American Girl 2015 Girl of the Year Grace Thomas

As most of you know, my mom and I tend to buy used dolls, especially when it comes to the American Girl line.  Neither of us has the type of budget to buy brand new AG dolls every time we add one to our collection.  However, there are times when we get to splurge.  My mom had some extra play money and decided that this year, she really wanted to get Grace Thomas, the new Girl of the Year for 2015.  It was the best of both worlds for me.  I got to hold her and take pictures, but I didn't have to buy her or find a place to put her. ;)  

So the other day, when I went over to my mom's before she took my daughters to Awana, I did a little photo shoot of Grace.  I know it's late enough that most of you have probably already seen plenty of photos of her, but hopefully you'll still find this post enjoyable. ;)

Here she is!  I can't state enough how gorgeous this doll is.  I love her coloring. :)   

She has the Josefina face mold, dark brown hair with lighter brown streaks and side bangs, and what appears to be the regular blue eyes (not the really dark blue ones like Kit's).

She also has a unique eyebrow design and a brand new freckle pattern.  Her lips are the brighter, pinker color of other newer AG dolls. 

Here's a look at the variation of color in her hair. 

Her hair should be pretty nice for play.  It has just enough wave to hold a style but isn't so curly that it will take a lot of upkeep.  

She does have the braid in the front that will probably get messy after some normal play, and her side bangs might end up getting mixed in with the longer hairs if the braid is taken out.  But other than that, I think her hair should be rather low maintenance.  There are a lot of styles you can do with the braid in, so even though her hair is partially styled, there's still a lot of play that could happen here.

Grace has a white Paris-themed shirt with sparkly decals and Velcro closure in the back (sorry I didn't get a picture of the back of her clothing!). 

She has a little charm bracelet that is super cute.  According to my mom, it was really hard to get on because the fit was so tight, so it probably wouldn't be something you'd want your kiddos taking on and off all the time.

Her skirt is made of a soft, pink material.  If I remember correctly, it just slides off and does not have Velcro.

Her slouchy, grey boots are adorable.

They have cute little bows on the sides. 

Since Chrissa (the Girl of the Year from 2009) has similar coloring to Grace, my mom wanted to see them together.  She dressed her in Grace's Baking Outfit for the photo shoot.  

As you can see, the two dolls are very similar but unique enough that having both in one's collection wouldn't feel like having two of the same doll.  I think they would make great sisters, don't you? :)

Since I was already taking pictures, I figured I'd take some of the Baking Outfit itself, too. 

We'll start from the top and work our way down. ;)  The Baking Outfit comes with a cute, pink ribbon headband.  I'm assuming it's stretchy, although it was already on the doll when I arrived and I forgot to check. :} 

A brief detour here. ;)  This necklace was not a part of the Baking Outfit, but was a bracelet my mom found on clearance at Claire's a week or so ago.  We thought it would work well as a chunky necklace for the dolls.  It even has a little Eiffel Tower to go with Grace's Paris theme! ;) 

Okay, moving on. ;)  The rest of the outfit consists of a light blue shirt with cupcake motifs, a black and pink apron...

...and pink leggings.  I didn't get a picture of it, but the leggings have a little tag that says "Grace, American Girl" on them.

The outfit also includes these adorable blue flats with little black bows. :) 

Here is a look at the apron from the back.

The straps attach with Velcro at the top of the "skirt" (which is actually part of the apron), making the apron easy to remove. 

While we were doing the Grace photo shoot, we thought it would be fun to include some pictures of Nellie as well.  She has the same Josefina face mold as Chrissa and Grace.  Nellie also has the typical American Girl freckle pattern, so you can see the differences.

Nellie looks a bit taller than Grace in these photos, but I believe it's primarily because she has slight heels on her shoes.  

Here are all three girls together.  Mom's thinking about making all three of them sisters. ;) 

As you can see, Nellie got into the baking theme with Chrissa.  She's wearing an apron from the "My Life As" line from Walmart.

Here's a closer look at all three girls.  It's really hard to tell from these pictures (I'm not used to the lighting at Mom's), but Nellie's eyes, which are the same darker blue as Kit's, are slightly darker than Grace and Chrissa's.

Nellie 

Grace (sorry this one's a bit out of focus!)

Chrissa 

My mom and I both have the Grace Mini Doll which was released along with Grace. 

Mini Grace has soft, silky hair.  Her outfit is all one piece.  She also has the new, all-vinyl body they've started using for the mini dolls.

I'm not going to rate Grace.  I've done enough American Girl doll reviews that you guys know I'm a fan. ;)  I do love her coloring and think she'd be a great addition to any American Girl fan's doll family. ;)  My mom is very happy with her, and my girls think she's gorgeous. ;)  I think she's adorable too, but I'm completely maxed out on space for any more 18" dolls, and I have other things I'm saving for instead.  And to be honest, if I were to get a new AG doll, I think I'd go for #61 instead since I already have so many brunette girls.  I still love her, though, and I'm glad my mom got her so I can enjoy her too. ;)

How about you guys?  Are any of you tempted to add Grace to your doll collection?

You can see Grace and all of her clothing and accessories HERE on American Girl's website.

American Girl Caroline Abbott Doll Review

As promised, here is my review of the Caroline Abbott doll I bought at the American Girl Place on February 1st. :)

Caroline in her box, waiting to be opened.  Believe it or not, I actually did not take her out of the box until I got all the way back home!  I wanted to get really good review pictures of her, and I also knew she would make the long journey home better in her box rather than out of it.  I have to admit, though, it was VERY hard to wait!! ;)

Caroline's name on the front of the box.

