Madelon and The GOTY 2018!

Madelon went and met the GOTY at the American Girl Store on release day and she kindly is sharing her photos of the new collection with us today. I would love to hear what you all think of the new doll and her line of accessories and clothing. 

I love that the doll has a science back ground and that the company has put a great spin in the STEM education program. For those who may not know STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. 

There is so much attention to detail in this years GOTY I feel that a lot more work was put into this line! 

Pretty darn cool right?

A very detailed playset for sure and though it is not made of wood, it seems carefully put together and with great thought in detail once assembled. 

Every time you look you noitice something different, and exciting!

This set is out of reach for many coming in at $350, but what a playset!

What about the doll herself? 

I love the space outfit! 

A snug fit for astronauts and dolls alike!

Thank you Madelon for sharing your photos with us today. We would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Happy New Year 2018 and Welcome To Luciana Vega

Happy New Year, 2018 is off to a great start with the introduction today of Luciana Vega. I am really impressed with American Girl for this years GOTY. What most impresses me is that I feel like American Girl has seen past the traditional idea of what little girls want and has started to catch up to today's modern tween. That being said the price point of American Girl does put much of the collection out ot reach of the average tween family budget but they have taken steps that I believe are valuable with their American Girl Book line.

 These type of dook kits are some of the best things American Girl has published in the last few years. These are often priced around $25 and contain wonderful crafts and doll play ideas that get creativity pumping and girls thinking and playing. Gone are the days of just playing mommy or doing dolls hair, we are now moving in the direction that tweens are in ways of science, conservation, art and sport.  I have to say Well done American Girl this is a doll lovers dream come true and a delight to see.  The book description is shown below and you can click it for the amazon listing. ( I am not an amazon affiliate, I make no money if you do)
"Every girl has a dream job. Whether it’s to be an astronaut, toy engineer, veterinarian, paleontologist, or an architect, the sky is the limit! In this book, girls will learn some of the fun ways they and their doll can learn and play in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Crafts include a spacesuit, stethoscope, drafting desk, large telescope, soundboard, safety goggles, model home out of craft sticks, head lamp, and a magnifying glass."

Welcome 2018, we hope that you are off to a great start and that you will continue to inspire us to strive for greatness and reaching our full potential.
We would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Madelon's GOTY and Truly Me We Would Love Your Thoughts

Today Madelon is sharing her thoughts on what many of us have been thinking about when it comes to how the American Girl Company rolled out this years GOTY. Madelon was someone who purchased a truly me doll that was then retired and turned into this years Girl of the Year. In Madelon's photo above Gabriela has her arm up, the doll beside her is the doll of the year.

"AG sent a free outfit to make Truly Me a GOTY. This concerns me somehow as I feel it takes away from the GOTY as presented to the public on January 1. Don't get me wrong, I think both dolls are gorgeous, but I wish the GOTY was unique as the other GOTYs had been." ~ Madelon

I agree with Madelon 100%, while Gabriela is a beautiful doll. However I feel like American Girl had a chance to do something even more special with this years doll and unfortunately missed hitting the mark on making it feel truly special. I do appreciate that they sent the meet outfit to those who purchased this years doll as a truly me, but I am dumbfounded as to what looks like careless planning on the part of a company that used to have so much attention to detail. I purchased Gabriela here in Canada at our local American Girl Store and paid $160.00 for her, I love the doll but I am disappointed in her box and lack of neck string.  I would love to hear what you think.
Please share your thoughts below.
We would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Vancouver Store Gabriela Launch

My niece and I braved the Vancouver Ice and snow on January 1st for the release of the Girl of the year.

We brought home Gabriela and my niece and I think she is fantastic. We love her hair so much!

This was such an exciting thing to do with her as she was visiting from Montreal and the store was not busy at all! We had a nice visit wit a few familiar faces but we missed Miss Nikki, now that she is not in the store I felt like a bit of the magic was gone. This doll though and her line is wonderful and we are thrilled.

I love the store exclusives and was surprised to see what was on sale!

Great outfits and colors!

First time for me seeing the fun camper too!

The store was not busy but there Gabriela was flying of the shelf!
Great job AG with this years doll of the year!
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Happy New Year, Gabriela and Congrats To Our Tea Time Panel Winner!

Wishing you a very Happy New Year from my new house to yours! I have missed you all so much. I have had a very tough last few weeks with a move that I thought would do me in and lack of internet access that made me feel completely cut off from the world. I am happy to say I am able to write again, thanks to my brother in law who seems to have found me a temporary fix until I can buy a new computer.

