Upcoming Shopkins Happy Places Sets!

Just a quick post today. My girls and I are huge fans of the Shopkins Happy Places line, and we've been looking forward to seeing some of the new releases that should be showing up soon.

I noticed that some of the new toys are starting to show up on Amazon.com. It looks like most of them will have a release in early August:

Happyville High School Playset (You can see My Froggy Stuff's YouTube review of this set HERE.)

Bearry Fun Convertible

Violette

Kiki Creme

Ballinda

Jellica

Berribelle

Season 3 Blind Bag Surprise Delivery Packs (These are also featured in the My Froggy Stuff video.)

They also have a few of the Shoppies that were supposed to be part of Season 2 of Happy Places, but never showed up in our area:

Fria FroYo

Pia Puzzle

Macy Macaroon

I love the creativity and detail that goes into this line. I'm especially excited for Macy Macaroon, Kiki Creme, and the new blind bags, since according to the info from My Froggy Stuff's video, they will feature art classroom supplies. :D

Which ones are you most excited about?

This post contains no affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Hey There...Remember Me?

The one who used to post on this blog at least once a week...usually? Yeah. Just thought I should stop by and let you know I'm still alive.

I don't really have a valid excuse, other than the usual "my life is so crazy right now" thing. ;) The holidays were nuts, Hubby's work shifts have been all over the place (night shift, day shift, away from home for a week shift, etc.), I've been working on several projects...the list goes on. And, to be honest, the farther behind I got, the harder it was to get back to the blog. (I'm really good at avoidance when I'm overwhelmed.) ;)

I knew it was time to shape up and post SOMETHING when someone left a comment on my Facebook page today, asking if my blog was still functional. :}

So, Merry Christmas and Happy 2017! (Hey, at least I posted in time for Valentine's Day...a whole three weeks early!)

As usual, I have several posts in the works (when do I NOT have posts in the works?), part of my aforementioned avoidance/overwhelmed thing. ;) I thought for this post, though, I'd briefly share a bit of what I've been up to since you last heard from me, and then share a few things I'm looking forward to.

Christmas

Our family had a lovely Christmas together, though it was quite different from years past. For one thing, this year Christmas was held at my mom and dad's house instead of my aunt's. Due to financial issues related to medical issues, my aunt had to move this year, so her home was no longer available to us. It was a bit crowded, but we survived just fine. ;) It was great to all be together once again. And I have to admit, there was something special about spending Christmas in the home of my childhood, thinking back on old memories. :)

Watching Papa's train go around the base of the Christmas tree.

All ready for Christmas morning!

Interestingly enough, I didn't bring a doll or toy to Christmas this year. It was all I could do to get the people in my life packed. ;)

I did manage to get pics of the display the girls and I set up for my mom's living room, though. :) 

Doll Customizing

The girls all got Pullip dolls this year, which was super exciting for them. Middle Gal got a "Make it Own" Pullip set, and did a fabulous job customizing her doll.

Pretty good for an almost eleven-year-old. ;)

This got all of us on a doll customizing kick. I've admired the YouTube tutorials of doll customizers such as Nicolle's Dreams and Dollighful, but aside from a few feeble attempts at customization, I've never really taken the plunge.

This January, I did, and for a couple of weeks, that was pretty much all we did. The girls' dolls are still in progress, but here's how my first one turned out:

Ever After High Raven with face paint removed.

After repaint:

It was a LOT harder than it looked on the tutorials, but I'm super pleased with her. :) Can't wait to share pics of the girls' dolls, too!

Decluttering

The doll customization was brought to a screeching halt, however, when at this month's doll club meeting, I discovered that the doll club would be meeting next at my house on February 1st. Eep! Time to put the dolly stuff on hold and clean the house.

But, of course, I couldn't just do things the easy way, clean things up, and be done with it. No. I had to do the whole, "Blech!!! My house is a mess! I can't find anything! I have too much stuff! The girls have too much stuff!" thing and embark on a major decluttering adventure.

Which has pretty much taken up the entire month of January. Especially since I discovered black mold on one of my walls. :(

But we're making progress, and I LOVE what we've done so far. Hopefully, I can get it all done in the next week and a half...and figure out what on earth I'm going to talk about for the meeting. ;)

A great shelf I found at Goodwill for just $10...perfect for the younger two girls' room!

Our newly organized doll customization/craft center.

The still-in-progress part. ;)

I'm hoping to do some eBay sales in the coming weeks (probably after the doll club meeting), but I feel bad even saying that since I've been talking about eBay sales for months now. Sigh. I really need to get more organized. I'll let you guys know if I actually get my act together and get some stuff listed.

