Thursday, February 19, 2015

Birthday Trip and Goodies :)

Wow, what a week it's been!  Between school stuff and sick kiddos, my writing and blogging plans have gone out the window! :{  Sorry to keep you hanging for so long! ;)

I don't have nearly as many pictures to share with you as I do for some of my trips.  Part of that is making sure that birthday trips are primarily about my daughters and not my blog. ;)  We took a lot of personal photos instead.  Plus, it just seems rude to tell them to wait to go into the Disney Store so Mommy can get a picture of her doll outside the store first. ;) 

We left last Friday. Mom, Mimi and I picked them up from school and drove straight from there to our first stop, dinner and Toys R Us. :)

We had In-n-Out for dinner...

...and Krispy Kreme for dessert. ;)

As you can see, Tess came along with us.  She'll be sharing her version of the trip on her blog later. 

There were special heart-shaped donuts at Krispy Kreme since it was the day before Valentine's Day. :)

The girls and I each chose a special donut for "dessert day" (something we do every Friday).

We spent the night with my aunt and uncle and enjoyed a great visit with them.  After a yummy breakfast together at Black Bear Diner, we headed on down the road to our next stop: the Westfield Galleria Mall in Roseville! :D

The Disney Store was our first stop, of course. ;) 

There was a nice-sized Cinderella section, in anticipation of the live-action movie's release next month. 

There were dolls, shirts, mugs, and other accessories.

The lighting really made the dolls pop out on the shelves.  Here are the Cinderella and Prince Wedding Day set and Lady Tremaine.

Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother.

I have to say, after the sad little Frozen displays we saw on our birthday trip last year, it was so nice to see the Frozen section fully stocked. :)

A wall of Frozen happiness. ;)

Little Gal checking out the Elsa dresses.

We love this store for its fun displays, like this walk-in castle, complete with "magic" mirrors.  When you take one of the princess dresses or accessories inside and press the bar code to the mirror, it tells the story of the princess whom the dress or accessory belongs to.  Little Gal spent the majority of her time here. ;)

One of the displays on the other side of the castle.

I always have fun taking a picture of the sparkly flooring there, too. ;)

There were a couple of unexpected benefits to going to the Disney Store when we did.  First, we made it for the "Friends and Family" promotion, so everything in the store was 25% off. :)  The other fun thing was that they had a special Big Hero 6 "How to Draw Baymax" activity.  Big Hero 6 has become one of the girls' favorite movies since they all got to see it on vudu.com two weeks ago, so they were thrilled to participate.  Well, at least Middle Gal and Little Gal were.  Oldest Gal is getting a little older and is not as easily impressed with such activities (and in her defense, it was definitely geared towards a younger age group).  Oldest Gal told me that I could just teach her to draw Baymax later. ;)

The activity was really fun, and Middle Gal and Little Gal each got to keep their drawing.  They were each given a cute cardboard frame to put it in, and they also got a set of six postcards featuring each of the main characters (doll-sized posters...yay!).  

One fun thing was that the guy leading the activity was really impressed with Middle Gal's drawing. ;)  He was really good about complementing her without making Little Gal feel bad, though, which was nice for my mama heart. ;)

Poor Mimi started feeling really unwell while we were at the mall, so when we checked into the hotel after lunch, she decided to stay there and rest.  Unfortunately, she ended up being picked up by my other aunt (the one we stayed with the night before) and taken home.  We really missed her for the rest of the weekend, but were glad she was able to go home and get the rest she needed to get better.

By the way, Tess is wearing a different outfit here because the picture outside the Disney Store was actually from our second trip to the store on Sunday.  I just condensed some of the pictures from both days. ;)

We made a few more stops around town that night, had dinner at Panera, and then crashed at the hotel.  We watched episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Cutthroat Kitchen on the Food Network before bed. :)

The next morning, we enjoyed a continental breakfast and a swim in the pool before heading out for another day of shopping. :)

Our first stop was at the local Toys R Us.  I think we hit four of these on this trip...five if you count the fact that we went back to the first one on our trip home. ;)

I really love how cute this picture is with "Grandma" and all the girls. :)

Later, we got to go back to the mall and visit Build-a-Bear...

...the Sanrio Store, and other fun places.

That night, we enjoyed a yummy dinner (on Middle Gal's ACTUAL birthday) at Red Robin.

Here's my go-to meal at Red Robin: the Whisky River BBQ Chicken Wrap and fries.  Unfortunately, it's not very Weight Watchers friendly.  I think the wrap itself is 28 points. (I get 31 for the whole day.) ;)  I was very proud of myself, though.  I only ate one half of the wrap, and even ended up throwing away the second half the next morning instead of eating it before we left between meals. ;)

The girls each got a mini sundae and had servers sing to them in celebration of their birthdays. :)

As we headed back to the hotel, we got to enjoy this beautiful sunset.

