The Burnt Toast Podcast [PREVIEW] The Annual Butter Review: 2024
It’s time for your October Indulgence Gospel. And today… we’re going to look back at all of our Butters!
If you’re new here, Butter is the recommendation segment that runs at the end of every podcast episode. Butter is sometimes things you can buy, but it can also be a show or book we love, something great that we ate, a current mood, etc. Butter is any small moment of joy. (It can also, ofc, be literal butter, which we all know to be synonymous with joy.) But sometimes joy is fleeting!
So today, paid subscribers get to hear which Butters have stood the test of time:
Is Virginia still wearing her trad wife dress?
Does Corinne still love her $100 baseball hat?
Are we still into the bra that made us break up with underwire?
Plus a few low-key life-changing household appliances, Virginia’s favorite thing about her bedroom, and what we’re definitely going to STOP recommending from now on…
To hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber.
If you are already a paid subscriber, you’ll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Patreon. You can also subscribe to Corinne's newsletter, Big Undies, for 20% off using this special link.
To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.
Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!)
Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.
CREDITS
The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!
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Our theme music is by Farideh.
Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.
Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!
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Episode 165 Transcript
Virginia
So the theme of this episode was determined not just by the fact I forgot to ask people for listener questions before planning this episode. It is a theme we were going to do regardless at some point! We are going to look at all of our Butters.
Corinne
I’m really excited to do this because I feel like there are some that have not held up for me. And I’m just excited to remember all the things that I’ve recommended.
Virginia
Yeah, do we stand by that Butter? That’s really the headline here. I think this us a good thing for us to do periodically, since we are a show that both regularly recommends products and yet also wrestles with our relationship with consumerism.
I, in particular, am on the receiving end of some valid criticisms on that front, and it’s good for me to look at that. And also look back at this and be like, wow I bought that thing and I don’t use it at all anymore.
But first, Corinne, we need to talk about your closet. How is your closet?
Corinne
Yes, so I’m I’m taking the tiniest steps towards a closet clean out.
Virginia
Very excited for you.
Corinne
Yes, I decluttered my gym clothes, which was a mini version of my whole closet. There’s a lot more to do. I also I’m going to a clothing swap tomorrow, so I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to bring to that.
Virginia
That’s a good chance to get rid of a lot of things and hopefully not acquire too many more things. But no judgment! This is a safe space.
Corinne
I know. I have made the mistake in the past of getting stuff from clothing swaps, I guess because it’s free, and then just never wearing it.
Virginia
Oh, 100 percent. I remember, a million years ago, going to a clothing swap with a lot of other women’s magazines editors. So the style and quality level was high. It was not a size inclusive event, let’s be very clear. But I did get this amazing red leather purse that I used for years afterwards. I don’t know what happened to that bag. That was a good bag.
Corinne
This is a group of people where we probably do it twice a year, and everyone is plus size, and we always joke that it’s like, one person passes all their stuff to this person. That person passes all their stuff to that person.
Virginia
You could just call the person you always give stuff to and be like, “Here’s your bag of clothes.”
Corinne
And actually, one of the people saw my post and was like, is this stuff coming to the clothing swap? And I was like, oh, shoot, no. I sold it.
Virginia
Sold the clogs! I was very interested, you had those high-heeled clogs in that post. That was a non-Corinne shoe choice.
Corinne
Well, I think I literally got them in like 2018 and I’ve just had them sitting around. I’m not a good declutterer.
Virginia
You’re on your decluttering journey. You’re working towards decluttering. It’s very exciting.
Corinne
I’m also really guilty of, like, I’ll declutter stuff from my closet and then still keep it. I have boxes of stuff in my entryway that is just stuff I need to get rid of.
Virginia
I’ve been working on my basement, which was a real situation, because my kids’ dad moved out and left some stuff. And neither one of us knew how to deal with this chaos basement. And I’ve got it almost all under control. His stuff is in a clear pile for him to come over and decide what to do, there’s a big donate pile. And then there’s this closet that I’m just calling the Closet of Doom. And I just don’t open it and I don’t know what’s in it, and I don’t want to know.
Corinne
I think it’s okay to have one doom closet.
Virginia
I think everyone needs a Closet of Doom. But your primary clothing closet should not be your closet of doom.
I’m also excited for you because I know there are various infrastructure concerns like your house has old, small closets and everything—but there is going to come a point where you’re going to get to go to The Container Store or something and get the cute stuff to organize the closet. And I personally—see previous statement about complicated relationship with consumerism—find that part of closet organization very affirming.
Corinne
Totally, yeah. I’m kind of using that as my carrot to get through this.
Virginia
You’re getting there. You’re getting there. I feel it coming. And you can follow along on Corinne’s whole closet journey on
.It’s really good stuff, definitely make sure you’re on the list.
