Disneystore.com Sale: 50% on Toys and Plush

Hey everyone!  Just a quick post before my "real" one. ;)  Disneystore.com's "Twice Upon a Year" sale is going strong, and today's promotion is 50% off of select toys and plush.  This does not include the DAC classic Dolls (which seem to have been restocked...good news for those of you who were wanting to continue your collection!), but it does include the special edition DAC Cinderella.  She's down to $24.99!

The sale also includes a few of the Singing Princess dolls, some of the classic 12" Princess dolls, quite a few of the plush dolls and characters, several of the newer Cinderella items and more.  You can see all of the items for sale HERE.

Happy Shopping! :)

Long Time, No See :}

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to blogging.  I spent an entire week at my aunt's house for Christmas and just got back yesterday.  I only have time for a quick post this morning before heading off to church, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive. ;)

I'm quite embarrassed that I didn't do a post for Christmas on this blog.  I think that's the first time I've missed since I started blogging! :(  At least Tess and Maggie and Belle got posts up for Christmas on their blogs. ;)

I need to go get kiddos ready, but I hope to be back either later this afternoon or sometime tomorrow with all of my Christmas news.  Talk to all of you again soon! :)

Snow!!!!

Today we woke up to a wonderful surprise:  snow!!

Now, this may not look like a lot to some of you, but for our area, this is a good-sized snowfall. :)

Hayden and Jenna enjoyed getting out in the crisp weather. :)

Our beautiful street

A few shots of our transformed backyard.  

Jenna and Hayden enjoy the view.

The snow kept falling in huge flakes for a good hour or so.  It was so fun to see the world slowly turn whiter and whiter.

Even Belle, Robby, and Emilie got in on the fun! :)

Of course, my daughters were super excited to go out and play.  They brought out their dolls for a few photos, too.

I couldn't get over how beautiful all of the plants and trees looked under a fine dusting of snow.

The girls soon got serious about playing in the snow and left their dolls in the safety of the little back porch, under the eaves. 

Middle Gal made this cute baby snowman.

It was just the right size for her Felicity doll. :)

Oldest Gal made a bigger snowman out on the lawn.

After Hubby got home between jobs and the girls were warming their toes while watching a movie, I decided to get my main 8 dolls in their wintry gear and capture a few pics in the pretty snow.  This group shot was taken in my front yard, which was super daring for me.  I normally only take 2 or 3 larger dolls out at a time. First, because it's easier to set them up for photos (especially in the snow where there's no extra spot to set them down), and second, because my neighbors usually don't stare too badly if I only have a couple of dolls. ;)  One of our next door neighbors, an older gentleman, came out just as I was finishing this shoot.  He didn't laugh or anything, and even offered to help hold up a doll for me so I could get a photo. :)  It's nice to have such considerate people living right next to us. :)  (This also goes to show you that you're never too old to outgrow feeling a little sheepish doing doll photos in broad daylight. :}  I'm so glad I did, though...the pictures turned out great!)

I thought it would be fun to get some new individual shots of each of the girls.  Here are some of the ones I took (you can see most of these on my sidebar, too):

Rachel

Charlie

Emma

Hailey

Maggie

Tess

Jenna

Hayden

All in all, it was a lovely morning.  The snow is still on the ground hours later, which is nothing short of miraculous in this area.  Usually, if we get snow, it only lasts for an hour or so at the most.  It's so nice to look out and see the snow still covering the ground.  I'm just glad I don't have to go anywhere. ;)

I'd like to end this post with a thank you to all of you who have been praying for me and my family.  This month has been tough in a lot of ways, but it's also been a great opportunity to see the Lord work and provide just when we needed it most.  From that unexpected rewards check from Costco I'd forgotten about that allowed us to get the groceries we needed before payday this week, to the way Hubby was able to negotiate with Charter on a better deal so that we don't have to cancel our Internet (yay!!!), I've seen Him at work in the little things.  I'm so thankful for a God Who cares about the seemingly insignificant things in our lives.

