Current Mood : Tired of a torn-up Lab ! 

Current Image Notes : Yep, you've seen this pose a few thousand times...but it's the only one where the character 'signed' the title "Princess". Interesting.

Whooh. Busy day. The cubby cabinet, much as I love it, has displaced a lot of stuff, and finding places for everything can take a while. I'm still not done. But I got the two large boxes of Barbie furniture and props out of the bedroom and back into the Lab. And cleared space for the lightbox and some other drawing instruments - mostly Beloved Hubby's - in the closet just outside the Lab. It's funny how I have empty shelves and drawers in the bathroom and kitchen, but the hall cabinets and all the closets are packed !

What's also funny is that I'll have to drag those boxes back down tomorrow or later this week, because I have a box of displaced chairs that have to go somewhere. And frankly, I don't like the way the boxes sit, so I'm gonna try to get it down to one big and one smaller box. Heck, I can't keep it all, and now I know a bit more about what I have and want to do with my dolls. I have this dream where I make elaborate setups and dioramas that receive much praise for their sensitivity and attention to detail. But I know it ain't gonna happen, I don't have the space or time or, when ya get down to it, interest. I'm darn lucky to have this room, and don't want to start feeling as though I ‘need' space for setups I only do for praise. Oh, I'll keep quite a bit, don't worry about that. But I don't think I'll ever do the ‘school' or ‘food court' dioramas, so I can ditch the 25 desks and several of the mini-restaurants. Well, I may keep about 10 desks and the sushi and bakery playsets...Kinda glad I returned the Bratz Sushi Bar, even though I kick myself over that every so often.

Beloved feels kind of bad that I'm shuffling all this stuff, and offered to go ahead and move the computer to the Office, even though he hasn't had time to texture or paint it yet. But really, until the dollhouse is finished, it doesn't matter if the computer's here or there. I'd as soon leave the computer in here, so I don't have to shuffle around again later, to accommodate the house ! I really want my dollhouse...

There's also two large bags of fabric - multi-yard pieces for ‘me' clothes - that needs a new home, and the big boxes Elphie and Fiyero came in. The Fiyero/Matt O'Neill box rattled when I moved it, and wouldn't ya know. There was a bunch of props and pieces I hadn't seen in a while, including the Barbie sewing machine !

I'd been wondering what happened to that vintage Barbie/Ken/Midge catalog I won off eBay a couple years back, too. Guess where it's been hiding since just before we moved ? I'm thinking that ya'll are probably about ‘Disney Princess'ed out, so I'll scan this and post a page a day. It's the blue one, the first one Midge appeared in, I think, dated 1962. I know I had fun looking at it a few minutes ago, and even if you've seen it or own it, it's always nice to have a scan that doesn't mess yours up ! 

Also got the wrecked living room cleaned up, and vacuumed as much of the house as I could. Man, this place was a mess *before* the cubby shuffle, and that certainly didn't help things. I'm hoping to spray-paint a cubby box every day this week, once I choose my colors. Amazingly, they're not gonna be four different shades of green ! (grin)

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:53 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Wheee !

Yard sales were good to me today ! Found two small cabinets for $4., just a twitch too big for the cubby slots, but useful elsewhere. Got a bunch of towels for Beloved Hubby's shop at a great price, and even found a printing calculator that works, for a quarter. Beloved's been wanting one. And, a nice ‘leather' lamp with a brand-new shade for $1.50 - it puts out great light, much better than the desk light I snagged from the Lab. Dearest Son scored a lights-and-sound Star Trek shuttle that works great with his Star Wars action figures. If Gene Rodenberry was alive, he'd probably have a headache over that.

I found the Disney Princess "Enchanted Tales Musical Coach Playset" for 10c. It's missing the horse - all carriages I buy are missing the horses ! - and has dried latex paint on the roof, but I couldn't resist the price. It's seriously tacky, though. It spins around and plays rather annoying music, and the colors almost mandate sunglasses. At least I can turn the music off. If I use it for a few photos, I'll have made a good purchase. Darn thing's $25. at Target. And I'll have something to do while waiting for Dearest's bus - that paint is on there good.

Speaking of DPrincess, the Happy Meal promo ends 04/10, and hopefully my ‘all things princess' kick will go with it. I am just this close to making a fluffy pink satin ballgown for m'self. And trying to wear heels again. In the meanwhile, I exchanged two unwanted, unopened ‘Pirates' toys for ‘Princess' ones, snagging Jasmine's headband and Belle's necklace. Also today's image. It's an unusual image of Belle, isn't it ? Jasmine's you've seen a few dozen times already, but I'll probably post it tomorrow anyway.

I've been trading Happy Meal toys for a while now. Started back when I was trying to find all the Cars ones for Dearest. As long as it's fairly recent and completely unopened, they'll exchange it. I take it further by always going inside, and aiming for less-busy times. No one has time for favors when they're already bustin' butt for the lunch rush. With the Cars one, I actually made someone happy, since his store was out of Filmore, and he needed one. I watched him tuck it away in a hidey-hole. (giggle)

Lab's still a mess, but it's workable, and I can walk in there now. The shuffling emptied an old cardboard box, so I took it outside with some spray paint Beloved had left over from a job site. I was curious how paper would take to paint, because that'd be the simplest way to decorate the cubby boxes. I've applied spray paint to foamcore, and it bubbled and warped. Would corrugated cardboard do the same ? Nope. Looks darn good, and I'll definitely use that color on one of the boxes. Now I just have to decide what color to paint the other three.

