Antique Store Find: MyAG #49

Today I went to one of my favorite antique stores with friends and about had a heart attack in the middle of an aisle.  There were two Samantha like trunks, marked $15 each (my friend and I both got one) and on top of the trunks was a MyAG (or TM?? I'm still not used to that so I'm going to continue saying MyAG) #49!  Best part of all?  She cost $12.  For less than the cost of a new outfit, I got a doll and a trunk.

This NEVER happens to me.  Before this, my best AG deal was a Samantha desk I found at a different antique store.  But after a very dry year in terms of adding to my AG collection, I have a new girl named Ramona.

She's in rather good shape.  Her hair is a bit dry and the curl/wave is gone right now, plus she has a mark on her knee as well as some fingernail paint, but those are all things I think I can fix.  But first thing I did when I brought her home was brush her hair and spritz liberally with water, and put some clothes on her.

I had long considered getting this doll and already had a character in the works for her.  She's the older sister of a doll I've had for years, and I've always been drawn to her because of her dark hair and blue eyes (my favorite combination).  Here she is with her sister Amira (MyAG #11):

Within the next few days, I think I'll try to clean her up some and wash and curl her hair.  As she is, she isn't far from factory state... I think I'd have probably paid at least $60 for her on eBay.  Some curls and she'll (hopefully) be almost back to this:

And here's more of the trunk.  It's in great shape... there's a scuff in the front, though it doesn't bother me.  I actually did think it was an authentic Samantha trunk, but now that I've looked at some pictures I think this is a convincing knock-off.  But for $15, I don't really care!  You can't even get a knock off for $15.  I've yet to pack any clothes into it to see how much it holds, but I may put Samantha's things in it tomorrow.

Welcome, Lea!

I've been away from this blog for some time, mostly as I haven't really felt like writing.  That's a thin excuse, I know... but that's all I have.  Depression is a hell of a predicament.  I haven't really gotten much joy from my collection in some time... and I've not added to my collection in some months.  I got Caroline for my birthday in August, and a #27 earlier in the year.  But after these dolls, if there's one thing I'm more tired of than classic mold it's blond hair.  Which brings me to my disappointment over our new GOTY.

Don't get me wrong.  Lea is VERY pretty.  Her collection has a few fun things.  But overall I can help but yawn and say meh.  Part of this, I'm sure, is personal.  Yes, she's in the blonde spectrum and I've recently gotten a couple of blondes.  I also really liked Grace, but due to financial BS and life kicking my ass all damn year, I wasn't able to get her or anything from her collection.  And also... I hate to fall back on this, but I don't enjoy much of anything anymore because depression has taken whatever part of me that used to seek fun and pretty things and replaced it with another part of me to seek sleep and quiet places to cry and walls to stare at.  

But as pretty as Lea is, part of my boredom is the fact that yet another goes by and we have yet to have a black GOTY.  I don't know Lea's racial or ethnic background.... maybe she's part Brazilian?  That's quite lovely.  But come on AG.  It's 2016.  Branch out.  Part of my boredom is that her theme seems to be a rehash of Jess (with a dash of Kanani) and her looks are equal parts Kanani and Rebecca with a bit of Marisol thrown in for seasoning, and I have all of those dolls.

So while I am happy for those of you who're excited for Lea and while I enjoyed looking at her collection last night after midnight, I have to say that right now I can't see myself purchasing her.  Right now, I'm a little bored.

zomg fashionable new clothes!!1!

The title of this post doesn't exaggerate my excitement.  I got a bunch of cute new things from the fabulous etsy shop magoogesmusedesigns and my girls had a big fist fight to see who would model them.  Alice, McKenna, Holland (my newest doll -- the gorgeous #61) and Wendy won.  I also have a few more things yet to be modeled, but I bought most of this stuff with Holland in mind.  She's got a certain style and color palette that AG tends not to cater to.  Thank goodness for talented seamstresses!

Gonna Do Right This Time (AKA Recent Acquisitions)

Hello all!  It's been WAAAAAY too long since I've updated this blog, and for that I'm honestly sorry.  Life has been... difficult... to say the least for me, and between battling depression, anxiety, and every possible financial woe, I haven't spent much time with my doll collection, let alone added much to it.  But lately I've been finding fun in my dolls again and enjoying what I have, so I want to participate more in the collecting community... like I used to.

But just because I'm working on enjoying what I have doesn't mean I don't want more.  LOL, y'all know me better than that.

So I'm going to share the things I've gotten recently (and by recently I mean over the last several months).

First, I got a few GREAT pieces from etsy shop closet4chloe.  All three of these pieces, which are well made, versatile, and CUTE cost $29 total, shipping included... can't go wrong there.

I also got this really cute OG outfit from Target.

And a couple months back, some friends and I made a trip to AGPLA (so she could get her adorable #58, Olympia!).  Alice got a new outfit and the girls got a PWP t-shirt set to share.

I even got a new OG girl to hang out with my massive crew.

But most exciting was when Wendy and I flew to Minnesota to visit my very dear friend and we visited the AGP in the Mall of America!  We all had tea, and Wendy got a new outfit and souvenir t-shirt.