Side view

Back view

Side view #2 ;)

Almost ready to come out! :)

Caroline has such a beautiful face. :)

She comes with a paperback copy of her first book, "Meet Caroline".  I have not had a chance to read any of the other books in the series, but I really enjoyed this first one.  Caroline's book personality reminds me a lot of Oldest Gal. :)  The illustrations in the book are stunning, which is a welcome relief after the disappointing illustrations from the Cecile and Marie-Grace books.  Sorry if any of you are fans of those illustrations, but my artistic side found them flat and unnatural-looking.

Brand new American Girl dolls are held in place by an elastic band around their neck which attaches to a plastic hook on either side of their neck.  A piece of soft, foam-like material is between their neck and the elastic band, presumably to protect the plastic from getting rub marks or other damage.  

The dolls are also held in place by a rubber band around their ankles, but I forgot to get a picture of that. :}

Removing the elastic from the neck is simple...you simply unhook the elastic loop from the plastic hook.

Then you can pull off the foamy material.

Here she is, finally free! :)

Caroline came with a little doll hair care tag attached to her wrist.

The inside has basic instructions for how to care for your doll.

Here she is without her hair care paperwork in front...

...and in back.  

Her dress is pale pink and a linen-like material that wrinkles easily.  

This was what her dress looked like after lifting it up for pictures! 

A view from the back.

I wasn't all that into her meet dress at first, but I have to admit, it's grown on me.  The color really does suit her, and it's got some nice detail.

The ruffle at Caroline's collar.

The pretty embroidered flowers on her waistband.

Sleeve detail

A look at her dress hem.

She comes with lace-trimmed pantalettes and white ribbed-knit stockings that go to her knees.  She does not have any other undergarments.

Her pink slip-on shoes match her dress.

I was very concerned when I first deboxed my Caroline, because her left leg was so tight that it tilted inward.  I could still get her to stand by repositioning her leg, but I was worried that this might affect her ability to stand for long periods of time.  I started looking up doll return policies on the American Girl website and started kicking myself for not opening her at the store. :}  This was also when I decided that having a personal shopper the next time I went to the American Girl Place would be preferable.  Thankfully, within a day or so, her leg loosened on its own, so all was well. :)

Her hair came in a hairnet to protect the curls.

This was what it looked like when I first took it out of the hairnet, in front...

...and in back.  I just love her long curls! :)

Caroline's eyes are a beautiful blue-green color, almost a minty green.  They are a new eye color that has (so far) only been used for Caroline.

My Caroline has a small, shiny mark under her left eye that is sometimes visible in pictures.  I was a little disappointed that I missed this at first, but she is still a gorgeous doll, and it's not enough of an issue to make me want to return her.

So now I'm basically going to bombard you with an incredible amount of Caroline pictures, just because she's so gorgeous. :)  I always enjoy the first photo shoot with a new doll, discovering her best angles and how well she photographs.  Caroline was no exception. :)

Hayden was very excited to pose for a picture with Caroline. ;)  My Caroline will be renamed Coral Brenna Copeland, and will be a sister to my mom's Saige doll, as well as a cousin to the Hathaways (Emma, Hayden, and Charlie) and the Ellisons (Piper, Alice, and Ruthie).  I'm looking forward to working out all the details of her backstory. :) 

After I'd taken the initial review pictures for this post, I decided to play with Caroline/Coral's hair a bit.  I was a little concerned that her hair would be difficult to manage because of all of the curls.  Thankfully, her hair was no more difficult than Hayden's.  I spritzed it with my little mini spritzer bottle, then carefully brushed it out one small strand at a time, and finished it off by finger curling.  Then I decided to put part of it up in a messy bun.  I'm very pleased with the results. :)

I believe I mentioned that one of the other things I purchased at the AG Place was Addy's Blue Dress.  This was originally known as "Addy's Kite-Flying Dress" and came with a kite and a large, plaid hair ribbon.  Then, it was changed to "Addy's Flower Picking Dress" and came with a bouquet of flowers and the same ribbon.  Now, it's simply "Addy's Blue Dress" and comes with just the ribbon.  I've had my eye on this one for a long time, and I thought it would look great on my Caroline doll, so I decided to snag one while I was down there. :)  I left Caroline in her original pantalettes and then put her in Cecile's meet boots.

The ribbon included with the dress.  I didn't use it with the dress because I didn't feel it matched very well. :}

The pale blue is great with Caroline/Coral's coloring. :) 

A closer look at the dress.

I forgot to take a picture of the back of the dress when it was on my doll, but here's a picture I took when I first got home.  As you can see, the back has Velcro closure.

Bodice detail...

...and skirt detail.

Cecile's boots look great with the dress. :)

Oh my goodness, she is so incredibly pretty in blue!!! :D

So, overall thoughts?  I give Caroline a 5 out of 5.  I would recommend her completely to adults or careful younger collectors.  Her hair might be problematic for younger doll enthusiasts, depending on the child, because the length and the curls will take more maintenance than a doll with straight or shorter hair.  However, my two older girls, both in the target age range (eight and up), are careful enough that this doll could work for them.  If your little doll lover has a mommy or grandma who is willing to help with hair, then this could still work for a younger kiddo.  You could also simply keep the hair in a braid or a ponytail, but I know for many girls, playing with the hair is the most fun part of having a doll. ;)  

Caroline's coloring is beautiful, and she takes incredible photos.  I'm already looking forward to future photo shoots with her. :)  Her dress does wrinkle pretty easily, but the wrinkles also come out fairly quickly, too.  After a day or two of displaying her in a standing position, the wrinkles were much less noticeable.  

Hope you enjoyed the review. :)  If you have any specific questions or I missed a detail you'd like to know about, feel free to leave me a comment. :)

To visit Caroline's product page on the American Girl website, click HERE. 

Next up, a review of the Disney Animator's Collection Kristoff doll, followed by a review of Toddler Anna and Elsa from the Disney Store. :)