Autumn Wanderlust

Posted on August 23, 2018November 7, 2021 by Melissa Harrison

At the end of summer, when the humidity finally breaks and a cooler breeze starts sneaking in, I sometimes get the urge to pack up and move somewhere new. I’m suddenly filled with a need for an unfamiliar view. I want to see mountains, deserts, plains – anything different – when I open my eyes in the morning, not just my beloved crab apple tree.

I’m not sure why I get this feeling. We bought this house two years ago and have been working hard to someday make it exactly what we want it to be, and I certainly don’t want to leave it. Neither was I afraid to buy it and stay put after a decade of moving around a few different cities in Southern Ontario. Maybe I’m craving those same feelings of dreaded apprehension and excited anticipation of unknown possibilities I had when I moved the 200+km from my small, rural hometown to a much bigger city for college.

There were miserable times during that first year where I was feeling horribly lonely and weak but knowing that I did something I was afraid of and survived and grew from the experience has me feeling like I need to build on that experience and do it again. This time I could do it with more money, knowledge and opportunities. I could take my support system and loved ones, my small family of man, dog and cat, with me! But what do I do with the house? With the life we’ve built here? My husband has finally found a job he loves, working with people he respects and for people he’s appreciated by, that won’t be easy to find again. I’ll miss watching the crab apple tree outside my bedroom window turn golden yellow, lose its leaves and cast a bold and barren silhouette against the white winter sky, fill with fluffy pink flowers, buzzing with bees and grow its perky little apples again.

Maybe what I’m supposed to be craving at this point in my life is travel.

Top L.L.Bean
Shorts ModCloth
Socks McGregor Socks
Shoes Keds

Photos by me and Matt Harrison.

Rainy Day Nautical

Posted on September 17, 2015September 15, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

$Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

I’ve loved water for as long as I can remember. Being near water, whether it be hiking along a river, watching the waves from the cottage or swimming in an indoor pool in the middle of winter, has always made me feel good. However, one thing I’ve never enjoyed is going to the beach. My parents are big fans and used to drag me along every sunny Saturday from May to September. The beach was far away so they liked to make a day of it, but I was ready to go home after an hour or two of playing in the water. I loved the water but hated the rest, even on the rare occasions where we got ice cream afterwards. I guess crowded sand and sunburns were never really my thing.

$Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

After a few years of living in a city on Lake Ontario, I’ve discovered that I do actually like going to the beach, just not on warm, sunny days. Last February, my husband took me to the frozen beach for my birthday. It was my first time exploring a beach in the winter and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful landscapes I think I will ever see in my life. It was the most fun I ‘d ever had at the beach. Last weekend – the first cold and rainy one of the fall – we layered up and went down to the beach to see the sailboats one more time before they get tucked in for winter.

$Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

This marina is especially neat because it is situated in the mouth of the Second Welland Canal and you can see the old stone walls and remains of the mid-19th century lock.

$Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

Sweater Bluenotes (old)
Skirt ModCloth
Tights ModCloth (similar)
Shoes ModCloth (old)
Scarf ModCloth
Ring was my mother’s

$Rainy Day Nautical \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

All photos but the last by Matt Harrison.

My Nautical Bathroom Decorating Scheme

Posted on January 18, 2013February 6, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

At the end of the month I will finally be moving from my small one bedroom apartment to a sprawling two bedroom in a converted 150 year old mansion, which, where I live, means an old Victorian house that is maybe the size of a new build, if you include its many additions. I am very excited for the new apartment; it has a few features that I am not accustomed to, like hallways, a pantry, proper kitchen ventilation, windows in every room, heat in the bathroom and a nearly formal front entrance-way. But most importantly of all (for me at least) is that it has two bathrooms, which is a first for me, meaning that I only have enough items to decorate one bathroom. It gets even better, one of those bathrooms has navy tile in the shower that just beckons me to decorate it in a nautical theme.

Continue reading →