Meet 'Curls'

Lanie has arrived! I'm not sure if I like that name for her, though, so at the moment I'm just calling her 'Curls'. Does anyone have any name suggestions? Something unique, but not totally crazy.

I love her hair and her eyes are beautiful. I got her as a Christmas present (the first AG I've gotten for a present in a long time). I hadn't had the time to take pictures until today. And of course, it RAINED. It poured, and melted all of the snow we had, which was several inches. Uh... So I went outside into the dreary snow-less backyard to take some pictures.

*warning - this is where the post gets really rant-y and self pity-like XD*

Okay, so on the the topic of photographs... mine have really been terrible lately and I find myself having to do a lot of editing just to make them presentable. I try to resize them, but it always makes them blurry. Plus they just haven't been that great to start out with. As far as point and shoots go, I love my Kodak and it has taken some great shots. It's just really fussy half of the time and not getting good pictures at all lately. I find myself really wanting a DSLR when I see all the great photos people take with them, but I know it's probably never going to happen. It's frustrating me and I don't know what's up at the moment since every picture I take lately is turning out just plain bad. I guess I'm just in a rut or something.

*rant over*

Moving on! Anyways, that's "Lanie" - or that's what I'm calling her temporarily. I like the environmental part of her story, I think I'll build off of that. I've been progressively thinning out my collection and not really talking about it much. I forgot the 'new doll hype' feeling, if you know what I mean. :D Sorry, that sounds really greedy/materialistic.

Well, I'm still not sure on names, so if you have any suggestions, be sure to comment!
-Brooke

Kirsten is heading our way!

With the free shipping code (PF99058), Brooke caved and ordered Kirsten! :) The funny thing is, Kirsten has always been her favorite historical character. Kirsten's books were the first she read, and Kirsten was always the doll she liked the most! But, for some reason, she just kept getting pushed farther and farther down the 'want list'. Until now! She will be coming in a little less than a week (hopefully). This whole archiving business scheme worked like a charm.

~Avery~

credit to FarmHouseGirl for the photo!

Being a favorite doll...

Because of my blog, Brooke is almost forced to take lots of pictures of me, develop my personality, etc. I'm the one that Brooke does things with. Where as other dolls hardly get any attention! Jasmine, our #26, isn't "played" with too much, and neither is Ruthie, Julie, Marisol, or Erin (#12). I feel guilty when I'm out every day getting my clothes changed and picture taken, when they've been sitting in the same spot for months. I'm worried that Brooke might start selling some of us. I doubt she'd sell me, but she's been talking about getting rid of some of my friends.
But at the same time, she was watching the QVC show today and said she wanted Gwen, Chrissa, Molly, #23, #27, and #28!!! Uhhhh....

On another note, I have to go back to school tomorrow. I'm having trouble adjusting to my new routine/schedule. Plus, I've been putting off my homework til the last second, so I better go do that now...

~Avery~

THE NEW ITEMS UP ON WEBSITE!!!

Oh my freaking gosh! Sorry for the language, but there's about 20 new JLY dolls, I'm not even kidding. Plus all the other outfits and accessories. Check out AG's website with all the new items! I'm very overwhelmed right now...

Edited to add: Pictures of the new dolls, look at all the neat skin, hair, and eye color combinations, red heads, and curly hair!

-Brooke

New items and dolls, pictures!!!

I love all the new things! Thanks to luvmytwins02 for the pictures! Sorry they quality isn't that great though, they're the only pictures out right now!
http://s952.photobucket.com/albums/ae4/luvmytwins02/

~Avery~

New dolls, clothing, and accessories coming!

The new AG catalog has been sent out, and guess what's in it?

For Julie: A new bike, a fondue set, a kitchen table, and two new outfits
Chrissa: Snow outfit and snow gear
Rebecca: Hanukkah dress, Hanukkah set, phonograph, and love seat
New JLY dolls: light skin, freckles, short red hair, and green eyes
med skin, wavy black brown hair, and blue eyes
light skin, caramel hair, blue eyes
light skin, freckles, straight red hair, hazel eyes
JLY outfits: Sparkly Plum Outfit, robe and penguin PJ's, winter PJ's, bed and bedding, dance outfit, winter coat and pants, something for the pets, skirt outfit, and a new flip chair.

These new items are coming out on Thursday!
Thanks to member sierraandkaylie from American Girl Playthings for this information!

Brooke is really excited for the new JLY dolls, they all sound very pretty, especially the one with medium skin, wavy black/brown hair, and blue eyes. I have a feeling these dollies will make it onto the never ending wish list!
Rebecca's new things sound really neat too, everything sounds great!

~Avery~

Elizabeth II

Experimenting with photography.


This picture is of Elizabeth in her riding habit. Enjoy!

