Fall, head first.

I'm kinda resisting the change of seasons. Which is crazy because I LOVE fall. The season of layering and multi-coloured tights and crunchy leaves and pumpkin spice lattes. Oh, and Halloween! Seriously? The best.

But I've been purposely wearing sandals and leaving my coat at home and wearing white after Labour Day (gasp). The weather is making it too easy. Do I just have a rebellion-lust this year? Am I  stumbling upon uncharacteristic pessimism? "All good things must come to an end"? 

I don't really believe that. But this summer was pretty magical and also highly indulgent (read: unsustainable). It's OK, the new budget and food restrictions have been good for a girl like me who gets caught up so easily. Healthy. But I guess it's making me associate fall with the end of a good ride. The optimist's perspective: it's still a ride, but we're rolling up the windows. Just a little.

Truthfully, renewal (September is the new January) is exactly what I need. And in the way that you'll crave Hot Rods (yes, even as a vegetarian) when your body really just needs protein, my subconscious is already jumping in piles of leaves and sprinkling nutmeg with fervor. It's trying to tell me something. How do I know? My Etsy faves are suspiciously seasonal. 

 { a surprisingly subdued colour palette for this gal: soft black, goldenrod, slate blue... and sometimes a dash of cinnamon }

Of course, because of my ongoing shopping ban, I can't actually purchase any of these Etsy covets. Minor detail.

When I'm allowed to spend again at the end of this month, the weather will be less forgiving. Sandals are out of the question. It will be a great time to finally embrace the fact that time charges forward. My summer of excess will be but a sweet memory and cluster of Instagram captures. I will buy some pretty cardis (3/4-sleeved to show off my new tattoo!) and tall boots and maybe even give up being a quasi-blonde. 

Oh, look. All this talk is getting me excited. Finally. 

My dream fall, in things, inspired by Etsy:

I referred to something as "half Mad Men, half Girls Gone Wild" yesterday and my friend Dawn said it totally described me "200%". Oh boy. Probably I should lean towards the Mad Men side a little more, yeah? These should do just the trick. Vintage barware $23

I'm a bells-and-whistles kinda girl (tassels! snaps! fringe!) but occasionally, I find awesomeness in simplicity. This bag is perfection. Leather tote by Rib & Hull  $290

I'm kind of obsessed with burlap. Like the way it makes you cough a little when you breathe it in. I just made pillows for our living room out of some old coffee sacks we picked up in Perth last summer. This Etsy shop makes darling things out of the scratchy stuff. Burlap pillows $45

Simple, graphic, lovely.  Chevron print, $36

 

I had a long-term love-thing with peppermint. It was monogamous. Peppermint everything. But a little lip balm I picked up in Montreal turned me onto cinnamon again (in my post-candy-hearts adult life), and maybe I have two loves now. Scandal. Cinnamon soap $6.50

 

 I have great underthings. Surely they deserve a little show & tell. Kidding? But please, tell me this isn't the greatest dress you've ever seen. Stunning. I'd do fantastic things in this dress, I'm sure. Vintage sheer dress $145

In my fantasy life, as a Parisian boutique owner (slash model, slash journaliste), my baking needs would be stored in vintage enamel canisters in the kitchen of my petit loft apartment. Trés chic, n'est pas? $145

This hat! $40

Not gonna lie: as soon as this shopping ban is lifted, these are the very first things I'm buying. High-waisted? Metallic? Animal print? You're speaking my language. Snake print leggings $45

OK, maybe there is actually something wrong with me. I just really, really want you to look at my underwear, obvi. Lace racerback $95

My childhood typewriter is still in the possession of my parents. I tried to reclaim it when they forced me to absorb the rest of my junk trying to exercise squatters' rights in their storage closet. But apparently dad uses it to type up the labels for their juke box. Dedication to authenticity? I just want to look at it because it's pretty? OK, I guess he wins. Typewriter $80

Spring-y

I've decided it's Spring. I decided it the day before we got that huge (now gone) dump of snow. And before it started snowing again today. So, you can thank me for that. I didn't knock on wood because I'm a daredevil.

