Barbie Sofa and Table Set

I made a quick trip to Trincity Mall yesterday and managed to browse the two branches of Toyland (they always have a well-stocked Barbie section, but boy are they expensive) and Funatics.  Time ran out, so I couldn't get to Toymart or the toy section at Excellent Stores. 
  
In Funatics, I found S.I.S. Marissa, but, even though I have been searching for her for a long time, I was not super thrilled with her.  I decided that I would only buy her if I didn't find anything else.

I moved further along the shelves and found this sofa and table set (there were two of them, and  a refrigerator and trolley set):

I had never seen this set before and, for the number of pieces, was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable price.  I ditched S.I.S. Marissa (for now) and purchased the set before heading home.

The box is marked "(c) 2006 Mattel Inc." and "Mattel Canada Inc."  It is multilingual and includes English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The box top, which was plastic, didn't lay flat and extra tape was put on it to keep it closed.  The handbag and the two cushions were not secured, as the bands that were holding them seemed to have deteriorated.  

Check out the pair of boots under the sofa.  They were well-secured with plastic.

A look at the picture at the back of the box shows that one accessory is missing - the cat on top of the aquarium.  

The other set on the shelf did not have the cat either, so I deduced that that was why they were reduced!

The accessories include, two fabric cushions, a pair of boots, a handbag, a candle, a drink, a vase, two stems of flowers, a magazine and a framed photo. The pieces of furniture include the sofa, table, hat/bag rack and aquarium. The only assembly required was putting the legs on the table and putting the base together for the aquarium.

The table is really pretty.

I am really happy that I got this set - it's not pink!

So, with this set, we could imagine that Barbie comes home, after a long day at work, and hangs up her handbag.

She says 'Hi!" to her 'fishies',  feeds them...

and glances at a photo of her cousin Terry (she's such a wild child).

With a sigh of relief, she plops herself down on the sofa and removes the boots from her aching feet.

She whips up a fruit smoothie and relaxes on the sofa with a magazine,

Tiredness soon overcomes her and she falls asleep...

only to be awakened by a visit from her old friend Christie, who has come to invite her to a reunion with their old pals - Teresa, Ken, Midge, Shani and others.

I'd love to be at that reunion.

Disney Princess Tiana Re-body

I read reviews of the new classic Disney Princess dolls with articulated legs (from Van's Doll Treasures Pt1 and Pt2, and I-Luv-Dolls), after I ordered two from the Disney store, so I was a bit worried that I might be disappointed.  The legs on the new bodies did not appear as attractive as the previous dolls' legs. 

I had used the bodies from the previous Princes Tiana dolls that had articulated arms only, and was satisfied with the results.  

From left to right: 

Glitter Beach Christie, Very Velvet Christie and Teen Nikki 

- all on the previous Princess Tiana's body.

When I received my new classic Tianas yesterday, I put a Pizza Party Skipper AA head on one.  She has a really pretty face and was originally on the smaller Skipper body, so some adjustment to the neck post had to be done.  

Her neck seems a bit too long; but, I'm okay with it, since I don't expect a Skipper-sized body (with articulation and a dark skin tone) to be produced anytime soon.  Even a Disney V.I.P. body in a dark skin tone would be nice.

Compared to the previous Princess doll (on the right), the new princess' legs (on the left) are not as shapely.

However, her jointed knees allow her to make some cool ballerina/gymnast/exercise poses.

 Pat-a-cake.  This is as far as the knees on the respective bodies will bend.

Preparing, this post has made me want to try to identify all the dolls that I've re-bodied.   That should be fun.

S.I.S.

My loving sis got me a S.I.S.   A So In Style doll, that is.  It's great when you have someone who seeks your interest, when they go out and you're stuck at home.  She usually calls me when she sees something that might interest me.

While she was at Excellent Stores in Trincity Mall,  she called to let me know what dolls were on the shelves.  The only doll of interest in the Monster High section, was Skull Shores Ghoulia Yelps, so I asked her to get her for me.  But, I didn't want to miss out on any other doll, so I asked her to check the Barbie section to see what other dolls were available.

I knew they usually have So In Style dolls, as I got my Grace and Kara dolls there.  So, when she got to the Barbie section, and said that there were a few S.I.S. dolls, I asked her to give me the dolls' names and descriptions, while I searched online to see what they looked like.  When she described the Rocawear Trichelle doll,  I told her to put back Ghoulia and bring home Trichelle instead.

I was not disappointed.  Her hair is so soft and I love the shorts.  If she, at least, had bending arms, I would have left her on her on her original body, as she fitted into her clothes and socks nicely.  I had a Fashionistas body waiting for her and immediately swapped.  She looks too skinny and her socks are flabby, but at least, she's poseable.

L to R - Grace (on a Fashionistas body), Rocawear Kara (on her original body) and newest addition: Rocawear Trichelle

Thanks sis!

My Absence

Bobobie Ya

It's been more than six months since my last post.  I didn't plan on being away for so long.   In fact, I didn't plan on being away at all.

I can't remember exactly why I stopped posting, but I think it had something to do with my attempts to organise my stuff.  I became overwhelmed with the amount of sorting that had (and still has) to be done and the mess I had created trying to do so.   I started feeling demotivated and the thought of writing and editing a post, distressed me even more.

In the meantime, I've been adding pages to my blog, with information I've gathered and some of my collection.

I appreciate all who have continued to follow my blog and look forward to resuming updates.

Mattel Stardolls

I've been eyeing the Mattel Stardolls ever since the promotional photos appeared on the internet.

Articles started appearing in February of this year.  Check this one on Stardoll's official blog.

I don't even remember where I first saw them, but the variety of faces in the line, had me wanting one of each!   I checked frequently for any news about the release of the dolls and read of sightings in the US by several persons; but I couldn't find any online sources.  Last month, however, a few started appearing on amazon.com at ridiculously high prices (between US$60 -  $70)!  I see that the prices have now gone down now, though.

Finally, the dolls became available at barbiecollector.com on the 5th December and on the 6th, I zoomed over to the website to order.  I knew I couldn't buy one of each, especially since I did not know how big the doll boxes were and I knew that I had to keep the package as small as possible, in order to keep shipping costs to Trinidad at a minimum.   My credit card was also giving me the evil eye.

I was very happy that, in addition to the initial promotional photos, there were actual shots of the dolls in their boxes.  The actual dolls were different from the promotional photos, so I still did a search for doll owner images, to make sure that I made the right choices.

I finally decided on two dolls and placed my order, with free shipping too!  The package was shipped on Wednesday 7th and delivered by Fedex ground to Miami on Monday 12th December.  It left for Trinidad the same day and by Friday 16th, it had cleared customs and was ready for collection.

So, who did I get?

Tada!        It's Pretty n' Love - Style 2

And..........

Fallen Angel - Style 2

My pretty girls will remain in their boxes until Christmas, when I'll take them out to play!

Caffé Latté Interview

I have to thank Ms. LMB for choosing me and my blog as the focus of her first interview for the new 'Your Moment & Interview' feature on her Caffé Latté Magazine blog.

Not many local persons are interested in doll collecting and I truly appreciate the opportunity to share what I love doing.

I wish her the best of luck with this new feature and look forward to reading future blog posts about the interesting stuff that other folks like to do.

Yamato VMF50 Ami on HobbyLinkTv

It was a pleasant surprise to see a a VMF50 Ami doll on HobbyLinkTv's Toy Tengoku.

In this episode, her unboxing starts at 8:56 - Toy Tengoku Episode 2

In this episode, her dressing starts at 12:34 - Toy Tengoku Episode 3

Am I obsessed or what?