I'd originally thought to cover the boxes with paper or fabric, but painting them seems to be easier. Don't have to worry about the paint coming off, or the tape letting go - or trying to get a perfectly flat surface if I use spray adhesive. And the boxes are already a snug fit, I'd hate to have ‘em not fit due to my fabric selections. And I can use *cheap* paint on cardboard, not the $$ Fusion stuff.

Left to my own devices, I'd paint the boxes, then paint the fronts with chalkboard paint. Yup - you can spray-paint a chalkboard anywhere ! I know Ace Hardware carries the stuff. I've just heard conflicting reports on how well it works. And it probably makes Fusion look cheap !

I'm also seriously considering painting the cubby with the same paint we used on the Lab walls. Originally, I thought it'd be best to either paint it white or something neutral, so the box colors wouldn't clash. Hmm. I'll have to give it more thought.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Sweaty but jubilant ! 

Oogh. What was I sayin' about "tearing up the Lab" ? It is *really* torn up now ! It hasn't been this wrecked since Beloved Hubby painted it.

As soon as Dearest Son got on the bus and Beloved Hubby departed for work, my task of the day began - wrestling the new cubby system into the closet. Had to take out everything, ‘cause that cubby is BIG ! But it still wasn't enough. The computer desk was just too close for me to maneuver it the way I had to. And it was blasted heavy, even empty.

So I took the closet doors off. ‘S OK, I hated those sliding things anyway. It became readily apparent that this cubby was gonna take up 90% of the available floor space. I have to say ‘available', because there's a wooden shoe rack at the back that's permanent. It's a real pain, too - every closet here has identical ones. But I persevered. And it's in the closet, filled with brown boxes of doll clothes and some plastic ones. I had enough space to store doll shoes on top ! That freed up some space in the bookcases, so I redid those, too. Now everyone's not so crowded together.

Unfortunately, the cubby pushed the two big totes of doll furniture out, and it's all in my bedroom closet now. I'm gonna do some shuffling later, because I really wanna keep all my doll stuff in here, out of the bedroom. If I'm lucky enough to have a doll/sewing room, I should do my best to keep all that stuff confined to it ! That's just my outlook.

All that still left me with stuff scattered in the bedroom, the Lab, and the hallway. But I was wiped out. After a quick breakfast, I hit the flea market and a couple yard sales. The flea was a near-total waste of time - I did find the tiny bows I'd wanted for a Christmas photo essay (that I never found time to do !) at pretty much regular price, but since I couldn't find ‘em in December, I went ahead and spent the coins. Also found some pretty lace that was pretty cheap.

I also reinforced the lesson to avoid yard sales that have no prices marked on anything, unless I'm brave enough to suggest what I wanna pay. Really, is it that hard to pick up a dollar pack of pre-marked stickers that eliminate the hassle ? I see more folks leave when nothing's marked, because they don't wanna insult the seller by suggesting a price, or they don't wanna be embarrassed or feel cheap by asking and refusing what the sellers want for something. Plus, most of the time I ask the hapless husband, who has no idea what she wants for anything, so he either asks for you to wait or makes up something. I'd really rather think to myself, ‘Yeah, that's worth a quarter !' or ‘Oh, no way would I pay $5. for that !' without bothering anyone. Few times I have suggested a price, I've ticked someone off. I'm pretty cheap. But once, I really ticked this woman off...

No kidding. I got some ole lady so riled up, other people left. I made the dimwit decision to ask how much she wanted for some entirely unremarkable 80s Barbie dolls that had nice clothes - and no prices on them. Well, $6. each was a bit much, so I wordlessly put the two I held down. She asked why I didn't want them anymore, and I stupidly opened my mouth. I didn't mean to insult her, I simply said I had a personal limit on what I could spend on dolls, and I didn't have that much on me. She reacted like I'd slapped her mother.

And I compounded the idiocy by answering her when she asked what my limit was. You'd have thought I relieved myself on a flag. She went off on me six ways from Sunday and was still ranting when I left. Other people put their stuff down and walked away, and one guy got out of his car, heard the exchange, and got back in, gunning the engine. I still don't know how I insulted her so badly - at the time, $2. for a used blonde Barbie was what GWill and SArmy charged, dressed or not, and the flea markets often charged half that. I've bought dolls that were still in stores for 25c at other yard sales, but hers were somehow worth so much more. I hope she enjoyed her dolls, because I doubt anyone else bought them.

So anyway. I came back home nearly empty-handed, but I was ready to resume work on the Lab. Got the boxes assembled and made dividers from old Dollar Tree foamcore boards, then filled ‘em with doll clothes. The cubby holds everybody's clothes, not just the Barbie ones. I'm hoping to find a cute little-girl cardboard shoebox to hold Baby Chrissy's, but Dearest says she can use his Cars one until I do.

