Dolls and More Dolls, Episode 2

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one thing leads to another. (Yes, I'm a Jane Austen fan and especially fond of Pride and Prejudice!)

Michelle and the Rosebud live two states away from me and I was worried that the doll clothes I was eager to sew wouldn't fit properly.  So, of course, I needed a "model" to try on the clothes.  I chose a knock-off doll, inexpensive and available.  

Meet Annabelle Kate. She has the sweetest expression.  I just love her!

She's adorable dressed for Easter here, but looks can be deceiving. 

Her Yacht Club dress, those cute slingback sandals and the Easter basket filled with Peeps probably distracted you.

The horrid truth is that she has the worst hair in the world.  It would be impossible for any little girl to comb her trainwreck of a coiffure.  All I could do was braid the disparate lengths into two thick braids, add red ribbons and call it good.  Well, not good, but the best possible.  And she stayed that way for four long years.  

Until I discovered the infinite wonder of doll wigs on Etsy.  When it arrived, I cut Annabelle Kate's hair.  It was such an improvement that I should have given her a trim years ago!

She looks much happier now with her new, very brushable, silky hair. 

Annabelle Kate wasn't the last doll to arrive at Meadowsweet Cottage.  You knew that was coming, right?

When the Rosebud visited and we played with Annabelle Kate (pre-makeover) and Michelle, the difference between American Girl doll hair and the knockoff doll hair was sadly even more apparent. I've always loved the look of a shorter-haired American Girl doll. And sure enough, I found a great buy on eBay.  If you think she looks like Kit Kittredge, you'd be right.  She even came with some of Kit's meet outfit and her book, which was a bonus.

I renamed her Mabel Gabriella--Bree, for short. Although I admit I sometimes think of her as "Kit".  It just means that the dolls need to play together more so I get used to calling her Bree. 

There's something special about owning such a great doll.  I'm not knocking the knock-offs, but she's made so well. Her hair is so silky and easy to comb and style.  She sits and stands beautifully.  I kinda love her!

 

 

Dolls and More Dolls, Episode 1

I like dolls.  

 Baby dolls, Raggedy Ann dolls, Amish dolls, Barbie dolls. Dolls from the store and home-crafted dolls. These two lovelies were made by my grandma in the 1960s.  She made them for all her grandchildren and we got to choose which one to keep.  At family reunions, the Raggedies come too! Can you tell two blondies picked these?  Mine just coincidentally happens to have brown hair and blue eyes.

 

But my current favorites have to be American Girl dolls.  I blame it on my grand-daughter.  We bought the Samantha doll at Costco for a decent price and that was her birthday present at five.  I don't think I'll ever forget her ecstatic reaction when she opened her gift!  Priceless!

I was aware of Pleasant Company and their product--dolls from various historical periods that came with appropriate clothing and accessories and a storybook of their adventures.  I didn't know that they eventually became part of Mattel. Or that there were knockoffs (which meant that little girls from less-advantaged families could enjoy imaginative doll play also.

But once Samantha, renamed Michelle, became part of the family, I wanted to sew for her--sort of a family tradition.  And I discovered doll patterns. That meant all those little scraps of cute fabrics that I couldn't bear to toss suddenly were the right size for my projects.  Do you know how dangerous it can be when literally any material can legitimately be saved?  A stash can expand exponentially!

 

For better or worse, I discovered Pixie Faire, an online shop with the cutest designs ever! Great designers like Liberty Jane, Eden Ave Couture, Forever 18, Miche Designs--I could go on and on. Basic American Girl clothes from tee shirts to mini-skirts.  Fun accessories like bunny slippers and Halloween costumes.  Furniture from bunkbeds to sofas. So I started getting their free patterns then ordering new ones.  Four years later I haven't stopped sewing and crafting for Samantha/Michelle! 

In Episode 2, one thing leads to another...

Reflections on Blogging in 2013

Thirty-three posts in 2013 isn't bad.

It's not great but it's much better than 2012 when my sweetie's health and chemo weekends occupied my time and energy and many posts were just my weekly guidepost quote.  Can I just say how grateful I am for clear CAT scans and minimal doctor visits?!  To relax into "normal" without that constant worry is a huge gift that I'm enjoying while I can.  I was nervously productive in waiting rooms and chemo suites--you should see how many yoyo's I sewed and the embroidery I stitched--but the joy wasn't there so I never blogged about any of it.

