Classic Julie Albright-An American Girl doll

Although I am child of the 80s, I did manage to squeeze my birth in during 1979 so I love to say that I was born in the 70s.  For some reason, the 60s and 70s have always been an era that I am drawn to.  I love watching classic TV shows based during that time and I jumped all over the 70s fashion trend that sort of came back for a little while.  I love scoring thrift shops for 70s themed household items and patterns.  I love the Brady Bunch. 

When I happened to come across an American Girl catalogue as an adult, you can imagine my excitement when I saw they had a girl from the 70s.  Julie immediately went onto my virtual "doll I want" list before I even had any idea I would actually be a collector. 

When the BeForever line was released, I wasn't the hugest fan of Julie's bright new outfit.  I can see why younger girls would really like it, but for me, I prefer the classic Julie that first entered the AG world. 

I was fortunate to find a Classic Julie on Ebay, brand new, for a tiny bit cheaper (free shipping!) on Ebay so she joined the Cozy Comforts doll family last spring.  It's taken me ages to get her photos up, but here they are!

The girls have an absolute field day with package peanuts. I keep a big box of it so on days where I have to get things done, I dump it out and they pretend it's snowing. ;) 

I love the Josefina face mold, so that was another feature that drew me to Julie.
I love that moment when you first see an American Girl doll for the first time.  I'm not sure what it is, but it could be that I see so many photos of them online, that when I see them in person, it's really satisfying.

Here's Julie out an about on one of my Autumn photo shoots.
Her hair is gorgeous!

My only compliant with her is that her eyes can be a bit difficult to photograph in certain light.  I have to do some editing in Photoshop to make them stand out a bit as otherwise, they can look a little too dark and void.

Not quite the shoes I'd recommend for climbing fences, but she did pretty well. ;) 

I miss this warm fall weather and the spectrum of colors that are everywhere. 

I had an audience during the photo shoot. :)

I miss the warm sun! 

Julie loves the farm.  She loves the sound of the trees and creek which is off to her left. 

Overall, I'm so happy to have  this Julie doll.  The braid will probably go soon, but she is such a cutie pie.  I'm excited to add some of her other clothing pieces to my collection, but probably will not add too many accessories or furniture.  I love her bed, but don't know where I'd put it, so we probably won't get it.  As of now, the only other Julie item I have is her Calico dress.
What do you guys think of her?  I know some of you probably already have her!

Today is Marten Luther King Jr. day and we have the day off from work and school.  I wish every weekend was a 3 day weekend!
I am trying to reflect on peace and equality today in memory of a man with a beautiful heart and spirit who we are lucky enough to have had spreading his soulful message on this Earth.
In the meantime, happy doll collecting!
Talk to you soon.
xo Farrah 

Doll Review: Great Scarrier Reef Clawdeen by Monster High

Happy Thursday!  Yay for almost Friday...work has been SO BUSY.  We have been down a bunch of nurses for a few months now and every day it's just a whirlwind to try to get everything done.  I always have to remind myself how happy and lucky I am that I work from home.  That is my saving grace!!

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your January where ever you are and whatever the weather is. 

Today's post is a quick photo review of the other Great Scarrier Reef doll I picked up last week. 

This was released along with Draculaura who I reviewed previously and these are the only two from this line I have purchased thus far.  

I found both Clawdeen and Draculaura in Walmart and both retailed for about $14.99.

I don't think I had paid much attention to the prototype images of this particular doll when she first came out, so when I saw her in the store, I was blown away by how lovely she was.
As I mentioned in my Draculaura post, I have a thing for mermaids and anything having to do with the ocean, so she really appealed to me.

You Tube review, if interested! 

I guess I forgot to grab a photo of her in the box, but Little Button was in the room with me while I was doing this review and video, so I was a bit distracted. ;)
Here's a look of her out of the box.  She can stand on her own when you position her fins a certain way, which is great, but to be honest, it took a while to get her to balance.

Clawdeen is a werewolf by nature, but appears to transform into a "wolf fish" once she enters the portal bringing her to Lagoona's home in the Great Scarrier Reef.
Her fins are a beautiful and shimmery iridescent green with lots of textured detail.



Her mid-fin area is a shimmery purple with a bright aqua pattern consisting of full and crescent moon silhouettes.
The two side fins on her hips are the glow in the dark feature of this doll and can pivot as well as be removed.

She wears a long, one-shoulder tunic style shirt with lavender and aqua "starfish appearing" cobwebs. Over the top, she has shimmery seaweed colored bangles and chains with crescent moon and tear drop charms.
Clawdeen's overall color scheme is much more appealing to me than Draculaura's 80's neon and it reminds me a lot of Twyla's coloring.

Her skin is lavender which is different from her normal coffee-brown skin tone.
She has additional fins attached to her forearms which are a really nice detail.

Her hair is glossy and a slightly coppery brown color with streaks of purple, blue and aqua mainly focused within her side-swept fringe.  So pretty!

