Opening GOTY 2014 - Mini Isabelle Review Time

It's a cold, windy snow day. And, I got Mini Isabelle from Target as a present yesterday.

After shovelling some snow, my sister Anna and I changed to our warmest, most cuddly jammies. We made tea, got our dolls out, and put a movie on. (The Nutcracker!)

Here I am with Julie.

Here's Anna with Molly.

Finally, it was time to open my Mini Isabelle!!!

Isabelle came in a box that looks like a big AG box. She's standing behind a plastic holder for her book, just like the big dolls do. Just like Mini Saige last year, her book is paperback instead of hardback. But, we usually get paperback GOTY books anyway, so that makes her mini book more like the big ones.

Her book looks fun. I like the illustration inside, too, of her at the ballet barre.

I think Isabelle looks nice enough, and I bet a lot of kids will like her. She's blonde (again!) but I don't have a blonde doll with eyes that are her color. Her lips are a very light pink. It's kind of weird, but her character's a dancer, so maybe it's stage makeup? The pink in her hair is one of the coolest parts of her look. I think her pink hair would have looked super cool on a doll with darker hair or skin, too, though. 

Its' blurry, but here's an idea of how they did Mini Isabelle's dip dye. There's a whole hot pink layer of hair near her neck.

You can see the pink better in this picture. I wish there was a little bit more pink, because it's harder to see on my Mini. Colored hair is really popular here, and I can buy clip-ins in almost any color I want at our local hair supply shop. (I have electric blue and hot pink!) So, I wish Isabelle's were a little easier to see. Otherwise, she looks like just another blonde doll.

I love the see-through sleeves on Isabelle's shirt, and the ballerina graphic. But, I wanted to figure out why Isabelle's shirt looks kind of bulky. I mean, it looks HUGE on her compared to the outfits I've put together for my other AG Minis.

They really worked on the neckline. There's a teeny tiny facing there, so the neckline is finished and lays flat. That's also what makes her look kinda like she's wearing shoulder pads.

Argh! I wish I could get a better close-up of that ballerina graphic. I love it!

The pants kind of have a weird gathered elastic waist. It makes her front wrinkly, but I know the gathers also help get the pants on the doll. Her shirt mostly covers that up anyway. She also has real pink undies under the silver sparkly pants. I think that's awesome. On a doll this tiny, that also adds a LOT of thickness to the doll, though. So, that explains part of all that bulk.

I think the biggest bit that makes her shirt look so bulky is the GIGANTIC double tag that is sewn into the shirt. Look how huge that is! One tag just has a number on it, the other has the American Girl logo and "Made in China." My doll herself also has two more even BIGGER tags at her waist, too. One is almost 2 inches long! 

I'd take points away on my review for the huge tags right at her waist. But, I think the law says they have to be there so AG can sell the doll. If they annoy you, it'd be pretty easy to cut them off after you buy her.

I do have a lot of blonde AG dolls already - Julie, Kit, and Kirsten. Then there's also GOTY Kailey, Nicki, Gwen, Lanie, and even McKenna, who also have lighter hair.  I was wondering if Isabelle would look too much like my Julie or Kit. Her face is the same as Kit's, but her eyes and lips are definitely different colors. And her face looks really different than Julie's.

Julie and Isabelle's hair look almost exactly the same. Isabelle's is a little bit shorter, and pulled into a half ponytail on either side. 

Here's my Julie and Isabelle together.

Overall, I recommend getting Mini Isabelle. There have already been a lot of blonde GOTY dolls, but Mini Isabelle is the first blonde mini GOTY so far.  I admit that I sure do have a lot of blonde AG dolls now, and I do hope for a Girl of the Year who's a little different next - I live in a big city, and there are just so many more girls' looks to pick from and so many colors that make for especially awesome outfits on girls with darker skin that all these light-skinned dolls are getting kind of silly!

I love that they're making Mini GOTY dolls now. It makes me want to learn more about her, even if I know I can't meet *big* Isabelle any time soon. It turns out that I really like a lot of her collection, and am starting to want some of her things for me and my Mini Isabelle. And, of course, I want to read ALL of her books!

I really like the idea of her story because Isabelle is also interested in what goes on behind the scenes in performing, just like I am. She loves making costumes! I can't wait to start making some costumes for her, too! 

Isabelle's collection is also really cool - I dream of getting her sewing machine, craft closet, and dress form for myself! Maybe I'll have to start saving up for it now.

There are mix-and-match outfits that have some neat pieces, even though I'm not a serious ballet dancer. I take Ukrainian dance lessons, which use some ballet, and I know I'd especially like some of her practice things for when I practice, if I didn't already have Marisol's practice set. But, I have some friends who REALLY love ballet, and I know her things will be popular with them

Mia's coral sweater looks especially comfy as something cuddly to wear after dance class, or even to school.

Have you seen her pjs, though?

I think her pjs remind me of Mia's - they have a "faux wrap" design just like hers. Only Isabelle's are on the pants, like this: http://store.americangirl.com/images/F7331_main_2.jpg

And Mia's looked like this: http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/Mia%27s_PJ%27s_Set

Which do you like better - the Purple ones or the Periwinkle ones? I can't decide which is my favorite!

Anyway, I'll be back later with more reviews. 

Have a great day from me, Anna, and some of our Minis!

Happy SNOW DAY!!!

We got a snow day here today! 

 I had to help shovel snow this morning before breakfast - once we got the front door opened.

 This may not have been a big deal when I lived in Central PA, but it is a LOT of snow for Philadelphia!

It was too cold to stay out much longer. So, after I helped shovel the neighbors' steps, too, I hurried back inside. Today is a great day to stay inside, curl up in your coziest pajamas, do crafts, read a good book, and enjoy your Christmas presents. I got so many AWESOME presents, so you can expect some reviews coming up.

