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Our First Plant: Succulents!

May 3, 2016

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Hello everybody! Today I wanted to share my next domestic challenge: gardening. Gardening is a bit of an overstatement really. The truth is that I bought a few plants. First, I bought some lavender because I love the smell and all I really want to do is make lavender lemonade. If you have never had the pleasure of trying it, it’s amazing.

Then, I decided to get the cutest and most delicate looking succulents, a plant that I have always loved the look of and knew I wanted to bring into my home. So here’s to keeping them alive!
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The Kitchen

by elizabethelakes

April 17, 2016

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This is the amalgamation of all the decisions I’ve made over the last 6 months. It’s the countertop, it’s the appliances, it’s the cabinets, it’s the fixtures. And now it is a kitchen.

Who knows, maybe this will be one of those kitchens that circulates around Pinterest. To me, it is perfect.

Let’s talk appliances. Continue reading

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Moving Day!

by elizabethelakes

April 5, 2016

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The day is finally here! We’ve been waiting for this day since last July. But really I’ve been waiting for longer than that. For every rent check I’ve ever paid, for every deposit I’ve ever lost, for every wall I couldn’t hang a picture on. This is my reward. And without further ado….

A beautiful day for moving! I know I’m biased but I think the front is breathtaking! The brick was completely different than I imagined but it’s perfect.

Let’s go inside…Continue reading

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Carrara Marble Stain Test

by elizabethelakes

March 1, 2016

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This post is for the naysayers. For all of the people that gasped and asked “Are you sure???” when I told them I was getting carrara marble countertops in my kitchen. This post is my resounding “YES I AM SURE”. Every home decor blogger has an obligatory carrara marble post. I’ve read many of them and here is the bottom line. Yes, carrara marble is difficult to care for. It is porous. You have to seal it at least once a year and even then, you will get stains and marks no matter what you do. BUT, it’s gorgeous and it’s a great countertop to work on, especially if you bake.

Many people say that if you are a perfectionist, don’t get this countertop. If you are happy with the imperfections that will develop over time (what is referred to as patina), then get it. I had my heart set on carrara from the beginning and nothing was going to change my mind. So I wanted to prepare myself for the future which is why I decided to perform this stain test with this sample that I got from a local fabricator.

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Finding Your Perfect Slab

by elizabethelakes

February 14, 2016

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There are few things in our new house that I am more excited about than our countertops. From the very inception of our new home, the vision was driven by picture perfect kitchens on pinterest which centered, of course, around a show-stopping countertop.

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I was originally disappointed by our builder’s selection of countertops but decided on classic carrara marble. Yes, I know that they can be fussy. And so, to balance that out, we decided to use a more durable dark granite around the cooktop because we know it will be impossible to keep that area clean. Again, our builder had a small selection and so we settled on something called Impala Black for our kitchen surround.