She also wears a single earring that resembles a fish hook in her left ear. 

It was Clawdeen's beautiful face that really drew me in!  I love the way her golden werewolf eyes pop against her lilac face.  Her eye make-up is just gorgeous and very well painted.  Although her eyebrows are pretty harsh, her expression is still very cute, I think.
Overall, I really like this doll a lot.  She may be my favorite Clawdeen so far!

As you guys may have heard, there is a rumor that Monster High (and Ever After High) will be changing their face molds this year to be more "kid-friendly".  I was wondering what your thoughts were about that?  Here are some comparison photos.

For me, I am a little relieved.  I'm not a fan of the new look, which means I will be able to focus on finishing up my MH and EAH collections without feeling so overwhelmed by all of their new releases.  I would be interested in any new characters along the way, but most likely won't be getting any of the main ones with the new face molds.

Hope your day is great. ;)
xo Farrah 

Doll Review: Great Scarrier Reef Draculaura

Hi everyone!  I hope the start of the new year has treated you all well.  

It feels like ages since I last posted a doll review, but I have one ready to share with you today.  

Today's review is on one of the new dolls from a Monster High release called The Great Scarrier Reef Glowsome Ghoulfish.  These dolls are the second wave of gals following in the footsteps of previous characters from this line (Great Scarier Reef Ghouls Down Under) Posea Reef, Peri and Pearl Serpintine, and Kala Mer'ri Doll as well as the first wave of Glowsome Ghoulfish, Frankie , Lagoona Blue and Toralei Doll.  

To be honest, I was shocked when I saw this Draculaura in Walmart this weekend as I didn't even realize she was available yet.  They also had Clawdeen (the wolf fish) as well so I grabbed them both!

Normally I wait until the line has been out for a little while and go on sale, but I couldn't resist.  I had a gift card.  You know how that goes. :)

For your viewing pleasure, I also created a YT video review ;) 

Draculaura and Clawdeen are simpler dolls and do not come with a brush or stand. 

The packaging on these ghouls is different from any other I've seen.  They are very colorful with large artwork on both the front and the back. 

The Great Scarrier Reef movie should be coming out some time this year and I'm really looking forward to it.  I wasn't totally impressed with Boo York, but I really enjoyed 13 Wishes as well as Haunted and this one centers underwater (with mermaid ghouls) and that is completely up my alley. :) 

As for the movie, apparently the ghouls somehow end of getting caught in a whirl pool and are transported to Lagoona's home in the Great Scarrier Reef.  They also undergo oceanic transformations and our friend Draculaura here is turned into this adorable little vampire squid. 

Real vampire squids look nothing like this. 

What I love right away is that she can stand up on her own, and she's streamlined and not too bulky or "loud" as I find some of the other characters in this line to be. 

She comes in one simple article of clothing which is this triangle cut sleeveless tube top, which is held up by two clear straps and a strip of Velcro along the back.  Her color scheme stays within pink, yellow and black.  Hello neon!
Actually this is really clever as it goes along with the bioluminescence idea.

She comes with removable glow-in-the dark bat wings, which can also pivot to extend or fold down along her back. They are attached to two ball prongs that stick out of her back.

Nice details! 

As for accessories, you know she wouldn't be Draculaura without some so she comes with a neon yellow tentacle-ish necklace and matching bracelet. 

Her upper body has the same articulation as a regular Monster High doll (neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists) and her lower body can pivot here at the waist and top of the tentacles. 

The top of the tentacles can rotate in a circular motion as well as back and forth. 

The daughter of Ursula? 

Each individual tentacle can pivot on it's own and each tentacle has a different shape. 

Oh bats, where did I put my lipstick? 

This is about how far she can bend. 

Her hair is very soft and wavy.  I didn't feel any gel product anywhere else but her bangs.
It feels very nice to comb through and is primarily a very hot, neon pink.  It's pulled up into a half ponytail with streaks of black and yellow.

Her face is very beautifully painted (might be loud for some though!) and she still has her usual violet eyes with pink highlights.  She has neon yellow shadow across the lids and bright, shimmery hot pink paint meant to resemble squid tentacles (with little yellow suction cups) along the top and bottom.

Her lips are beautifully painted in a rosy pink shade.  Her fangs are a little uneven, but easily fixed if desired.
They even managed to squeeze in the little signature heart on her left cheek.

I love her. 

Glowsome Ghoulfish with Signature Draculaura

Overall I am so happy with this doll!  I love Draculaura and all of the main 6 characters and I am really excited to see such a unique version of her.  I have tried to become more selective in my MH collecting and really pick ones that I truly love or ones that have very unique characteristics.
This one fits the bill perfectly and I'm excited to also share Clawdeen with you all when I can get that post ready.

What do you guys think of her?  Too loud and neon?  Love her?  Do you guys have any of the Scarrier Reef line or plan to get any?

Thank you, as always for stopping by and see you soon.  Happy doll collection to you all! :)
Farrah xoxo

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