This is not going to be a quick fix, and we're going to have to remain disciplined, especially these next few months, in order to keep on course.  But God is good.  We have our home, a special Christmas to look forward to with our families, and 3 beautiful girls.  In light of the horrific events of the past week in Newtown, Connecticut, I am reminded more and more of how brief, precious, and unpredictable life is.  We need to live each moment to its fullest.  I need to remember how quickly these years with my children will pass by when I'm tempted to answer them unkindly or impatiently.  My heart aches for the parents who lost their sweet little ones last week and will now have to face Christmas without them.  My thoughts and prayers are with them, as I'm sure yours are too.  

I hope that you and yours have a truly wonderful Christmas together next week.  I'm not sure if I'll have another post up before Christmas or not...I'll just have to play it by ear.  From here on out, it's pretty much craziness and rushing from one activity to another until January. ;)

Talk to all of you again as soon as I can. :)

New Fantasyland in Walt Disney World is Open!

Okay, I know I already posted this morning, but when I got an email about the new Fantasyland opening in Walt Disney World, I just had to post and spread the excitement.

I'd heard a little bit about this in the past and was super excited to hear that there were plans to include new Beauty and the Beast attractions. :D  I've never had much of a desire to go to Walt Disney World before, just because it seemed so overwhelmingly large (and Disneyland is so much closer).  After seeing the promotions for this, though, I've changed my mind. ;)

Of course, this won't happen for my family anytime soon, but it's still fun to see what they've come up with and imagine what it would be like to be there. :)

So here are a few links that were in my email that you might enjoy:

First, a video clip of the grand opening, featuring several Disney characters, and Ginnifer Goodwin, who plays Snow White in the ABC show "Once Upon a Time".  Click HERE to see the video.

Second, HERE'S the actual website for New Fantasyland.  Be sure to click under the title to "reveal the story" of New Fantasyland and why it's been gone for so long. ;)  (I find it very "Once Upon a Time-ish".)

Even better, when you go through the story, it gives you an aerial view of Fantasyland and lets you see some of the highlights of each attraction.  Here's one to get you interested.  Did you know that Maurice's cottage features a picture of Belle and her mother?  You can see it online if you click the title and break the curse. :D

If I ever get to go, I'll be visiting Maurice's Cottage, the Beast's Castle, and the village square near Gaston's Tavern.  I think it would be fun to see Prince Eric's castle, too.

After some further digging, I found these amazing YouTube videos that give a closer look at some of the Beauty and the Beast attractions.

Maurice's cottage (love, love, LOVE the portal at the end of this one!!!  And sorry, I haven't found the second part yet.)

Be Our Guest Restaurant, aka the Beast's Castle (there are no words to describe the epicness of this place...and yes, I know epicness is not really a word.  So sue me.) ;)

Here's another hilarious one...a Beauty and the Beast episode of "House Hunters". :)

It's amazing how giddy I felt seeing the representations of the films I loved as a child.  Disney Parks always have the amazing quality of making you feel like fairy tales can come true. ;)

So, anyone else interested in paying a visit to Walt Disney World?

Extra 20% Off Sale Items at Disneystore.com and Word Verification

Hey guys!  Just wanted to let you know about more sales at Disneystore.com for that last-minute shopping.  Take an extra 20% off of select sale items.  Apply code BONUS20.  There are dolls, plushies, clothing, accessories and more included in this promotion.  You can see all of the items HERE.

And speaking of Disneystore.com, I noticed that the DAC Rapunzel doll is back on the site.  Tiana and Snow White are still sold out.  Just thought I'd throw that out there for any Rapunzel fans who were bummed about missing out on her. ;)

One last thing.  Due to numerous requests, I decided to take word verification off of my comments.  However, I've since been bombarded with 20 to 30 spam comments per day, and it's just getting to the point where it's not worth it anymore.

I do understand your frustration with word verification.  Now that they've added fuzzy photos of numbers to the jumble of letters, it's very difficult to tell what you're supposed to type.  I get frustrated with it myself.  But I'm also getting frustrated with all of the spam comments I'm getting (some of which has been extremely inappropriate).  I hope you all understand my decision.  I realize that some of you may not comment as frequently because of this, and that's okay.  I've just got to make this site as low maintenance as possible.