There's not much else to say, so I leave you with these quotes:


"Photography does not create eternity, as art does; it embalms time, rescuing it simply from its proper corruption."
- André Bazin


"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between."
-Karl Heiner


"Photography concentrates one's eye on the superficial. For that reason it obscures the hidden life which glimmers through the outlines of things like a play of light and shade. One can't catch that even with the sharpest lens."
-Franz Kafka


Interpret them how you like, although they may be a little too mature for a doll blog :P


-Brooke

Elizabeth

Elizabeth came 2 days ago, but we've just got around to posting pictures of her!

She is really beautiful, but keeps to herself. She is exactly what I thought a colonial girl would be like: very proper, polite, shy, timid, quiet, sweet, but absolutely stunning! Felicity is a lot more fun and outgoing.

Anyways, Elizabeth is from England. She has a British accent, drinks tea, and everything like that. Her hair is blond and wavy, and there are 2 little pin curls on each side of her head. She is really, really pretty.

I don't know much about her. She's only talked to Felicity since she got here. I hope she can warm up and talk to everyone else. Elizabeth's nice enough though, she lets us call her Liz.

Brooke's trying to make a bedroom for Felicity and Elizabeth. A few posts back I talked about how we found Felicity's bed, side table, and chair at a garage sale ($3 for it all!) The bed is missing the top frame where the bedding would attach to it, it didn't come with all the curtains, and is missing the canopy, mattress, and pillow, etc.

So, Brooke is going to make some curtains for the bed and fix it up! As of now, the side curtains and canopy are going to be a beautiful blue and white floral fabric. The bedspread will be dark blue with white, blue floral, and teal/green accent pillows.

We also have Felicity's Windsor Writing Chair. It is missing the desk and drawer that goes underneath, but we might just keep it as is, or try to fix it up.

The side table is in great condition, nothing is missing.

It is a nice start to their bedroom. We'll try to find a cheap trunk for their clothes, and maybe get or make a table and chairs set.

~Avery~

The 1950's!

Today I threw together a 1950's outfit. Everything is handmade, but I think it turned out really cute. The skirt is just a really simple piece I've had forever. I found a poodle applique picture online and traced it (by putting the paper on the computer screen and lightly writing over the lines). Then, I cut it out and used scrap booking "zots" (little clear sticky dots) to attach it to the skirt. The tank top and cover up are hand made, and the scarf is just a scrap of black fabric.

Also, Elizabeth came today! She was back ordered, but is here now. She's very pretty, and I love her dress and earrings.

Brooke likes a lot of couture, and we need more fall wardrobe pieces. But right now she's trying to get JLY #14, #5, and #21. She has a plan, and she'll most likely be able to get them all, but they will be gifts to herself for a few holidays.

~Avery~

Oh no...

Unfortunately American Girl is retiring 8 Just Like You Dolls on September 3rd.
JLY's:
#1

#2

#5

#7

#11

#12

#14

#21


Isn't that sad? I hate to see dolls retired, especially so many at once! Luckily we just got Sierra, #11, and Erin, #12 a few months ago.

Brooke wants #5, whom she would name Dakota, #14, Capri, and #21, Bailee.

She has it all figured out a plan on how she'll get them, but I'm not going to bore you with that.
But seriously, getting 3 more new dolls?!? That is slightly ridiculous, make that super ridiculous, and more than a tad excessive. We just got Felicity and Elizabeth, and Elizabeth isn't even here yet! (QVC back ordered) Que vais-je faire avec sa? I am actually really made right now, because I've heard her talking about selling some dolls. I'm pretty sure Brooke wouldn't sell me, but I'm scared for some of my friends. If she sells other dolls to get these 3, I will be furious! I hope she was just freaked out by the retirement notice, and this will just blow over.
Je serai surpris si ils viennent, mais sachant Brooke, elle va trouver un moyen. (sorry if the French is off)

Here's a few tickers Brooke made that she told me to post.



~Avery~

Oh my! Lissie and Lizzie!

Brooke here! I've been kind of taking over Avery's blog lately. Anyways....

As many of you know (at least I think you know) American Girl was on QVC Sunday at midnight to one AM and 10 to 11 AM (Easter Time). They featured special collections with Chrissa, Felicity, Elizabeth, Josefina, Bitty Twins (blond, brunette, and African American) and the horses Penny and Patriot. Each doll came with an outfit or two, and some had accessories, for a very good price, on average about a $30 savings compared to buying from American Girl.

Of course I stayed up to watch the show at midnight! I didn't have any intent to order, but it was fun just to watch the dolls on TV. I was very excited! They really pushed Chrissa and the Bitty Twins, between the two they probably took up 45 minutes out of the hour. Josefina was also sold in the midnight show, but there was only 700 of her available and she sold out almost immediately. The people barely even began to explain her, and she was already sold out.

