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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Disney Haul, Tonner Cinderella and Disney Lego Castle


Hi everyone!
In today's post, I wanted to share with you some fun thrifty finds as well as my recent Disney haul from their "Twice Upon A Year" sale. I only make it to the thrift shop about once every month or two, so it was very exciting to find so many fun things in one trip!


Pictured above are close-ups of the 5 Disney Store Classic dolls that were there.  I can imagine that some little girl probably donated all of these together.
The first two are Anastasia and Drizella, aka The Ugly Stepsisters from Cinderella (both nude, unfortunately) and a clothed Lady Tremaine.  They need some makeovers but they look pretty good!  I also came across a Vanessa doll from The Little Mermaid which was quite a fun find as she appears to be pretty rare.  We also got a Merida doll from the movie Brave.


The entire loot. 

Pictured above are also 2 vintage Christmas vinyl albums (I looove listening to Christmas music on my record player during the holidays), 3 Care Bears DVDs (2 are from the 80s and one from early 2000s), a Lite Brite from the 90s (we have one from the 80s as well, which the girls always fight over, so now they each have their own), and then the 5 Disney Store Classic dolls, one basic Raven Ever After High doll, Making Waves Hayden-Liv nude doll and a Project MC2 basic Cameron doll.  The only one missing from our haul is the Genie doll from Aladdin. 


From the Twice Upon a Year Sale, I picked up a classic Cinderella doll to add to my small boxed princess collection.


I already had the 2015 version, but I felt like this one was different enough to get as well. 


Here are a few more of my Disney Store Cinderella dolls. The one on the left is a singing doll that also came with the pink dress and dress stand.


Just for fun, I set up my little Cinderella themed Tsum Tsums and figures. :) 


Here's another photo to show my up-to-date Cinderella collection which includes a Limited Edition Cinderella and Lady Tremaine doll set as well as my Disney Enesco Wedding Day Cinderella figurine.


Here's another group shot to show that I also got Classic Mulan (our first Mulan doll) and the Live Action Gaston and Belle 2 pack.  I originally wasn't going to get this 2 pack, but it was marked down to almost 50% off, so I decided to grab them. :)


Their outfits are so nice!!


And lastly, here's my FAVORITE purchase of the entire year so far...a Tonner Cinderella that I won on eBay! I know she's not really "Disney", but she goes with the theme of the post, so I wanted to include her. I had been hoping for this doll for a few years now ever since I saw Emily's post here about her.  She is so beautiful!  

Here's a video Little Button and I made showing our haul. :) 


Speaking of Tonner Cinderella...I did a quick fix on the other Tonner Cinderella doll I have which is essentially the same doll, but with strawberry blonde hair.

A few months ago, Pumpkin Pie had gotten her hands on her while I wasn't watching and started brushing her hair and accidentally pulled out a clump of hair from the original hair style.  I hastily put her back in her box high up on a shelf and figured I'd wait until another time to fix her. 


"Whoopsie, Mommy!"


Some of the shorter hair around her ear had loosened from the original style as well.


Luckily, it was an easy fix!  The hairstyle was pretty basic in the back, so I knew I just needed to thread the hair back through and under the threads holding the style together. 


I took a sewing needle and threaded each hair back through the twisted style in the back.


Now that the top was looking smooth, I moved on to the side pieces, and I found that simply using gel and patting the hair back into place worked pretty well. 


 
Not perfect, but much better!





Now I don't have to be mad at Pumpkin Pie every time I look at this doll, haha!  (Just kidding!) :)

Lastly, I just wanted to share an update on my Disney Lego Castle that I got for Christmas. 
I am SLOWLY working on this at night, while I'm watching TV.  (Usually it's episodes of Dr. Quinn or Dr. Who, but occasionally Outlander and now Game of Thrones!).  My castle building progress has been on a bit of a stand-still for a few months now as I'm doing a 90 day fitness challenge (it's online, so I do it at home).  I really love how much healthier and active I feel (I'm on day 75!) and I really love it, but it takes up a lot of my spare time in the evening.


Despite the slow progress, I'm really savoring this build.  I love seeing each little room come together and doing this while watching TV at night is so relaxing. 





Yes, I still have a fake Christmas tree up with white lights, lol. I love the ambience. ;)

So there's my updates for now!  Sorry if this post was a little lengthy...I guess I had a lot to talk about. :)

As for my doll room, I have an update coming shortly as well as some fun toy hunting I've done with the girls.  In my current personal project called "Stop Being a Doll Hoarder" I have made a resolution to open all of my boxed dolls by the end of August (there are A LOT) and right now I'm working my way through Ever After High.  If you watched my previous "Messy Doll Room" video, you'll know I have a closet full of them!  Yesterday we opened the Birthday Ball line and tonight I opened all of my boxed Apple Whites. So fun!

