Early Benefit Sale 2019 Prices & Limits!

Today we got some exciting news re: the 2019 American Girl Benefit Sale! In a Facebook Live video they showed off some of the items that will be available- and for the first time ever could release some early prices and limits for those items! Note that this does not include everything that will be available at the sale. There is so much more that will be there! These are just the items that they have lots of stock on and can let us know early about.

The administrator was calling this the "year of deep discounts" which I think is going to be fantastic for all of us AG lovers old & young.

Melody Doll- $30 with a limit of 10

Tenney Doll- $40 with a limit of 10

Gabriela Doll- $85 with a limit of 5

Isabelle Doll- $85 with a limit of 5

Addy Doll- $30 with a limit of 10 (!!!!)

CYO Doll- $120 with a limit of 5

Individual paperbacks- $2 each

BF book sets w/ mini doll- $5 each

Bitty baby sets- $50 with a limit of 5

Kit Costco set- $85 /limit unknown

Truly Me #25 Doll- $35 with a limit of 3

Wellie Wisher Dolls- $20 each /limit unknown

So far the two items to hit my list are Addy & Truly Me #25. I almost bought #25 when the MOA store closed but chose to get #61. And Addy? I sold her last year and have regretted it ever since. I'm going to give her a big hug once she's mine at the sale! 

So there we go- there's the update for now! I'm sure there will be more exciting news as the sale draws nearer. The sale is the weekend of July 20th-21st and takes place in Middleton, WI. Tickets for Saturday are now SOLD OUT but a limited number of free Sunday entry tickets will be available starting at 7:00AM on Sunday July 21st. Are you going to the Benefit Sale? Let me know! I'd love to meet up with other AG fans!

Preparing for Benefit Sale 2019 & Checking In

Before you say it, I know it's been a long time since I checked in here. I promise it's not because I've suddenly lost interest in my collection (it's the opposite, really)- I've just had a lot of major life stuff going on this past year. For those who don't follow my Instagram I lost my dad on December 27th, 2018. I was laid off of my job on Halloween 2018. I had to put my kitten, Helga, down in November 2018. I celebrated my first birthday without my dad, watched as his birthday and the birthdays of my mom and brother passed by. I've been struggling with a deep depression and all of this grief. I've been spotty online and in real life, but I'm here and I'm making my way back. 

Me & my dad on my parent's wedding day- March 20th, 1998.

This is old news by now but 2019 welcomed, as every year does, a new Girl of the Year! This year it's Blaire Wilson, a spirited redhead who is navigating a newly diagnosed dairy intolerance and enjoys helping out around her family's bed & breakfast. Her collection is a great combination of adorable farm animals (that pig!) and outfits that go from working in the garden to attending a wedding as a junior bridesmaid. She's even got her family farm restaurant filling the role as her big ticket item. All of these qualities point to her being a home run for AG, but that will remain to be seen until the quarterly reports come in. For me? She was a must. My mom and I attended her launch day at the Mall of America store knowing nothing about Blaire besides the images and blurbs from her books. What we discovered was that she shares more than few qualities with my dad. With that in mind my mom purchased Blaire for me in memory of him. Needless to say she is treasured around here, which brings me to my next topic...

Blaire's debut photo.

Eye exchanges. Remember American Girl's torso exchange last year after the permapanty uproar? AG's done it again, this time in the form of replacing their standard eyes for a cheaper version. These 'new eyes' debuted in 2017 with the release of Nanea Mitchell and lasted through the release of Blaire. This means that every doll produced during that time period has a chance of sporting those new eyes. How do you spot them? The new eyes have a brighter white, white posts that are sometimes visible if you gently push the eye to the side, often give the doll a downward gaze and have a slight ridge where the pupil begins. Like the torso exchange, American Girl is offering a free eye replacement through the end of this year. You can either drop off your dolls in store for the exchange or print off the form from AG's website and mail them in.