Snow

In the midst of all of this excitement, in early January, it snowed for the first time in three years! We had a wonderful time playing outside. I got a few great doll and toy photos, too. :)

The girls took doll pictures, too. This is Middle Gal's...

...this is Little Gal's...

...and this is Oldest Gal's.

Fan Mail

I got some incredible fan mail from my online friends Treesa and T.K.Wilson. I feel horrible that I haven't done a Fan Mail Friday post about it yet. But girls, please know your gifts were loved and appreciated. You both brightened my day so much. :) And don't despair. I WILL get that post up as soon as I can...possibly after the doll club meeting, as all of my time right now is being spent in frantic cleanup. ;)

Toy News

Boy, this was one of the things that killed me as I sat on the sidelines, trying to get myself to jump back into the fray. Sooo many new toy releases have been showing up!

Shopkins Happy Places Season 2!!

Milly Mops

Rosie Bloom

Queenie Hearts

Tippy Teapot

Chelsea Cheeseburger

Daisy Petals

Now that I had some new Lil' Shoppies, I needed a way to display them. I found these great little shelves at Target for $5 each. I think they look great! :)

Twozies Season 2!!

Groove Pullip dolls at Tuesday Morning stores!

I bought this one, Marianne, with some of my Christmas money. :)

So pretty!

And, of course, I can't possibly go on without mentioning all of the incredible Beauty and the Beast live action merchandise that's started popping up everywhere! As you can imagine, I've been oohing and aahing and making wishlists and generally feeling like a ten-year-old again.

My only B&tB Purchase so far: the Enchanted Rose Scene Playset.

While I haven't done any reviews yet, I've been very active on my Pinterest boards. ;) You can see my Beauty and the Beast 2017 Pinterest board HERE, and my Shopkins Happy Places board HERE.

For those of you who are wondering, my current plans are to purchase the Disney Store Belle (Yes, I know she's not the most attractive portrayal of Emma Watson, sadly. No, I will not go as far as to say that she looks like Justin Bieber.) ;) and the Disney Store Beast. Even though I think Gaston is the best of the Disney Store dolls, I don't think I'll be adding him and village Belle to my collection. At least for now. I also plan on purchasing the Toys R Us exclusive Belle and Prince set. (I'm so disappointed the Disney Store didn't do a Prince doll.)

I will most likely not purchase any of these until the girls' birthday trip in February. For those of you anxious for reviews, be sure to check out my Pinterest board, as there are several from other toy bloggers/vloggers there.

Plans and Road Bumps

I can't guarantee how frequently I'll be posting over the next couple of months, but I'll do my best to not leave you hanging again without fair warning. ;) I have some pretty involved writing and illustrating projects coming up (and a house to resurrect).

Also, I just received the news this week that my daughters' school, the same one Hubby and I attended K-12, which has been around for 51 years, will be closing its doors at the end of this school year. So, as you can imagine, in the coming weeks I'll be busy making phone calls and setting up appointments and school visits. For my brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray that we can make the best decision for our girls as we figure out where to place them next year.

Things to Look Forward To

On a brighter note, there are several upcoming events I'm very excited about.

First, I actually have the funds to purchase a Disney Store Limited Edition Doll for the first time in my life!! :D

It came about in a rather random way. Back in November, Hubby and I took advantage of an incredible cell phone upgrade deal through Best Buy which left us with around $900 in Best Buy gift cards...plus new phones. (Whaaattt?) ;D I used $100 of the money to purchase Disney Store gift cards. And now, I just have to wait for the perfect doll.

Originally, I had planned on getting a Belle doll from the live action film, but if the LE doll is anything like the regular one, I don't know that I'll be interested. That's okay, though. I'm going to take my time. Eventually, the perfect doll will come around, and then I'll be ready. ;)

As I mentioned before, in February we'll be taking the girls on their annual birthday trip to Roseville. It will be so fun to go to Toys R Us and the Disney Store and see so many of the new items I've seen online in person. And it's always a joy to spend that time with the girls, my mom, and my aunt. It's something we look forward to every year.

In May, Hubby and I will be taking an early anniversary trip to see The Phantom of the Opera in Sacramento! :D I haven't seen Phantom live since high school, when my friends all pitched in and bought me a ticket. It will be so fun to see it again and get away for an evening with Hubby.

Especially since this guy is the one playing the Phantom. (Gotta love that voice!)