The Burnt Toast Review of Butters
We’ll drop links throughout but if you want links to everything Virginia loved in this episode, find them here.
For links to everything Corinne loved in this episode, find them here.
Virginia
Corinne, the first one I have for you is a recipe called Trouble Cookies from a cookbook called Mother Grains.
Corinne
Okay, that is a really good cookie recipe. And I’m glad to be reminded of it.
Virginia
Well, that’s exciting.
Corinne
I still own that cookbook, although I haven’t used it in a bit, but that is a good recipe. I stand by it.
Virginia
You will be re-making these.
Corinne
Okay, your first one is “breaking up with underwire bras,” and then specifically, True and Co bras, and the Paloma bra from Girlfriend Collective.
Virginia
I totally stand by breaking up with underwire bras. I still do have a couple, because I feel like there are certain fashion situations where you need a certain style of bra to work with a thing. So they come out for very limited use. I feel like they’re…event-focused. If I wear an underwire bra for more than two hours, I did it wrong. Day to day, absolutely not. Which is a big evolution for me.
I will say the True and Co bras—I cannot stand by anymore as a daytime, leave the house bra. I’m not someone who needs a bra to sleep, but there are just points in the month, thanks perimenopause, where everything’s sensitive and I don’t want to go bra-less at all. The True and Co bra is really good for sleeping in, or wearing around the house, where you just feel like you need a little something. But it is not a very supportive bra, so I don’t wear it out in the world anymore.
But the Paloma bras from Girlfriend Collective, I do still wear pretty frequently. And then I think what really replaced the True and Co Bras for me were the Evelyn and Bobbie bras. I’m wearing one as we speak.
Find all the bras we recommend here.
Corinne
I am also wearing one as we speak.
Virginia
They are really, really great bras, really supportive. Well-made, non-underwire bras. I just love them.
I do have one update from when we recorded that episode about Evelyn and Bobbie, though, which is I did need to go one size up, again. I now wear the 2X. According to their size chart, I had started in the XL, then I’d gone up to the 1X and I’m in the 2X and I have less band rolling with the 2x and the cups aren’t gapping or whatever. So I don’t know, you have to try all the sizes.
Corinne
Yeah, that’s fascinating, because I think I have 3X and I had been thinking maybe I needed to size down, but that would be crazy if we were both wearing 2X.
Virginia
I mean, they’re very stretchy, and yet also non stretchy? It’s hard to explain. But that’s the bra update.
All right, next up. I mean, I already know the answer to this.
Corinne, do you still endorse cucumber lime flavored Gatorade and the Nuun electrolyte tablets? And electrolytes as your personal religion?
Corinne
I am drinking water with Nuun electrolytes in it right now as we speak. But I feel like the real update here is that Virginia, you came to New Mexico, and I forced you to try some electrolytes.
Virginia
You did.
Corinne
And you hated them.
Virginia
I did.
They cured my altitude sickness, and made me pray for death at the same time. So they were not delicious to me. I don’t understand. They taste so salty and weird. And I don’t want a beverage to be salty unless it’s like a margarita, which this was not.
Corinne
I was going to say, it’s just like a margarita!
Virginia
It’s totally not like a margarita.
Corinne
Well, I am sure there are some other electrolyte girlies listening to this episode. I still recommend Nuun. My my current favorite flavor is strawberry lemonade, which I think is the one you tried and hated.
Virginia
Some of us are electrolyte fans, some of us are aspartame fans. But I’m glad to know that you still endorse them for people who are electrolyte-curious, which is not me.
Corinne
Okay, your next one was a little cart from Target that you use as a To Be Read Cart.
Virginia
Yes, I am looking right at it, across my office. This was an idea that came from
of
who is a Burnt Toast fan, but also a great Substack-er in her own right. She had posted about having this little cart from Target which was where she put all the books that she hasn’t read yet in her TBR pile. And I was like, “I also need this in my life.” It’s great!It is never empty, so it is not accomplishing the goal of getting me to read through my TBR pile, but it is holding all of it and I just keep adding to it and I really like it.
This is a job where we get sent a lot of books for like, people we’re interviewing for the podcast or people who want us to cover their books on Burnt Toast. And I always feel bad when those just sort of pile up in the corner of my office, and I don’t look at them. Because I mean to look at them. But life is, you know, a lot, and now I’m at least like, “Well, they’re all in one spot,” so I can periodically be like, oh, let me go catch up on all the books that we’ve been sent.
But I think even if you don’t work with books for a living, you probably need a cart for books.
All right, another banger recommendation from Corinne is just… hot dogs.
Corinne
I mean, what is there to say? I stand by that. Hot dogs are amazing.
Virginia
Why would you ever back away from that position?
Corinne
Yeah, this is a good reminder to me. I need more hot dogs.
Virginia
We’re actually just meal planning now.
