Doll Review: Freaky Fusion Operetta Monster High

Hi guys, 

Today's post will be a snowy photo review of the Monster High Freaky Fusion Operetta Doll from Monster High. 

Freaky Fusion Operetta was my first Operetta doll and there's a funny story about this one.  

One day she just showed up in the mail and I was surprised because I didn't remember ordering her!  Turns out Pumpkin Pie (who was 5 at the time) ordered her off of Amazon from the iPad accidentally using the 1-click shopping button.  Fun!    

So we now have an Operetta in our collection. :) 

Although I prefer to collect the signature version of each character, I do not have the signature Operetta.  She is only found on the secondary market at this point and I'm not sure if I like her enough to pay the extra money just to have her.  There are many other versions of Operreta that I prefer, so I may just get her outfit instead.  

The photo on the back of this box is what the signature version of Operetta looks like in case you aren't familiar with this line. 

This version of Operetta was created to coincide with the Monster High movie that was released in 2014 called Monster High: Freaky Fusion .  It introduced a few new hybrid characters such as a skeleton moth , a ghost mermaid and a zombie unicorn as well as fusing some of the main characters together (Lagoonafire (Jinafire/Lagoona) and Dracubecca Draculaura/Robecca, etc.) It was a really cute movie and the girls and I really enjoyed it. A few of the characters end up just having "fashions inspired by the other ghouls", which is the case for Operetta.  She is fused with Frankie's style. 

Here's Operetta straight out of the box.  She also comes with a stand and doll brush.  

She retailed originally at around $14.99, but is currently on sale for $11.99 on Amazon. 

Normally, I wouldn't put red, black, pink and purple in an outfit together, but it seems to work pretty well. 

She has straight hair that was very soft and easy to brush.  I also like the extra detail around the hem of her dress. 

She has one of the prettiest Monster High faces, in my opinion.  I love her tiny beauty mark and full lips. 

Cute shoes. 

Character-wise, Operetta is the daughter of The Phantom of the Opera.  Her animated character is portrayed with a strong Southern American accent and is very sassy and strong-willed.  Her signature style is reminescent of the 1940s (although later versions of her seem to channel the 50s), but her Freaky Fusion doll is much more modern.  She has a very powerful singing voice that can debilitate anyone that hears it.  Although she is a phantom, she always appears solid in form, unlike other "ghosts" such as Spectra  or Sirena.  

These photos were actually all taken last winter after we had [one of our many] snow storms.  I never got around to sharing them then, so thought I would do so now!

Overall, this is a cute version of Operetta and a great doll for younger collectors due to her low-maintenance straight hair.  I love her cute style and hope you enjoyed the review.

xo Farrah

All reviews are 100% my opinion.  This doll was purchased by me for my own collection. 
Cozy Comforts and Dolls is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com.  Thank you for your support!  

Crocheting with Ingrid: Valentine Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Ingrid (Karito Kids Zoey doll) wanted to show you our crochet hearts we made in order to increase the festive vibe around here.
I don't really decorate at all for Valentine's Day, so I wanted to add a little something just for fun.

Ingrid is our crochet addict...she just learned so this was the perfect little project to get started.  ;)
It was a fun and easy and adds a cute touch to the family room.
The girls made some cute Valentine's at the library...very vintage looking!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day spending the day with your partners, family, kids or indulging yourself.  I'm going to go get more chocolate right now! :)

Xoxo Farrah 

January

Wow, it's February 1st tomorrow!  I can hardly believe it.  It seems like it's been ages since I did one of my monthly round-ups, so I thought I'd throw in a few photos and tell you guys how we've been doing over here on the farm.  

Photo from New Year's Eve. :) 

New Year's Eve is usually pretty uneventful over here, or at least it has been for the past 6 years since we've had kids!  Pre-kids, I used to meet up each year with my best group of girlfriends at a different location each year.  We are all scattered between Texas, DC, Boston, Virginia and NY so it was always so much fun to all meet up and celebrate the ringing of the new year together.  We don't do that anymore, but those were some fun times!

This year my sister and her financé came over as well as my good friend and her boyfriend that were both traveling home from Oregon.  We drank lots of hard cider from a local cider mill and snacked and chit-chatted the night away. 

We made it until midnight and saw the first moments of 2016.  It was nice. :) 

Other than that, this month has been very uneventful, but extremely relaxing.  After the flurry of Florida travel and then holiday preparation, last month proved to be a little challenging for me anxiety-wise.  In the first few years after having my first daughter, I had really bad anxiety (complete with panic attacks) which started happening out of the blue every year around this same time.  During our Florida trip and a little after, I felt myself falling back into that anxiety a little more that usual, which was no fun, but with this month of quiet and stillness, I am feeling much better and back to my balanced self.  Phew!

