From a neglected house to a warm and inviting home…on a shoestring budget.

I love a challenge…

The big banner photo at the top of this blog is our house today (September 2015), just two-and-a-half years after moving in (sorry for the poor lighting in this photo). It’s a big transformation from the photo below that shows how it looked just two summers ago.

I have been posting updates on our progress here on Home at Last, and will continue to do so until…well, forever, I guess. I hope you will ride along with me on this shoestring budget transformation.

13-Tripp-June 2013 (4) And, now, for a look back to our first summer here…the first photo shows our “lawn” in the spring of 2013.

The second photo shows are lawn just two months later. See what some love, water and fertilizer can do?

Lawn-spring 2013 (I love my lawn…I really really love my lawn!)

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day…and don’t forget to fertilize your grass this fall (now’s the time). Come spring, you’ll be rewarded with a lush green lawn!

September 26, 2015September 28, 2015

Window boxes are for every season!

This spring I finally got the window boxes I had always dreamed of. The pretty flowers added colour, dimension and curb appeal to our little bungalow. Alas, as the dog days of summer lingered on, and they eventually took their toll on the on my gorgeous blooms. But, the story doesn’t end here…

Front garden June 2015 (21)

Dollarama, Dollarama!

Fake flowers, according to the designers, are corny, kitschy, tacky, yucky, poo poo. Oh, did I mention that I don’t care what the designers think and that I do what makes me happy? Anyway, I couldn’t just leave my beautiful window boxes empty until next spring, so I made a quick trip to the dollar store and bought some colourful silk flowers. Here’s how my window boxes look now…

And, as my husband just said, “no water watering required, Babe.” But, the story doesn’t end here, either…come back and see what I will be showcasing for this winter and Christmas.

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

Don’t hide away your favourite treasures…

My favourite things. . .

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I love to keep my favourite things out where I can see and enjoy them. This is a little vignette in on my kitchen counter. Each piece has a special meaning or memory: the beautiful sparkly plate was a gift from my daughter; the pretty red baking crock was a gift from my mom; the flowers and the pear are souvenirs I brought from Vermont; the tiny little green pear is a little maraca that I bought at a music store, just because I liked it; I found the lovely crock canister at an antique store for $10 (it holds the wine corks I’m saving for a craft project); and the pumpkin is from flowers that I sent my mom for her birthday one year thinking that she would enjoy it after the flowers were gone…she gave it back to me because she like the flowers but, “wasn’t crazy about the pumpkin.” LOL!!! It’s so much fun to showcase your favourite treasures, rather than hiding them away in a cupboard or trunk.

Here are a few more photos. . .

I hope this inspires you to showcase your own treasures! Thanks, for stopping by and please drop in again, soon.

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P.S. The big crock canisters holds my collection of wine corks that I’m saving up for a craft project.