You had specifically endorsed a fancy Co-Op brand of hot dogs. But hot dogs in general is a platform you stand behind.
Corinne
What about kittens?
Virginia
Yes, obviously, still pro-kittens. I think all the time about how bad I feel for my dog since we got two kittens. I do still love Penelope. Don’t worry everyone, Penelope is loved and cared for. However, she definitely knows that she’s been replaced a little bit in my heart by our cats. I want to say there’s enough love for everyone. There is. But I do play favorites with animals. And the cats are great. They’re just super chill, friendly cats that are good with my kids and adorable. They sleep all curled up together and then they eat each other’s faces. What’s not to love?
And Penelope has actually come a long way with them. There’s one cat in particular she’s pretty bonded to, and then one cat who is in charge of everybody.
I want to hear if you still love this ring, which is from Struggle Glass.
Corinne
Okay, I do still really like it. It has not broken or cracked or chipped in any way. But I will say, I have to take it off. The band part of it is round. It’s not flat, like a gold ring would be. So it’s mostly a special occasions thing. I would recommend it with that understanding.
Virginia
It’s chunky, so I can see why you just couldn’t wear it everywhere. But it’s very pretty.
Corinne
How about the garden apron from the Hilton Carter Target collection?
Virginia
Still love the garden apron. I didn’t wear it as much in the heat of summer, which was more about temperature. Once it gets really hot, I don’t want to be wearing a heavy waxed canvas apron in the garden. But now that I’m getting more into fall gardening, it’s definitely coming back. I think it’s very useful. It has a place to put your phone. I have lost my tools way less this summer because of using the apron.
Now we’re getting into some beverage things…
Little instant pour over coffee things from a brand called Copper Cow.
Corinne
I still like these! I shouldn’t have called them instant. They’re just ready made, pour over things. They are disposable. They’re great for traveling.
Virginia
I want to get this for travel. I stayed in a hotel recently that had the worst hotel coffee and the worst hotel breakfast in general. Just stale muffins. And I was like, I need to figure out something easy to travel with. Because you just feel trapped in hotels. There’s no way to get out to the coffee! And how do I make decisions until I have the coffee?
Corinne
Totally, it’s a very convenient thing to have. I like it, too, because it kind of feels like a little treat. It’s delicious, and you can get them with sweetened condensed milk, which is really fun.
Virginia
And you just add hot water?
Corinne
It’s like a pop up, pour over thing. So you pour the grounds in the in this little paper thing, pour in the hot water, and it comes with a little tube of sweetened condensed milk. So I stand by that as well.
Virginia
So far all of our Butters are holding up pretty well here.
Corinne
We’re going back in time and I feel like that’s where we might—
Virginia
It’s going to get worse.
Corinne
Virginia
I love it for travel because we are a big smoothie household and you can’t always rely on a—well, certainly not a hotel, but even an Airbnb to have a blender, I’ve learned. But I also use it when it’s just me, when the kids are with their dad and I just want to make a me-size smoothie.
And the other thing it’s really handy for, I’ve discovered is, like, I was making a cookie recipe, and it was rolled oats, but the recipe wanted me to grind them up first. And rather than pull out the big food processor, I could just put them in this little blender. It was so much less cleanup. You can put cheese in it, or pine nuts, or any of those little annoying chopping tasks. I’ve been using it for that, so that’s cool. This is a great tiny little baby blender. I love it.
Corinne
That’s awesome.
Virginia
The Julia Louis-Dreyfus podcast, Wiser Than Me.
Corinne
Yes. Stand by it. There’s a new season. Listen to it.1
Virginia
I have still not listened to this.
Corinne
Oh my God, what are you doing?
Virginia
I will do it after we’re done recording! I will download Julia.
Corinne
Okay, pool snacks?
Virginia
Obviously, no one’s going to back away from pool snacks. If you’re going to the pool, you need snacks. I think I specifically recommended popsicles and potato chips. And you were like, electrolytes. I need the salt. And I was like, yes, but potato chips are a more delicious way to do that. And those are definitely still our main go-tos. But I do want to experiment as we now get more into hot tub weather, I might have to mix it up. We’ll see. Stay tuned. I’ll do some research.
This is a particular pair of shorts you loved from Old Navy.
Corinne
These were one of my most worn pairs of shorts this summer. That said, I don’t know how they’re going to hold up for next summer. And they have some issues.
Virginia
What are the issues?
Corinne
I wish they had a drawstring in addition to an elastic. I could never carry my wallet in my pocket because it would drag them down. Honestly, I wish they were maybe an inch or two longer. I don’t know. You know how sometimes when you’re wearing shorts and you have belly, it’s like, the leg is too open? Are people going to be able to see my underwear?
Virginia
You feel like you’re in a skirt.
Corinne
So I liked these shorts. I wore them a lot. And, they’re not perfect, which I feel like is what you expect from Old Navy.