Finally, I'm excited about Realm Makers, a writer's conference I'll be attending in July of this year that is specifically for speculative fiction writers. Sadly, I won't be making it to Mount Hermon this year, but I'm thankful I get to attend RM. We're staying at a hotel in Reno, and the conference includes a cosplay dinner and...a zombie apocalypse Nerf gun war. :} Not too sure about that part. Still, it will be great to join my friends Sarah and Rosemary once again for a new adventure. :)

*****

I think that's about all for now. Thanks for hanging in there without me, guys. Hope you're having a wonderful 2017 so far. Here's to a great year, fun dolls, and fabulous friends. :)

And grinning puppies, too. ;)

Shopkins Happy Places Surprise Delivery Blind Bag Packs and Happy Home Playset

It's time for the third and final installment of the Shopkins Happy Places sets. :) (Click HERE for Part One and HERE for Part Two.)

Like all of the Shopkins, the Happy Places lines comes with a set of blind bags, called "Surprise Delivery." They retail for $2.99 each. I love that the boxes they come in look like shipping boxes. ;)

They open with a tab on the top...

...and include two room tiles...

...and three surprise Petkins.

They also come with a brochure.

My box was from the Kitty Kitchen, and included Detergent...

...a Washing Brush, and a Washing Tub (the picture of the tub was blurry).

Here are all three of the items that came together.

So, the great thing about the way the blind bags are packaged is that they always come in a set. (At least, all of the ones we've gotten so far have been that way.) ;) All three Petkins come from the same room, and often go together, like the ones pictured above. 

My mom has purchased several of the blind bags, so I thought I'd share pics of some of the different ones we've ended up with.

Here are all the blind bag items we've gotten from the Kitty Kitchen (including the detergent, washing tub, and washing brush pictured earlier).

And here they are in the groups they came in:

Teapot, Kettle, and Teacup

Bread Bin, Loaf of Bread, and Scales

Here are all of the Puppy Parlor blind bag Petkins we've collected.

Stereo, Music Player, and Speaker

Magazine Rack, Magazine, and Cactus Pot Plant

Side Table, Phone, and Book

Here are the Sleepy Bear bedroom Petkins.

Make Up Box, Camera, and Lamp

Photo, Photo Frame, and Camera

Hat, Hair Brush, and Diary

Jewelry Box, Ring, and Hat

The itty bitty ring Petkin is another example of some of the extremely tiny Petkins in these sets.

So small!

And finally, the Bathing Bunny bathroom Petkins.

Tissue Box, Tissue, and...I'm not sure. It almost looks like the pot for the Violet Pot Plant, but if so, I'm not sure what happened to the violet. :} Or it might be the mini bin, which is listed but not pictured in the brochure.

Toothbrush, Toothbrush Holder, and Glass

The toothbrush holder has spots for four different toothbrushes, and there appear to be four different colors of toothbrush Petkins.

Sponge, Soap Dish, and Soap

Mouth Wash, Moisturizer, and Sponge

Hand Soap, Toothbrush, and Glass

Bubble Bath, Soap Dish, and Soap

Just like the regular Shopkins line, the Happy Places Petkins appear to have two color variations for each Petkin. Some Petkins, like the toothbrushes, have four. Using the brochure to identify them can be a little tricky. Only one color of each Petkin is pictured, and the color variants have different identifying numbers. However, the variants are not listed next to each other on the list. Even though there are colored boxes next to each numbered Petkin on the list to help you identify its color, it's still a bit confusing and time-consuming to find everything. It would be nice if they had all of the same items of different colors listed next to each other on the list for ease of identification.

We've had a lot of fun opening these blind bags and have enjoyed the cute and incredible detail on each of the Petkins. :)

***

Last of all, we have the Happy Places "Happy Home" playset. This set includes a mini Shoppie-sized dollhouse, a set of Puppy Parlor furniture, and an exclusive Popette mini Shoppie. It retails for $29.99.

Box details, front and back:

The picture above gives another great visual guide to the differences between the sets offered in the line.

Here is the Happy Home and everything it includes. As you can see, you get fewer Petkins in the Puppy Parlor than you do in the Welcome Packs (since this time you get a house, too).

Here is adorable Popette. This is Little Gal's favorite mini Shoppie. Too bad she's only available with the $30 house set. ;)

The Happy Home from the front...

...and the back.

Here it is from the two sides:

Each of the four rooms in the house correspond with the four different room themes we've seen in the other playsets. 

We have the bedroom for the "Dreamy Bear" Petkins...

...the bathroom for the "Bathing Bunny" Petkins...

