Hello Kitty Squinkies

I'm sure most of you have seen these already, but I thought it would be fun to do a post on them anyway.  I've had my eye on the Hello Kitty Squinkies sets for a while, and when we decided to buy a set for my daughters' friend's birthday, I made the most of the opportunity and took some pics. :)

These are so adorable!!  I have to say, I still have a major soft spot for Hello Kitty.  I used to love her when I was a little girl. :)  And these Squinkies are so perfect!  There are all sorts of Hello Kitty's friends, including Dear Daniel.  The set also includes Mama and Papa Kitty.  This particular set is Series 2.  I'm not sure if there are more than the 2 series at this point, but I know there is a Hello Kitty Squinkies Dispenser with some extra Squinkies.

The back of the package.

Hailey, my Hello Kitty nut, officially informed me that these are on her wish list. ;)

Here's Hailey holding her skirt, per my youngest daughter's request. ;)

I may have to pick up a pack of these to add to Hailey's collection.  You can never have too much Hello Kitty!! :)

Doll Dress from EBay Seller Jolene.870

Here is the first installment of my eBay purchases from my sales. :D  This adorable dress and pinafore, modeled by Hailey, was made by eBay seller jolene.870.  As she explains in her listings, jolene.870 is a mom with two grown up daughters who has been sewing for over 30 years.  She enjoys sewing doll clothes, and since she has no granddaughters yet, she enjoys sewing doll clothes and selling them on eBay. :)

I am so pleased with my purchase. :)  Hailey looks absolutely adorable in her new "duds". ;)  Above is a closer pic of the apron/pinafore.  The material is nice quality and the embroidered detail is lovely.

The pinafore ties in the back. 

Here's a pic of the dress without the pinafore.  The print is very pretty, and the material is lightweight, but nice.

Here's a close up of the print and the stitching on the sleeve.

The dress has a cute Peter Pan collar (one of my favorite types!). 

Hailey loves her new outfit! :)

Jolene.870 has lots of listings for American Girl and Bitty Baby doll clothing, as well as some listings for Barbie-sized doll clothing.  Her prices are very reasonable, and she combines shipping for multiple purchases.  I would highly recommend her work. :)

100 Followers :D and Some Updates

Wow, everyone...I'm speechless!  Well, almost.  I don't think I've EVER been at a loss for words in my entire life! ;)  100 Followers!!!  I can't believe it!  My ultimate goal was to reach 100 followers on this blog, and thanks to all of you, I've achieved that goal.  Thank you so much for reading, following, and commenting on my blog.  You have truly made this a wonderful experience, and I am so grateful to all of you! :)

I almost feel like I need to figure out another goal now.  Maybe another 100? :D  Who knows?  Regardless, I am so thankful.  I've had so much fun already, and I am really excited to see where this blog ends up.

So, while I'm here, I might as well give you a few updates. :)  As I mentioned earlier, I listed some of my Barbies on eBay.  Quite a few, to be completely accurate.  It was kind of tough to let them go, but I knew it was time to let them move on.  It was silly to have them stashed away in a box somewhere when our house has a shortage on storage space.  Especially since we're not doing as much with Barbies with my daughters.  Now, they are hopefully in places where they can be enjoyed as they should be. 

Well, the Lord blessed my decision, and between the Barbies, a yard sale, and my Breyer horse collection on Craigslist that FINALLY sold, I made about $230!!!  It was actually closer to $300 before deducting eBay and Paypal fees (I'd forgotten how much that adds up!).  I can't tell you how excited I am.  Thank you, by the way, to any of you who happened to bid. :) 

The really exciting result from my business venture is that it's pretty likely that My AG #55 (aka Hayden Brooke Hathaway) should be a part of my dolly family by sometime next month...I think. :}  I've decided I'm going to set aside $50 towards her from my earnings.  My birthday is coming up at the end of this month, so I'm hoping for some AG gift cards or birthday money that can go towards my purchase. :D  I also want to wait until October just in case another free shipping code comes up, like last year (every little bit helps!).

