2012 Doll of the Year

I believe I know what the new AG doll-of-the-year will be for 2012.  My daughter, Liddy, was on American Girl Fan Message Board and found out that AG is working on a new movie that needed gymnists, skate boarders, and musicians to audition.  They specifically needed 11-13 year-old gymnists.  So, what do I think?  Maybe the new doll-of-the-year will be a gymnist!(This is the site to check out: American Girl fan Message Board.)  Do I know this for sure?  NO!  AG can really keep secrets, so this could be a slip-up or just a tease.  Who knows?

NEW AG ITEMS!!!!!!

American Girl released some new items today, so I have picked out some of my favorites.  First of all there are 3 new dolls, so here are my two picks:

Below are the outfits I've chosen:

 Below are some of the accessories I've picked:

There are many more new AG items to choose from.  Which ones are your favorites?

McDonald's heads vs. Julie's Barbie's head

Right now at McDonald's they are putting "LIV" dolls and/or heads in the girl's Happy Meals.  I bought one and brought it home to compare with Julie's Barbie's head.  (It's a doll head she receives for Christmas, and it is now a retired item from AG.)  The Barbie style is not as pretty as the LIV doll style.  So, here is Julie playing with her doll head, then my modern doll, Susie, playing with her doll head.

Here is a closer look at Julie's 1970's Christmas gift.  I didn't even know it was retired!  (Her bleachers are retired too.)

Which one do you like better?

The AG Samovar Set to review

This is a Russian samovar.  What is it?  It is a vessel that holds hot water for tea. 

 This is a very substantial vessel and tray.  It is authentic, detailed, and heavy.  The whole thing is metal except for the handle that you see me touching.  It is made of plastic:

 It comes with 2 glasses that are actually made of glass:

 Oops! Another blurry picture above.

When I researched these vessels I found out that some samovars can hold the actual tea pot on the top to keep the tea warm.  When I tried this with the tea pot it worked!!!!!  AG was spot-on with their authenticity!

 The tea pot comes in two pieces:  the pot and the lid.

Above is the entire samovar set with the two glasses.  It also came with 4 more items.  A loaf of bread:

The linen cloth that the bread sits on:

The two candles with their candlesticks.  The only disappointing thing about these were that the candlesticks are plastic.

In the above picture you can see the tea box that also came with the set.  It is made of hard paper, but that was how they were made.  It's authentic!

So, there you go, the samovar set.  I highly recommend the purchase!!

Two American Girl products to review!

 

 The first item I bought was the "American Girl Holiday Accessories" for half price:  $12.00.  It was well worth the sale price.  One of the items is a study gift box with 3 pairs of earrings (one pierced earring set, and 2 stick-on earring sets).

I apologize for my pictures being blurry.  You also receive a furry purse that opens, has a jewel on front, and has a looped ribbon so your doll can carry it.

 You also get a miniature sized book of The Night Before Christmas.

 This is what it looks like without the book cover:

 And, this is what it looks like opened:

Finally, you get this beautiful AG bracelet:

My daughter's Jewish doll, Lindsey, is wearing the bracelet.  My only complaint about anything with this purchase was that the bracelet was so HARD to put on.  It took several times for it to finally clasp together.
But, everything was worth the purchase.


The next item I bought was Rebecca's samovar set.  I didn't even know what a samovar set was, but I know now.  The samovar is very impressive.  It is quite heavy and very detailed and authentic.  Oops, I just lost my pictures for this, so I will post them a little later.  Looking forward to seeing them!!!!

NEW ITEMS I BOUGHT

I just received 2 items today from American Girl. They were both on the sale page. Both of the items exceeded my expectations (probably because of the sale price they were worth it). I will try to get the pics of them up tomorrow!

I've been TAGGED!

Ok, all you young whipper-snappers out there who know what tagging is:  I've been tagged!  So, you write down 7 random things about yourself?  Here goes:

1.  I have to wear glasses now when I read.
2.  I LOVE chocolate!
3.  I have red hair.
4.  I just pre-ordered the movie "Tangled".
5.  I don't like winter.
6.  I like to stay up late.
7.  I'm going to church tonight (Wed. night service)

Now, I will tag someone!  Ha, ha, ha!!!!!!
 
I will tag beachbabydoll, beast'sbelle, and Liddy.  Have fun!!!!
~Susan~

Have You Seen These Dolls?

My daughter found this web site:  http://www.ellowynewilde.com/.  They have the most beautiful dolls I've ever seen.  They average about $100.00 a piece, and I believe they are about 14 inches high.  Most of you adults have probably already seen these dolls.  Here is my favorite doll I saw:

I think this is just beautiful!!!  Here are more:

She is stylish, yet modest.

For the most part they are all modestly dressed, buy very stylish!
They do have a creapy line of dolls that I don't agree with, but these are so beautiful!  What do you think?

Have a wonderful day!
~Susan~

A New Project

It's actually an old project that I haven't started until a few days ago.  This past Halloween my daughter wanted to be Alice in Wonderland for our church fall festival.  She wanted her AG doll to have a matching costume too, but I never started it.  Here's the pattern:

The costume wasn't in the traditional colors, but it was still cute.  My daughter DID want the traditional colors because the fabric store had nothing similar to what was on the pattern cover.

This is what it turned out like.  It really looks better on her, than on a hanger.  Plus, she looked like Alice in Wonderland when she put it on.  I went to Good Will in hopes of finding  a white rabbit for her to hold that somebody didn't want anymore.  When I arrived at the store I said a prayer, and there was this HUGE white rabbit ready to be bought.  So, for $2.00 I bought it, washed it, and made the rabbit a costume just like in the movie.  God was so good that day!  We ended up giving it away to a little 4-year-old girl at the fall festival. 

But, I can't find my pictures anywhere!!!!  My daughter will have to pose again in the costume before she gets bigger, but I'll never be able to have the pictures with her and the white rabbit if I can't find these pictures.

But, here is the beginning of her doll's costume:

Hopefully, I'll have it done before Easter.

Have a nice day!
~Susan~

American Girl Store

My daughter and I have been twice to the American Girl Store in Atlanta.  We are fortunate enough to be close enough to make a visit there.  I wish every girl could experience the store and the hotel stay.  I came upon these pictures, and I thought I would share them with you:

The store is not really that big, and, at first, we were disappointed, but then we soon got over that and just enjoyed being there.

Lanie's camper was quite exquisite.  My daughter's friend received it for Christmas, and it was perfect for her to stand 3 dolls on top   while all the accessories were inside.

Tons of clothes were there!!!!!!

This was an outfit that was exclusive to just the store.  I love the balloon skirt.

This is just another view of the shelves of "stuff".

More things!

Even the hallway to the bathrooms were decorated so pretty.  We even took a picture of the inside of the bathroom (also cute), but I won't show that.

My daughter was holding my doll, Julie.  I brought her to the store to get her ears pierced.  We also had fun trying on all the girl-size clothes.

You will see numerous cases like these featuring each doll.  I love Addy's clothes collection!

I actually took tons of pictures, but don't want to bore you with them.  This is a wonderful experience for girls, and I wish every girl could  experience it.  I felt TOTALLY BLESSED to be able to take my daughter and enjoy it through her eyes.  God has been very good to us.

Have a nice day!
~Susan~