I'm going to be honest here- the eyes bothered me, but not enough initially to send in my dolls. I was nervous to send mine in, especially Blaire. What if they came back with wonky expressions? What about all of those rants from collectors who received dolls that were damaged?  I spent a good couple of months debating whether or not to do the exchange, that is, until the imminent closing of the Mall of America location forced my hand. Well, forced it because I wanted to drop off the dolls in store to avoid paying shipping fees. On March 20th I dropped off 4 dolls for the exchange: Nanea, Luciana, Blaire and Nancy (Truly Me #78). They returned home 8 days later on March 28th. I was really pleased by the quick turn around and even happier with the results. While all 4 dolls were a little disheveled from their travels, their new eyes were beautiful- so much so that it completely changed my bond with Nanea. None of them had weird shine marks, ruined wigs, ripped vinyl or any of the other complaints thrown at AG by some collectors. If you're on the fence about sending your dolls in for this procedure I would highly recommend it.

Nanea before the eye exchange.

Nanea after the eye exchange.

As I mentioned American Girl made the decision to not renew the lease for the Mall of America location. This means that the Chicago store is now the nearest AGP location for me. I'll admit it, losing the store was another big loss for me. It was one of my safe places, somewhere I could go and get away from all of my thoughts and worries. I'll miss being able to see new releases in person and chatting with the incredibly friendly staff. Thankfully I still live close enough to Middleton to make the drive out for the annual benefit sale and will be attending this year with my mom. We will be attending both days of the sale and are staying in town for the event. If you'll be there drop me a message on Instagram! I would be thrilled to meet more collectors. 

Jude- Truly Me #61 and my last purchase from AGP Mall of America.

I plan on writing a post about my second year attending the sale so keep an eye out for that! Until then I'll be working on a lot of housekeeping here- my Meet My Dolls page is sorely out of date and I will be slowly adding pictures and blurbs for each of my girls. In the meantime I'm hoping to write a blog post or two to introduce the girls who joined my collection over the last 10 months. Thanks again for sticking around during this long absence. I hope all of you are doing well and are having a fantastic start to your summers!

MCM 2018 - My first benefit sale!

Here I am, six months later! Things have been hectic and time for blogging has been at an all-time low. I'm beyond excited to be back, especially considering the topic of today's post! While I bought my MCM tickets the very first day they were available I didn't know if I'd be able to go or not until the night before the event. 

I swear my heart leaped seeing this sign! It's been a dream of mine to attend this event.

For those who don't know, American Girl donates returns and overstock to the Madison Children's Museum every year. These items are sold at the Annual American Girl Benefit Sale hosted in Middleton, WI. All proceeds go to support the work of the Madison Children's Museum and American Girl's Fund for Children. It's a fantastic way to purchase dolls, outfits, accessories, and books for a low cost!

This year was the 31st year of the sale!

I am from Minneapolis so the drive was exactly 4 hours for me. My entry time was at 10:45AM so I left home at 6:45- I was lucky to arrive just in time for my time slot! I spent the night before watching and reading any sale experiences posted online so I had a good idea what to expect. This year entry times also had assigned groups which allowed the process to go smoother, at least from comparing it to accounts from previous years. My group was let into the warehouse at exactly 11:00AM, so they were only running 15 minutes behind schedule! There was a sign going into the warehouse that listed all character dolls and if any were sold out. When I went in only Z and Logan were sold out.

Z and Logan were sold out. Luckily I wasn't looking to buy any named dolls this year!

I was amazed at the sheer amount of merchandise available and definitely was overwhelmed for the first 15 or so minutes just taking it all in. One of the things I liked best is that you could easily lift the dolls out of their boxes to inspect their limbs, faces, wig, and eyes. I enjoyed listening to the conversations around me- hearing people examining and talking about permapanties in person definitely made me laugh!

Nanea!

I went in knowing I wanted Melody's Bed and Bedroom Accessories (because at $45 together that was a steal!). Melody had the biggest presence at the sale. She was available for $60 at a limit of 10 on Saturday. You could also buy her Bed for $35, Bedroom Accessories for $10, Fancy Coat for $18, and Pajamas for $12. On Sunday she was available at an unlimited limit for $30, her Bed for $20, and Bedroom Accessories for $5. Most of her dolls were brand new in box and the fact that so much of her collection was available has me worried about how Melody is doing overall.

