Dolly play...

This was one of my prettiest window scenes, done in 2006. Lately I just don't seem to have the time or the energy for this, sad to say, but I'm trying to get back into it. The dolly groups, facebook pages, blogs and YouTubes are all inspiring me greatly, and I find when I "play" with the dolls, re-arranging them, dressing them up etc, it relaxes me and makes me feel peaceful instead of hyped because of all the evil news I hear on social media. (not just TV anymore) So I am now looking at my doll collection as a Stress Reliever, and therefore very valuable!

by Loretta Houben

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!

The girls are looking at Black Friday deals both online, and in traditional paper flyers.

Here in Canada this is a fairly new concept, and seems to be going well with the shoppers!

Even I found a few things online that interested me, including a Black Friday sale of 20% off American Girl! And that happened BEFORE Friday!

The cute little flyers were found at 

American Girl Ideas website. CLICK HERE for the link to your own free printables!

This was the ad I received in my email letting me know about the Black Friday sale.

By Loretta Houben

New Maplelea outfits for my 18" dolls.

Recently I received a Maplelea email advertising a great sale. I adore sales! The cute outfit above included the T-shirt, vest, shorts, tights and adorable shoes, all for $15.60 Canadian! It's called "Urban Jungle". Dondi, which I've named my new doll, just loves it.

I also ordered this cute "Signs of Spring" for $14 Canadian! Maplelea is located in Ontario, and ships anywhere in Canada for a flat fee of $9.00. I got the items within one week so I was very pleased.

This outfit has a sleeveless dress, blue belt, cute purse and really nice shoes. The items fit the AG dolls very well. I just love them.

By Loretta Houben

Another new doll! Meet Truly Me #54!

While doing some much needed fall cleaning, I came across cash I was saving and had forgotten about! Do you ever do that? I like to keep some cash on hand, especially if it was given to me, and then I can spend it when needed without any guilt. I've been suffering from many bad migraines since October 11th, so I felt like I needed to splurge on something nice. And what nicer than a new doll?

I read online that the Truly Me #54 mold would be retired in December, and I had never bought Ivy Ling, (who also had this face mold) the best friend of Julie, so I thought I'd check out the AG Vancouver Boutique while downtown yesterday, after my chiropractor appointment. (so relief of pain is now associated with a new doll purchase!) I noticed that the doll on the shelf had notched eyes, and the doll in the case did not. That really intrigued me, so I asked to see some more dolls.

The shop assistant kindly brought out more, and I chose the one above. A lot of the dolls hair was quite messy which I thought strange. I always take my time choosing a doll, as they are definitely not cheap! I don't have a Truly Me doll yet, and I really like this one. I love her brown eyes! Apparently this doll and Samantha are the only AG dolls with brown decal eyes. The modern outfit she is wearing is very colourful and cute, although a bit skimpy compared to other dolls and their Meet outfits which I've purchased.

She has a print cotton sleeveless dress with a bit of netting on the hem, pink panties, and a very cute turquoise jacket. She also has white glitter shoes, which to me are very modern. The whole skimpy bright outfit suits 2017 to a T! It matches girl's and women's outfits in the stores!

I took these photos last night, so the lighting is a bit dim, but I was quite pleased with #54, who now needs to be named. 

I was also feeling awful as I'd heard news about a family friend who was murdered on Nov 7. I'm so glad I'm alive, and so glad I have the ability and privilege to buy dolls and enjoy them. I don't take anything for granted anymore. It seems weird in a way to be happy about a doll when someone has died such a grizzly death, but what can I do? It was a gun incident in the USA, and you know what I think of guns. (or maybe you don't, but remember that I'm Canadian and I don't own a gun) So there is the horrid dark side of life, and there is the fun playful side. I think there's a fine balance between the two, and each day that I can enjoy the good things I will do so.

By Loretta Houben

SPRING PEARL; my newest doll.

Meet Spring Pearl!

She was only $25 Cdn on eBay!

Originally these dolls sold for $54 US from American Girl, from 2002-2005. The designer is Helen Kish.

I love her dolls, and these are well made and now very affordable.

Spring Pearl's outfit is very pretty, with matching shoes. She is holding a small purse.

She looks quite pensive. She has her hair in a bun, with tiny embellishments, and is wearing earrings.

I bought her from a Canadian seller which was a complete joy.

Here is the back of her lovely little head.

She was #3 in the series. She comes with a book.

I'd love to collect all the dolls.

I hadn't bought anything from eBay in ages, so this was a good experience.

By Loretta Houben

Newberry 18" dolls.

You may have heard the awful news that Sears Canada is closing all of its stores. The closest one to us is in Burnaby BC. It was opened in 1954, and my family has shopped there ever since my parents married in 1955. I remember going there each Saturday at 9:30 am, after a big pancake breakfast. 

As a young married couple in 1982, we bought all our furniture there, including our wooden bedroom set made in Canada which we still have. I'm heartbroken.

Sears produced the Newberry 18" doll for a few years.

I'm not sure what has become of this brand now. Apparently they stopped selling them in Fall 2016, but I took these photos at a great 60% off sale on January 21, 2017.

If I'd known Sears was disappearing I would have bought more of them. I did buy two.

I'm glad I took these photos anyhow. I really like the Newberry dolls. I believe I have 3 of them.

Here is a LINK to information I found out about the Newberry dolls today.

This is the doll I bought in January.

She came in a soccer outfit.

I dressed her in a pretty outfit instead. I love her brown eyes. I'll have to give more attention to my Newberry girls, and give them names. 

It's a very sad day when stores that have been here for over 60 years disappear.

By Loretta Houben

HALLOWEEN 2017!

Halloween 2017 dawned clear and fairly warm for these parts. I gave most of my decorations away this year as I've absolutely run out of room. So the long lived hay bale is now history. But of course I still have the dolls! This year I didn't dress up Chatty Cathy. I only used the American Girl dolls. Nanea is the newest to join in the fun!

Here she is wearing a cute dress bought on eBay.

Grace is wearing a black T-shirt I made, and a dress from Dollarama; it's a child's dress pinned in the back. It was only $4.00 Cdn and I'm sure I could squeeze 2 from it but ran out of time of course. I love the fabric.

Here is my Hawaiian AG doll wearing the 150th Canada outfit from Maplelea, and Yolanda (an OG doll) wearing an outfit from Build a Bear.

And here is Miss Pippa in her Halloween finery!

She was astonished to see 103 trick or treaters come to the door! Some of them came up close to look at my display. The ceramic Jack o Lantern belonged to my Mom and was made in Japan. It still works!

I carved a pumpkin on Halloween afternoon using a free internet pattern of an owl. It turned out quite cute, and it only took 40 minutes total to carve out the innards and carve the design. It's a thing I really enjoy doing!

Robert dressed up for his job, so he wore the mask at night and didn't really scare anyone.

By Loretta Houben