I hope to get some more posting done today, but I'll have to just play it by ear.  I still have 3 sick kiddos that need a lot of attention. ;)

Talk to all of you again soon.

BFC Ink Dolls on EBay and a Bit about My Photos

Hey, just a quick post for those of you interested in BFC Ink dolls.  There is a seller who has several NIB BFC Ink dolls, including some of the Pen Pal dolls, starting at $20 with reasonable shipping.  She also has a couple of loose Alexander Girlz, a Magic Attic doll, and more.  You can see all her items HERE.  Hope this helps someone with their Christmas shopping. :)

And speaking of eBay, I've now had two instances where someone has used one of my photos of my dolls for their doll they have for sale.  Please, if you want to use one of my photos, ask permission first, or at least link back to my blog and give photo credit.  I think it's unwise to use a photo of another doll anyway.  As someone who purchases dolls on eBay, I always prefer to have a photo of the actual doll I'm purchasing.  I feel it is misleading when the seller uses a photo of another doll unless they state specifically in the auction that the doll pictured is not the actual one they are selling.

Okay, off of my soap box now.  Just please, please ask permission before using my photos.  I may have to start watermarking them to avoid this scenario, which is a total pain (another step before uploading photos to blog posts...sigh), but may be worth it if this continues to happen.

Hope you're all having a good week.  I'm off to administer some more children's Tylenol. ;)

Changes

This week has been a little rough.  Aside from the fact that fevers and coughing have spread through our house like wildfire and I'm beginning to feel a bit like Florence Nightingale, we're also going through a rough bit financially right now.  Call it a combination of unexpected expenses, a shortage of working hours for Hubby, and being behind on a bill or two...or whatever you like.  The point is, things have to change around here.

Hubby and I took a good look at our finances and realized in order to continue to send our girls to our local Christian school and to get out of debt as we'd like to, we need to make some sacrifices.  Even with those, it's possible that Hubby may have to take up a third job.  This is a scenario I'd love to avoid if at all possible, but we may not be able to get around it.

All this to say that there will be a few things I will have to do differently in the blogging world, too.

For one thing, there may be less reviews after a while.  For now, I still have several reviews that are in draft, so they won't disappear completely at first.  Once those run out, though, I'm going to have to focus more on doll photography and perhaps a thrift store haul every once in a while.  Spending on extras like dolls and doll accessories is going to have to be limited to the bare minimum until further notice.

I also may not be on Blogger quite as frequently after this week.  We've had a wonderful deal on our Internet for the last 2 years, but that deal is up, which means a $20 price increase per month.  We've made the decision to try going without Internet for a while, just until we can catch up a bit.

This doesn't mean I'll disappear completely.  I'll be able to check my Internet and do my blogging from my parents' house.  I just may not be able to respond to comments or emails as quickly as I usually do.  Please be patient with me as I figure all of this out and find my new routine.

Another change you might notice is that I'm going to have to downsize my collections a bit.  I've come to realize that I've been rather selfish in my collecting.  It's been all about me, when my first priority should be my family.  I've never blown $100 on a doll without telling anyone, but I have spent a little here and a little there until suddenly, I've spent $100 over the course of a month or two.  I've really got to work on this.

I know I had a post about this at the beginning of this year, and I was really good for a while before slipping back into the old habits again.  This time around, I hope to stick to it like I should.

In January, I will most likely be listing some of my dolls on eBay.  I'm hoping to start with some of them that I haven't bonded with as much at first.  And don't worry.  Tess, Maggie, Belle, Emma, and most of the regulars will be sticking around.  However, my LIV dolls, Moxie Teenz, and some of my Beauty and the Beast dolls will most likely be on the chopping block.  I will also most likely have to part with my Jess doll.  It makes the most sense...I haven't had a chance to develop her story yet, and she was an extra purchase that I didn't need.  I'd rather part with her than one of my established dolls.