Our yard looks spring-y again. Not good-spring. Bad-spring. Like this: mud and evidence of dogs and brown, brown, brown. But I'm longing for bare legs and wellies and jewel-toned trenches. I don't want to buy anything unless it's mint or citron or cantaloupe in colour. I want to drink mojitos and white sangria.

I almost bought a bright purple silk maxi skirt last week because it would look so fetch with my Zara sandals from last summer. It kind of inspired a new wardrobe direction for me: Zoltar meets Pirate-babe meets Across the Universe. Kind of a less-blingy, more floral fortune teller. Put more simply: Stevie Nicks circa... always. You like? I should buy the skirt, yeah?

 across the universe // stevie nicks

Despite the tricky weather, though, I have to remember that it's February. We're not safe from snow squalls and ice-rain and deep freeze. Yet.

A girl can dream.

I'm heading into the woods in 3 weeks for a craft weekend and I'm definitely whipping up something fantastic in preparation for puddle-jumping.

Of course I needed to be inspired...

Here are my latest Etsy picks, lovingly handmade (or gleaned) by folks after my own summer-lovin'-heart:

Let's picnic, y'all! Aedriel Originals - chevron salad plates (2) $36

 Norwegian Wood - faux thigh-high leggings $70

 my kids will live in neverland. and i will live vicariously. The Butter Flying - rain mobile $50

 ISWASANDWILLBE - enamoured necklace $40

confetti rain! Aeropagita Prints - 'The Rain' print $20

i would live in this. over and under EVERYTHING. Norwegian Wood - sheer lace maxi $120

 let's just lie around all day and read and watch the rain, kay? Big Birds Boutique - large floor cushion $250

 oooh, surprises! Handsome and Lace - silk necktie $70 (LOCAL!)

 spring's just right for falling in love, yeah? Dariami - Mint heart studs $18

 let's get hitched. Sweet and Savvy Designs - tissue pom poms $30

like pyjamas, but hot. Leilanni - jersey maxi skirt $70 (LOCAL!)

step into my office, baby. Hopper and Space - vintage wingback sofa $1800

*prices are converted to CAD and are approximate

a fairy tale.

Once upon a time (oh, about two weeks ago) one girl sewed and cut and bled her heart out to get ready for an Etsy holiday sale. Now, that sale has sailed. It wasn't quite the success she had hoped, but she shared good cheer with friends and fellow crafty folk. So, what of the oodles of crafted wonders leftover from the show, hauled lovingly by her Prince back to their shared castle in the kingdom of the Annex? Well, a good fairy swooped in and bought the whole lot for her little shop in wee Roncesvalles Village. Need I mention that they all lived happily ever after?

---

Yeah, that was my Etsy/West Elm sale experience. Maybe a little sour but mostly sweet. I am SUPER happy to have been included, and am overwhelmed by the love and support from friends, even if I didn't have a heap of sales.

 [ my little nook ]

[ dudley & bea - squeaky bones and jingle mice! ]

My fairy is Nadia, the lovely owner of Fetch, a cute little pet boutique in the west end. It's my first foray into the wholesale world (at least since I became Dudley & Bea) and it's just the right fit for a girl who's also holding down a full-time job. Who knows, maybe I'll branch out in the springtime. But for now, I'm pretty happy to have a little brick-n'-mortar action, especially in the 'hood which may soon become our new home. OK, that's premature, but my sights are set westward! It's all a part of my master plan: Project Babymaker. In good time, my pets.

[  367 Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto ]

 

In other craft news, I lament my tardiness in getting my City of Craft application done in time. 

It was darn good this year, at least traffic-wise. As a customer, elbowing my way through the shopping process was less than pleasant. But those crafty sellers had dolla-dolla-billz-y'all in place of pupils. Darn, I could have used some of that action. Ah, well. I did OK, though: I sold Lindsay two of my squishy pet bowls bootleg-style in the middle of the aisle. Illegal soliciting. One step away from a meth lab, right? Also, I snagged some stocking stuffables for Alex and some yummers cinnamon lip-balm. 