The front end of the warehouse had the Beforever dolls, furniture, outfits, books, mini dolls, accessories, and Wellie Wishers. The back end was where the Truly Me dolls, Girls of the Year, voucher table, Bitty Babies, Bitty Twins and check out area were located.

I also went to the sale knowing I wanted to pick up one Truly Me doll to bring home. While I debated between a few different girls, I ended up going home with Truly Me #42. She came in the lavender Truly Me meet outfit with pierced ears. I was lucky to find the vest and tulle skirt from the matching meet accessories in a ziploc bag for $12! It was the only set I saw so I snatched it up. All of my girls need to come home with pajamas so I also picked up the Purple Peacock PJ's for $10. I missed out on the Spring Breeze Dress when it was in stores and was happy to find it at the sale for $18. #42 has settled in nicely at home and has officially been named Margot!

Margot grabbing some McDonald's for lunch with me.

Melody was the happiest when she saw what I brought home!

Outside of the warehouse were lots of vendors. There were quite a few selling outfits and furniture for 18" dolls. My favorite was a booth that was selling food and drinks! I was a huge fan of the Unicorn Frappucino from Starbucks and when I saw they were selling ones for dolls I knew Margot would need one. There was also some vendors 'for adults' such as Lularoe, Tupperware and Young Living. There was also a silent auction tent that had some amazing retired sets. I didn't have a ton of money for this year so I didn't bid on anything.

I did take advantage of the Dolly Day Care service offered at the sale when I went back in for a second time. I dropped off Margot and was given a loom bracelet to wear that matched one they put on her. When I picked her up they matched our bracelets which is how they knew she was mine. It was a free service and I loved seeing how they set her up on a chaise lounge with headphones on while I shopped. She certainly had a relaxing time!

Yes, Margot insisted on being cozy for the drive home!

I was lucky to meet a ton of other collectors in the community. I met up with Beth of DollTraume (also known as IGSBeth on AGC! She has some fantastic posts up about her MCM experiences) and historic_ag_dolls from Instagram. There was also an AGIG meet-up hosted at 3PM on Saturday where I met up with Sew4Dolls and OnceUponAnAmericanGirl. Everyone was so nice and it truly was amazing meeting up with so many people I knew from online in person. This was by far the best part of this experience.

Look at all of the AGIGers!

Some weird highlights I saw- entire extended families going in and buying up to the limits available and leaving in a rented U-Haul with all of their merchandise! I later found out that this was a family of resellers. Another sight? A van parked about a block away from the sale that had black and white stock photos of dolls taped to the side. It looked like an ice cream truck where you went up and just pointed to the doll you wanted to buy. I didn't get too close but I'm guessing they had a stock of retired dolls that they were trying to sell.

Here I am with Sew4Dolls and her Tesla and historic_ag_dolls!

Gosh, I'm sure I missed a ton of details! Overall this was an absolutely incredible experience. The drive was beautiful too so I know for a fact I'll be making a return trip next year. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments. I'll be more than happy to do my best to answer them!

-Shannon

Review: Kit's Mini Golf Outfit

Kit’s pastel golf outfit was made for hitting the green in style! The drop-waist dress features contrast cuffs, a fashionable Peter Pan collar, and skirt with button and ribbon details, as well as Kit's embroidered initials: MMK. Her matching argyle socks, two-tone shoes, and knit hat with a ribbon flower add the perfect finishing touches to the outfit. $34

Bring Kit to work day.

I bought this outfit during the Beforever sale where it was buy one item, get a second at 50% off. I got this outfit for $17.00. 

Starting with the dress itself- right off the bat I can say that it's made with a thinner fabric. While the white bodice isn't see through, the fabric is very prone to getting wrinkled. I would recommend storing this dress where it can be laid out flat. The design of the dress is very cute, and fairly accurate as seen from the 1924 pattern it's based off of. The initials are embroidered on the dress in a powder blue that matches the buttons and grosgrain ribbon details. The sleeve cuff, skirt and collar are all a bright orange fabric with a pattern of alternating dark orange and light orange strips. The sleeve cuffs were a little tight on my Kit. The dress bodice is roomy and fit her just fine.