Please pray for wisdom for Hubby and I as we try to cut out some extras and make some changes.  It's not going to be easy, but it needs to be done.  I think it could be a great opportunity to reexamine some of my priorities and get back to the basics for a while, too.  We have so much in this country that we really don't need.  Everything is temporal, and being too attached to our things only leads to heartache and emptiness.  (Says the super-mature woman who looked around the room at her dolls last night, trying to decide which ones to sell, and dissolved into tears at the thought.) :}  I'm not perfect by far, and I'm so thankful that the Lord is patient with me despite my flaws and my close attachment to little vinyl people and ponies. ;)

I'll keep you guys posted on our progress.

Oh, and speaking of progress, I suppose I should give a weight loss update as it's been a while.  I kind of hit a plateau for a while (and even gained a little bit back), so that's been a bit discouraging.  I did keep 10 pounds off, and that's something I can be proud of.  I know I can do better, though, and I'm going to continue doing my best to watch my portion sizes and control my sweet cravings.  Unfortunately, I never made goal weight (although at one point I was just 3 pounds away!), which means I'm still paying for Weight Watchers...and that's one of the extras we're cutting.  At least I have the knowledge and the tools to continue on by myself.  I've lost weight on my own with Weight Watchers before.  It won't be easy, but I suppose I can do it again. :)

Okay, I guess that's about all for now.  Sorry this post isn't as happy and uplifting as my posts normally are.  Just wanted to make you aware of some of the changes.

I don't foresee us having to continue on in such a drastic manner forever.  We just need to get down to the "bare necessities" (brownie points for a random Disney reference) for a while until we can get a little more financially stable.

My Trip to Nevada

Sorry I didn't get to this post yesterday like I'd hoped.  The cold symptoms are slowly making their way through the ranks (today I have 3 kiddos home from school), so it's been a bit difficult to get to the computer. :}

Friday morning, my aunt and I started off for Nevada, where one of my very dearest friends lives.  I haven't had a chance to see her house yet, and there's a big possibility she'll be moving in the next few months, so I wanted to take this chance to see her before she moved farther away.  

I brought Hayden with me for some photo ops, just in case.  Mimi (my aunt) borrowed one of my mom's dolls because she forgot to bring Kailani with her.  Enjoy this picture, because it's pretty much the only doll picture I got the whole time. :}  It was just one of those trips where taking a doll along to every place we went wasn't conducive to a smooth, enjoyable visit. ;)  That's okay, though.  I was there to see my friend first and foremost. :)

We had beautiful weather for our trip, and the scenery was lovely. 

My friend is the queen of clean and organization.  I'm always amazed by her ability to keep everything looking "just so" (which is pretty much unheard of in my house!). :)  This is where I stayed while I was there.  Doesn't it look as fancy as a hotel?  This room is part of a really cute guest suite that is located above her garage.  Mimi and I were quite comfortable in our own little suite. :)

Of course, one of the things I looked forward to was visiting the local Disney Store. :)  I didn't get as many pics this time because I didn't get around to asking permission first (which I prefer to do).  We were also there with my friend's two little girls and I didn't want to take too much time getting photos and making everyone wait.

One of the Cinderella displays.

They had lots of the Singing Princess dolls...

...and the regular sized Princess dolls too (both on sale). :)

Apparently I should have taken some pics of the Disney Animator's Collection Dolls, too.  Little did I know that would possibly be the last time I would see some of them! :(  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click HERE.)

After the mall and a few other stops, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at BJ's.  Mimi and I don't have one of these restaurants in our area, so we enjoyed trying something new.

We had to wait for about 30 minutes before a table was ready, so I entertained myself with taking random pictures of the building and the beautiful sky, watching the people going by, and enjoying the chatter and antics of my friend's daughters.

When we got inside, we all had a delicious lunch.  This was mine (it's partially eaten because I forgot to take a picture before I started). ;)  Yes, it was delicious.  And yes, sadly, I did eat all of those french fries. :}

After lunch, we headed over to a store called "Scheels", which Mimi and I had never heard of.  It's pretty much the ultimate sporting goods store with a lot of other little shops thrown in.  It had this really cool aquarium in the entrance that you could walk under.