Gorgeous! :)

A picture of my mini stash the last night. ;)

That's actually all of the pictures I got of the trip itself.  The pictures from the last day all have the girls' faces in them. ;)  We had a really wonderful trip and made lots of fun memories. :)  The girls enjoyed themselves and found some fun goodies for their birthday presents.  I'll try to get some pictures of their stuff at some point, but to be honest, it's already scattered all over the playroom. ;)  Middle Gal and Little Gal both bought Disney Store Cinderella dolls, but they're already dressed in modern clothing and fulfilling other roles.  In fact, both dolls were in Middle Gal and Little Gal's own rendition of "Cutthroat Kitchen" the other day. (I think the show really made an impression on them!) ;) 

In the meantime, you'll just have to be happy with seeing my goodies from the trip. ;)  After a stop at a couple of Toys R Us stores on the way home, this was what I came home with. :)

Yes, I did succumb to the Disney Store Cinderella, even though I like the Mattel face better. ;)  Between the 25% off promotion and the Anna doll I brought in to exchange, she was a really good price.  Plus I really love her dress. ;) 

And she looks gorgeous at certain angles. :)

What's interesting to me is how much happier she looks from an upward angle.  Hmm, maybe I should display her this way. ;) 

This Ever After High DVD was free with my mini Lalaloopsy purchase at Toys R Us.  It contains four complete episodes: "The World of Ever After High", "Raven's Tale: The Story of a Rebel", "Apple's Tale: The Story of a Royal", and "True Hearts Day".  There's also a very condensed version of the "Legacy Day" episode that works more like a trailer.  

Toys R Us had a "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" promotion on all of their Zelfs.  Sadly, we didn't find any of the newest ones (I'm hoping for Zelicious Mermalade, Ooma, Cyril, and possibly Oceana), but they did have a Petal...

...and a Frostette, which I've been wanting to add to my collection. :)

We also found Lalaloopsy blind bags. :)

At a Goodwill store, I found this little fast food Raggedy Ann.  She'll go perfect with my fast food Raggedy Andy.  He's been missing her. ;)

Hobby Lobby had this really pretty mermaid charm.

I got an adorable Fluttershy Squishy Pop set at Toys R Us...

...as well as Lalaloopsy mini Furry Grrs-a-lot.  She makes me think of Monsters Inc., one of my favorite Pixar movies. ;)

I also got an Applejack MLP Squishy Pop set, but I forgot it in my mom's van and haven't picked it up yet. ;)

Singing Anna from the Disney Store came home with me, too.  She looks great with my other Frozen stuff. :) 

And lastly, I picked up this really cute Beauty and the Beast shirt. :)

The Beast has some inaccurate coloring on his clothing, and in this sketch he's a little too short, but I'm willing to let it slide because the shirt is really fun and actually in my size! :D  (Wow, do I sound picky, or what?) :}

I'll be doing some reviews of some of my goodies in later posts. :)  I also have NOT forgotten about my YouTube vlog.  I've been struggling to find the time to get everything accomplished.  Thanks for waiting so patiently.

I've discovered that trying to do a blogging hiatus with scheduled posts isn't working really well for me.  I ended up getting sucked back into things because I wanted to publish and respond to comments, plus connect things on my Facebook page. :}  So, starting next week, I'll be taking a real hiatus for two weeks.  The deadlines for the writers conference are weighing heavily on me, and I really need to focus on that for a while.  Posting might be sparse in the month of March, too, but I'll be back into the swing of things after that.  I've just really got to focus right now.  I'm sure you all understand. :)

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

20 comments:

Meritre said...

You got some great stuff! Singing Anna is so pretty!(She would look great in Cinderellas blue dress) An that Beauty and the beast T-shirt... It's for the first time I actually like a picture of the redesigned Belle.
And that sunset is amazing, too!

MyLittleMegara said...

Great finds! That singing Anna is one of my all time favorites (second only to the lovely Classic Anna!)

Kathleen said...

It looks like you all had a great time! I have 3 Frozen shirts, and every single one of them annoys me in some way. (But her skin is way too pink! Ugh, that one is too cartoonish, etc.) I bought them with my own money though, and for all I get annoyed about them I really do love them.

It's fine if the posts are a bit sparse. :) I write a new post every few days, but my mom normally only can approve them every few weeks, so it looks like I post a bunch and then take a break all the time, haha. Anyways, it's absolutely fine if you have to focus on writing. That was all I did in November.

Farrah Lily said...

Sounds like a great trip! Sorry to hear about your aunt not feeling well. :( I'm glad you got to the Disney store when they were still having their sale as the lower prices are such an added bonus, for sure. We used to have one in our local mall, but it closed a few years, which is such a bummer as our closest one is now about 2 hours away! Your new little green Zelf is adorable. Good luck with the writing!