Hope you all have a great rest of your week and are finding joy in your doll hobbies.
Until next time!

xoxo Farrah


Thursday, July 6, 2017

June Birthdays and Collection Updates

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a fantastic 4th of July if you celebrate and are enjoying this summer season so far. :)


I haven't done a "personal post" in so long it seems.  I used to really enjoy writing them, but of course, life is moving at a faster pace now that the girls are getting older and our days are filled to the brim with all sorts of activity!  Life's crazy busy, but everything is great, so no complaints, ha!


This month both of the girls had birthdays.  Pumpkin Pie turned 8 and Little Button turned 5 and it felt like Christmas all over again, hehe, but at least I have another 6 months to save for the next round, lol.

Pumpkin Pie age 8

Little Button age 5

They are such good girls and so much fun at this age!!

Summer is definitely in full swing and this month we've been very busy it seems! They days are flying by.
Pumpkin Pie finished up 2nd grade and Little button is all done with Pre-K!
When I started this blog, the girls were only 5 and 2 and I can't believe how the time has flown.

Last day of school :) 

I'm coming up on my 3rd "blogiversary" this month and it's been so much fun getting to know you all. Some of you have been with me since that first year!  I feel like blogging, in general, has slowed down a bit since I started, especially in terms of the amount of people that read or follow blogs (Instagram seems to be taking over), but I still really love this space and hope to continue for a while.



In these 3 years, my most popular post was one I did very early on and it was a review for the Sparkle Girlz.  It is BY FAR, my most viewed post and I never in a million years would've expected that one to be it!

Sparkle Girlz Dolls

As for my collecting, I am happy to report that I have slowed down with the volume of dolls I have been bringing in. Now that I am motivated to clean up and de-clutter my doll room, I've come across some dolls/toys that I finally feel ready to part with.  I'm realizing that there is definitely an "emotional component" to doll collecting and the buying part triggers a feeling in me that is really satisfying, but sometimes, once the doll is around for a while, I don't really care about it anymore, but I still don't want to get rid of it yet.
Sometimes the thrill is more in the buying than it is of the having.  I had been getting attached to these dolls, but not really doing anything with them so I need to learn to let go!

I'm making an effort now to "thin" the herd (for real this time!) and to focus and decide on the types of dolls I want to collect.  I love a lot of different things, but having a focus will be really helpful for me

I still really love American Girl, Disney and Barbie/Liv.
Since AG stuff is so pricey, I just get a little at a time and it's really enjoyable when I do make an American Girl purchase as it's not very often. :)

American Girl Truly Me #59 (Greta)

I don't collect a TON of Disney stuff, but what I do have, I love.  Every once in a while I will add something new like a Classic Doll, mug, piece of art, etc.  I love the Limited Edition dolls, but I can pretty much only pick 1 or 2  per year as they are pricey as well.  I've also started collecting the Enesco Couture Figures, which are gorgeous.  

Disney Vinyl Tsum Tsums

Ever After High is pretty much over for me and I have all that I want in terms of that line.  I have many still in box, so I need to go through those and donate/sell what I really don't need.


Monster High is also fading out as far as the new stuff.  Every once in a while, they seem to come out with a nice articulated doll, but their focus now seems to be geared towards a younger population and those unarticulated, minimally dressed dolls don't interest me..  Every once in a while, I'll buy an older one from eBay, though as I still love them and there are a few of the reboots and older ones that I still would like to collect.

Monster High Isi Dawndancer 

Barbie is still going strong for me because I love their Fashionista line and they are beautiful and affordable! I can't wait to start seeing the new dolls in store so I can start getting them. They are my treat after grocery shopping! ;)

Barbie Fashionista Terrific Teal (Erin) 

Even though some doll lines are coming to an end for me, there is still so much to enjoy and collect. :) 

Overall, the doll room is coming along and I'll do an update soon! It's amazing how much a coat of paint can help brighten up a space.

How about you guys?  How long have you been blogging?
Was there something you used to collect that you lost interest in and moved on from?
If you are a Barbie collector, do you have any predictions on which Fashionistas are going to be harder to find this season?
Is there anything from the new American Girl release that you are going to get?

Well, it's been nice catching up.  I skipped my exercise workout to finish this blog post, whoops. so I better be off to bed (and I better skip the snack, lol.)
See you next time!

xoxo Farrah