Virginia
I think I have a similar take on my next one.
Corinne
Your next one is the maxi shirt dress from Target.
Virginia
I ended up buying two of these. I bought the green and white striped one first, and then I bought the navy blue one. And I was obsessed with them briefly, for all of late spring.
Corinne
It was a button up shirt dress that had a tie at the waist, right?
Virginia
It’s a very long maxi dress but it does button and it has slits on the side, so it’s not total trad wife but there’s a little trad wife vibe to it. And part of what makes it feel Trad wife-y is rather than having a waistband, it just goes in the front the it doesn’t go around your waist.
Corinne
Oh, I see. The front cinches.
Virginia
But not the rest. And it did start to feel—we’ve discussed before, I am someone who can sometimes get mistaken for pregnant. I don’t feel it is my work to combat that. On the other hand, do I need to wear maternity clothes? Like, it’s a fine line, you know? And I was like, “I think I am actively communicating to the world that this is a maternity dress,” at times. And that’s misleading. But it is such a comfy, breezy, easy dress. I think I’ll keep one, probably the striped one, as a pool cover up kind of dress.
But I remember wearing the navy one and something about the dark color on such a big dress. I was like, I just feel like I’m drowning. It felt funereal, you know? It was just too much dress, too much dark color.
Corinne
This is reminding me that with the those Old Navy shorts, I got them in blue and white, and then I got them in a green and white. And I have just have not worn the green and white at all. I feel like sometimes a mistake I make is “I like this, so I’ll get it in another color.” And then I’m like, no, the thing I actually liked was the color.
Virginia
has advised me against this many times, and she’s almost always been right. Like, often what makes you like a garment is the color. So thinking I need to own the whole rainbow of this is wrong.
I also think this Target dress went kind of viral in the spring. A lot of influencers were wearing it and I think I got caught up in that. It was hard to then assess how much I actually liked it. For me, I was definitely doing, like, “oh, I look a little bit like these people.”
And then the other thing is, it’s so frustrating. But Target and Old Navy, these are fast fashion brands and the clothes just don’t last that long. You wash them a few times, and the fit is not as crisp as it once was. So this is like, let’s reflect on our consumerism and buy fewer things from these brands. But also—these are the size inclusive brands.
Corinne
I know. I have a shirt from Target right now that I love and have been wearing a lot, and I bought another one. And because I bought one, wore it for a while, and then bought the other. I’m like, oh, these shrink so much when you wash them. Like, they still fit, but they fit really different, which sucks.
Virginia
I mean, similarly, these were never a Butter but I talked a lot about the linen button down shirt and short sets this summer I wore from Target, and I loved them, but by August, they were just dingy. And I was like, this doesn’t feel cute to wear anymore. But I didn’t even see that same concept from a higher end brand that would have lasted longer. Certainly I didn’t see it in my size. So I don’t know what the solution is. I mean, I know the solution is to not support these brands if you can afford to shop elsewhere and to have fewer clothes. But I’m not doing great with that goal.
Corinne
I know. It’s really hard.
Virginia
I know what the answer is, but I don’t like the answer. But I also don’t like the reality of these not being as good at quality as I want them to be.
Corinne
It’s also so hard because I think stuff like that does exist, but you would have to be planning and watching out for it. It’s just so much extra work
Virginia
It is a lot of labor. Someone talked recently in the comments about the labor of shopping clothes and finding clothes. And it was such an excellent point because it is actually quite a lot of work to think about what you want to be wearing for a season. Plan it all out. Like, what do you really need? Like, make smart shopping choices. And sometimes I’m just going to need to be like, “This looks cute at Target. Let’s wear this, while I’m also in here picking up kitty litter.”
Corinne
Yeah, and sometimes stuff comes up that you can’t plan for. Like, it’s like a wedding in May, and you didn’t think to buy a matching linen shorts last August.
Virginia
True. So, fast fashion is problematic, but maybe we should be more wary of recommending them for Butters. Because we can say with an asterix, it’s probably not going to be something you wear in the long term.
Are you still in love with jewelry TikTok?
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Corinne
Okay, I’m still receiving jewelry Tiktok content. I’m still enjoying jewelry Tiktok. I’m not as fully obsessed as I was.
Virginia
That was the moment in time.
Corinne
Yes, I still really enjoying watching it, and I still aspire to build my own jewelry collection. I think I need to be realistic about how much stuff I’m wearing and what I’m wearing. I bought some little charms and stuff. And I’m like, wait, how am I going to wear these? So, still enjoying and reassessing a little bit.
Virginia
Okay, that’s fair. That’s understandable.
Corinne
What about the Georgia O’Keeffe house?
Virginia
Timeless, classic, never going to go out of style. Could wear it forever. Would live there forever. I still think about it, like once a week probably. If you are in New Mexico, you have to go to the Georgia O’Keeffe house.