I got back into my daily walking routine, which has been so incredibly beneficial to me (my cholesterol was off the charts amazing this year!)

This is my absolute favorite place on the farm.  It's a large hayfield about a mile out back from our house.

The snow you see here is pretty much all we have gotten the entire winter.  This is extremely bizarre for this area of the US. Thank you, El Niño!  I think it is supposed to be close to 50 degrees today.  I don't miss the stress of winter driving, but I do wish we would get a good heavy snowfall at least once, just for the sheer beauty of it.  Pumpkin Pie is totally crushed that we haven't gotten any snow.  :(

Lots of calves are being born, but I haven't been able to get too many good photos of them yet!  I will for next month though, as they are so cute. :)

Currently, the ground is totally dry and we have patches GREEN GRASS growing.  This is just weird and I'm sure many of you that live around here can agree!  Especially with places just south of us (DC, Maryland area) getting slammed with that snowstorm last weekend!

Overall, January was a lovely month.  I stuck to my doll buying budget and kept a list of every purchase to try to create more structure in this hobby.  I was feeling a bit out of control last year with my blind spending and should've been saving this whole time!  This year will be better.  :)
We dropped the girls off at Grammy's house last night (my mother had been chomping at the bit to have them over for a sleepover :) ) so hubby and I after off to a quiet breakfast and a peek into Barnes and Nobles.  Heavenly to be able to browse the isles, kid-free! :)

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Best to you all,
xo Farrah 

2016 Barbie Fashionista Evolution

Oh my gosh...this was popping up all over my Instagram feed yesterday.  Barbie's new body for 2016!
It looks like TIME magazine has even featured these lovely new gals in an article talking about their new diverse body styles.

They will be coming in 3 new body sizes as well as their original shape:  Tall, Curvy, and Petite.
I just can't wait for these. :)

You can already order and pre-order some from the Mattel website and they cost $9.99.  They also have some images of dolls coming soon.

I am so excited by these new doll body types.  I wish they had better articulation, but I'm not complaining by any means. I hope within time, they will design these in a similar style to the made to move Barbies. 

I already ordered 4 of them, shame on me!!

UPDATE:  Here is a nice post that shows all of them with close ups of their faces.
Gosh, they are ALL gorgeous.

What do you guys think?  Will you be adding any in particular to your collection this year? I absolutely love that they came out with something so new and fresh this year.

Happy Friday!
xo Farrah 

Toy Review: Disney Tsum Tsum Collectible Vinyls

Hi everyone,
Today's post is a quick photo review of the new Disney Tsum Tsum stack-able vinyl figures I found at Walmart a few weeks ago.  They have been popping up on some of my favorite Youtube channels and while I haven't been interested in collecting the plush Tsum Tsums, these miniature vinyls ones really caught my attention!

The girls and I did a quick review and un-boxing here if you are interested. :) 

Here are just a couple close up shots of them to show you what they look like.  The larger ones seem like the perfect size to stand in for a "plush Tsum Tsum" for an 18 in doll, while the smaller ones seem perfect for a 12 inch fashion doll "toy."
They come in packs of 3 and each pack was about $4.87 and there are many different characters to collect.  Each pack has a different variety of characters.

Largest ones (Mickey, Goofy and Minnie). 

Medium ones (Winnie the Pooh, Figaro from Pinocchio, and Cinderella). 

Littlest ones (Dumbo, Stitch and Cinderella).

I can't stand how cute they are.  I think my favorites are Mickey and Minnie.  Each character comes in each size and while I'm not interested in getting all the different sizes in the whole collection, I wouldn't mind getting one of each character (can be any size.) 

I think they are well made and have nice detail for a toy this small.  They would make great miniature doll accessories as well. 

Overall, I definitely recommend these little stack-able, collectible vinyls.  For under $5 I think they are a great value and a nice gift for any Disney collector or child over 3 (due to small pieces.)  My girls love stacking them and knocking them over. :)  When they are done playing, I stack them next to my computer and enjoy their cuteness throughout the day. :) 

Hope you are all having a good day. 

xo Farrah 

Liebster Award 2016:)

Hi everyone!  I hope your weekend is going nicely so far.
I was recently nominated by the lovely Barb from My Little Doll Corner to share my answers for the 2016 Liebster Award.
Thanks so much, Barb! :)

RULES:
Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog
Post the award image on your blog. 
Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter. 
Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers. 
Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer. 
List these rules in your post. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them your post.