Here's the real life pattern!

The socks are knit orange, blue, and white argyle. They are thick and are knee high length. They're very cute and one of my favorite parts of this outfit.

The shoes are white faux patent with black soles and a black faux patent ankle strap. The ankle strap opens at the front and is secured by a black cotton tie that can be tied in a bow. These shoes seem like they'll last up well to play. My only concern is that the black tie is not sewn to the shoes and can be pulled out. I see these getting easily lost. 

The hat is an bright orange knit cloche hat. It fits my Kit perfectly, coming down to rest just above her eyebrows. There is a knit bow detail on the right side of the hat that features a powder blue flower with an orange button center. The knit of this hat is thick. 

Overall, I am very pleased with this outfit. It has several pieces and is very cute. The colors, while very bright, look adorable on Kit. It's an outfit I can imagine her playing mini golf in, or just playing in in general. I'm happy that the monogram is embroidered rather than a decal. I would highly recommend this outfit on a sale. At full price I think it's a bit expensively priced for the thin material of the dress.

A Work in Progress

Today is the newest release from American Girl, including our 1940's Hawaiian Historical Nanea Mitchell! I was thrilled to be offered the chance to preorder her through the AG Rewards program and received her nearly two weeks ago with a starter collection. Briefly I can say that I am in love with the doll and have enjoyed her stories so much! I'm excited to add more to her collection.

As you can see, Nanea is already spoiled! Here she is wearing a gorgeous outfit from MySewYouCreations on etsy.

The release also hit it out of the park for Beforever which means my wish list is a mile long and my wallet is a dollar short. I'll be adding several of the new items to my collection in the future (as well as some retired items, one of which I'm thrilled to share with you!)

Today's post is a short one though because it's a quick update. I've had some exciting happenings in my life that will change my blogging schedule and my collection. My wife and I have bought a house! We're closing next Thursday so I'm going to be a bundle of nerves until we have the keys in our hands. One of the most exciting things about this is that I will have my own doll room! I'll be able to get creative and maintain permanent displays for my historicals and Lea's Rainforest Hut. So over the next month it'll probably be a little quiet here until we get moved and settled in!

I've also gone ahead and started to weed through my collection. I've listed #54, #26, #69, #49, and Julie all for sale, along with several outfits. I haven't bonded with Julie and as silly as this may sound, I have discovered that I prefer owning dolls who come with a written story. With this in mind I'm selling my moddies and keeping only my GOTY's (and possibly Tenney- TBD) as my modern dolls. This will bring my collection down to 14/15 dolls, which is still a lot, but more manageable for me. I want to really focus now less on adding dolls and more on building up collections with the idea of having a doll house kind of set-up. I'm very excited for these changes and cannot wait to share the developments.

Hope you all have had a fantastic summer and enjoy the new release!

A Late Spring Cleaning

Finally the rough spring is over and summer has begun! I'll be honest, summer is pretty low on my list of favorite seasons. I don't do well in the heat and a minor sun allergy makes being outside troublesome. Nonetheless summer brings some of my favorite things; Pride, camping, and American Girl releases! Last week AG debuted the first of two summer releases and this one was strictly about the moddies, contemporary characters (minus Z), and Wellie Wishers. I am happy to say that I loved this release. American Girl has stepped it up a few notches this time, though I still will give them some points off for not including anything for Z.

Zosia & Sawyer have hit it off!

Like many other collectors I am in love with the new meet. I ended up bringing home TM #69. She is the new TM classic mold, brown eyes, and wavy dark brown hair. She's one in a line of many white TM dolls, but her middle part, eyes and hair are a combination I wanted for my moddies. She is going to take the place of Willa, my #49 who I have been unable to bond with. That will complete my moddie group of Meiko (#54), Zosia (#26), and Sawyer (#69). Between the three of them they will share all of my modern AG clothing, besides the outfits that belong to named GOTY.

So much in love with this outfit. Gabi is going to wear it forever, haha. 

