Friday, August 31, 2012

Labor Day Sale At Pottery Barn Kids

Hey everyone, just another quickie today. :)  Pottery Barn Kids is having a promotion right now for Labor Day:  save an extra 15% off of sale items by applying the code SAVE15 at checkout.

There are several of their doll items on sale, so I've linked directly to their doll page HERE.  I don't think I'll be getting anything this time around, but there are some great doll clothes and accessories that I would be tempted to go for if I wasn't trying to be good. ;)

Happy shopping!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Labor Day Sale at Disneystore.com!

Hi guys!  Just wanted to let you know that Disneystore.com is having a special sale for Labor Day weekend, starting now and lasting through Monday.  Take an extra 25% off of sale prices when you apply the code EXTRA25 at checkout. :)

I know there were several dolls on sale, including the Tangled Ever After Flynn Rider doll and the deluxe 10 Princess set.  There are also several of the Funko Pop figures, which are already down to $6.99 before the extra 25% off. :)

Happy shopping, everyone! :)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

American Doll Room Review

Last week, a large package arrived at our house and spread excitement throughout the ranks. ;)

What was in the package?  Here's a hint:


The O'Connor family, creators of "American Doll Room", very generously sent me one of their rooms to review.  The girls and I couldn't wait to open it! :)

Our first view of the open box.  

The package included one fold-up doll room, two bags, 2 sets of white curtains, and a carpet.  

The curtains, still in the package.

Duffel bag #1

Duffel bag #2

The house itself.

The carpet was nice and soft and had rubber backing. 

In fact, it was so soft that I couldn't stop petting it (and neither could my daughters, for that matter!).  I found it was somewhat like petting a cat, though.  The carpet had to be stroked a certain way.  If you stroked it the wrong way, the back would show through just a bit and not look as nice.  It's a lovely, lush carpet, though. The girls' dolls will appreciate having this thick, plushy goodness under their tootsies. ;)

So here it is all set up.  I love the beautiful shade of purple on the walls and the hardwood look of the floor.  The rooms are made of heavy paperboard wrapped in vinyl laminate.  It's a great combination of materials, because the room is nice and sturdy, but still light enough to move around without difficulty.  

The carpet looks great on the floor.  It fits just right and really makes the white trim of the room stand out.

I also love the attention to detail on these rooms.  Notice the beautiful garden scene out the window? :)

Each set of curtains comes all in one piece.

On each of the top corners, there is a square of Velcro with adhesive on the back.

Hanging the curtains was simple.  I removed the Velcro square, peeled off the paper covering the sticky back, and attached the sticky sides of the 2 squares to the corners of the window. 

Then all I had to do was match the Velcro on the curtains to the Velcro on the wall, and Voila!  Perfect curtains! :)

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this set was its versatility.  This is the same room on the opposite side.  See how it looks like the outside of the house?  The floor even flips over to look like a back patio.

Close-up of the outdoor flooring.

They cleverly made the window look even more realistic by making the purple room on the opposite side "visible' from the window panes. :)

And the great part is, when playtime is done, the room very easily folds up for storage.

It even includes this large duffel bag, a great place to keep the room until it's ready for play again.

The room easily fits inside...

...and there's even enough space for the carpet, too. :)

Here it is, all ready to go.

The bag has both a hand strap and a shoulder strap, making it easy to carry the room from place to place.  

There is also another duffel bag which can be used for 18" doll accessories. 

It is smaller and wider than the room duffel and has only a hand strap. 

While this was most likely meant to store furniture or accessories to bring along with the doll room, I found that it also held the dolls themselves just perfectly!

I was able to fit all six of my daughters' 18" dolls inside and still had room to spare!  Of course, if we were planning on traveling any sort of distance other than across town, I would probably wrap towels or baby blankets around each individual doll to keep them from banging into each other and getting damaged.  Still, it's nice to know I have this option for our next big trip. :)

Since we only had one room and I have three daughters, we made the decision to use it as a communal room for all of their dolls to share.  My girls lost no time in setting things up in the room and making it their own.   (Notice how perfectly the room matches with their playroom colors?) ;)

The girls decided to spread the wealth by using the natural floor in the room itself and using the carpet next to it.  I think it looks great under their doll bunk beds. :)

Oldest Gal's Josefina checks out the new digs.

I think she approves. ;)

I'd like to thank the O'Connor family for giving me this opportunity to review their wonderful doll room (my daughters give their thanks, too!). ;)  I would highly recommend these rooms for their high quality, their attention to detail, and their versatility.  

The rooms come in different colors and there are also color choices for the carpets.  The rooms cost $89 each.  You can choose to buy one room or buy them in sets of 2 or 3.  If you purchase the 2 room package, you get a $9 discount (it costs $169 instead of $178), and if you purchase the 3 room package, you get an $18 discount ($249 instead of $267).  You can also purchase the curtains, carpets, and accessory duffel bags separately.