Best of all, I got my very own GOTY 2014, Mini Isabelle yesterday!!!

I can't wait to open the box up and read her book. But first, it's time for comfy clothes, warm breakfast, and a hot cup of tea in my Coconut mug! I'll be back later!

Dickens and Christmas Windows at Macy's!

So, you may be wondering how Sunday went, what with all that ice.

We finally made it out of the house a whole hour late! 

Boy was the weather funny - there was so much ice and snow at our house so we were late, most other people didn't even make it to church, but some people only ever got rain!

Later Sunday morning, after we dropped off the toys, we stopped to see some special holiday displays at the big Macys on Market Street. My big person wanted to show us the same Dickens display she saw when she was a kid. She didn't know where to find it until right after it closed last year, and it turns out it was right at Macy's all along! 

Well, I was excited to see it. I love "A Christmas Carol." Does anyone else remember seeing the book in the Molly and Emily movie? Anna was excited that, at the other end, she would get to see Santa.

The Dickens Village is a display that you walk through, to see the story of "A Christmas Carol." This thing's been around since way before Macy's was here, but they fixed it up so people can see it again. There are dolls in each scene (3 times as tall as me, but the big kids all thought they were short!) that are mechanical, so you can see what's happening in the story while you read about it.

Charles Dickens himself welcomed us with a speech:

There were shop windows with pretty clothes:

And puppets and toys:

I want the trumpet. And one of the fancy dresses.

And then the story started, and we saw Scrooge and the charity guy:

And Tiny Tim:

And Cratchit:

And then we saw this:

If you don't know what that is, well, let me tell you, that's Marley's Ghost. He was just one of many we stumbled into. And Scrooge doesn't stop shaking! 

I thought it was a little spooky, but mostly fun and a little funny. Anna is still having nightmares! 

Anna got so scared, we had to leave quickly, so she didn't have to look at the other ghosts. I'm going back to see the rest and take more pictures - it's open until New Year's. If you like this story and you're in Philly, I think you should go, too. Just, maybe don't bring any little sisters!

How do other little kids make it past the ghosts to get to Santa?

We looked at Macy's windows outside next. Every year, they do something different for the Holidays, and it's fun to see what's new. This year, there were mostly fun things that remind me of Philly, especially at this store, at Christmas. Can you guess which ones were our favorites?

This one shows Virginia mailing her letter to Santa! I've never seen the cartoon, but I like this story, too.

She's so cute! Wouldn't she make an adorable doll?

Here's a window to remind people of the Dickens Village. I think the ghost in this one looks friendlier!

Here's the Wanamaker Building's eagle, which is right smack in the middle of Macy's:

I don't know where this is, but the two people dancing really move and look so elegant:

This one shows the light show! We go see this every year, and I love the music and how all the lights look like they're dancing. We're hoping to go back especially to see the light show soon, so I'll tell you more about it another day.

Did you guess which are our favorites?

Anna's is the light show!

And mine is the Dickens Village!

Have a fun week!

Here's Dell!

 Here's Dell!!!

Dell is a Hearts for Hearts Girl, who is from Appalachia, USA.

We like Dell because she is from the Appalachain Mountains down South in Kentucky, and the Applachian Mountains also go through Pennsylvania, where we live. The Appalachian Trail actually goes right through the center of the Central PA town we were visiting. The restaurant in town has a big sign up in spring and summer that says "Welcome Hikers!" in big letters, and you can see people walking right down the street with big hiking packs on their backs.

Dell looks so beautiful by the Christmas tree! Dell's camo hat was a big hit!

The house I was visiting over Christmas was right now is outside of town - 'down by the crick in the holler," as folks would say. I also have relatives who were coal miners, so it was fun to read Dell's story and learn that her dad was a coal miner. Back in the '60s and '70s, a lot of mines and factories were closing in Northeast PA, so people like my grandparents moved away to find work, just like Dell's family in the book. Things can still be tough for families in the mountains in PA today, but it's often a whole lot tougher in coal mining areas in Kentucky, where Dell is from. Both here and there, folks love to help each other out. Dell brought a little book that told a little bit about her. Then, we loved reading Dell's diary online, where she told about all kinds of things folks up here like doing to help out, too - from baking pies and sharing food to using our knitting and crocheting skills to make warm things to share. You can find it here: http://www.hearts4heartsgirls.com/the-h4h-girls/ (along with info from the other Hearts for Hearts Girls.).  Dell reminded me that I'm almost done my own crochet project - a blanket to send to friends in Central PA to give away to people in need. We love that she shares a story of kids in the USA in need and has great ideas for how folks in a community can help their neighbors.

Dell came with her Camo Hat, Earrings with removable flowers, a pink and a green stretchy bracelet, and a flower necklace. Her pretty flowered shirt looked great with her cutoff jean shorts - a great way to recycle worn-out hand-me-down jeans into a perfect pair of shorts! You can see her yellow Mary-Jane style sneakers here.

We took Dell outside, to get some light and to explore our neck of the woods.

Dell's hair came mostly in a side ponytail... with a little bit that wasn't attached. It could all be let down, but we're going to just rubberband the loose bit into the existing ponytail.

Dell also came with a code that allows you to play games online. I tested out some of the games. Lilian's mini game didn't work quite right, so I kept losing the game and it was frustrating. But some of the games were ok. You can play a game to help Dell make deliveries to folks in the mountains. My favorite is a game that's made up of a lot of mini games.  There were quizzes, too - you can learn which style of world dance you're most like or you can see how well you know the meaning of Appalachian sayings.  

I really liked that the doll company donates money to kids in need. They also feature stories of real girls who work to do good in their communities.