The rest of the proceeds went towards clothing, shoes for my hubby, and credit card payments...and just a couple of things to review for the blog. :)  One kind of funny/sad thing is that shortly after my sales, we had to replace the back tires on our car.  It cost about $300!  I was pretty disappointed at first, thinking that my money should just go towards that.  My hubby was really sweet, though, and told me to keep the $50 set aside and to get my clothing (I really desperately needed a few new things for church...I've been rotating between the same 3 outfits for a while now!).  I'm still going to get his shoes, too.  We had some money set aside in savings that is going to pay for the tires. 

Things are still tight financially, but the Lord is providing for us.  Hubby has been working A LOT.  In fact, two weeks ago, he had almost 80 hours in one week between the two jobs.  I hate to see him working that much, and wish we could change things, but we're kind of stuck for a while until we can get some things paid off.  Now is not a great time to be looking for new work, anyway.  I'm hoping I can start doing some short story or article writing for pay to help out a bit, but we'll see how that goes!  Anyway, it's been good for me to have to say no to some activities and items and to try to think carefully about budgeting.  I've still got a long ways to go, but I'm learning! :)

And by the way, please don't think of us as completely destitute in a run-down shack somewhere.  We're not.  We have a roof over our heads, lots of family in the area that are very encouraging, food to eat, a wonderful church family, and plenty of clothing and items to fill our house.  We're not as well off as many, but we're definitely in a better situation than many others in our country, too.  The Lord is good!

Let's see, another thing I wanted to update you on was my whole weight issue.  I haven't said much because there hasn't really been much to report.  In the past couple of weeks, though, I've tried something new that seems to be working for me.  It's a combination of nutritional vitamins and switching to a low glycemic diet.  So far, it's been successful.  My carb cravings have been reduced, I'm eating more healthy foods than I have in a long time, and I've lost 10 pounds. :)  I'm not foolish enough to think I'll never have temptations or problems again, but I'm just trying to take one day at a time and make wise decisions day by day.  I would love to lose another 10 if I can, but I also don't want my focus to always be a number on a scale.  I just want to be healthy and feel good. :)

In other doll news, I wanted to give you plenty of warning that Piper will be moving to my aunt's house.  I still really love her, but I just haven't bonded with her as much as I'd hoped to.  I have so much invested in My AG #55's character and personality, and as a result I don't have as much invested in Piper.  The cool thing is that she'll still make occasional appearances, as my aunt lives in the same town I do.  Also, my aunt is getting into dolls as well and doesn't have an actual AG doll yet, so she's really excited to give Piper a new home.  Plus, they both like musicals, Bollywood and Shahid Kapoor, so it's a good match. ;) 

I've got some other posts in the works, including my second Bollywood review post (I promise I haven't forgotten!), and some photo shoots. :)  I'm having a rough time adjusting to the school schedule this year, so bear with me as I try to organize and prioritize my time. :)

Thanks again, everyone!  I am so excited to finally reach 100!!!  I hope to provide you with many more exciting posts and reviews in the years to come. :D

To close, I'll leave you with a sneak preview of one of the photos from my shoot. :)

Lovely Emma

Talk to you again soon! :D

 

Four More Knit Sets from Debonair Designs

Okay, I took a peek at the four new knit sets from Debonair Designs, and they were so cute I just had to share them with you, too! ;)  I am seriously tempted to bid on one...I just can't decide which is my favorite!

Here are the four sets Debonair Designs listed today (once again, all pics used with permission):

This caplet ensemble is called "Cumbrian".

HERE is a link to the original auction.

Julia's ensemble is called "Catskills".  (I really like this one!!)

The original auction can be found HERE.

This is the "Autumn Ombre" Caplet Ensemble.

You can find the auction HERE.

And here is sweet Emily in the "Aspen" Caplet Ensemble.

You can view the auction HERE.

I love all of the different colors and Debonair Designs' unique names for each set.  I was thinking that these would have great potential for mix and match, too, especially all of those darling hats!  Oh, and for those of you who are curious, like I was, the turtleneck caplets have buttons in the back, so they should be easy to get on and off. :)

For those of you interested in her past work, here is a link to Debonair Designs' gallery page:  Debonair Designs Gallery.

Hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I do! :)

Great 18" Doll Sweater Sets on EBay

I just wanted to let everyone know about a some great items up on eBay right now.  EBay seller tekay-intl has started listing her new fall line of 18" doll knit sets through her Debonair Designs portion of her eBay store, and they are just lovely.  I have never personally purchased anything from this seller, but I have drooled over her doll knits for several years. :}  She also has 100% positive feedback, with 1149 feedbacks to her name...pretty impressive!

This seller is also the one who got me interested in collecting Gotz dolls in the first place.  I fell in love with her beautiful doll photos and knew I had to have at least one doll like the ones that modeled her work!  I'm so blessed to have 3 Gotz dolls in my collection. :)  She has an excellent eBay guide to Gotz play line dolls...I've put a link to it in a previous post, but I'd like to put another link in this one.  This guide is perfect for anyone interested in getting a Gotz doll of their own, or anyone who wants to know more about the Gotz Precious Day and Little Sisters dolls.  You can read it HERE.

Here are the 4 knit sets she has listed on eBay right now (pictures used with permission from tekay-intl/Debonair Designs).  :)

"Blue Ridge" Caplet Ensemble.

The full listing can be viewed HERE.

 "Blue Ridge II" Caplet Ensemble.

You can view the full eBay listing HERE.

"Autumn Flame" Caplet Ensemble.

HERE is the full listing.

"Royal Shawl" Knitted Shawl and Headband Set.

HERE is a link to the full listing.

As you can see, she does absolutely beautiful work, and her items are very reasonably priced, with starting bids at just $15.99 plus $2.25 shipping.  The current listings have 6 days left at the time of this posting. 

Debonair Designs has 4 more knit sets for her Gotz girls and 1 knit set for her Alexander Girlz doll that she will be listing soon, so keep checking her eBay store for more great items for your doll's fall wardrobe. :)

Oh, and for those of you who just HAVE to have a Gotz doll after seeing these listings and reading Debonair Designs' eBay guide, there are a few Gotz Precious Day dolls listed on eBay right now.  Just look up "Gotz 18 doll" in the Dolls and Bears category. :)

Alexander Girlz Pics on Costco.com! :D

Hey everyone!  I checked Costco.com today, and they finally have pics up of the new Alexander Girlz dolls! :)  As always, they are more expensive to buy online.  They are listed at $37.99 online as opposed to $28.99 in the store.  I believe the $37.99 includes shipping, though.  So if you have a Costco in the area, it's definitely cheaper to buy the dolls at the store yourself. 

Anyway, without further ado, here are the pics:

Aren't they adorable? :)

To see more information, you can view them at Costco.com. :)

A Somber Anniversary

I can't believe it's already been 10 years since the Twin Towers fell.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I had just started my 3rd year of college, and when I got to the lounge that morning, someone was watching footage of the Towers on TV.  It started with just a little bit of smoke coming out of one side of one of the buildings...little did we know how horrendous the whole thing would become.

My Grandpa was still alive then, and was living with my family.  He was not a believer, but he was such a wonderful man.  He had been a co-pilot in World War II whose plane was shot down, and he spent several months in a POW camp.  I'll never forget the devastation he felt at this tragedy.  He kept telling me, "I can't believe it!  I can't believe this is happening in our country."  He would repeat it often, partially from the shock of the incident, and partially because he had suffered several small strokes earlier in the year, so his short term memory wasn't the best.  I remember sitting with him and trying to figure out what to say to comfort him or try to explain it, when as a college student there was no way I could wrap my head around it.

My brother was with the rest of his senior class on his Washington D.C. trip on that day.  He and his classmates were at Arlington National Cemetery when the Pentagon was hit.  He has pics on his camera of the smoke rising in the distance from the Pentagon building.  We were all so thankful that he arrived home safely.

Our country has changed so much since that day.  I think that day we realized just how vulnerable we are.  It is so easy to take our freedoms and power as a country for granted.  To me, it was a good reminder that nothing is permanent on this earth, and we need to thank the Lord every day for what we have...we never know when it might be taken away.   

God Bless America!