Corinne
It’s in Abiquiu, and it’s the home and studio tour.
Virginia
Oh God, it’s so magical. It’s such a special place. As problematic as I know as she is, the house is gorgeous, and the views are gorgeous. And just all empowered energy of this old lady making art and having lovers, who knows, in this house. Really here for it.
Okay, going back to clothes for a minute. What about your men’s Abercrombie and Fitch shirt?
Corinne
This is kind of a similar thing. The one that I got, I stand by, I still like and wear (similar here). and I have tried to buy a few similar ones. Notably, I bought another one this summer, and I like it okay, it just doesn’t fit quite as well. And the armpit ripped. So I’m like, oh yeah, these are actually bad quality, maybe.
Virginia
It is annoying because as someone who’s very uniform prone, when I get into a certain silhouette or a certain combination, I just want to wear it all week and not make decisions. But it can be hard because you’re like, well, I need more than one of these a week, but then how to buy duplicates without ending up in this situation? It’s very tricky.
Corinne
The first Abercrombie shirt I bought, I think was from last summer, so I was trying to buy another one this summer, but it seemed like the quality and fit was different. So it’s just hard to replace stuff like that.
Virginia
I am definitely noting a theme that the clothing recs are where this all starts to fall apart.
Corinne
What about your New Balance sneakers?
Virginia
These are still good. I wear these a lot for dog walking and anytime I need to do a lot of walking. I will say they’re not my day to day, going to run errands or going to whatever, because they have laces, and I am a broken person who doesn’t like to tie laces. So unless I need laces for the added ankle support, because I’m going to be moving a lot, I still day to day am wearing my Veja sneakers, which I replace the laces with slip on laces, or my Charlotte Stone rainbow sneakers, which are Velcro that I am just obsessed with.
Corinne
That’s cool.
Virginia
Okay. Corinne, what about bran muffins? Are we still pro-bran muffin?
Corinne
I’m definitely still pro-bran muffin. I will say this was a specific bran muffin recipe where you make this huge amount of batter and then each morning bake one. I still like the concept, haven’t really stuck with it.
Virginia
This is making me want to do it, though!
Corinne
I know it’s making me want to revisit it again. They were good. So yes, mostly yes.
Virginia
You’re allowed to eat other breakfast foods, not saying you have to have breakfast monogamy here, but I could see it’s fall now, a bran muffin might be delightful.
Corinne
How about Blue? The leopard gecko? How’s Blue doing?
Virginia
Blue is doing great. I’m not going to recap that one. It’s too long of a tale, so link in the show notes to get the backstory. But once we got through the syringe feeding and medication rehabilitation stage, she is a delightful, extremely low maintenance pet. She lives in her tank. The other gecko, Kat, lives in her tank. My daughter’s room is 50 percent gecko tanks, I would say. They take up a ton of space, but she’s very happy to have them both.
Other than feeding them worms every other day, I think about them not at all. So of all the living creatures I am responsible for, which in my house is seven living creatures—two children, two cats, a dog, and two geckos. The geckos might be my favorite because they need so little from me. And they’re cute. I mean, they’re kind of boring pets, to be honest? But if your kid is into reptiles, they are the reptile they get. They are super low maintenance and literally impossible to kill.
Corinne
Can survive in a closet for months.
Virginia
They definitely can.
I’m curious about this one, because you were excited about this, but this is going back aways. The Pomodoro Timer?
There was something related to this, too? Was there an app or something you were doing?
Corinne
I just use this website, pomofocus.io that does a Pomodoro timer, and I have been using it less, but I stand by the concept.
Virginia
Even if you don’t use it?
Corinne
I should go back to using this! I mean, it’s a timer, it’s a free thing. It’s not like you have to buy something and then you have something stuck in your house. It’s a website. But I do still like the concept of working for 20 minutes, and then you take a five minute break.
Virginia
God, my physical therapist would be so happy with me if I did this, and if I stood up at the 20 minute mark. My lower back would probably be bulletproof.
Corinne
Yeah, I do think it’s a good way to work, but it does require something from you, which is…sticking to it.
Virginia
I also can’t work that way. I am a tunnel vision worker. I get hyper-focused if I’m writing. I don’t want to get up every 20 minutes.
Corinne
Yeah, I and to be fair, I have never used it for writing. I use it for editing transcripts.2 And I do think it’s pretty good for that.
Virginia
That makes sense.
Corinne
I could see it being good for cleaning? Like, vacuum for 25 minutes, take a five minute break. Or decluttering perhaps!
Virginia
My concern, not for you, but just in general, with these concepts, is that it often feels like the thing that’s going to transform your productivity. And then if you don’t stick with it, you feel failure about it. And I find that unhelpful, because of course, it wasn’t going to transform everything. We don’t need to hold ourselves to that standard.