My non-blogging excuses in 2013 revolved around a malfunctioning camera; no one wants to see blurry photos.  Thankfully another camera appeared into my life (I apparently can't write without a photo to inspire me).  Since I killed the first camera by taking it to a foggy, windy, sandy beach you might think that Camera Numero Dos would be carefully shielded from the elements.  Heh, heh--maybe not. I took it with me last week so I could take photos of the grands on a winter beach.

Now I'm getting error message 6120 and soon will be delving into the mysteries of digital camera mechanics.  The photo above was totally worth it though!  Even though the camera whirs before giving me access and the lens cap only half works, it focuses.  I can live with that. 

 

I've done the SLR thing with a film camera and I'd rather not haul anything bulky so no expensive DSLR's are in my future. I'm happy with my simple cell to no smartphones either.  Point-and-shoots suit me.  And my almost-fully-functional camera will keep me blogging.

I've noticed that many bloggers have dropped off the blogoscope in the past couple years.  Have you seen that too or is it only my imagination? I know that as I read the "big bloggers" with their daily posts and amazing projects I get a little discouraged sometimes.  I can't compete with their readership or productivity.

Maybe you feel the same way, but you know what?  Most of them have good ideas but they don't feel like friends. You do.  I miss catching up regularly with my cherished online friends as they paint, build, re-arrange, glue gun, plant, harvest, decorate and share their lives.  I enjoy your comments and love to comment on your doings too.  It's a dialogue that just doesn't happen with mega-bloggers, as least for me.

Let's think of ourselves as filling a niche!  The friendship/inspiration/encouragement niche--it's far more important to me than catching up on the latest decorating trends.  Keep on blogging so I can keep on reading and commenting and loving you from afar.

I confesss that I've lagged in the blogging department because I'm so far behind the decorating curve that I feel out of it.  My style will never see me willingly live with a stainless steel fridge or paint one single thing in my house gray or decorate with chevrons.  Also, I lived through mid-century modern once and once was enough.  I like colorful interiors with plenty of art and furniture that tells a story.  I like cottage and country and flowers.  I might just be a few decades ahead of the latest trends in my hopeless enjoyment of unpainted oak, white appliances and brass.  I'm grateful that there are a few others out there who love the same cheery things I do. And happy some friends are showing me how to embrace just enough change and challenge myself.

Facebook and Pinterest have vacuumed up some of our precious blogging time.  It's soooo easy to make a short  Facebook entry to let family know what I'm doing.  I spend time on Pinterest regularly, but it's been solid inspiration rather than pipedreams.  I have a slew of projects that came right from my boards.  Finished projects, people!   

As I wrote this, I figured I should logically add a Pinterest button.  Now you can peek at my boards! 'Cause I figured out how to add one to my homepage...all by myself.  I totally rock.


There were twenty-three drafts in 2013 (as oppposed to forty-eight in 2012!) that never saw the light of a computer monitor. Subjects ranging from Mr. Roger's birthday to the truth about chickens.  No loss.

But there's a how-to draft showing my ever-improving velvet pumpkin skills.  A draft featuring a colorful new guest room quilt--my first quilt made for an actual bed (not a picnic or a wall hanging or a holiday pillow).  Also, helping to make my niece's dream wedding a reality was a highlight and I've barely shared it.  Especially since it sparked a long-dormant dream into the planning stages of creative and hopefully lucrative fun.  I definitely must turn some of the drafts into published posts.

So there you have it.  Looking back at what I did right--and what I could have done better--always helps me make my fresh starts more productive.  I really want to live my mantra for this year!

Be (INSPIRE)d,
 

I Wanna...

Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Have my photo taken in front of the Palace of the Legion of Honor.  Explore the Presidio. And get to the new-and-improved DeYoung Museum.

I was just in The City (San Francisco to those of you who didn't grow up in the Bay Area).  I used to love buying peppermint-striped carnations from the outdoor vendors and love beads from the hippies back in the day.  Eating abalone at Grotto Number Nine at Fisherman's Wharf after seeing the Ice Capades was awesome when I was a kid.