On too dolly news! What are you all look forward to most from Gabriela's line? The new GOTY is my second most favorite since they began! My niece and I are supposed to stop by the store and pick her up today. I am so excited to see her in person. I am thrilled American Girl has come up with such a great story and a beautiful doll to get excited about.

I am not a huge fan though of the new boxes....if you have not seen them yet there is a clear plastic front that reminds me of the Cabbage Patch Boxes I got when I was little... I would love to hear your thoughts.

Congrats to Theresa Norris who is the winner of the Tea Time Fabric Panels Prize! Your panel will be sent to you from Tea Time Fabric Panels soon! We can not wait to see how it turns out!
Thank you and best wishes for 2017 to you and your family! With love and appreciation for your patience with me while I moved and got back up and running. Take care!

Madelon's Two New Dolls and Sloth

Madelon recently brought Lea and her Sloth home to her doll family and she has also purchased another dolly friend. She has kindly shared her photos with us today and shows just how interchangeable Our Generation and American Girl Doll Outfits and Accessories really can be.

But first a little shout out to how cute the Sloth is. Many years ago I got to hold and bet a sloth at a behind the scenes tour of our local Aquarium, I was amazed at how wiry the sloth's hair was, I am sure though this one is as cuddly as he looks!

The other new doll that Madelon has is Cora! She is a lovely doll with a fantastic playset and is a fraction of the cost of an American Girl Doll. Her accessories make this set as amazing  for the Doll of the Year Lea as it would for Cora or any other 18 inch doll you may wish to share this with.

The first outfit is very cute on both dolls and the flippers fit both well. 

The other outfit and the surf board are a wonderful addition to this set as well!

Do keep your eyes out for this Our Generation Doll Set and Lea and her Sloth! Such fun when you can get so much play potential when you combine different makes and companies to create fun and independent doll play.
Thank you Madelon for sharing your dolls and photos with us today. As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

An Etsy Cozy Paris Feeling!

So Etsy shop owners have been making Paris Themed Doll items for years now and today I want to share some of my recent Etsy Favorites that you may wish to add to your doll play collection! The above is called Paris Poodles and is a cozy Paris themed Pj set for your 18 inch dolls from Sheekyviolets etsy shop. Offered at  $8.00 these are the first item on my Cozy Paris list! Click here for shop and listing.

My friends over at Madi Grace Designs have a few classy and cozy Paris themed bedding sets. I have been a fan of Madi Grace Designs for years and I think you will love their Etsy shop. Click here for shop and listing.

All Dolled Up in Peoria has some Paris themed sling chairs that are perfect for our 18 inch dolls! Click here for shop and $35 listing.

and last today on my Cozy Paris Feeling is this listing caught my eye over at Little Sara Sew's Etsy Shop this listing is $20 for girl and doll sized Paris themed skirt. Click here for shop and listing.


The Grace/Paris Craze has begun and you can bring home some fantastic handmade doll items from Etsy crafters for your dolls I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some new and some long time favorite Etsy shops in today's post.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Visit With Grace!

Today I had the good fortune of stopping by the American Girl Store in Vancouver to meet the new Girl of the Year Grace!

The entire staff including Nikki were so wonderful to the long line of doll lovers including myself. Such a great place to visit with staff who really care about dolls!

I was so excited to see the new CANADA Red Shirt! Loved the puppy too who is all soft bodied and his bow turns into a leash!

On the way in I was thrilled to receive the Girl of the Year Apron for my doll!

 Here is what I bought! While I would loved to have brought Grace and her entire collection home my budget only allowed the book Grace Stirs it Up and The Canada Exclusive T-shirt! But A Girl can have a wish list!

Everything about this collection is perfect and on my wish list! The chair and the table set are 1st on my list, followed by Miss Grace herself and the mixer set! Now I just need a lotto win!

I had so much fun with our Doll community today and met some wonderful people. My friends Linda, Lauren, Deena, Miss Nikki and new friend Chloe!  I had the great pleasure of meeting Youtuber  Sarahagstudio's and her mom too! Check out her work by clicking here.
Thank you all for making today such a great day!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

2015 Girl Of The Year Grace!

So we have all found out that Grace is the American Girl Doll of the year. I tried really hard not to share any leaked info on Grace as I really like the surprise.

 I did however pre order the mini doll version of her with out seeing the photos.  I think that her story line will be an exciting one an I hope to go to our local Vancouver store to check her out today.

I am really looking forward to her books. Shown above is the Girl of the year book but there are some really fun ones planned! I think that this one will be the one I pick up to read for myself.
All the photos shown here are from Google Images and are not my own.
I would love to hear your thoughts about the New Girl Of The Year Doll as well so be sure to leave a comment!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com