Nina said...

Sounds like a fun trip! It's so great that you got to spend time with your daughters. I hope Mimi feels better, too.

Have a great day!:)

Unknown said...

I have only been to a Disney Store ONCE! And half of the fam was rushing us, and we only had time to get three tee shirts. Can't wait to make up for lost time in DLR/DCA In Summer.

Colleen Bell said...

I found a Zelicious Mermalade at my Toys R Us - can I send it to you as a gift?

AddyLovesWolves said...

Awesome! You have a nice Disney store! And nice zelf too! I'm looking for those here in Kansas city but I cannot find them anywhere!

Anonymous said...

I have some MLP news! But it's based on the old MLPs.
Did you know My Little Pony is the fourth generation of the My Pretty Ponies line in1981? I played a Webkinz trivia game and found that out. ;)

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Meritre! :) Singing Anna is just as adorable as I'd hoped. :) She would look great in Cinderella's dress, but at this point, my plan is to keep both dolls in the box. For now, at least. ;)

I really like my B&tB shirt, too. :)

I wish my phone could have caught just how glorious the sunset really was. It was incredible! :)

Hi MyLittleMegara! Singing Anna is a cutie. :) Are you planning on getting her sometime?

Hi Kathleen! Lol, glad I'm not the only one that's picky about my t-shirt art. ;)

Thanks for understanding about my writing. I hate to leave you guys hanging here, but I definitely don't want to waste the opportunity I have at Mount Hermon. :)

Thanks, Farrah. She's doing much better now. :) I'm really glad we were there during the sale, too. It helped all of us stretch our spending money! :D

This is our closest Disney Store, too...roughly two to three hours from where we live, so I feel your pain. ;)

I love my Petal Zelf! I'm really glad I decided to get her. She has the sweetest little face. :)

Thanks! I've been brainstorming all morning. ;)

Hi Nina! It really was a wonderful trip. And Mimi is much better now, thanks! :)

Jora Sluap, there's nothing worse than finding a Disney Store and having to rush through it! There's always so much to see! ;) I hope you have a wonderful time this summer. :)

Colleen Bell, that is so incredibly sweet of you! If you'd like to email me at nevergrowup.beastsbelle@gmail.com, we can discuss it further. :)

DJwolf-Addy, this is one of the best Disney Stores we've ever found. Zelfs are really hard to find, especially right now. I guess the dock worker strike in Southern California is still going on, and it's really affecting the available stock in stores. :( I hope you find some Zelfs soon!

Hi Anonymous! I think I do remember that from some of my previous MLP research. Thanks for the reminder! ;)

MyLittleMegara said...

I actually did get her a few days after her initial online release- there's a review up on my blog. :)

Meritre said...

"Be the good girl, you always have to be" :)
(If you ever debox singing Anna, please try mini Anna on that swing! I think it's the perfect size for her. Oh I really shouldn't tempt you to debox her, she looks great in that beautiful box)
Cinderella seems to be a rare doll that looks best high up on the shelf. She smiles only in that certain picture.
I hope Mimi is feeling better now, I'm so sorry to hear that she wasn't feeling well!

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Awesome, MyLittleMegara. Now that you mention it, I think I remember seeing that review when I first followed your blog. ;)

Lol, Meritre, that's exactly what I have to sing when reminding myself to keep my dollies in their boxes. ;)

I really do want to try to keep Singing Anna in her box, just because, like you said, she looks so great in it. However, since MyLittleMegara has her deboxed, maybe she could try the swing with a mini Disney doll, if she has one. :)

Mimi is much better now, thanks. :)

MyLittleMegara said...

I have the mini wardrobe sets of both Anna and Elsa, also deboxed, so I totally will! What a great idea! I'll try to do it tonight, Meritre, but it depends on how much work I have. If you click on my name, the blog that I'll put it on is In A World Of My Own. :)

Meritre said...

Thanks, both of you are so great and kind! :)

Meritre said...

Now, my only problem is, how can I comment on MyLittleMegaras blogs? There is no Name/URL option I'm using here. :(

MyLittleMegara said...

Thanks! Okay, it's up, Meritre! :D

MyLittleMegara said...

Okay, I changed my settings so that should solve the problem. Sorry!

Meritre said...

No problem, thank you for doing it. Now I'm going to post all the comments I wanted to post there. Could you ask Meg to do the same for her blog? My four little dolls would love to leave some comments there as well. Thanks again :) Now I'll stop posting comments wholly unrelated to the post. Thanks for your patience :)

MyLittleMegara said...

Of course! Not sure why the settings were the way they were- I thought anybody could comment. :( Oh well!