I retrieved my basic SF skills which include a bunch of very aggressive behaviors like driving with my window rolled down, one hand on the horn, one hand ready to gesture the window and one hand (presumably) on the steering wheel.  Oh, and the other hand on the stick ready to shift into first while on a completely vertical hill.  Tricky unless you're a cephalapod or an alien.


Even though we survived the drive and eventually shelled out for the parking garage beneath Union Square--which we decided was worth the price rather than continue to drive past two-hour parking meters with no loose change and waste our limited time--I am not a shopper.  I belong in neither Barney's nor Bloomindale's--not after my holiday filled with treats and their stores filled with gigantic ten-foot-high mirrors.  I'll go back when I lose forty pounds and win the lottery. Or when I have any interest in clothes that don't have to survive kindergarteners armed with Sharpie markers, glue sticks and watercolors.

Thankfully the Disney Store (crayons for our little grand-daughter) was more my speed.  Bloomingdale's was an educational color lesson:  "That dress is blue.  Can you say 'blue'?"  The Ferrari store taught Rosie Rosebud to "find the horsie".  And I think the salespeople in Tiffany's were impressed at our exercise of "don't touch" skills around their display cabinets.

Even though my sweetie and I agreed that San Fran, driving and shopping is a fairly toxic mix, even if certain other family members reveled in it, I did end up with a to-do list of activities that we might enjoy with the use of rapid transit and lots of green space to soothe us.

Anyone planning a winter/spring trip needs to know that Coit Tower is currently closed.  Lombard Street is still crooked but the hydrangeas aren't blooming and they're the best part of the drive down.  The new span of the Bay Bridge is open although it looks like they might not have attached all the cables yet.  The old bridge is being dismantled, bit by bit, but any of us who remember the Loma Prieta quake might get the creeps seeing parts of the upper deck missing (again). 

Which reminds me that I think they've maybe created some attraction on Treasure Island mid-Bay that I might have to add to my list of places to explore. 

But you're never getting me to Pier 39, Union Square or those New York stores that migrated west again.  Ever ever.

Except Tiffany's.  Anyplace that decorates with aqua is okay with me.

Namaste,

My Little Valentine

I'm a long-distance grandmother.  Doting...but way too far away.  So you can bet I cuddled Miss Rosie Rosebud, sang lullabies, changed diapers, pushed the stroller, and carried her around as much as possible on their first trip to see us.  We let her play with her Daddy's baby toys, pound on the toy piano that her great-aunt used, and fed her in the wooden high chair that's now serving a third generation.  In other words, I used every available moment to store up memories that will have to last until the next baby fix--hopefully Spring Break will find us at Casa Encantada once again.

Babies change daily and over the six months since we've seen her, she's changed from a newborn to a little person.  Oh, how I wish we were closer so we could absorb every little change!

Please put up with me for just a bit as I share my favorite memories from their recent visit. I spent my time reveling in our Rosebud instead of taking a zillion photos.  And since I'm the designated photographer, there's not one single photo of her and I together from this trip.  A mistake I won't make on the next visit!

 

There's a dimple in her right cheek. 

 She's still the queen of farts.  It's not as ladylike as a burp, but then burps aren't very feminine either.

Her socks fall off less than a minute after you put them on.  Thank heavens for tights.

If you eat in front of her without offering her a taste, she gives you the most offended look possible.

She has the bestest big sister in the universe.

The end of the turkey baster makes a pretty good binkie/toy.

I'm sure it's just coincidence that she usually spits up on you if you're wearing black but not if you wear tan or some spit-loving neutral color.  

I suspect she'll love roller coasters since she adores it when her Daddy gives her upside-down rides or giant side-to-side sways or rocket launches up near the ceiling.  

She somehow recognizes her Grandpa even from far away and gives him a special just-for-Grandpa smile.  

She's entranced with Mickey's Clubhouse and you can bet we're already thinking Disneyland.

On the other hand, her little lips quiver and her eyes fill with tears when her Uncle proceeds to show her that a lion roars.  I'm not sure whether to feel sorry for my son who makes her cry or to laugh at the response she inevitably gives.  Let's just say it's videoed it for posterity.

She learned to crawl forward instead of scooting herself backwards into a corner while she was here.

We finally solved the question of what happens when you take a blue-eyed boy and a brown-eyed girl and mix them up.  You get a darling hazel-eyed daughter with a curl on top. 

Thanks for letting my inner grandmother come out to play today.  

Bring joy,