Final Day Off for the Holiday

Today was my final day off before heading back to work again tomorrow.  I was sick with a bad cold for most of my vacation, so didn’t really get to accomplish everything I wanted which was a bummer.  December was a rough month with having two separate root canals the first two weeks of the month, a stomach bug on the 3rd week, followed by a cold immediately starting the night of Christmas and been trying to recover ever since.  Hoping January will be better.

I got a deal on this Rainbow High 6 pack on Black Friday.  Took a picture of it outside today and hope to open it soon.  Really love that they are newer versions of the Series 1 dolls but with articulated heads.  

Love the photo on the back too.  I will need to keep it after I debox this set.

I never thought I would get into Rainbow High Dolls after hiding the first Skyler I bought back in the Summer of 2020, but here we are.  There was quite a doll binge in November and December, but as I mentioned in my last post, no more new dolls for awhile.  I certainly have plenty to open.  😂

I washed the hair on this doll today that I recently bought second hand on eBay then gave her a spiffy background for New Years.  Really love how nicely she cleaned up.

I also deboxed this new “Snow” doll from Ruby red Fashion Friends, but didn’t get to take an actual picture of her.  Hoping I can do that tomorrow.  I am worried a bit about staining from the clothes.

Well, better head to bed so I will be ready for work tomorrow.  Hope I will have a chance to play with some dolls when I get home if I am not too tired.

~Maria

Happy New Year 2023

 Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  Planning to make more posts to this blog this year.  I am embarking on a “Dolly Sabbatical” this year meaning no new dolls and very minimal doll related purchases of clothing and accessories.  Trying very hard to catch up and play with what I already have rather than keep buying so many new things.  I am really hoping this works and it had been freeing in a way know that I am taking a break from the chase of continually hunting down new things.

Thought I would start off where I left off last time and show you the final remaining photos from last year’s Barbie Advent Calendar.  I took a break from finishing opening it last year because I came down with a cold before Christmas.  I picked it up again this year along with a new Color Magic calendar that my husband bought me.  Here are the final photos of the remaining items.  I think they did a great job at making the calendar items usable as you went along with lots of capability for Mix and Match.  This was not the case with the Color Magic Calendar which I will show you later this week.

Great items, right?  Happy to finally follow up and close out on this advent calendar.  Looking forward to using some of these pieces with my other dolls this year.

~Maria

It’s a Wrap!

Well, it’s Day #3 with the Barbie Advent Calendar.  More surprises are in store for us!  Here is Barbie waiting to open Door #3.  

I noticed the door looked bigger then some of the others.  To my surprise it was the wrap skirt rolled into a tiny plastic package.

Here is Barbie wearing her new wrap skirt and posing next to the illustration on the box of a doll wearing the bathing suit and skirt.  Who wore it best?

So I was in the Paper Store today doing some Christmas Shopping and I noticed this same advent calendar for sale with a sign next to it saying that all advent calendars were 30% off which I figured must be a deal.  That is of course until I checked the original price on the box.  It was $49.99!  That is just crazy!  I bought mine for $29.99 on Amazon and I thought that was a lot!  Even at 30% off at the Paper Store that is still around $36!  I bet they will be on clearance in the future!

Tomorrow we’ll open Day #4 and I will share some info on a recent basic Barbie doll that I recently rebodied (see doll promo photo below).  It was tough to find a body match but I managed to do it.  Stay tuned for more photos.

~Maria

Seeing the World through Rose Colored Glasses

Hi!  Back again!  It’s Barbie Advent Calendar Day #2.  Let’s see what’s in store for us today.  I have to admit it took awhile for me to find #2 but eventually I did!  😂

What is behind door #2?  Why it is a pair of sunglasses!  I kind of suspected this would be the prize for today since they go so well with the swimsuit.