But I think if you can have the mindset of I am doing this project today where I know it’s going to be hard to stay focused, so let me use this for the next two hours. As opposed to day in, day out, I have to work this way.
Corinne
It’s a tool available. I was definitely never using it day in day out. I guess what I have found it helpful for is a task that you’re dreading because you think it’s going to take a big amount of time. Instead of being like, “Okay, I need to dedicate four hours to doing this.” Be like, “Okay, I’m going to do it for 25 minutes and then I can look at my phone for five minutes.”
Virginia
I like that.
Corinne
What about the Universal Standard foundation turtleneck?
Virginia
You know, this one I think is holding up. I haven’t brought them back out yet because it’s not turtleneck weather here. But I was looking at that end of my closet the other day, and I was like, “Oh, I’m excited to wear those again.” I own the deep sea and the blue, and they’re both really pretty colors. I think as long as I can avoid the boob stain, I will be wearing them again this year.
Corinne
That’s great.
The next one we have is “grumpy little walks.” Virginia?
Virginia
I am still taking them, yes, about twice a week. I walk Penelope over to her doggy daycare. It is my grumpy little walk time, and I continue to feel annoyed by how effective they are at making me less grumpy and also probably generally healthier. I am not a fan, but that remains constant. I kind of wish I lived in a more walkable neighborhood where I did more of it. And I also don’t mind that I live a car-based existence, and I just am who I am?
Corinne
It’s fair.
Virginia
Okay, I’m excited to talk about your next one.
This was a pair of joggers and a sweater (similar) from Naadam, the cashmere company.
Corinne
Yes. I still recommend Naadam with some reservations. I think those joggers I got, the butt seam immediately ripped, but I think they refunded me. And I do think it’s actually a pretty good option for plus size cashmere. Their sizing runs big, like the 3x is generous, as opposed to J Crew.
Virginia
You see what I just put on?
Corinne
Is that your cashmere hoodie?
Virginia
I got the Naadam cashmere hoodie recently, and I’m obsessed with it. I’m wearing it so much. I am in the 1X so I agree about the sizing.
Corinne
I have stuff from them that I’ve had for multiple years.
Virginia
I did also buy the joggers. The one thing I don’t like about them is it’s a 14 day return window. 14 days, people! So it’s possible we need to do a cashmere jogger giveaway as well, because I have some extra ones that are too big for me.
Corinne
The first time I bought from them it wasn’t like that. And I think as many with many companies, it’s been getting smaller.
Virginia
I don’t like that at all.
Also, what’s interesting is I think their plus sizing is very generous, but their straight sizing—for those of us who sometimes go in both directions—is definitely not because some of the plus sizes were so generous I then ordered an XL cardigan from the straight sized section, thinking maybe that would be more of the fit I liked for something I wanted very fitted. And it’s like, doll sized. I have to send it back, and I’m really stressed about the 14 day return window.
I do think their quality and their colors are beautiful and and it’s a super ethical company we can feel good about supporting it. It’s not Old Navy and Target. But I wish it was easier to shop from.
Corinne
Yeah, that makes sense.
How are you feeling about your robot vacuum?
Virginia
Okay, I have two robot vacuums. They are currently both lying on their backs turned off. They still vacuum great, but something has happened with the schedule, where they think they should turn on at 10pm at night and so I keep having these ghost vacuums waking from the dead to try to vacuum. And it’s not always 10pm sometimes it’s 8:45 sometimes it’s 9pm. I don’t know. So they’re great vacuums, but are they haunted? Question mark. Cannot confirm nor deny.
Corinne
I also can’t believe that these work with cats. Your cats aren’t bothered?
Virginia
Oh no, the cats are fine with them. My kids really dream of the day we can get the cats to ride on them, and that has not happened yet. They’re great vacuums. They really help allergies, especially if you have pets, and like me, are allergic to the cats you love so much. They’re really helpful. I notice if I don’t robot vacuum my bedroom for two or three days, my allergies immediately get worse. When I do it consistently, it’s better.
But I don’t know why they’re haunted and going on at weird hours of the day. I need to sit down with the manual and figure that out. So that is my caveat. I think they’re excellent, but I don’t know the programming is… other people might be fine with it, but for me it’s complicated.
What about your in/out lists?
Corinne
I mean, I still like the process of making an in/out list. I don’t know if I’ll make one this year, remains to be seen. And I have not revisited mine from last year.
Virginia
That’s what I wanted to know. Do you feel like it’s holding up so far this year?
Corinne
I think it’s probably really out of date...
Virginia
But it was a fun exercise.
Corinne
What about your push pot?
Just as a reminder, this is what I would call a carafe, perhaps? Something you fill with a hot a hot drink and then push the top to dispense.