The other things that made up my must have list were the new Travel in Style outfit, Gabriela's Take Flight outfit, Wellie Wishers Firefly Nightgown, and Wellie Wishers Outdoors Overalls. I hope to do more detailed reviews on each outfit later, but for now I will say that all of the outfits are beyond cute and I am very happy with the overall quality. I also picked up the new TM meet accessories and they are the best yet! They mix n' match perfectly with the new meet outfit and create a ton of options to style the doll. Definitely worth the price.

Sawyer + accessories.

My current taskat hand has been doing a 'spring cleaning' of my collection. I've gotten to the point where I've decided I want less dolls so that I have room to add more to the collections of the dolls I really bond with. Willa and Cecile have both left for new homes because I was unable to bond with them. Possibly up for rehoming are Julie, Kit, Melody and Tenney. Yep, Tenney. While she reminds me of my grandmother I have no interest in her big ticket items, nor do I care for the latest edition to her collection- the sparkling sequins outfit. The velvet of the blazer just *cringe*. Velvet has always been a fabric that almost hurts me to touch. It's hard to explain. While Tenney may be rehomed I will be focusing on adding to Felicity's collection as she is a doll that my grandma often bought me things for. I've realized there are other ways too I can make her feel known in my collection.

There is a loop for her hammer!

I've spent the last week writing and throwing away and writing more lists trying to determine how I'd like my collection to look. For now I know that I want complete or mostly complete collections for Felicity, Kaya, Caroline, Kirsten, and Josefina. I'd like to continue adding items for Rebecca, Addy, and Maryellen. Lea, Grace, Gabriella, Zosia, Sawyer, and Meiko will continue to represent my modern dolls. Hopefully this will give me more of the breathing room I am looking for and will allow me to feel like I'm really able to focus on all of my dolls instead of just some.

Also Happy Pride! My wife and I got to meet Al Franken!

I'm also hoping this will give me room for Nanea and ALL of her things, haha. That's the next release coming up in August and I cannot wait! Rumor is that Kaya will also be getting new things, which makes my heart so happy! So all is well on my front. I hope you all are having a fabulous summer!

My initial thoughts on Z Yang!

It's a new month and a fresh beginning. At least that's how I'm looking at it. 😄

It's also an exciting month at AG- though haven't they all been? Z Yang is here marking the 5th doll released by American Girl this year. I'll be honest, it's a little bit overwhelming. Five dolls in five months is unprecedented for the time I've been collecting. To give you some background Suzie 'Z' Yang is a Korean-American girl who lives in Seattle. She started off as a character who AG used to make the Z Crew stopmotion videos with. Now Z has been released with her own story and collection. Her interests include filming videos, photography, blogging, and writing. She even has her very own Kit Kittredge doll that she makes stop motion videos with! (Yes- if I get Z she'll have to have a mini Kit of her own!)

I went into the Mall of America location and had to actively find where Z was placed on display because the GOTY aisle is now Gabriela and Tenney/Logan. I was worried she'd be stuffed into a sad little display like what poor Addy is currently in, but much to my surprise Z has her own little alcove on the first floor. My initial thoughts were that AG had done a fantastic job with her collection. Yes, some of the items are repeats from previous sets. Honestly? I expected that. After all, Z was made solely for the Z Crew videos and her items and wardrobes in the videos were a mix of previous pieces.  So I was thrilled to see this trend continue into her collection. Z loves filming videos and taking photographs, another trait that made it into her available collection. Her film accessories are so detailed- much better than either of Lea's cameras. It's a must have set, in my opinion, and is on my wishlist!

I was really excited to see the doll in person too. Z is irresistible, which makes me so happy considering she is the first Korean-American character they've produced, but she's currently the only named East Asian character available direct from AG. For those arguing that Z looks too much like #30, #40, or #64- I can tell you that her mole, the longer length of her hair, and her hair being parted on the opposite side makes Z unique. It's much like Tenney and #24- yes, they share a lot of similar characteristics but they're each different enough to stand out as unique characters.