I think I got these glasses before in a Barbie fashion pack, but on second thought I believe they were round lenses with flower petals around them and not hearts.  But who knows, I may have got these heart ones at some point too.  Hard to keep track.  In the past few years since more of these accessories have been designed by computer it’s opened the door for so many variations.  Back in the day, accessories like purses, glasses, and shoes were pretty basic designs and just in different colors.  Now a vast array is available for us.  But I digress.  Here is Barbie wearing her new sunglasses.

Excited now to see what tomorrow’s prize will be!

So, more Dolly News, I found out that the 3rd doll in the Barbie Style Series came out today.  Rumor was it wouldn’t be available until February.  But somehow the ship must have sailed in and dropped them off.  Unfortunately I already used my $30 quarterly award and can’t get her now unless I want to pay full price for her which is $100.  Darn!  I will just have to wait until January to get her.  I am not too worried about her being out of stock because I have seen comments that people find her wardrobe boring.  Plus the other two dolls are easily available on Amazon.  Don’t think I will have an issue getting her.

I am going to try to lay low on doll purchases in the new year.  I have been spending too much lately and need to scale back and play with what I have.  Of course I say this every year and still end up with more stuff.  I promise next year is the year I really cut back!  LOL!

More on my recent doll purchases tomorrow.  I will leave you for now.  Any guesses for Day #3 on the calendar.  I’m thinking maybe beach bag but not sure! We’ll find out soon!

~Maria

I’m Back!

Well, it’s been awhile, but better late than never as they say!  Hoping to work more on my blogs and website.  You think I would have had more time to do that in these crazy mixed up past two years, but that has not been the case.  I feel like I have had even less time.  Maybe it’s because I am getting older and I am more tired during the day than I used to be. That is probably the case.  I also think I have  so many things going on that it is hard to focus and find time to fit in everything. That is part of it too!  I have Dolly ADHD!  LOL!

Anyway, it’s December 1st so it’s time to start those advent calendars!  This year I bought a new Barbie advent calendar on Amazon.  Of course did I think of maybe using the one that I never opened from 5 or 6 years ago that is sitting in my garage?  Oh no!  I had to buy a new one.  The old calendars did not come with dolls, only accessories,  but the new one’s do. Granted it is a very cheap non articulated doll, but a new doll nevertheless.  Here are some photos of the new 2021 Barbie Advent Calendar!  This is the front of the box.  Note the doll peering out from the window on the left.  This year appears to be a “beachy/vacation” theme.  It recent years I recall seeing a set with a ski theme and another set with a career theme.  I finally bit at this years theme because it appeared to have a lot of mix and match pieces and I am a sucker for mix and match!

Here is the back of the box.  It has an insert that actually shows everything. That is included which kind of eliminates the surprise, but note that the photo insert is removable so if you are giving it as a gift to a kid you really can surprise them (other than the doll which you can clearly see of course).

With the way Barbies are packed in their boxes I was worried I was going to have issues getting her out without ripping the box, but she came out fine.

Here she is showing off her limited articulation on the top of the box.

Here is a closer look at her in her swimsuit which I think is kind of cute.  I love the ruffle.  Also, at least it is an actual swimsuit and not molded to her body like many of the play line dolls today.  Plus it has some versatility because you can wear the ruffle up on the shoulders or down as I have shown below.

Because it is the perfect time of year for swimsuits, I took her outside in my Mom’s back yard and posed her in front of a holly bush.  So it is seasonaly appropriate, yet I am sure she was very cold! Brrrr! 😊 

I’ll check in again tomorrow to let you know what I get for Day 2 plus also share any other new dolly news for the day!  

~Maria

Ten Years! Wow!

O.K. Saying, "Where did the time go?" is understatement here. I just realized that I started this blog almost exactly 10 years ago this month. Also, my second post referenced a blizzard and we just had a blizzard this week. So deja vu! (Hey, isn't that a doll? LOL!)