Virginia
Yes. I don’t know why we decided it was called a push pot, but we did. Yes, it is this giant carafe. You can fill it with 85 ounces of any hot beverage, push the top, and it dispenses it. I had visions of this being really magical for hot chocolate season and I think we used it twice? And it felt magical-ish, but then we never uses it again.
I haven’t gotten rid of it. I don’t know. It seems useful, but I’m willing to admit this might have been last year’s holiday stress making me think I had to create a lot of Christmas magic for my children.
Corinne
I feel like the real test will be whether you use it this winter. If you pull it out and use it this winter, I feel like it could be worth it.
Virginia
Even if I only use it one time?
Corinne
I feel like, if you use it once a year for a few years, that’s pretty good.
Virginia
It is a very specialized item.
Corinne
It’s not like you’re going to use it weekly.
Virginia
Okay, that makes me feel better. Stay tuned.
Okay, okay, another clothing, one for you: The Pammy blouse from Fashion Brand Company.
Corinne
Yes, I love this shirt, though I will say I’ve not worn it at all this summer.
Virginia
Why? It is such a great shirt? It’s your Indigo Girl shirt!
Corinne
It is. But I didn’t bring it with me to Maine, so it’s just out of the rotation.
Virginia
But it might come back.
Corinne
Yeah, I’m not ready to get rid of it. And it does feel like a higher quality piece.
Virginia
This feels like a classic to me. Again, we’re describing a black shirt with many silver tassels on it.
Corinne
It’s a black shirt with silver fringe on the front and embroidered barbed wire around the collar.
Virginia
Like I said, a true wardrobe staple. A closet classic. Something the grandmothers of New England would wear.
Corinne
Also, this is another example of don’t buy all the colors. I bought a version in bright green, which I have not worn.
Virginia
That starts to feel like Halloween costume-y to me, in bright green. Whereas the black is badass. The black is the LLBean of the fringed, barbed wired embroidered shirts and the green would just be not right.
But I think this is a classic Corinne wardrobe staple, and you should not declutter it, and it will come back around in a year or two, you’ll be wearing it a lot.
Corinne
I hope so.
How are your dollhouse renovations going?
Virginia
I admit they stalled. We reached a certain point where my bandwidth for this project did not continue. So it is half-renovated and sitting in my sun room downstairs. I never got the exterior painted. I really would like to paint the exterior this winter.
I think the big thing that happened was warm weather happened, and I no longer want an indoor craft project. And now that that’s changing soon, I really would like to paint the exterior of this, because that impacts how it looks sitting in my house. If it was cuter from the outside, I would feel less like, “Oh, I have this half finished project in my house.”
What is also interesting about this is my children are very imaginative. They do a ton of imaginative play, especially the younger one. But they decided amongst themselves that the dollhouse can only be played with if I’m participating. Like I have to do the pretend play too. And I am bad at pretend play! I’m not that mom. And they know this about me in all other contexts. But I have a character I have to play with the dollhouse. I think they’re like, “Because it’s your dollhouse, like it was yours when you were a kid.” And I can’t break their hearts and be like, “just so you know, when you get older, you lose all these skills.”
So it’s a little bit of a funny thing. I love it. I’m glad we worked on it together. And when my kid is like, “Can we play doll house?” I’m like, why did I do this?
Corinne
Yeah, thats interesting.
Virginia
I don’t know. I’m glad it’s a part of our family. I do forever love tiny dollhouse things.
Okay, your super socks from Shiny By Nature.
Corinne
I still wear these a lot. I am trying to not buy new ones, because I just have mixed feelings about Shiny by Nature, and I think I’ve come to prefer a slightly taller sock. But I still have these. I still wear them. They’re fine.
Virginia
We will link to the
piece on crew socks, so people can do a deep dive on your feelings about socks. And we will also link to the extra butter episodewhere we talked about fat influencers losing weight, for folks who want context on why Shiny By Nature is no longer a brand we’re like all in on. It’s complicated. But I’m glad the socks are still working.
I think this next one is you, too—the Blluemade hat.
Corinne
Yes, this is one that I was really ridiculed for, because it’s a $100 baseball cap. However I stand by this hat. I still think it is a really good hat. It’s a nice linen baseball cap. The thing about it is the brim is made of interfacing, not cardboard, so you can wash it in the washing machine. I have a few of these, I am embarrassed to admit. And I still wear them. I’m not telling you exactly how many,
Virginia
Some number of hats.
Corinne
Well, it’s also, it’s also something like, I probably bought one for the first time, like, three or four years ago, and then I have acquired more when they have different colors and stuff.
Virginia
I mean, I am in no place to judge this. The next one is my favorite sun hat, which I just opened the link on Target, and it’s not even available anymore. And I also am pretty sure I didn’t wear it last summer. So see previous conversation about fast fashion does not hold up.
Oh, I know what’s happening with this hat. Some birds built a nest in it on the back porch, and my kid would not let me move it. So actually, from an environmental perspective…
Corinne
It’s been repurposed.
