Addy's Flower Picking Outfit, Kite Flying Outfit, Blue Dress Review

I was happy to find Addy's Flower Picking Outfit on Ebay! The first version of this outfit came with a kite, and was known as Addy's Kite Flying outfit. The second version, mine, is the Flower Picking Outfit, and came with a bouquet of flowers. The third version, which is still available from American Girl, is simply known as Addy's Blue Dress, and comes with... nothing! I'd rather have flowers or a kite, wouldn't you? I'll be on the hunt for the kite to go with this dress, but in the meantime, here are some pictures!

 It comes with a surprisingly soft, linen blue dress, a black and white gingham hair ribbon, and a bouquet of fabric white, red, yellow, and blue flowers.

 Addy's really working it in this photoshoot.

 

The sleeves are so cute!

 Pintucks everywhere!

 I love the big hair bow too!

 The flowers are cute, and match the flowers that are in Addy's Party Treats set and her Ice Cream set.

They're tied together with a little green twistie string thing.

The dress and hair bow in this set are adorable, and I love the flowers too, but it's impossible for Addy to hold them unless I taped her hand, or something. I don't think it would have been too hard to make a green loop that could go around her fingers for her to hold the bouquet. I also still only have Addy's meet shoes, and I think an adorable pair of white or light colored boots would have gone really good with this dress! But the dress is so beautiful, so I'm really glad I got this set.

Grade: A-

Crinoline and Chemise Review

Since I have many of Cecile and Marie Grace's outfits, and am trying to get more of Addy's, I decided I needed the crinoline and chemise to make their skirts and dresses look fuller and more authentic. I bought this in November 2014 and it was in a BeForever box, so it's technically part of Addy's collection now, and I'm not sure if there's a difference between this one and the one that was Cecile's and Marie Grace's (but I don't think there is). Here are some pictures!

Here's the whole getup! (My new Cecile is so beautiful ahhhh!)

 There's a ruffle and a pinkish lavender bow on the top of the chemise...

And another ruffle on the bottom. Sorry for the weird orange globe in the corner ;)

Here you can see the fabric of the chemise is a little sheer...

 Here's the back!

 And the crinoline... it's pink and ruffly and so so cute! The hoops inside are made of plastic (I assume!)

I had no idea how or where to tie the crinoline onto the doll, so I looked at the official AG pictures. It seemed they had the bottom of the crinoline hang at the same length as the bottom of the chemise, so that's what I tried to do. I've seen other people tie theirs lower, though. I guess it depends on how the clothes fit with it in certain positions.

 Here's the back...

It was really easy just to tie the strings into a bow!

Overall, I really like this set! American Girl used to make elaborate underwear sets for historical dolls and don't seem to anymore, except for this piece, so it's fun to have in a historical collection. I also like that it retails for only $24, less than a full outfit, since you won't really see it while using it properly. I'm excited to try some outfits on over it, take pictures, and show you all soon!

Grade: A

Welcome Cecile!

Yay! I'm so excited that last night my beautiful new Cecile arrived! I'm not going to be very good at reviewing the actual doll, because I'm really biased and just love her and think she's really beautiful, so she gets an automatic A+!

Here are some pictures...

I'm just a little scared about taking care of her hair properly. I've already watched Youtube videos and stuff, so I hope I'll be okay!

Caroline's Party Set Review

Caroline's Party Set is another gem I found on sale at the American Girl outlet store!

 Here's an overview of the whole set! It comes with an apple cake - with 2 slices and 1 large piece, a pitcher, a bouquet of faux wildflowers, 2 cloth napkins with lace trim, 3 pewter plates, 2 pewter forks, 2 pewter knives, and 2 pewter cups.

 The apple cake is very cute and realistically textured. The bottom is smooth plastic and less realistic looking, but it's not too noticeable.

There are red and yellow apple slices on Caroline's apple cake -- so cute!

This ceramic pitcher is my favorite piece of the set! The beautiful ship image is on both sides. I used it to hold the flowers since this set doesn't come with a flower vase.

The flowers are really cute! I have an odd personal goal of collecting all the American Girl faux flowers ever released. There is a white ribbon tied in a bow under the big green leaves.