Between her unique sense of style and wonderful characterization, I adore Z. I hope to bring her home as soon as I can. In fact, a particular Z captured my heart at AGP and I just had to take a photo of her. I hope to find my Z with a similar expression of friendship & warmth.

Isn't she the cutest?

At this point you might think I've forgotten something huge- and you would be right. Yes, Z has permanently sewn on underwear. Yes, it changes the bottom shape of the doll in some cases to appear as though it's got a lump. Yes, the band of the underwear does peek above the current swim bottoms. For me? It's not really a huge deal. The only dolls in my collection who who wear swimsuits are Lea & Rebecca, and they hardly do anyways. The shape could be frustrating, but I don't change my dolls underwear nor do some of them even have them at this point. Once it's under the clothing it's not something I'm paying attention to. Given a choice I'd prefer that my dolls not have them, but it isn't bad enough for me to not want Z. I'm sure there are collectors who would disagree with me and that's okay.

Hello / Goodbye

Today I have another introduction to my doll family- and a heavier post. I mentioned briefly in my last blog that I was feeling slightly inclined to purchase Tenney for a custom character because I am learning how to play guitar. Well, Tenney (new name to be determined), ended up joining my collection after all, but not for the reasons I had anticipated.

On April 10th, 2017 my adopted grandmother passed away unexpectedly at the age of 88. She was a German immigrant, born in Germany in 1929. She lived in Berlin during WWII and moved to the US following the end of the war to become a nanny. From her I learned a basic grasp of the German language, how to brave the jump from the diving board into the deep end, and the very important lesson of allowing yourself to indulge in a treat once in a while. (Even if that meant sneaking Krispy Kreme donuts from around the corner so your grandchildren didn't notice). She recounted her life history & memories to me, knowing that I adored and desired to know my family's history. 

My grandmother lived in Texas, and from the moment she stepped into my life she was forever 'grandma in Texas.' In fact, her last card to me was signed "Love always, your grandma in Texas." She loved the South- the music, the sunshine, the food... And Tenney reminded me of that. Tenney has come into my life at a time when I needed it the most. She has sat and kept me company while I recall and write down many memories with my grandma. When my family decided to forgo having a funeral or memorial service for her, Tenney was there to hug while I cried out my frustration. 

I lucked out as two of my three grandma's share/d my love of dolls with me. My grandma in Texas is the one who surprised me with Felicity's School Outfit and her Traveling Outfit. She always brought out her tiny replica cast iron stove for me to play with when I stayed overnight and brought Felicity. She encouraged my love of reading and bought me several American Girl books. My collection will always have a tie to her. 

Grief is fickle- it is unkind. I have found myself going from the edge of despair, to deep anger, and elated happiness all within the same day, hours even. I have the guiding hand of my counselor and the unwavering support of my wife. Time will continue to pass without my grandmother and during that time I will work through my grief and hold my memories dear. I am so very fortunate to have called her grandma and be adopted into her family. May she rest in peace. 

When life knocks you down

After a long hiatus I am back! Between the holidays and my birthday (January 15th) things were remarkably busy and I was unable to post as much as I would have liked to. Most of that was because of good things, for instance, my mom receiving her Julie for Christmas! Julie already has built up quite the wardrobe, and even made an appearance at my birthday lunch at AGPMOA. To say my mom loves her would be an understatement.

Celebrating my 26th birthday at the Mall of America

Anyone want to take a guess at my birthday gift? I received Gabriela, the 2017 Girl of the Year! I adore her collection and have really enjoyed the bit of her story that I've read so far. I love that we've finally received an African American GOTY. I'm slowly accumulating her collection and plan to have it mostly complete by the end of the year. Gabi needs her stuff! That being said I am also participating in the boycott against Tenney Grant & Logan. I'm very disappointed that AG would finally release a DOC GOTY and then little more than a month later release a fully fleshed out white character with sidekick and extravagant collection. Not to mention Logan's use of the Kaya mold which makes me more than infuriated. Nope. I will not stand for them overshadowing Gabriela like this. Another example that they think DOCs will not sell.

Ahem, that all being said Gabriela is FABULOUS and everyone should take the time to check her out and let AG know that she deserves more.

