Disney's Engel Puppe Dolls

On my top 10 list, there is an Alice in Wonderland doll from Disney World. In the Germany Pavilion at Epcot, there is a store called Der Teddybar that used to make and sell Engel Puppe dolls. You could purchase an Engel Puppe doll dressed as a Disney character, but the price was prohibitively high, somewhere close to $200. So of course, by the time I was an adult and able to purchase one, the doll making at Der Teddybar ceased to exist. I did find out the reason for this. Helmuth Engel, former owner of the Engel-Puppen company, actually worked there to make the dolls and sign them, and some years after he passed away, the dolls were discontinued at Epcot.

Since I discovered this, I have been searching for one of the Alice dolls. Well, last week, one appeared on eBay. Sadly, I FORGOT TO BID!!! How could this happen?!!! Life's not fair. Or is it? The Alice doll sold for $105. This is still less than her original purchase price, and she was MIB. I started searching around on eBay and happened to discover a Mulan Engel Puppe doll. She was not listed correctly, so I bid, and won! For a paltry $4.25!!!! I lost Alice, but got Mulan! I am way luckier than I deserve.

Here she is!

She is so pretty. Her outfit is very well made and has multiple layers. She was obviously played with, but I really don't mind, especially considering the price I paid for her.

Close up of her pretty face

She is even signed!

It almost makes me sad that she was signed to a Chloe, and Chloe no longer loves her. But she came to the right place. What I wouldn't give to have one signed to me...

The tag on her dress.

I also have the Engel Puppe Belle dress, but no doll. Over the next few years, I suspect I will try to collect a few more of these. Does anyone else remember the Engel doll making area at Der Teddybar? I would love to hear from you if you do!

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A Review: Journey Girls Travel Set for 18" Dolls

I had been planning for sometime to buy a travel set for Rafaela. Much to my distress, the one I had been eyeballing from American Girl suddenly disappeared from stock, never to be restocked again. That's the way things go over there. I found this one at Toys R Us, and decided to get it instead (well, I guess not instead since the original one wasn't available...).

Journey Girls Travel Set

Includes suitcase, three wash cloths in a carrier, brush, mini bag, passport, pretend e-Reader, pretend camera, sunglasses, pretend face cream, and some airplane tickets.

At $16.99, I would say this set is an excellent value. It includes a lot of fun stuff, as seen above in the photo. I'm a bit of a stickler about scale, but the scale of the suitcase works well. It's also a nice size. Rafaela was able to fit a complete outfit with sandals, her night shirt, and her Duffy bear inside.

Putting Duffy Bear in the suitcase

Spacious!

Detail of the inside

The suitcase even has little wheels and it will roll on a flat surface. I am impressed by the detail of this set,and also by how much I was able to fit inside the luggage. 

The handle pulls out too!

I am really happy with this set. I'd also like to mention how happy I am with the customer service at Toys R Us. They didn't have this set in stock, but the associate sat down with me and ordered it from the store. Apparently when you order an item in the store, you don't have to pay for shipping! I definitely recommend this set to anyone looking for an 18" travel set.

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A Review: Oui Go Together 18" Doll Outfit from Target

In the past, I must admit, I have been a bit of snob about American Girl clothes. I rarely buy anything "off brand", but recently, I have begun to change my attitude. One is in part to American Girl's prices reaching incredible heights, and another is that I find myself more drawn to the off brand stuff. I don't know if it's getting cuter, or I'm getting softer, or what, but the fact remains, I have been buying more and more of it. With that being said, I've decided to do a few reviews on some of the cuter items I've purchased.

The first one in this series is the Target Our Generation Brand Oui Go Together Outfit ($12.99).

Oui Go Together

The outfit comes with a red striped shirt, a pair of black capris, black flats, a yellow beret, and a cute Paris bag that has a loaf of French bread, a cheese wedge, and a bottle of water. You can also reuse the hanger inside the box as an outfit hanger. What really drew me to this outfit was the cute little loaf of French bread. 

Isn't it cute??!!

The outfit is fairly well made, with the only exception being the inside seams aren't exactly finished on the pants. The pants are, however, fully lined.

Inside pant lining and seam detail

They are a little snug to pull over the feet, but with just a bit of effort they are able to be put on, and once you get over the feet, they fit perfectly. The pants also have some very cute button details at the hem.

My AG 29 modeling the outfit

The shirt is nice quality, as is the beret. The bag handles are a little snug going over the hand, and it is definitely not an arm bag, as they are not big enough to slide up the arm. They do fit nicely over the wrist, though. The foodstuffs are made of hollow plastic, but they are so cute! The black flats don't exactly fit well, but they work. I will probably trade them out for some other AG brand flats (maybe some of those Ruthie shoes I bought during the big sale). 

They are a little big...

All in all, I think this outfit is a great bargain for $12.99. You get a lot of fun pieces, the quality is nice, and there is great mix and max potential here.

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My Licca Dolls

I must admit, I'm quite in love with Japan's Licca doll line. I have several of them which I purchased in Costa Rica, but you can find them reasonably priced on eBay from Japanese sellers. Licca has been around since 1967, and she is very popular in Japan, comparable to Barbie here in the States. Licca has a cute back story, and she also has some friends and family members.

