I'm Still Alive

Hey guys!

So I've definitely been MIA lately. I haven't felt very inspired to write/take photos much lately, but now I'm back and have several posts planned, including photos from a snow photo shoot with my American Girl's and DAC Rapunzel, a new Barbie doll review/photos - my first from The Barbie Look Collection - and a new doll on the way... well, new to me... I scored a fantastic 10" First Day of Shiz Elphaba Madame Alexander doll on eBay last week. For those who are not familiar, Elphaba, commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz, is the lead character in Broadway's record breaking show Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. Wicked is based off of Gregory Maguire's book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Both the show and the book are fantastic. Anyway, Madame Alexander has produced several dolls based off of Elphaba, Glinda, and other citizens of Oz, all of which are gorgeous.

My particular doll is a Limited Edition of 300, which makes her fairly difficult to come by. The 8" version is easier to come across, but I prefer 10" Madame Alexander dolls. They're depicted as older. I'm glad I held out and cannot wait to see her in person!

~ A

American Girl FREE SHIPPING!

Free shipping at AmericanGirl.com on orders of $100 or more. Enter FRIEND at checkout. :) I'm going to be going to one of the stores next month so I will be passing but this is a good deal for those who aren't near one. Offer valid through March 24.

25% Off at BarbieCollector.com!

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

54 years of making memories! In celebration  BarbieCollector.com is offer 25% off site wide today only. Discount will be automatically applied at checkout. (Membership fees and Club exclusives excluded.) In light of the sale, I decided to go ahead and pre-order the 2013 Dorothy doll to tag along with the Wicked Witch of the West I previously pre-ordered. I wasn't sure but with the sale I decided to go ahead and get her. She's a cutie and I don't have any Dorothy dolls. I considered a couple other dolls but I'll be taking a trip in April and should be hitting both the Disney Store and the American Girl Place up in Chicago so I'm trying to save my pennies for that. :)

Jess is The Wicked Witch of the West

I got my very first custom American Girl outfit today! I contacted a seller on Etsy (CupcakeCutiePie) with some photos for American Girl outfits based off of some of the costumes in the hit musical Wicked. First up was Elphaba's Defying Gravity dress - her iconic Wicked Witch dress and, of course, the hat!

Jess will be playing the role of the Wicked Witch of the West around these parts, so she and I headed out into the woods  behind our house for a quick photo shoot before it got too dark outside. Here's some of my favorites!

Cannot wait to see what she comes up with for the other costumes! :)

(No dolls were harmed in the melting of the witch.)

Febuary 2013 American Girl Release

In my opinion, AG had an awesome spring release yesterday! I won't post everything, but here are my favorites...

Historical

Caroline's Work Dress - $32
Caroline's Cow, Garnet - $28

Caroline got an adorable little calf and work dress! Gah! I am in love with the cuteness. I have no reason to want the cow, Garnet, but she's just so darn cute I can't help but want her! Meanwhile the work dress is very lovely.

Molly's Floral Pajama's for Dolls - $24
Molly's Bed & Bedding - $94

Molly gets a fresh update to her bedroom - a new bed and PJ set, both limited time o

Modern


I was really excited to actually be interested in a couple of the modern outfits this release! I haven't really cared for the MyAG line stuff lately.

Sweet Spring Dress for Dolls - $30 (matching dress for girls also available)

Such. Adorableness. This is the outfit we got a sneak peak at and I was glad to get clear shots of it. It's a sweet simple little dress with a pink rosette for accent. Nicki would look just darling in this! You can see there are little sparkly strands in the outfit as well. Some people aren't happy about this, but the dress is so simple I think it adds a nice little something. Includes a "Smart" charm as well.

Pretty Plaid Dress for Dolls - $30 (matching dress for girls available)

Another cute outfit is this plaid dress and cute little sandals. However, I'm not sure I'm in love with it enough for the $30 price tag. Cute, yes. If I had it, I'm sure it'd get worn a lot. But I don't think it's all that unique, so I wouldn't be heartbroken to miss out on it. However, if it were to go on sale, I would probably get it.

Bitty Baby

I have such a ridiculous soft spot for bitties, I really do...

Little Lady Dress for Dolls - $26

GAH. So freaking cute!  I thought my bitty, Julie, had everything she needed, but she may need this too... :) I love that it coordinates with the 18" version so little sisters and big sisters can coordinated for special occasions, too. Seriously, both of these dresses (Little Lady and 18" Sweet Spring) are so appropriate for so many occasions. Easter Sunday, deployment homecoming, wedding, birthday, mother/daughter events... does the list ever end?

Ocean Blossoms Swim Set for Dolls - $26

Love the colors, and those cute little sandals! Also, I die for those cute little skirts to go over bathing suits. The flower adds a sweet little touch. Okay, Jules totally has a bathing suit, but this one is just *sooooo* cute guys! I'm dying over here. And, again, see the coordination there with the big girls? Similar color palette and pattern to the Tankini for Dolls (2012 release, pictured here - retails for $28). I really love when the little girls and big girls can coordinate. It's just so cute. It looks like AG may be going that way more and more - you can't do it everything, but you can do it with a lot, and it's so so darling! I just cannot wait until my niece (who will be 1 year in April) is old enough for American Girl and I can start buying her the clothes in her size, too! :)

American Girl Release Tomorrow!

Anyone else excited for the AG release tomorrow?? To get you excited, here's a sneak peak that American Girl posted on their official facebook page:

I am in LOVE with those sweet little dresses! I'm thinking Nicki will look adorable in the 18" one!

Madame Alexander's Oz the Great and Powerful

I know, I know, I'm killing you guys with all this Oz stuff, but I'm just so excited for this upcoming film! Today I was checking out Madame Alexander's 2013 collection and discovered they have dolls coming out for Oz as well...

Glinda, complete with crown and wand of course!

Evanora, in a FABULOUS version of her dress! Seriously in love with this!

Theodora, looking pretty fierce:
 

And OZ, or, Oscar Diggs:

Each doll is 10" tall, LE to 750, and retails for $199.95. You can preorder them now, to be expected in September 2013. To see further details or preorder these dolls, click here.