St. Patrick’s Day Green

St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog

My family came to Canada from Ireland in 1846, so we always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day when I was growing up. Now that I live away from them, I like to celebrate and share my culture with my friends. This year they’re all coming over for beer, good Irish whiskey, music, games, storytelling and some traditional, homemade Irish and Irish-American food. My husband has been brining a brisket all week to make corned beef (we’re going to try marinating some tempeh in a similar brine for me) and I’m making a springtime colcannon and fresh soda bread!

St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog

I’ve never made my own soda bread before, so I had to learn and experiment with a few different recipes this past week. I think the recipe I’m trying today, from Baking for Friends, is a real winner! I can’t wait to share it with the people I love tomorrow.

St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog

Dress Larmoni
Cardigan ModCloth
Knit Tights ModCloth
House Shoes Amazon
Hair Combs Amazon

St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog St. Patrick's Day Green | Sophster-Toaster Blog

All photos by me.

Lazy Day Dress Up

Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog

I have a love/hate relationship with jersey knit fabric. I love how dresses made with a stretchy jersey knit can look fitted and fancy while still feeling comfy and casual but I hate how the weight and stretch of the fabric can cause it to drape and hang oddly. I love how the simple, no zipper, no lining, serged hem construction of jersey dresses keeps the price lower but I hate how tedious it can be to repair serged sleeve hems on a standard sewing machine when the stitching inevitably rips or unravels. I love how packable jersey dresses are since they don’t wrinkle easily but I hate how long jersey takes to dry if you get caught in the rain or caught up in a water gun fight. But most of all, I love how easily jersey dresses transition from lazy days to lively nights (and there’s nothing bad to say about that).

Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog

I wore this outfit a few Fridays ago, before the Christmas season started, on a day I had plans to meet friends for a potluck taco night after a day of working from home. I needed something that was comfortable to work in at the end of a long week but still charming enough for an evening at a friend’s house. So it was wool knee socks, my favourite sweater and a jersey knit dress to the rescue – plus several large cups of tea.

Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog

I’m not one for dressing down, but I’m also not one for being trapped in a horribly uncomfortable outfit all day. Any outfit that has me longing for my pajamas isn’t one I will soon wear again. Jersey dresses like this one are perfect for those days when the only way I can convince myself to part with my flannel sheets and fluffy down duvet is by promising myself that I won’t have to put pants on once I do. I can throw this dress on and go out, safely maintaining my reputation for always being overdressed, always looking like I’m on my way to something special, without anyone knowing the truth about how cozy and casual I actually am that day.

Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog Lazy Day Dress Up \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog

Dress ModCloth
Sweater Bluenotes
Socks McGregor
Shoes Keds
Earrings Designs by Amber

I’m going to call this day to night outfit – that doesn’t sacrifice style for comfort – a success because I received a compliment on my sweater every time I moved to a new room after first arriving at my friend’s house. This is despite having worn this sweater several times with them before. Two friends even asked if it was new, even though I had worn it to breakfast almost every morning when we’d spent a week together at the cottage over the summer. I had lots of fun, only got a little hangry when the tacos were delayed, and felt great in my jersey dress all night.

All photos by me.

Into the Woods

I’ve had a lot of fun planning and building backdrops for my Etsy listing photos recently. I’ve had this idea for fall photoshoots since late August but had to wait six long weeks for the leaves on the stubborn trees in this warmer-than-average microclimate that I call home to finally start falling. As the trees began to look bare for my family back home (a whole two hours South-West from where I live now) summer decidedly faded into Indian summer here, so I put on my sleeveless, flannel top – a bit of a clothing oxymoron, but perfect for this climate – and spent an hour in the forest collecting leaves like a crazy person.

Autumn Leaves Photo Backdrop Continue reading

Moving in the Right Direction

Fall has always been my favourite season. The clear blue skies, wool socks and warm apple cider of fall will always beat the sticky humidity, dusty road work, and stinging, biting bugs of summer for me. There’s so much pressure to enjoy the short Canadian summer, but fall changes things. Fall is all about relaxing, snuggling up under a big blanket with the person you love and watching the leaves change so slowly, you’ll hardly recall when it actually happened.

I look forward to working with fall fabrics all year long. The rich textures, romantic colours and woodsy prints give my creativity the jump start it needs after a lazy summer.

The first fabric I’ve chosen to work with this year is a french rose, mustard and charcoal arrow print on cream designed by Andrea Lauren. When I saw this fabric, I thought the colours were perfect for this time of year, when the seasons start to blend, so I planned a dress with a cut to match.

The Right Direction Dress by Sophster-Toaster Continue reading