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 ] 

3 Things.

 [collar/photo by me, Dudley & Bea]

I have puppy love this week, mostly because I am sooo thankful to have my two babies here while Alex is gone. I grew up in a chaotic (but happy) house, and silence is too weird. Note: the chaos was caused by me 90% of the time. 

(Side note to my mother: I was watching Intervention this week, and a family was being interviewed about their daughter who was the addict and subject of this particular episode. Her mother said: "She was the most exhausting person I had ever met. Even as a child." HAHAHA! I thought of you. :)

So, yeah, I love the chaos created by two terriers. Even if I do complain occasionally. So, this week's edition of my favourite 3 Things is devoted to critters.

ONE •

Verameat jewellery. She has so many pup-themed pieces and I am coveting the Terrier Ring. (*hint, hint*). Select items are available at Rac Boutique in Yorkville. 

TWO ••

Dog Gadgets! A few years ago, I ordered a heated dog bed (I know, I know) from Hammacher Schlemmer, a weird online/catalog company that Alex's brother loves. Dudley hated the bed. But ever since, they have been mailing me catalogs. They have some pretty amazing stuff (gadget-y useful/useless inventions like the always-cool pillow, and remote-controlled beverage cooler on wheels) but two particular items made me laugh hysterically. I love my dogs, but come ON! Introducing: the Dogbrella and the Canine Twitterer. What? (Don't forget to order gift-wrapping :P)

THREE •••

Dennis Marciniak. Dennis is my blogTO friend (he makes me look really, really good when he shoots for my posts) and I found so many great animal shots on his personal site, I had to share. Check out his site daily - there's a new photo every day!

Where in the WORLD?!

Yeah, sorry, MIA. So where have I been all week? Catching up with my long-lost Mister, of course! Oh, and: job interviews, BlogTO business, sewing, celebrating, pretending to care about politics (more ranting about this later), bootcamp, and watching endless amounts of Mad Men, Hoarders and LA Ink on Netflix (yay). 

And, Alex had a Toronto show this week - the last one of their recent tour, at the Phoenix. I, still coming down from my camera scare, left the poor girl at home and didn't snap any photos of the event. Soo, I had to swipe Sweet Thing fan photos from Facebook to share (*yoink!*). Here are a few good ones from across the country:

 [ c/o Jesse Coker ]

 [ c/o Laura Sheppard ]

 [ c/o Justin Chin ]

 [ c/o Sarah Bradley ]

 [ c/o Justin Chin ]

 [ c/o Erin Deli ]

[ c/o my gorgeous date, Vicky ]

[ ...and a video! c/o Sarah Bradley ]

Speaking of Ms. Sarah Bradley, she's a fellow girl-about-blogs that I finally had the pleasure to meet (albeit too briefly) in person at the Phoenix show. I suppose I need more flesh-and-blood friends, over the www variety. It gets me out of the house. And you know I love my house.

After the Phoenix, Vicks and I headed to the GelaSkins 5-Year Anniversary party (where my music-man met us later). The owners and brains behind the operation are friends of ours, c/o our lovely long-time friend that just happens to be shacked up with one half of the duo.

SO happy to spend time with a small representation of my old high-school crew (and some of my best friends of LIFE). Philam and Andrew even came up from Montreal. The party was swankier than most weddings (cha-ching!), and included a live band (a new favourite of mine! Check out The Pass), and a midnight poutine bar! I admit that I saved myself for it. I didn't even touch any of the ample yummy snacks up for grabs earlier. I may or may not have had 3 poutines. They were small! And I shared #2 and #3. Sort of.

Again, my camera rested from her traumatic swim, and I had to steal FB pics from my friends:

CAUGHT!

 [ photos c/o D.Laing, P.Nguyen, V.Chabot and Shawn Gillis ]

 

I'm currently gathering "research" for my newest BlogTO post: Best Sex Shops in Toronto. Yeah, I'm just happy this one isn't related to carbs and fat! Loving this piece. My last post is up, too: a store profile for Common Sort Parkdale. 

 

Oh, and the interview? At Sears Corporate again. Three times a charm? This one wasn't as terrible as the last two and I think I may have a shot! Waiting for a follow-up... *fingers crossed*.

Alex is off to 2 back-to-back shows this week: tonight, supporting Down With Webster in Brantford, and tomorrow, a private radio listener cruise in Kingston. I won't be tagging along for either. Getting him out of the house means productivity for me. I have so, so many new pet goodies to upload to my new little online shop soon! Can't wait to show you!

 

xo