There are several beautiful new rooms that will be released in mid-September, including a barn, a cabin, and a few rooms with a white bead board look on the walls. :) 

To find out more information about any of the rooms or to see more pictures, you can visit the American Doll Room website,  americandollroom.com (the new rooms are visible in the gallery section on the site).  You can also visit their Facebook page. :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)  More posts to come...I think life is starting to settle into a routine again. ;)


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Pics of the Ultimate Disney Princess Squinkies Set

Hi everyone!  Just a quick post for now.  One of my blog followers and her sister recently purchased the "Ultimate Disney Princess Squinkies Set" from Target, and she was kind enough to send me some pics.  Thanks so much, Godsgirl! :D

The set includes Ariel, Mulan, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Aurora, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Snow White, Belle, and Tiana.  I couldn't enlarge the picture any more or it would interfere with my sidebar, but as always, you can click on the picture to make it bigger. :)

She included a closer picture of the three previously unreleased princesses:  Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana.

To see my original post about the newest Disney Squinkies, click HERE.  

More to come later! :)

Friday, August 24, 2012

Disney Store Sale

Hi all!  Just a quick post this morning to let you know about a pretty major sale at Disneystore.com. :)  There are several items at great markdowns, including some of the Disney Funko Pop figures, stuffed animals, figurines and more.

The set of 10 classic 12" Disney Princess dolls has been marked down to $69.99 from $99.50, and the Tangled Ever After Flynn doll is down to $14.99 from $19.99.  A couple of the Mattel Rapunzel dolls have been marked down too.

Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was interested.  You can view all of the sale items HERE.

I hope to be back with a "real" post sometime this weekend.  The first week of school has been great, but it's been a bit of an adjustment getting back into a full, early schedule. :}  Talk to you guys soon! :)

Friday, August 17, 2012

More Madame Alexander My Life Doll Goodies and a Goodwill Squee! :D

Hey guys!  I just had to come back and report after a super exciting day of dolly shopping. ;)  My girls and I had to go to Walmart today, so of course, we stopped by the toy section to see how things looked. :}

All four of us were thrilled to see a huge display in progress for the "My Life" dolls.  (To see my previous post on this new doll line, click HERE.)  There was a lot of merchandise that had not arrived yet, but there was still enough there to be excited about! :)  I brought home a sampling to share with all of you. 

Most of the items they had available today were more small individual accessories.  This adorable ballet bag was $1.97.  There was also a small purple backpack and a glittery silver purse.  I wasn't a big fan of the purse.  The glittery sequins were a little big for doll scale, and it looked inexpensive, while the other two bags just were inexpensive, if you know what I mean. ;)

A closer look at the ballet slippers on the front of the bag.

It opens on top with a zipper.

This cowgirl hat was $1.  They also had them in pink and lavender.  While it actually fit my American Girl dolls well, it looked a little off, as you can see from the pictures.  It's a little too shallow.  

It looks slightly better from the side.  It's too bad that it's not quite right, because the hat is really cute.  It's made of a nice, heavy-duty flexible plastic.

AND THERE WERE MORE AMAZING SHOES!!  Just like before, each pair cost $1.97.  All of the pairs I purchased today were made of the same thick, flexible plastic as the cowgirl hat.  

These adorable rollerblades feature wheels that really roll, and they're sturdy and have great balance.  I was actually able to roll Hailey across the floor (while still holding onto her) like she was really rollerblading. :)

I like the little decals on the side. :)

I also adored these ice skates...and I just realized that I put them on the wrong feet...I think.  It's kind of hard to tell.  Oops! :}  Oh well, Emma didn't complain. ;)  Just like the roller blades, the ice skates had great balance.  Emma could stand unassisted while wearing them. :)

Side view

Charlie reluctantly agreed to take her normal boots off long enough to model these pink ones for me.  She thought these were comfy, but still prefers her brown ones. ;)


One nice thing about all of the shoes I purchased today is this feature:  They all have a nice, big slit in the back that makes them super easy to take them on and off.  While this may not look the most accurate, as a mom who's wrestled my fair share of stubborn doll shoes, I really appreciate this feature.  One of the worst pairs of my daughters' doll shoes is a pair of pink boots that came with Oldest Gal's Alexander Girlz doll, so I'm glad to see they've changed their design.

I also picked up these super cute garden boots.  

Aren't these adorable?  I especially love the little butterflies on the sides. :)

One of the other things they had was a package that included a pair of pink glasses and lavender sunglasses for $1.97.  At that price, I had to try them out, especially since I've been wanting to replace Hailey's glasses for a while.  And they actually look pretty cute on her! :)

I tried them on Emma too.  Unfortunately, the American Girl doll faces are just narrow enough that these look a little big.  Bigger glasses are coming back in style, so maybe this won't bother everyone, but I didn't care for this look as much.