All the metal dishes are heavy and extremely nice quality -- with the exception that lot numbers are printed on the back of the forks and the "back" of the knives. But knives don't really have backs, so you have to put the knives on the right side of the plates or else they will look backwards, like the knife does in this picture!

The cups are particularly beautiful! I love the curved handle.

The two slices are each 1/4 of the cake... Caroline must love cake! (Almost as much as I do!)

Painting details.

Overall, this is a great set! The pitcher is beautiful, the flowers are pretty, the apple cake is adorable, and the dishes are very heavy and very nice quality. My two criticisms are the smooth plastic on the bottom of the cake and the lot numbers on the back of the forks and knives. Still, the set pieces are beautiful accessories for a dollhouse dining room or diorama, and the pieces look appropriate for a number of different time periods.

Grade: A-

Addy's Birthday Outfit, or Addy's Birthday Pinafore and Snood Review

Since Addy was my first American Girl doll, I'm now trying to get more of her collection. Luckily, I found the retired Birthday Outfit (aka Birthday Pinafore & Snood) at the outlet store!

 It comes with a brown and cream checked pinafore, a cream blouse, two ivory socks, and a brown and cream snood.

 Since it doesn't come with shoes, I styled it in this photoshoot with Addy's original meet boots.
 

 Here's a shot of the back!

Addy felt very celebratory in this outfit!

The snood is so adorable! I was afraid at first that it wouldn't stretch enough to fit all of Addy's hair, but it ended up fitting just fine! The cream detail around the elastic is satin, and the cream ribbon bow on top is adorned with yellow "feathers" from the canary in Addy's birthday book. They really just look like yellow fabric leaves from any craft store, but they're adorable anyway.

Both straps on the pinafore tie together to make bows that sit atop Addy's shoulders.

 Here's a side view of the snood, so you can see how far it stretches to fit all of Addy's hair (she has a ton of it!)

 

 Here you can see the three adorable red-brown buttons on the blouse and the ric rac trim around the collar.

 The ric rac trim is also on the two triangular pockets on the front of the pinafore. The ivory blouse is ribbed and has double-puffed sleeves!

A closer shot of the back.

A better view of the pattern on the adorable knee high stockings. And you can see how the laces on her boots have discolored over time :/.

Overall, I love this outfit! All of the fabric is nice quality and very thick. The colors look fantastic on Addy and would also look great on any doll with brown hair and eyes. The only tiny criticism I have is that, in some light, you can see the glue underneath the fabric "feathers" on the ribbon of the snood. But that's no big deal to me. I also would have loved some brown boots or shoes to go with the outfit. But I love it anyway!

Grade: A

First Trip to the American Girl Outlet Store!

It's been a little over a week now since I took a pilgrimage to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to the American Girl Outlet Store. People have mixed feelings over whether or not it's worthwhile to go there, as potentially you'd have to spend a lot on gas, hotel, rental car, etc.. But if, like me, your goal was to get a lot of retired stuff for much cheaper than you can get it on eBay, it's totally worth it! (Well, and also if, like me, you live close enough to get there and back in one day and on one tank of gas.)

It was early October 2014 when I decided to start collecting American Girl, and I wanted to start with the New Orleans girls (Cecile and Marie Grace) and all of their stuff. I went merrily on my way to americangirl.com and learned the hard way that they'd been retired two months earlier, and their stuff had been discounted so much that every seasoned collector of AG was already sick of seeing it. I, on the other hand, who wanted it all and had none, was left to fend for myself and find it all on eBay, overpriced and every listing screaming "OMG RETIRED! THEREFORE I AM SELLING IT FOR TRIPLE WHAT I PAID! Because it's retired!!!!!!"

I was basically out of luck, until I heard through the AG grapevine that a lot of Cecile and Marie Grace stuff was at the mythical, magical outlet in mythical, magical Wisconsin. So it became my goal to get there before Black Friday (I figured it might all sell out then?) and buy literally every Cecile and Marie Grace item they had. And also every retired Addy item they had, too, because I'm also trying to get most of her collection at the same time.