It also had its own Ferris wheel. :)

Not to mention a really cool display of different animals from the area.

The back of the store led to some other outlets.  There were lots of these really nifty statues and sculptures on display beside the stores.

Here's a tower, complete with airplanes.

This sculpture made me think of "Finding Nemo". ;)

The beauty of these sculptures was amazing.

My favorite stop here was the Sanrio Store! :D

One last view of Scheels' aquarium.

At the Sanrio Store, Mimi got a surprise grab bag.

It had a fancy Hello Kitty cell phone charm, some stickers, a set of 3 lollipops, a journal, a marker, and a plastic holder to store the journal and marker.

We had a wonderful time.  It was great visiting, shopping, and watching Christmas movies with my friend.  Her home was lovely and her girls were adorable.  I'm so glad it worked out to take this weekend to see her. :)  I'm afraid I didn't get any more pics, because we were too busy enjoying life to take the time to document it. ;)

Here are a few shots of our beautiful ride home, though:

I brought a little bit of spending money along and found a few fun things to take home as a memento of my trip.

At the Disney Store, their reusable shopping bags were on sale for 2 for $5.  Mimi got a Minnie Mouse one, and I picked up this "Wreck-it Ralph" bag.  

Here's the other side, with the full picture.

The narrower sides look like this.  

You're probably surprised that I didn't pick up a Princess bag.  I almost did, but I didn't care for the design as much on their current Princess bag (Belle was NOT front and center where she should have been), ;) and I really enjoyed the "Wreck-it Ralph" movie.  Besides, I can't have ALL Princess stuff.  I've gotta change things up every once in a while. ;)

I really love these bags from the Disney Store.  They're fairly inexpensive and they're great for holding my toiletries or doll accessories when I go on trips. :)

But don't despair:  I didn't leave completely Princess-less. ;)  The mini plushies were on sale for $6 each, so I decided to bring a mini Belle back home with me.  I had originally intended to get a mini Rapunzel (I've been a fan of those since my trip to LA in July), but there was only one Rapunzel left and she had kind of a wonky face.  Belle was a good substitute.

This is probably the first mini plush Belle I've seen with a face I actually like.

I decided to try her out with a couple of my Beast stuffies.  She's a little big for this one, but it works.

And she's slightly small for this one, but again, it works.

I decided to put her on the shelf with both of them.  They can fight over her, I guess. ;)

I also purchased something at the Sanrio Store.  Don't you just love this adorable bag my purchases came in?  I'd like to figure out a way to use it in my doll rooms or something. :)

I found these two super cute cell phone charms in the clearance section (with the help of a sales associate).  

I've been looking all over for a My Melody charm to go with the Chococat charm I found for Jenna's necklace.  This one is perfect!

I was also a huge fan of Spottie Dottie when I was younger and couldn't pass up this adorable charm.  Not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. ;)

Here's how the My Melody charm looks with the rest of Jenna's necklace.  

They gave me a free poster with my purchase.  I've never heard of the "Strawberry King" before (although I'm assuming he's the guy with the ginormous strawberry on his head), but there were several other characters I recognized:

Keroppi and My Melody...

...Dear Daniel and Hello Kitty...

...Badtz Maru...

...the Little Twin Stars...

...Marron Cream...

...Cinnamoroll...

...Charmmy Kitty...

...and Pochacco.

Whenever I see these characters, it brings me back to the wonderful times I had with my Japanese exchange students growing up. :)  I'll definitely have to find a special spot for this poster.

Okay, true confessions here:  I've become a HUGE fan of My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic.  I let my girls watch a few episodes, but not a lot of them.  There are too many episodes that are either too scary, too full of ponies yelling at each other, or have a little too much of an emphasis on magic or spells than I'm comfortable with for my kiddos.  I just love the show for ME.  So many of the characters remind me of myself or my friends from high school.  Plus, it's a children's show that's almost more fun for the parents than for the kids. ;)  The writing is great, the voice work is amazing, and the songs are fun and catchy.  Plus, the ponies actually have personalities, flaws, etc...and aren't just sitting down at a tea party being all nice to each other in that syrupy sweet way.