The glasses were also a bit too long on the sides.  Honestly, this didn't surprise me, as the Madame Alexander dolls have always had much bigger heads than the AGs.  I figured it was worth trying, though...especially since AG glasses cost around $9 a pair. :}  

Oh, and I should mention that I had a harder time getting these to work on Charlie, and I think it's because she has thicker hair.  I couldn't get the glasses to stay very well.

While I'm at it, I should also mention that if these glasses are stretched too far, they come apart fairly easily.  They can be fixed without too much of a headache, but this still might be frustrating for younger ones. Of course, you get what you pay for.  And at 99 cents a pair, well, I suppose it's not fair to expect too much. ;)

The sunglasses worked slightly better for Emma, at least in my opinion.  I think it's mainly because I'm getting used to seeing really big sunglasses lenses again.

Like the regular glasses, these were also a bit long.  This pair seemed to fit just slightly better, though. :) 

They worked okay on her head, although the first time I tried this was the first time they came apart on me. :}

I decided to try the regular glasses on Hailey one more time to see if I still liked them.

I couldn't get over how cute Hailey looked in them.  What do you think of her new look? 

As I said at the beginning of the post, the display was still in progress, but I saw enough to keep me checking back for more goodies.  They had all of the dolls in stock, as well as several really cute outfits.  Oh, and for all of you who were fans of "Friends Boutique" Emily last year, there are two dolls that look a lot like her in this line. :)

Since the dolls were all there, I was able to identify what each of the doll's "life" experience was supposed to be:

From left to right, they are:  "Nature Girl", "Ballerina", "Cowgirl", "School Girl", "Gymnast", another "Ballerina", another "Cowgirl", and another "Gymnast".  Nature Girl and Cowgirl #2 are the ones that look the most like Emily.  In person, my favorites (besides Gabby) were School Girl (I love the brown eyed, blondish-haired combination) and Cowgirl #2. :)

I also saw price stickers for things like "bed", "camping set", "wheelchair", and "horse with accessories", so I can't wait to see what all of those look like! :)  If the quality is as nice in some of the other categories from this line, I think there will be a lot of wonderful, less-expensive alternatives for doll-sized Christmas gifts this year. :)

And as if that didn't provide enough excitement for one day, we stopped at our local Goodwill afterwards and I found...

...a Hearts For Hearts Girls Dell for $1.99!! :D

She didn't have any clothing, but her hat was still attached to her head.  And even though her hair was a bit messy, it was still in its original ponytail and didn't look too matted.

Her price was on her leg (thankfully, it came right off!).

The only thing I was slightly concerned about was this green spot near her nose.  I was pretty sure it would come off, but you just never know.

Thankfully, her face cleaned up perfectly and her hair brushed out beautifully...and I am totally in love. ;)

This doll is so stunning.  Her stock photos don't do her justice.  And honestly, I wouldn't even judge her by how she looks in the box, with her camo hat on and her hair pulled back from her face.  I would 100% recommend this beautiful little gal.

She tried on a few things before settling on this dress.  For some reason, she really felt at home in it. ;)  (For those of you who don't know, it was made for her...just in case you didn't get my humor there.) ;)

I especially love Dell's eyes.  They're this beautiful blue green that is one of the most unique doll eye colors I've seen.  

Dell will most likely end up belonging to Oldest Gal.  This one's been on her wish list for a long time.  :)

I cannot get over how BEAUTIFUL Dell's hair is!!  And this just goes to show you what great quality hair these dolls have.  I mean, this is what it looked like after I got it at a thrift store.

I thought it would be fun to take a group shot of all of the Hearts For Hearts Girls currently under our roof.  (Yes, Lauryce is still here.  I'd better get her listed on eBay soon, or she might just stay here forever!) ;)
Back row:  Oldest Gal's Consuelo, Dell, Zelia, Nahji
Front Row:  Little Gal's Rahel, Middle Gal's Nahji, and Lauryce

All 6 of the different dolls (duplicate Nahji stepped out for this one since I was just wanting to show the different dolls). 

And although it's not quite as exciting as a Hearts For Hearts Girl, I was still happy to find this fun doll-sized princess lunch box. :)

So, that was my day!  I hope you all had a wonderful day too. :) 

I'll probably be haunting Walmart all week, waiting for new releases in the "My Life" section.  And man, after today, I might just stop by Goodwill a little more often, too. ;)

Talk to you all later!  I have some more great things to share, but I may not have a chance to post for a bit.  I'm singing in a wedding tomorrow, Sunday is church, and Monday is the first day of school! :}  It might take me a while to adjust to the new schedule (but it's totally worth it to go back to grocery shopping with only one child). ;)  Anyway, don't think I've forgotten you if my posting is sporadic for a bit here. :)