I read message boards, watched videos, and looked at pictures taken in the past month of others who had been at the outlet store, and figured the outlet store would have the courtyard furniture (my grail item), Marie Grace's vanity, both nightgowns, both holiday dresses, Cecile's parlor outfit, and all the "fancy" items -- the mardi gras costume stuff. That's what everyone said they had! But I got there and found completely different stuff, which goes to show you can't really plan on what's going to be in stock there.

Here's my loot! Addy was proud of the AG mountain.

The Marie Grace and Cecile items I ended up with were:
- Half Canopy Bed (!!! Huge surprise, and more than 50% off original price)
- Parlor Desk (also not expected, also more than 50% off original price)
- Vanity (50% off original price)
- Glassware and Treats (almost didn't even see it, and ended up being more than 75% off original price!)
- Cecile's nightwear ($10 off)
- Cecile's parlor outfit (50% off)
- Fairy costume accessories (50% off)
- Fancy dress (50% off)
- Marie Grace's nightgown (50% off)

Unfortunately, they didn't have the courtyard furniture, but I was so glad to get the half canopy bed instead. I assume they won't get any more courtyard furniture, and, FYI, I got the last bed, the last desk, and the last vanity they had as well, so as far as I know, they are officially out of Cecile and Marie Grace furniture now, unless someone returns something.

It was a lot of money to spend at once, but I saved SO MUCH compared to if I had to buy it on eBay. So I was really thrilled. The outlet store is officially awesome and amazing AND SO WORTH GOING in my opinion!

I also accidentally bought:
- Boxed set of 6 Samantha books ($10)
- Boxed set of 6 Kirsten books ($10)
- Addy's winter accessories ($6 off)
- Addy's birthday outfit ($7 off)
- Ruthie's holiday dress ($8 off)
- Caroline's party set ($20 off)
- Saige's sweater set (50% off)
- Pretty Pink Coat set (50% off)
- Cozy Sweater outfit (50% off)

Yes, total accident.

Now, I'm still new to AG, but I'm pretty sure everything I got at the outlet store is retired, which makes me really happy! It's all stuff that I love, and wouldn't want to go searching for in the future on eBay, only to pay a lot more.

I plan on going to the MCM Benefit Sale next July, and will probably go back for round two at the outlet store then. I can't wait! I'm such a sucker for deals.

I'll do a review of EVERYTHING in the coming days/weeks/whatever, so keep an eye out!

All About Me and My Dolls!

Hello and welcome to my About Me and My Dolls post! I'm a twenty-something long-time doll collector, and I'm exceptionally boring! I received my Pleasant Company Addy as a child in 1994 and soon after became completely uninterested in her. She only got one outfit from PC other than her meet outfit, the really ugly mid-90's Girl Scout uniform, and then she stayed in her box and made around a dozen moves around the Midwest with me as I grew up. I don't know why I kept her through all of that time, but I'm so glad I did! In my early twenties, I started collecting Blythe dolls, which led to collecting Pullip dolls, which led to almost starting to collect Asian BJDs. I got one before I realized I can't afford it. Through all this time I wanted to collect American Girl dolls, because I love history and all the historically accurate furniture, clothes and accessories they have, but I've always lived in small apartments and thought collecting American Girl required a giant house and a dedicated doll room... or two. In 2014, I finally said to myself, too bad! I'm going to MAKE room. So far it's not turning out so great, as my bedroom looks like an American Girl stock room, but I'm having a lot of fun anyway!

I started making Youtube reviews as my AG collection began but soon realized a blog is much better for me, as I love to write and I hate to talk. Yay internet anonymity!

My dolls:

Addy Walker ♥ Arrived in 1994

Cecile Rey ♥ Arrived November 2014

Isabelle Palmer ♥ Arrived December 2014

 (picture coming soon)
Marie Grace Gardner ♥ Arrived December 2014

 (picture coming soon)
Grace Thomas ♥ Arrived January 2015

 (picture coming soon)
Caroline Abbott ♥ Arrived January 2015

Stay tuned (or whatever you do on a blog) as my American Girl collection grows exponentially -- I'll share everything with you along the way!