Negative Twenty

Posted on January 22, 2019January 21, 2019 by Melissa Harrison

Winter finally arrived last weekend and she seems to be making up for lost time. We got all of December and January’s missing snow in one day and then the temperature plummeted to -20°C the next night. We went from spring-like bare ground to middle of winter snowbanks in a few hours. Pepper couldn’t be happier, though.

We walked her downtown to get doughnuts Saturday morning, went to the park Sunday morning, played fetch in the yard and have had a hard time convincing her to come or stay inside. This dog loves her snow is making up for that lost time too.

Coat ModCloth
Pants ModCloth
Boots L.L.Bean
Socks Walmart
Hat ModCloth
Scarf knit with yarn from Michaels
Mittens Roots
Sunglasses ModCloth
Earrings ModCloth

All photos by me.

Fogged In

Posted on October 23, 2018October 18, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I came down with a bad cold while we were up at the cottage for Thanksgiving. I tried not to let it get me down. Luckily the cottage is a great place to rest and relax.

On one cloudy afternoon, feeling my worst, we decided we would make some tea and snacks and watch a movie snuggled up by the fire. We chose a mid-2000’s movie we had never seen before from the stack of entertaining-but-mediocre rainy day movies that seem to collect at cottages. We put some wood on the fire, surrounded ourselves with everything we would need, got cozy under some blankets with our backs to the lake and started the movie. When it finished, we got up and looked out the big windows behind us to see that we could no longer make out the treeline on the other side of the lake. We were completely fogged in.

After having already spent a few days with just one other person and a dog, alone on an island on a quiet lake, it was strange, but not unpleasant, to feel even more alone and isolated than we already did. It was a bit unnerving to not know how long the fog had been there or when it would recede.

Standing at the window, Pepper waking up and revving up from a quite couple of hours, I turned to my husband and said something like, “want to go look from the dock?” We bundled up, put Pepper on her long, bright orange leash to keep her safe and visible and headed out into the landscape that was now both foreign and familiar. By the time we got down to the dock, the fog had started to lift and we could again see the islands and coast that had been invisible to us just a little while earlier.

We wondered around the woods for a bit, took some pictures and went back into the warm cottage to make dinner and settle in for a stormy night.

Coat ModCloth
Sweater thrifted
Hat ModCloth
Pants ModCloth
Socks Walmart
Boots L.L.Bean
Gloves ModCloth

Photos by me and Matt.

Finding those Fall Vibes

Posted on November 14, 2017March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I’ve been struggling to find my fall style this year. The weather was unseasonably warm until it suddenly wasn’t. A wind storm came in, dropped the temperature several degrees and stole most of the leaves the trees around my house before they’d really had a chance to change. I’m able to wear most of my regular wardrobe again since bringing the puppy home, but she’s still a little too rambunctious to wear anything too pretty or delicate around. I’m spending more time than ever outside thanks to Pepper but I feel like I’m not seeing much of it. The seasonal changes keep surprising me when I have a minute to look up from her and focus on my surroundings.

Now that the sun is low all day, the leaves are gone from the trees in the backyard and the garden has stopped giving us fresh tomatoes and zucchini, the world is looking more and more winter-like every time I let Pepper out back. Embracing the cold and reminding ourselves it’s about to get a whole lot worse, Matt and I sweatered-up and took the pup for an amble in a nature area that is quickly becoming one of our favourites. The sites for day camping at the edge of the woods had become quiet and calm, with almost no one around at all. Instead of taking a path, we wondered around, explored and let pepper chase after falling leaves until our fingers got cold.

Coat ModCloth
Dress hand me down
Flannel Boathouse
Sweatshirt Sophster-Toaster
Tights Target
Shoes ModCloth
Hat Larmoni
Gloves ModCloth
Earrings Designs by Amber
Necklace gift
Camera Bag Amazon

Afterwards, we drove home as the light grew dim. We put Pepper in her cozy crate for a nap and made butternut squash soup for dinner. It was a beautiful, peaceful way to spend one of the last days of autumn before the snow comes.

All photos by me and Matt.

The Gamble

Posted on March 16, 2017March 15, 2017 by Melissa Harrison

The Gamble | Sophster-Toaster Blog

I would never have picked this coat for myself. I purchased it as one of ModCloth’s Stylish Surpirses a year or two ago – so I didn’t know what I was buying until it arrived at my door. If I remember correctly, it was offered as a surprise from the outerwear category. I figured, no matter what I get, $15 is an amazing price for outerwear; and hey, I might get lucky and get a warm winter coat.

When the package came, I was excited by the weight of the box – it had to be a coat or boots. When I opened it, however, I was crushed. I hated it. The towel-y texture of the coat, the obnoxious gold buttons and the tacky faux fur trim just weren’t my thing. Figuring, by the look and feel of it, the coat had to, at least, be warm, I tried it on. My mind was immediately changed. Putting this coat on felt like stepping out of a warm bath and into a heated bathrobe. I coyly approached the mirror to see how it looked. I looked like an aging Hollywood star from the golden age, now playing the villain instead of ingenue. I felt like Bette Davis. I loved it!

This is now one of my favourite coats. It’s so warm and cozy that I can only wear it on really cold and stormy days like this. I was actually disappointed during this past mild winter because I had to wear my lighter and less glamorous winter coat nearly everyday.

The Gamble | Sophster-Toaster Blog

Coat ModCloth
Pants ModCloth
Headband Plexida
Sunglasses The Bay
Earrings Designs by Amber
Scarf gift
Mittens Roots
Socks Roots
Boots Bakers

Portraits by Matt Harrison, other photo by me.