Virginia
It’s living its best life. Is it is fostering life! Some Eastern Phoebes took that over.
Corinne
Wow, that’s cool.
The next one is your grow light from Soltech.
Virginia
Oh yeah, I love this still. This is in my bedroom. I have a bedroom without a lot of natural light and I wanted plants in there, and I put up this fairly expensive grow light pendant, and it is great.
What’s really cool about it is, it’s a very natural light quality. So when it turns on at 8am every morning, the room suddenly feels like, oh, it’s daylight and it really brightens up the room in a nice way. Then I have it programmed to go on from 8am to 3pm. So it’s not like in the evening I have a weird, harsh light. It’s just during the day, and my plants are doing really well. So that’s awesome. Grow lights are a game changer.
Okay, what about your infinity hoops?
Corinne
These were good. These were kind of a gateway earring for me. And now I have moved on to small gold hoops, but I still like these.
Virginia
I ended up buying these for my eleven year old and they are the only hoops that she can wear and not react to. So she sleeps in them. They’re super comfortable.
Corinne
Yeah, they’re good.
What about your set of stackable laundry baskets?
Virginia
Oh, amazing. This was a great purchase. If you are someone who has to do multiple loads of laundry a week, buy this six pack of laundry baskets (weirdly now sold as a 12-pack or a 4-pack or individually). The square shape is easy to carry. You can have designated laundry baskets for every load you need to do in your house. It’s so wonderful.
Virginia
Alright. And then your last one from 2023 are these pretty Maine candles. So I want you to still like them.
Corinne
Yes, I do still like these. This is maybe another thing where I bought a bunch of them, and I have not used them all. They’re still great candles. I think they make a really nice gift.
Virginia
Yeah, you don’t even use all your candles at once.
Corinne
They’re just tapers.
Virginia
Candle season is coming. You’ll use them.
Corinne
And your last one is art.
“Coastal Layer” by Katie Craig
Virginia
Oh yes. Katie Craig was the artist that I picked for the last one. I love Katie Craig’s work. She paints these really beautiful, mostly stripes and some plaids. She also has prints that are less expensive, and I have two little, small stripey paintings (here and here) by her, and they make me happy every single day.
I feel like we really did learn some things about ourselves, which is maybe spend money on some high quality items, like art you’re not going to regret. Target, maybe. Maybe, Virginia, back off the Target purchases.
Corinne
I’m never regretting the food and the media.
Virginia
We didn’t even go over all the books and TV shows we recommended because we still like all those. You don’t regret food. You don’t regret stuff you watch and read if you liked it enough to recommend it here. But clothing and household items seem to be a little more of a gray area.
[New!] Butter
Corinne
Are we going to do Butter?
Virginia
Yeah, let’s do Butter. What do you have?
Corinne
Okay, well, mine is media, so no regrets here. I want to recommend this TV show called I Kissed A Girl. It is a British lesbian reality dating show. It’s basically like all the other ones, like Love Island. I’ve actually never watched Love Island, but I think it’s like Love Island. Except the premise is that as they’re bringing people on, the two people have to kiss before they even speak. So these two people are walking across the stage and then make out. Then there’s all kinds of interior drama where they end up wanting to be with other people and blah, blah, blah.
Virginia
I mean, you can learn a lot from that first kiss. I feel like that’s revealing information.
Corinne
And it’s just really fun to watch all the British UK lesbians and their regional accents. So, I recommend “I Kissed A Girl.” There’s also, apparently “I Kissed A Boy,” which is all men, and you can watch it on Hulu. So that’s my rec.
Virginia
That’s a really good one.
Corinne
What’s your Butter?
Virginia
Okay, so obviously I’m evolving away from fast fashion. So I’m not going to endorse anything from Target today after these epiphanies, but since we talked a little bit about jewelry, I do have a jewelry brand I’ve been really enjoying that I feel good about, which is called Made By Mary. It is a lot of very pretty delicate gold jewelry if you are on that train. So I have this little necklace. It’s like a little half circle and hammered half circle. And I will also confess I am completely copying my best friend Amy Palanjian, who wears this necklace, and then she also wears these rings, and I am wearing the same rings. When I saw her the other week, she’d gotten a bunch more of their rings. And I was like, oh, I too need more of their rings. So, yeah, they do a lot of these, like, thin, little stackable rings.
Corinne
Oh, cute.
Virginia
They’re just delicate and low key. And I can also put a link to the necklace extenders I found, which sometimes for these delicate gold pieces, I need a necklace extender. And I found some really good ones that add a couple of inches to a necklace and make a big difference for plus size jewelry.
Corinne
That’s good.
Virginia
Well, this was fun. I feel like we learned a lot about ourselves.
Corinne
I feel like we did too.
The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!
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Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.
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