It was funny to watch, quite a few things amused me. First off, the host and an AG employee kept petting the dolls! They were like, stroking them, it was kind of weird... Then, when the host asked the employee to tell about Chrissa's bracelet and she said "Oh, it's just a ribbon with a flower printed on it." Then the host went, "Okayyyyy". That was hilarious! Also, there was a caller that thought that Chrissa and Rebecca, and I kept talking to the TV saying "No, that's Rebecca, not Chrissa!" But after all that I went to bed, not overly tempted by anything.

Then, I watched the morning show at 10, and it's basically the same things, except they added Felicity, Elizabeth, and their horses.

I have been very interested in Felicity and Elizabeth lately, so I caved. Yes, I'm incredibly weak! Does this count in the AG boycott, since technically I purchased from QVC, not from American Girl directly?

So, I ended up getting Felicity, her accessories, her riding habit, and her gala gown in her collection package and Elizabeth, her riding habit, and her nightgown in her special QVC package. I got some pretty nice savings! I really don't like the riding habits or the gala gown though. I have no use for the habits, since I don't have a horse or any interest in getting one and the gala gown has the ugly plastic jewels on the front. If I don't like them in person I think I'm going to sell them and get some couture outfits from Dollies' Dressmaker instead.

I was lucky since Elizabeth sold out literally right after I ordered. It was a great deal, and they had an easy payment option, where you only have to pay about $30 a month.

So anyways, Felicity Merriman and Elizabeth Cole, the new colonial girls are headed to the Mondale Preparatory Academy for Girls. I wonder how they will be received...?

By the way: Be sure to check my last post to see our couture dresses from Melody Valerie!

-Brooke

credit to AGFMB members maryellen for picture of Felicity and luvag for picture of Elizabeth.

Sierra and Erin are here, graduation, and ADD

Sierra Nicholas (JLY #11) and Erin Yeager (JLY #12) have been here a while, but this is the first time I've posted about them! :) I don't know how I can even begin to describe them!
Sierra(far left) is really the nicest person you will ever meet! She cares so much about other people. She's a great listener too. She volunteers a lot, and she loves animals. She has a caring expression. Sierra travels a lot, and has been in a lot of different countries like Brazil, Kenya, England, and China. The other day she showed me some of the things that she has from those countries, it was very neat! She said that she'd like to visit France one day.

Erin (far right) is very sporty! She plays soccer, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, volleyball, hockey, she's in track, plus she's a swimmer, a dancer, and a gymnast. And guess what? She fences, just like me! What's even crazier is that she is amazing at every single sport she plays! She just moved here, and she's already the best on almost all the teams she's on. She is so busy, with all the practices, meets, and games. Erin has the blondest hair I've every seen, it's so pretty! She always ties it up in a high, messy ponytail.

I'll tell you more about them later. The truth is, I'm still getting to know them!

Graduation is tomorrow (Monday). Everyone has to get all dressed up and go to a ceremony and the teachers give out trophies and certificates. I hope I get something! I'm not quite sure what I'm going to wear... maybe the Midnight Holly Dress, or something like that.

ADD is at a standstill. :( We'll still be doing the movie, but I'm not sure how soon we'll be able to get going on it. Brooke has been very busy. Her camera has been acting funny, and won't zoom in at all. It won't focus unless the light is perfect, and the flash washes everything out. Stop motions are a lot of work! We're trying, be patient!

Talk to you later,

~Avery~

Glasses, Kaya, school, lost and found

Today my glasses came! :) I think they look pretty good. I'm still getting used to them, but I like it that I can see well again. Sorry the picture is so small, Brooke had to crop a few things out of it.

Well, I've been trying to keep it a secret, but it's so hard! Brooke ordered a #12 (came about a week ago), a #11, and a custom doll gray eyed #25. Brooke actually has a job and is old enough to do whatever she cares for with her money. She's not spoiled and gets dolls whenever she wants to.

Today "JLY #11" was SUPPOSED to arrive. We got the box, opened it up, and got Kaya instead!

She is very pretty, and such a sweet girl. She and I talked a bit. I feel so bad for her. She told me when she heard that Brooke didn't want her, she was on the verge of tears. Her exact words were, "It's not my fault some stupid employee screwed up. I thought I was coming home at last, to someone who loved me." Gosh, that made me feel horrible!

AG is supposed to be sending out a #11 in "7-10 business days" and then we have to send Kaya back. I really hope Brooke just keeps #11 and Kaya, although I highly, highly doubt that.

While Brooke was gone, I helped her Kaya get out of her box! She played school with us.

Speaking of school, graduation is coming up, only 8 more days! :) I can't wait for summer. I'm nervous, because at graduation the principal gives out awards to some students. I hope I win something!

Brooke lost the necklace to the Ruby Ballet outfit and is really bummed out! I hope we're able to find it, the outfit doesn't look nearly as good without the necklace. If it doesn't turn up in a few days, Brooke is going to start looking for one to buy. If anyone has a spare necklace or one they'd be willing to sell, please tell me!!! It is a red velvet ribbon with a pendant with gems in it.

~Avery~