Other highlights were Bespoke Uprising (burlesque tea-towels!), Julie Moon (ceramic poppy earrings!) and homemade curries. 

I'm still a far cry from Christmas completeness, but mom passed down her superior shopping gene so I'll be allllright.

[ happily ever after image by type posters on Etsy ] 

holiday etsy picks!

Well, I won't be doing any more Etsy shopping this year, even though the plan was to buy 100% handmade. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! But, I missed the shipping window. Lovely handcrafted wonders will just never get here in time no matter how hard they try. Even the "I think I can" mantra is useless at this point, mere DAYS until xmas. 

(And I'm surely too cheap to pay for expedited shipping.)

I've added many Etsy gems - both vintage and handmade - to my favourites recently. Why? Well, mostly I live in a daydream cloud. Reality shmeality. My feet might be tripping over the slightest deviation in the actual ground, but in my wonderful bubble, I'm floating gracefully over mountains of Pink Berry yogurt (vanilla, of course). 

I've referred Alex and my mom to my Etsy collections for gift ideas, but they'll be plum outta luck on the shipping front, too. No wonder Santa doesn't use Canada Post. Smart dude. Miracles aside, these won't end up under my tree. But a girl can always dream, can't she?

Holiday Etsy picks inspired by: 

candy canes • fireside romance • fancy-grown-up-lady parties • rosy cheeks

Vegan Shoes that are WAY too cute to be vegan shoes. (SOLD during the writing of this post. Frownsy face.)  Roni Kantor Vintage

A little Princess Di, no? Green Satin Clutch $15, unavesmas2

 I'm going skiing in Utah in a month. And, well, this just feels right. Buffalo Check Scarf $18, Simple Vintage

Too adorbs for eating! Much to hubby's chagrin, I've recently started mounting plates on the walls. Finch Plate $24, Tree House Club

 I'm too old for this, right? Heart Headband $40, Giant Dwarf

 Stamped Spreaders $24, Simply Sweet Studio

Oh! wouldn't this look lovely on our new art-wall? Montreal Pennant $18, Tree House Club

Oh the things I could make! Chevron Fabric, $11/yard

Very happy feet. Snakeskin Socks $28, Strathcona Stockings

Red Vintage Clutch (SOLD during the writing of this post. Boo.)  Steel City Vintage

Won't you drop by my lovely winterized cottage in the mountains for some delish crudités on my chic vintage nordic dinnerware? (You'll see, I'll mean it one day.) $62, The Fancy Lamb 

Saddest Etsy dog ever. Sled $100, The Fancy Lamb

Best for wrapping! Washi Tape Dispenser $27, Sugar B. Supplies

 
If you manage to secure the services of a reindeer, you're welcome to buy me anything on this list!

Merry shopping! • Buy handmade!

a handmade holiday!

This is happening. Today.

And I'm only blogging about it now at the very, very last minute because, well, I've been busy sewing my face off to get ready for it. Oops. But if you know and love me, I've already told you and you're already coming. The rest of you: go. Spontaneity is good for you.

While I had planned to write a proper post, this will have to do. Short, sweet and riddled with typos. 

So yes, stop by your local West Elm store for snacks, DIY workshops and shopping local Etsy sellers. But most importantly, visit the Liberty Village location in Toronto. That's where I'll be. Bleary-eyed from all-night sewing and baking. I'll be selling my Dudley & Bea goodies, including new products that you'll just have to see in person!

Oh, and BRING CASH. I'll accept PayPal via the iPhone app, too. Many small vendors are unable to accept debit and credit cards.

I'll be sharing the spotlight with these lovely folks - my fellow T-dot-Oh Etsy-ers:

The Penny Paper Co.

Better Stay Together

Tiny Poppies

Setsuko Studio

Every Bear Jewel

Get there: 109 Atlantic Ave., Toronto