"I'm Gabriela and I deserve better,"

Two more updates until I get to the part of my post I intended to write on. After a long time trying to bond with Kanani she is off to a new home. Buyer tells me that it's her daughter's dream doll so I have a feeling she's going to be really loved. With the funds from selling Kanani I was finally able to bring home Maryellen. She's been on my wishlist for a long time and I knew I needed to pick her up before this perma-undie situation takes effect. I lucked out and got one with neck strings too! I'm currently reading her mystery and cannot wait to add to her collection.

Maryellen- bringing comfort and spontaneity to my home.

Life hasn't been great lately. A huge factor in that is the election- I'm a Jewish lesbian. Things are frightening. I have a right to be scared, no matter what friends (or family) might say. My wife has seen swastikas carved into the trees outside of her work. I've lost friends and family over this election because I've truly seen where their priorities lie- In keeping their closed off white worlds protected. They've basically told me such. This has been highly stressful and I know I'm not the only one going through this. Heck, I have white privilege and cis privilege- I cannot imagine what other communities are feeling and experiencing. I've been doing the best to make my voice heard and listen when it's my turn to listen. I marched in the Women's March, I marched against the refugee ban- I need to make it clear where I stand. I will not tolerate any hate on my page.

In addition to that I've been struggling with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I'm finally seeing a rheumatologist for the first time next Friday. My doctor has been incredibly supportive and finally got me into see them after running every test in the book with no answers. In the last two years I've gone from a 24 year old who was highly active to a 26 year old who can barely work a full work week. My social life has all but disappeared and my work is suffering. I go to work, prop myself up to do whatever I can, and I lie down from the moment I get home until I go back to work in the morning. I get out of breath and have to sit down when I'm showering or cooking. Last week was my first week working all 5 days in 2 months. I'm watching my independence just shrivel away. It sucks. I'm still grappling with it. That's the main reason I've been gone from here and instagram. I have no energy and I miss it incredibly. Hopefully I'll have some semblance of an answer after my appointment. I can hope at least.

Sometime soon I hope to cover the upcoming spring release. My first arrival Felicity is semi making her way out of retirement and there's a lot to cover there. Hope you all are having a good start to the year.

Shannon

Happy Halloween!

Today is the BIG DAY- it's Halloween! Tied for first place with Hanukkah & Christmas as my favorite holiday(s). I can never decide, but I've learned to accept it. Last week I promised a special review post and I'm happy to follow through on that. Today I'll be reviewing a regency ballgown created by Elizabeth over at Pemberley Threads on Etsy. Her shop specializes in historical and fantasy clothing for 18" dolls.

The Regency era includes some of my favorite fashions, so I immediately knew that I wanted this outfit for Caroline. I've been looking at ways to supplement her collection since her retirement. The outfit includes the dress, a necklace, and a ribbon headband.

The necklace is threaded with gold seed beads and has a jeweled pendant hanging in the center. It fastens with a lobster clasp. There are two main things I love about this piece. One, that it accents the outfit without looking gaudy. There have been plenty of bejeweled items offered by AG, a lot of them too big or too cheap looking. Felicity's Gala Gown monstrosity is the first item that comes to mind here. Two, it is the perfect length for this outfit. Necklaces that are either too short or too long for the outfit they go with is another pet peeve of mine. An example is the pearl necklace that comes with Cecile's Special Day outfit. This necklace avoids being both of these things and thus earns a solid A from me.

The headband is pretty straightforward. It's comprised of a black and gold ribbon twisted around each other and banded with elastic on one side. You have to monkey with it a little to get the colors and twist sitting right, but otherwise the elastic keeps it secure and it's easy to get on and off. It's a beautiful accent and I like it. A.

The dress itself is a black silk ballgown and a sheer net overlay. The dress fastens with snaps, which I have to say is so nice when dealing with Caroline's hair. No matter how careful I am it always finds a way to the velcro on her other outfits. The sheer layer features a dotted print as well as elbow length sleeves and a train with hand sewn beading. The bottom of the sheer layer is sewn with a gold trimming. I have no other words for it- it's intricate, it's gold, it trims the gown. I'm sure there's an actual word for what it is. Needless to say it is beautiful and really brings this dress to another level. I actually sat drifting Caroline over my coffee table to see how the train 'moved' with her. The colors of this dress are gorgeous and perfect for Fall, the handiwork is incredible. This is a piece that will definitely hold up in the hands of a collector. A+.