What has changed in 10 years? Seems like not much. In fact I remember starting this blog like it was yesterday. In fact I also remember starting my Doll Memories website like it was yesterday and that was 14 years ago this month! I'm typing this entry on a laptop in my bedroom. Ten years ago I thought I had too many dolls. As I look around at the many dolls that I have currently displayed in my bedroom, aside from my two Cabbage Patch dolls which I purchased 30 years ago, I don't think I owned any of them 10 years ago. Honestly, I didn't think it was possible to accumulate more dolls, but apparently I managed to find a way to do so!

Sigh...sometimes I honestly seem overwhelmed by my collection. I dream of picking out my most favorite dolls and putting everything else away. Then after a year of putting everything away, I dream of getting rid of it all!

But honestly, I know that will never happen. The best I can hope for is to sell those dolls I really don't like or do anything with, and STOP BUYING NEW DOLLS! My husband has done extremely well with not buying many new things. He was an avid comic book, action figure, and sports card collector. He has made a complete turn around after hitting rock bottom in 2013. I really thought I hit rock bottom when I spent $1,777.00 at the Tonner Factory Sale back in December 2011. I still keep the receipt in my wallet to remind me how bad I was. My doll collector friends say I changed after that time and really cut back on buying new things. Hmmmmm...I guess, but I know I can do MUCH better. I'll keep trying!

So my goal this year is to really play with the things that I have and not keep looking for the next best thing. I can honestly say that I have taken out many of my older dolls over the past month and have played with them. I have bought some new things too, so I can't say I've been 100% good. As I said, I'll keep trying.

Enough ramblings about my bad doll habits and plans to be better! What I really want to say is that I hope to be back more to update you on my dolly thoughts, musings, and playtimes. I'm sure many of you can relate, and I think maybe writing things down will help me realize how CRAZY this all is and help curb my bad habits. Let's hope it doesn't make it worse! :-)

See you soon!

Maria

An Ultimate Play Day!

Hey! Can't believe it's been over two years since I've posted to this blog! Much too long! I've been very busy at work, so it's taken me away from my doll collection more than I would like. :-(

But today is my birthday, so I thought I'd make a quick post. Happy Birthday to me! :-)

Over the past few months I developed at addiction to Polly Pocket Dolls. Yes...Polly Pocket...favorite doll of the average 4 year old! Maybe I need to drop the second number in my age! LOL!

My girls both played with Polly Pocket when they were little, but that was "Fashion Polly". She was re-vamped back in 2009 to have a much younger and cuter look! Her fashions are amazingly detailed and so adorable! These newer Polly's seem to be so much easier to dress than than the older dolls were. I used to cringe when my daughters would ask me to put on Polly's pants for them. So hard to do! Not anymore though!

So I've been admiring this great Polly Pocket set on Walmart.com. Truly the "ultimate" Polly Pocket set! Over 150 amazing pieces! Hence the name "Ultimate Play Day". I asked my dear hubby to buy it for me and he did! Today I have just been admiring it in the box. Tomorrow I will open it to play! :-)

Although I really shouldn't have, I also treated myself to a new Momoko doll. Yes, I do still like my Momoko's. This is actually a doll that was released several years ago, but I've had my eye on for awhile. My daughter and I even made up a song for her like we do for some of our dolls. Her name is "Miracle Party Girl" and the tune goes like this....Miracle Party Girl...Momoko!....Miracle Party Girl....Momoko! (repeat over and over! LOL!)

She used to be easy to find at a low price, but not lately. A seller on eBay has been listing (and re-listing) her out of the box since back in August. I've resisted mostly because I bought another Momoko from this same seller back in September and felt guilty buying more. The seller last listed this doll back in October and wouldn't you know she re-listed her again the other day. She still wasn't sold this morning, so I finally caved in and got her.

She will soon arrive to be the BFF of the other doll that I bought from this seller "Slow Smile Traditional - Apple Version" who looks just like me if I lost 30 lbs., grew 5 inches taller, and then was shrunk down to 11 inch size. LOL! Well at least the hair is a perfect match!

Well, I've got to go for now! Hope to post here more often! See you soon!

Maria