New release time again?! 2/14/13 Spring release thoughts

Hello, friends and fellow collectors!  Long time no blog, I know.  Life has been unkind to me and my family, and for whatever reason I haven't much felt like doing anything that could end up in socializing.  But I try, I try.  I'm here today to talk about the awesome new releases of V-Day '13. I'm not going to try to get to everything... while I do have an opinion on pretty much everything (doll related and otherwise), I'm only going to discuss the things I feel strongly about.

So let's start in the boudoir! *cue music*

Olly Molly, the doll voted Most Likely to Be Archived three years running in the AG yearbook, has a new bed and new PJs!  And, the kick in the pants is that they are limited edition.  Now the PJs are a doable $24 and have already announced that they need me to buy them for Ellen.  But the bed, which is quite darling (if a tad monochromatic), is a tougher pill to swallow at $94.  It's not the price so much as the fact that we will surely have less than a year to decide/save/purchase/stash.  AG has been overwhelming collectors a bit too much lately.  We're to be expected to get new historical things and Saige things AND still keep roofs over our heads.  I know, I know... you can't have everything.  But some people would get everything if they had the time to space out the purchases.  But this LE label moves merch, and if Molly does get the ax this year, her stuff will go quickly.  I like the bed, but my Molly has the hideous, er... I mean... classic red bed.  I am considering this bed for Ivy, but honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up that I will be able to afford the bed.  I've got to try and prioritize the things on my want list.  

Then, we have Caroline's work dress.

Talk about cute, amiright?  I about died when I saw this dress.  I remember seeing the illustration of this outfit and seeing it in the paper dolls, but for once, AG improved over the artwork in the actual outfit.  I love that it comes with the cap and the perfect little boots.  I'm swooning again.  I don't have Caroline (yet), but this perfect little outfit is definitely on my wishlist.  I've always loved the girls' work dresses and I like that they made one for Caroline.  Kudos, AG!

And the sleeper hit of the release, the lemonade stand!

Okay, how cute is this?  The twins don't usually have a lot of stuff that interests me, but I'm really into this lemonade stand.  The art work on the box is so flower power and vaguely '70s that I can't stop seeing Ivy selling lemonade.  My Ivy even has this super cute little yellow summer dress that would look perfect on her.  My only concern is that, since this set is designed for the BTs, that the stand won't be high enough.  But even so, Ivy could always bring a chair, since she'll be hard at work all afternoon.  This little set has me hooked, I'm afraid to say!

Now, I won't get into the MyAG stuff just now.  I love the bike, but it's cost prohibitive.  I really like the Sweet Spring dress and the Easy Breezy outfit as well, so they'll be going on the wishlist.

Anyways, thanks to the few of you that may read this thing all the way to the end.  Go ahead and drop me a comment with your thoughts on the new release!  

Forever dolling, 

Bre, AKA Buckingham Alice

The Kindness of Friends

Today when I came home from spending the day out with some friends, I found an envelope waiting on my desk.  Inside the envelope was a lovely little surprise... a Jonas Brothers t-shirt for my dolls!  The Jonas Brothers have been a favorite band of mine since early 2007... there is much more to them than meets the eye.  I have three jB t-shirts for myself, so now that my mini-me Alice has one, we can really match.

Thanks so much to Karen and Syd for the lovely surprise!

Here are some pics:

Happy Alice doing the fan girl thing:

Joe and Kevin:

Couldn't get a good angle for Nick, but still Nick and Joe.

Here's the graphic:

Kindred Thread Vintage Valentine Dress

Yay, first new doll dress of the year!  My last dolly clothing squee was Addy's brown floral suit waaaay back last October!  

Anyways, JoniLynn of Kindred Thread makes THE most adorable '50s style outfits.  Being someone who loves fantastically made doll clothes and '50s styles, I'm always bowled over by the fantasticness of her things.  But the Vintage Valentine dress from the February release was so cute I literally could not pass it up!  (Well, it's technically my Valentine's Day present from my understanding mother, but she's letting me have it early so I don't pass out from anticipation or something. =P)

My #4, Lucy, is the lucky model of this fab dress.  She's not really a dress type gal, but she is a lover of all things vintage and cute, so it wasn't hard to get her to agree to model this one. ;)

This is approximately the cutest dress ever. =D

This dress looks so perfect on Lucy Goosey.

Look how happy she looks. =)  Of course, I can never let her see JoniLynn's pics on their site... she'll want the cat's eye glasses (which would probably look fab on her, now that I think of it...)

From behind.  You can't see it because of her hair, but the dress closes with lovely little vintage looking mother of pearl type buttons.  Forgive the sloppiness of that ribbon bow... there was a cat tugging on it... *sigh*

Close up of the fabric of the skirt.  The fabric is the sweetest print... perfect for a sweet little girl to wear to a Valentine party.  And I also love the fullness of the skirt.  I've been meaning to order one of those adorable fluffy flouncy petticoats they make... would have made this dress even cuter!

Close up on the bodice.  Adorable rickrack and yummy darts.  I love the neckline as well... I like that's a bit scoopy but doesn't plunge.