...the living room for the "Puppy Parlor" Petkins...

...and the kitchen for the "Kitty Kitchen" Petkins.

The living room includes a fish tank...

...that can slide in and out.

There are four different types of room tiles that come with each of the other playsets. As you can probably guess, each of these correspond with one of the four rooms of the house.

The pink tiles have the same floor pattern as the bedroom.

The purple tiles have the same floor pattern as the kitchen.

The green tiles match the bathroom...

...and the yellow tiles match the living room.

Whichever tile you get in your blind bag set determines which type of Petkins you're going to get.

The house has pegs on one side...

...and slits on the other which attach to the extra floor tiles.

So you can extend the floors, like this. The only problem is, you can't make the tiles completely meet in the front. Unless I'm totally missing something. And they can't attach vertically because the little knobs interfere with the flat front of the house flooring.

So you could also do it like this and just extend the sides of the house. 

I also noticed in one of the Happy Places commercials that they just attached four tiles together and made them little separate rooms, so that could work, too.

And extra space will definitely be needed, because the Happy Home is pretty full with just the Welcome Packs, one Decorator's Pack, and some of the blind bag Petkins we got.

A closer look at each of the rooms:

Everything looks super cute set up in the different rooms. I like that there are shelves in each of the rooms to give more display space for the Petkins. But the space is still limited. I don't think you could fit everything from all three Welcome Packs, the Puppy Parlor, and all four Decorator's Packs easily.

The Shoppies had a few visitors in their home. As you can see, it's compatible with other small doll lines, too. :)

"Love your room, Jessicake!"

"Sorry to interrupt your bath, Bubbleisha..."

"What's cookin', Coco?"

"Milli, please don't jump on the couch!"

I think the Happy Home is super cute. I don't know that I would buy it myself. Popette is adorable, but I like some of the other mini Shoppies better. And while $30 isn't a terrible price for what you get in this set, I'd rather spend the money on more accessories and just use one of the dollhouses I have already. The girls had a lot of fun playing with the Happy Home, but then had just as much fun filling up their Loving Family dollhouse with Petkins furniture. ;) 

But that's what I love about this new line. It's compatible with many of the other small doll and toy lines we have around the house, so it's not necessary to get every single thing. You can pick and choose your own favorites and make them work with other dolls and toys you have already. :)

***

As promised, I'd like to finish with some thoughts from the girls. :) And this time, the reviews were even typed by them (except for Middle Gal, who was too close to bedtime to type it for herself. Her review was typed by me exactly as she dictated). ;)

Oldest Gal (age 12):

     These dolls are darling, and the same goes for the furniture. The amount of detail on many of the accessories, such as the cookies fitting in the cookie jar, the oven mitt fitting on the Shoppie's hand, and the spaghetti spoon fitting in Spaghetti Sue's pot, is amazing. The posability is a little lacking; they could have done better. They could have made them bend at the elbows, pivot their head at different angles, and move their arms out to the sides and not just up and down. If their knees were able to bend, they wouldn't have been able to stand, so I won't whine about that. But that is pretty much my only complaint. I know these dolls will find their way onto a lot of shelves.

Middle Gal (age 10): 

     Applause, applause, Moose Toys! Good job. I really like how cute they are and I like how they're little and they cost less so you can buy them easier. And I like their clothing and all the detail and thought that went into this line. However, I don't think they needed to make a ring. It's just really small and I think it would probably get lost really soon. It's so small and I can't even get it on the Shoppies' fingers. But that being said, all of the tiny Petkins are very detailed. They are really very clever. I bought Melodine, and she's super cute. I like her keyboard and her music book and her dress and her hairstyle and her headband and her face and her shoes and her legs and her arms and her. :D Applause for Moose Toys!! 

Little Gal (age 8):  

     I think this new Shoppies line is awesome!!!But, the Happy Home is REAL small without any tiles.and you can't add any on the top! And Popette ONLY comes with the Happy Home!G!!!! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But  they're awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love, love, love, love, love them!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, everyone! I hope you enjoyed taking a look at this fun new line. 

For more info on the Shopkins Happy Places, you can check out their official Facebook Page, Instagram, and YouTube Channel. They can be purchased in stores or at the Target, ToysRUs, and Walmart websites.

For those of you who have left comments over the past week, I apologize for not responding yet. I hope to get to that later this week. The girls start school tomorrow, so I should have a little more free time. ;)

I have one more blog post planned before my hiatus, so stay tuned. :)

I am not affiliated with Moose Toys and did not receive anything for this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.