But moving on...I already discussed most of this already in my earlier Blind Bag Ponies review.  (Although I've become much more of a fan myself since then.)

Anyway, on our way to our destination, we stopped at a Walmart for a potty break and I noticed that they had the newest Blind Bags out!  And I got...

...Princess Celestia!  And not just any Princess Celestia, but one that was actually the right color!  Yay! :)

I'm so glad I found this pony. :)

As you can see, she's not quite the right scale for the other Blind Bag ponies.

My McDonald's Princess Celestia is much better.  She's also the same strange PINK color that Hasbro continuously decides to make Princess Celestia.  (Why, Hasbro?  Why?  Have you even seen your own TV show?)

A comparison of the two together.

The My Little Pony fun didn't end there:  while at the mall, I found a store that had a TON of My Little Pony stuff.  Most of it was too expensive, but I snagged these 4 mini buttons:

Fluttershy

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, the "Cutie Mark Crusaders"

The "Mane 6":  Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

Princess Celestia

Mimi can attest to the fact that I searched high and low for a Rainbow Dash 4" pony to go with my slowly growing collection (so far, I have Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Lily Blossom...all but Twilight Sparkle were Goodwill finds for 49 cents each!).  Sadly, there were no Rainbow Dashes to be had anywhere.  Then, of all things, my mom found one right here in my hometown at Walmart yesterday.  She brought it to me as a surprise, which was a nice end to a rough day.  More on that story and more on my ponies in a later post, though.

Of course, the find that I was the MOST excited about was my ultimate Goodwill squee I mentioned earlier! :D  Mimi and I found a Goodwill on her phone just before we left town and decided to check it out.  I'm sooo glad we did.  At first, there didn't seem to be anything there, but then...back in the section with the porcelain dolls, I found:

an American Girl Molly Doll!!  (As far as I can tell, she appears to be the Mattel version.)

I could hardly believe it!  She was exactly like she is pictured above, dressed in her green velvet Christmas dress with her socks, shoes, and her bloomers (although the elastic is worn out).  She was...get this...$2.99!!!

I can't even tell you how excited I was about this find.  I could barely form words when I showed her to Mimi. ;)  What makes this find even more special is that Molly is Little Gal's absolute favorite doll of all time. A couple of Christmases ago, we got her a stand-in Gotz doll which she named Molly.  I've always wanted to get her a real Molly someday.  I never dreamed I'd be able to find one for just $3! :D

Molly does have some condition issues.  Her legs and arms are really loose and will need to be restrung.  Her lip color seems to have faded completely.  Her skin was pretty filthy too, but everything came up really nicely with a Magic Eraser.  Her hair was in surprisingly good shape.  I don't think she's been played with very much.

Hubby and I are giving Oldest Gal a used AG Elizabeth doll for Christmas this year.  She was a Craiglist purchase that we've had since last year.  Originally, my plan was to give each of the girls a doll on their 8th birthday, since that was the year they were officially within the target age for American Girl.  However, when Oldest Gal's birthday came around, the timing just wasn't right, so we decided to do it on her 8th Christmas instead (well, technically her 9th, but you know what I mean).  

So the plan is to hold onto Molly until Little Gal turns 8 (so a little over 3 years from now).  In the meantime, I hope to either restring her limbs myself or get them restrung.  I'd also like to get her glasses.  Really, aside from that, she's pretty much perfect.  I was able to get her hair back in its original braids and clean her vinyl, and she looks as good as new:

Now I can hardly wait until Little Gal is 8! ;)

Of course, I realize that tastes change and she may have a new favorite by then.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. ;)  No matter what, this will always be a fun memory. :)

I had a great time on my trip, but it was nice to come home to my family again.  They all missed me a lot while I was gone.  It sure is nice to be needed. :)