1. What was the first doll or figure that started your collection?
The first doll I purchased that started this whole thing was a Blythe Neo doll called Misha tebyA lyublyU.  I got her during Christmas 2013.
It was love at first site and I originally got her for my daughter, but quickly took her back for myself as Pumpkin Pie had no interest in her. You can read one of very first posts I did here!

2. Is there a retired doll or doll line that you'd like to bring back?
I hope they bring Kirsten back from the Historical American Girl line.  She was my absolute favorite character and her stories were my favorite books to read when I was younger.  I also wish they would make some of the older Disney Limited Edition dolls again as I missed out on a lot that I would've loved to own.


3. Have you ever acquired a grail doll?
Yes, my 3 Cinderella scupt Tonner dolls! (Strawberry Blonde Cinderella, Nu Mood Jess and The Sun.) My current grail doll is the Limited Edition Ariel and Eric Disney couple doll.  They are pretty pricey on Ebay though! My grail doll seems to change from time to time.


4. What are you looking forward to in 2016?
As far as personal life, I'm looking forward to my twin's sister's upcoming wedding this fall in Lake Placid!
As for dolls, I want to try to do more with them in terms of crafts and maybe sewing. I have 2 AGs that I want to switch wigs on.  I want to do a bunch of hair makeovers for my MH and EAH dolls and try repainting a Monster High face as we have a broken Abbey and a broken Catrine that I could practice on. :)


5. Do you have a favorite doll line or manufacturer?
Yes, as for fashion lines, my favorites are Tonner 16 inch dolls, Hot Toys (espeically the Star Wars gang) and Integrity Toys.  Ironically, I don't really have any other than my 3 Tonners from any of these manufactures due to their higher price tag, but I love looking at the photos of them!  I also love Barbie, American Girl, Monster High, Ever After High, My Little Pony, Disney and vintage Care Bears.


6. Any doll lines that you've moved on from?
Not yet, although I've stepped away from Tonner a little in order to save money.  I have been more specific about what I want to collect and have been better at resisting stuff that falls into the "get it just to have it" category.


7. Do you have an idea what dolls you would like to acquire this year?
I want to continue with my Monster and Ever After High collections, although I most likely won't be collecting too many  of the reboot versions.  I also hope to get GOTY Lea as well as Beforever Addy this year. I have many more on my AGs list, but those are the two that I definitely want to get this year.


8. What would your dream doll accessory be? I'm talking things like furniture or a car or a set of dishes.
Oh gosh, I honestly don't know.  I don't collect accessories at the moment, but I hope someday to build a 70s style 1/6 scale house/diorama so any cute accessories and furniture from that time period would be fun!  I also love mini vintage looking phones.


9. If you were to write a paper on an era of doll history, which era would you pick?
I'm not sure if I could pick one specific era as I think the whole timeline is very interesting.  Instead, I would love to visit some sort of doll history museum to see dolls in person, especially very early and primitive dolls that were made out of clay, corn husks and whatever material people had on hand.  Kids have such vivid imaginations and can create such personality and character with the simplest of things.
I could draw a face on a toilet paper roll and my 3 year old would have a whole story sorted out about it within the hour. :)


10. Do you do any creative activities related to your doll collection?
For me, photography is my creative outlet so I love photographing my dolls outside in nature.  I love posting photos to this blog, of course as well as my Flickr and Instagram accounts!
I have a desire to sew and creative little outfits for them as well as to start building some simple dioramas or rooms for me to be able to incorporate into my photography, but struggle a little to find the free time right now to do this.

11. How do dolls fit into your everyday life?
Since I have 2 small daughters dolls are just everywhere.  I still love to play dolls with my daughters and we play almost daily with their dolls.  For me, dolls create such a simple, but strong feeling inside me that brings me back to my childhood.
I enjoy just looking at them, brushing their hair and thinking of different ways to pose and photograph them. During nursing school, when I did my clinical at a nursing home, often times I would see an elderly woman sitting in her wheelchair with a doll or stuffed animal in her lap providing her so much comfort and love. I think dolls are just one of those things you can allow yourself to unconditionally love.
It's an extremely fun hobby that brings me happiness and sparks my creativity  almost every day and I'm glad we all have each other to share it with!

Here are the 5 blogs I nominate if you are interested (because I am interested in your answers!)
Arlette from Thammie et Compagnie
Serenata from How Many Dolls?
Smaller Places (I'm not sure what your first name is!)
Margaret Ann from Margaret Ann's Dolls
Phylls from A Day in the Life of My Dolls

Well, we're off to the mall to spend some Barnes and Nobles gift cards (yay!) and then I'm taking the girls to a local indoor pool for some swimming.  Pumpkin Pie made a lot of gains this summer with finally going underwater and swimming on her own so I don't want her to lose it! :)
I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay warm!
Farrah xo