to it. The two colors go well with a lot of tops I own and can be paired with tights, booties, and a scarf for a weekend outfit. I'm sure I will get a lot of use out of this skirt this winter and during the holiday season. 

 

1 

I don't know about you, but my family loves getting together around the holidays. We have family party after family party and this skirt is absolutely perfect. It's a great length and looks amazing with tights and a black or white shirt. Plus the sparkle adds the perfect touch :)

2 

The last skirt I bought (are you sensing a theme to my purchases yet?) was this black and tan dotted skirt. The pattern is great for the professional look and it has pockets...a must for teaching. I liked the unique look of this skirt. It can easily be worn with black, white, or a deeper hued color.  

 

3 

I got this patterned shirt to go with the skirts, pants, and jeans. It can easily be worn to work work on the weekends. It's a fun black or whtie print that just seems so easy to throw on. 

 

4 

 The last thing I got was this long sleeved silk shirt. I was drawn to the bow at the neckline. It's so charming and, let's face it, anything with bows makes me think of Christmas. I can't wait to wear this with a black skirt or black jeans. 

 

5 

All of these items are still available on the LOFT website if you like them. Hopefully you had some luck with Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Happy December!

-Katie 

Make Up: Daily Routine

Today I'm sharing my daily makeup routine. I usually don't tend to wear too much makeup when I'm teaching, but instead go for more of a natural look. I start off using Urban Decay Naked Foundation. This foundation is a serious favorite of mine. It is so light, but the coverage is amazing. I don't have flawless skin (how wonderful would that be?!) so I have to wear foundation to cover up blemishes and even out my skin tone. This foundation is a miracle worker. I bought it from Sephora for about $40....and it's worth every penny. It's light, non greasy, and covers so much that I only need a little bit of concealer. 

After I've put on my foundation I use Benefit's Erase Paste concealer. I use this under my eyes, for pimples, or just to brighten my skin. I buy my concealer one shade lighter than normal so that it gives my skin some brightness. A little goes a long way with this stuff, and it really does do what the name implies.

I have been using Bare Minerals foundation for about three years now. I love the coverage it gives and it really helps keep my face feeling fresh and non greasy. I'm a fan of matte looks when it comes to daily makeup. If I'm going to be working all day, I want makeup that will stay put. The dewy look is great, but for a natural look I want something that will hide the oil. This bare minerals foundation is perfect for just that. I know you might think it's overkill to use liquid foundation AND powder foundation, but it works for me. The bare minerals foundation adds another layer of protection and helps keep my makeup in place all day long. 

After I've finished with the foundation and concealers I use bronzer to give my skin some much needed glow. I like NARS bronzers for night time looks, but tend to use Benefit Hoola Bronzer for everyday. The NARS bronzer, laguna, has more shimmer to it. I like that for a night out, but not for work. The Hoola bronzer is great because it's matte and doesn't have any shimmer to it. It's strictly bronze color that adds some warmth and dimension to my face. It's really easy to use and you don't need much. 

For a daily look, I like a pink blush. Again, I'm not a fan of shimmer blushes for everyday looks so I like this one from Smashbox. The pink shade adds some pop of color and goes well with my fair (to light) skin tone. I don't use too much...just a little bit on the apples of my cheeks. 

For my eyes I tend to stay pretty low key. I use Benefit's They're Real Mascara and Stila's Liquid Eyeliner in black. I don't normally use eye shadow during the week....and I'm not sure why! I really should, but it seems to be the step I miss each day. I love my mascara and eyeliner. The mascara makes my lashes look really long and the eyeliner is a felt tip so it's almost like using a marker, which makes it way easier to draw the line. I highly recommend both! 

I look older when I wear color on my lips, and as I've posted before, I love, love, love these NARS Lip Pencils. They add the perfect amount of color and stay on for so long. They are easy to apply and look really natural. 

The last couple of things I add are some Highlighter to the bridge of my nose and cheek bones and then I brush my face in a little bit of HD Finishing Powder to really make my makeup set. I love this finishing powder from Sephora. It blends everything together and makes my makeup stay put all day long. It's one of my favorite makeup products that I happened to forget on the image above. 

 So there you go....my daily makeup routine. It usually takes me about 5-10 minutes to do my makeup in the morning (I would love to spend more time, but when you get up at 6 am, 10 minutes is all you need!). It's a pretty simple routine - and maybe I'll add a video to show how I use the items in the future! 

-Katie