Licca is 11 years old, and has twin sisters, Miki and Maki (my favorites), and a set of baby triplet siblings. Her mother is a fashion designer and her father is described as "kind". She also has a grandmother.

My little Licca Family

Gen, Miki, and Maki

Two Liccas, and a vintage, unknown doll

The vintage doll is wearing a Licca dress and shoes, but I'm not sure who she is. She's marked Shiba and from what I can tell, Shiba started making the original Takara dolls...so I am just satisfied and will say she is a vintage Licca or Licca-like doll. Her legs are very loose and she is difficult to pose. The newer Liccas actually pose in a very neat way. Their arms and legs don't click or have ball joints, but they are pliable, and will stay in whichever position you want them.

I hope I can get one of the cute Licca play sets, perhaps the Mister Donut set:

Isn't it to DIE for??!

Maybe if I get this set, I can take some better pictures :) Liccas are such fun dolls, and they are accessibly priced, so I would definitely recommend adding one (or a few) to your collection!

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Exposicion Arte de Frida y Diego

En el viernes pasado, mi esposo y yo fuimos a Atlanta para negocios con el consulado de Costa Rica. En el camino, vi muchos anuncios de The High Museum (el museo) sobre el exposicion de Frida Kahlo y Diego Rivera. Yo queria ir y ver el arte de Frida porque ella tenia dolor, emocion, y la vida de amor tempestuosa. Todas las emociones son evidentes en su arte. Pense que esto podria ser la unica oportunidad en mi vida a ver este arte en persona, entonces, nos fuimos.

Pase el mayor parte del dia nariz a nariz con las pinturas de Frida, y me senti muy cerca a ella.  Pude ver la pintura pinceladas centímetros de mi cara. Yo se su pinturas son llenas de temas como dolor, fisico y emocional. Tratando de no sentirse poco profundo, mi favorito es el retrato de uno mismo, por supuesto, Yo y mi Muneca.

Mi esposo compro esta impresion.

Cuando trato pensar sobre el significado de esta pintura, no puedo llegar a una conclusion. Yo se hay muchas personas que piensan el significado es que Frida no podia tener ninos...pero a mi, es como ella es haciendo un declaracion sobre la falta de instintos maternales. Yo no tengo cualquier educacion sobre arte, pero me gusta a decidir que cada pintura que significado a mi. Tengo una colecion de munecas, pero no siento la necesidad a tener hijos, y esta pintura tiene significado en este respecto para mi. 

Claro, ademas de la impresion, he comprado una munequita para Rafaela. 

Mini Frida y Rafaela

Fue una experiencia gran que nunca olvidare. 

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AG Boutique Atlanta & A(nother) New American Girl

The hubby and I had to take a short trip to Atlanta to visit the Costa Rican Consulate this past weekend. There is an American Girl Boutique in Atlanta, so of course, we had to make a stop there.

AG Boutique, Atlanta

We went Friday night after all the "festivities" of the day. I didn't expect it to be nearly as crowded as it was, but I guess that's my naivety. The Bistro was not crowded at all, however, so if you're interested in visiting the Bistro on a Friday night, it might not be too bad. My husband told me I could pick a new doll, his treat, while we were there. I had already been considering this possibility, so I had my choices narrowed down to two:

Saige

Or a new My AG (the one with curly hair, top back right, don't know her number)

I should mention here that I have never hand picked an American Girl at the store. I have read other collectors' opinions that picking out your own American Girl is such a special experience, to be treasured always. I'm not really sure I got that super-special feeling. I think I feel more warm and fuzzy when the doll arrives on my doorstep -- maybe it's all the anticipation of waiting for the doll to arrive that makes it superior for me. That being said, here's how I chose my doll:

I opened the first box of the doll I had chosen and looked at her. She looked fine to me, but I had this feeling that you just simply CANNOT chose the first doll you look at. That defeats the whole purpose of hand picking your doll, right?!! So I opened the box behind her, and looked at the next one. She looked equally fine. I stood them side by side, and looked, until I noticed the first doll had an almost imperceptible crease in her eyelashes, so I chose the second doll. I did not bother to look at any other dolls as I quickly realized this whole selection process was definitely not for me. I think the moral of the story is that if you or your child is feeling like you are somehow missing out on the whole American Girl experience because you've never gotten to purchase a doll in the store, don't feel so bad. Well, who did I choose already?

I made a compromise and bought a Saige outfit for Rafaela, and the new MyAG doll.

The one advantage to buying in the store is the savings on shipping. I paid $204.37 for what I purchased in the store, and just to see, I put the same stuff in a cart on americangirl.com, and my total with shipping came out to $210.95. If you can wait until free shipping though, and you live in a state with no AG store, you will end up financially better off than buying in-store. Don't get me wrong, going to the store itself is definitely an experience that is worthwhile. The displays are very neat, and all the customer service staff is extremely friendly. It's also fun to see how excited kids get in the store. I would just say, that in my particular case, I don't feel like I am losing anything when I purchase my doll online, and have her delivered to me sight-unseen. 

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