The bottom line? I couldn't be happier with this outfit. It's a safe bet that Caroline will stay in it until it's time to change into her holiday dress. I cannot recommend Pemberley Threads enough and already have my eye on some of her other offerings.

Hope you all enjoy this Halloween!

Shannon

Meet the new addition: Willa James

It's hard to believe it's been over a month since I last posted. Things have been pretty busy on my end. We spent half of the last month assisting in moving my mother in law and the second half moving ourselves. While I'm farther away from an AGP, I am closer to the city and that makes me happy. It also helps that our new apartment has huge windows and fantastic lighting for indoor photographs.

If it wasn't already obvious, the past couple of weeks were incredibly stressful. In addition I've been seeing a therapist for the first time since college to start the hard work on my anxiety, depression and PTSD. (I'm going to take a quick moment to say that it is so important to spread awareness on mental illness and there is no shame in seeking help.) This leg work has left me exhausted and has been bringing forward memories and feelings I've been locking up for a long time.

During this time I saw that a fellow collector was selling her #49. This doll has been on my wishlist for some time, and so today I am introducing Willa James Hart! She is the closest to being a mini-me personality wise. Her interests include Disney, reading, catching up on her favorite TV shows, fairy tales, history, and Harry Potter. Right now her and I are both enjoying anything to do with zombies- we even started watching the Walking Dead last night. She is the dancer in my group of girls. Three words to describe her would be introverted, studious, and passionate. I'm thrilled to have her in my gang and thankful that I could give her a second home within the AG collectors community.

You'll be seeing more of me! 

That's all for now, but I hope to be back this week with a special post for Halloween featuring Caroline. Hope you all are having a wonderful start to this fall season!

The long awaited introduction

Kirsten was my vinyl friend of choice on my wedding day. 

Okay, so this hasn't been a long awaited introduction for all of you, but it has for me! I've been collecting dolls for about 4 years now. I starting by collecting Monster High and Ever After High dolls, but sold my collection and transitioned over to American Girl collecting in the last 2 years. My collection currently stands at 15 American Girl dolls, 1 Wellie Wishers, and my very first A Girl for All Time is in the post office as I write this. My main reason for collecting is much like anyone else- I enjoy it! But my dolls also play an important part in assisting me when I'm having a bad bout of anxiety or depression. I'm very open about these struggles and I'm sure they'll be mentioned at times throughout the course of this blog.

Now more about me. I'm 25 years old and currently reside in Minneapolis, MN. I frequent the American Girl Place at Mall of America enough that they know me by name now. I have a degree in American History, the love of which was definitely fueled by Felicity and her stories. She was my first doll and true childhood companion, I cannot even tell you how many hours I spent pouring over her collection in the catalogs. I am an avid reader and spend more time than I'd like to admit watching an assortment of TV shows. My other interests include knitting, checking out local museums, and playing video games.

This blog has been an idea in my mind for the longest time, but a lot of different reasons have kept me from creating it. The biggest factor was time. For the last year I have been working two jobs alongside my wife. It's been hectic and doesn't leave much room for personal time. I knew that if I were to create a blog while juggling those commitments that I would put a lot of pressure on myself to tend to it. I didn't want this to be an endeavor that I felt like I was forcing myself to do. The other factor was indecisiveness. I honestly could not figure out what I would write about; reviews, history, observations? Needless to say I've realized that that doesn't really matter. This is a blog of my own making and it can take whatever form I'd like it to.

So what am I going to focus on? I'm going to use this blog to write about my personal collection. It's going to be a record of what I add, reviews of what I own, and observations as new items are released. I'm excited to see where it'll take me and how it will create a new connection between my dolls and I. So thanks for joining me and feel free to comment. I love hearing from fellow AG enthusiasts.

Shannon