Moved the now-unusable closet doors to the garage, and moved the doll furniture boxes to my closet, since they were completely blocking the hallway. By then, Dearest was home from school and Beloved from work, so that was all I could get done today. But tomorrow's another one, and there's more yard sales. Soon, I'll have the best Lab ever ! Just as soon as I get my dollhouse moved in and the computer moved out. I can't wait !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:52 PM CDT

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Beloved Hubby had a run-around day, and he invited me along. Ended up at Lowe's, where I showed him the wooden cubby set I liked - $48. plus 6 fabric totes at $6.88 each. Yikes. Plus, the wire rack one was bigger. Wire shelves are 14" square. The wooden set takes 11" x  10.5" bins, but they're readily available at Target and Lowe's, in a rainbow of colors.

He *hated* the wire rack set up I showed him online. And the toy bins ranked even worse with him. After studying the cubby for about 30 seconds, he said it was dirt-simple to make...it'd cost about what Lowe's charged, but it'd be good, durable wood, not fall-apart-in-six-months fiberboard. And we could paint it any color I wanted. Hmmm.....

Well, long story short, we got home, he bought a sheet of Japanese maple plywood, and an hour later, cubby ! I helped as I could, which wasn't much. We ran out of trim tape, and it still needs a paint job, but isn't it lovely ? Tomorrow, I get to wedge it in the Lab closet. I'm kind of dreading it, kind of anticipating. That's today's picture - the Pegasus is on top, and the tin Easter bucket with the Disney Princess design is inside. The openings are 14.5" square, lots of room for tons of doll clothes !

While Beloved worked on other things, I took Dearest Son to Mal-Wart. He'd earned enough tickets for his Jedi Starfighter, so off we went. The closest M-W has suffered from Shrinking Doll Disorder - there's a whole gondola of dolls on display, but maybe only ¼ of that is Barbie. The rest is Disney, Bratz, various baby dolls, generics, and makeup/dressup kits. So it's been quite some time since I found anything intriguing. Heck, the only thing I was interested in for the year was the Speed Racer set, and you know how that turned out !

I did, however, find 14" square cardboard boxes in the stationery section ! Oh, cool ! I can paint or cover those with fabric, attach grommets for rope handles...and at $2. each, they were much cheaper than the cloth bins. Score ! Got four, figuring I could get more later if I needed to.

So I almost have what I want. We still have to finish the edge trim and paint it, and customize the cardboard bins, but my cubby's here in the Lab ! And $38. (plywood)  plus $8. (boxes) is about what I was gonna spend on the wire stuff. But this is more durable and personalized ! I'm so happy ! For once, I'll be able to find doll clothes without tearing up the Lab ! Wheee !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:52 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Lucky ! 

Got to hit the thrifts today - found a Victoria's Secret ‘Pink' stuffed dog. I've been seeing them a lot at yard sales. While the shirts on the dogs are cute, they're made for the dogs, and short of taking it apart and using one panel, there's no way to get it to fit a doll. I may yet do that, though. But what I wanted was the white life preserver the dog also wore. It reads ‘S.S. Pink', in pink, of course, but the reverse is blank. It looks so cute propped up by the My Scene spa.

Also found a lovely burgundy velvet girl's dress, with an embroidered overlay bodice. It really should have been $3., but the nice young lady at GoodWill only charged me $2. Doesn't it look good on Gracie ?

Casey's wearing a sweatsuit Dearest Son outgrew. Had to redo the inseam - it was much too low for Casey, and the stand pulled the pants up high. The back of the sweatshirt also has a snap closure now, something Dearest didn't need, but the My Size girls do, or I might damage their arms dressing them. Even her shoes used to be Dearest's - those were his first sneakers ! I had ‘em in a yard sale box for the PILs, but they forgot about it. So when they cleaned out to move out, they brought the box here. I joyously reclaimed the shoes (we didn't have these dolls when Dearest wore this stuff) and was happy I got to keep them. We just didn't have the space to keep everything when I boxed ‘em  up several years ago.

Also scored a pretty photo frame - stars around the border, with a star up top, decorated with rhinestones. Found a white curtain valance with some gorgeous eyelet lace on the 50c clearance rack. Mine ! I'll pick it apart for skirts and projects...or doll curtains !

Still researching the type of doll clothes storage set up I want. It can't be too expensive, has to be readily accessible, and must fit in the closet. I've looked at toy storage racks - plastic bins balanced on dowels that fit into cartoon character decorated side pieces - but they look so flimsy, and I'm sure those bins aren't as big as they look. What I'd really like is a cubby-type system - an open-faced set of squares with slide-out shelves or boxes. That way, I can take one out to search, everything's well-protected from dust, and the fabrics can still breathe. Those are expensive, though.

I may have found a compromise. They make wire rack shelving that'd about fit for me, for about $15. Matching fabric bins are 2 for $10. if I like pink and purple. Green, red, brown, and blue bins are 2 for $14., for some reason. All from Whitmor, and available online from several retailers - they just don't stock ‘em in stores. I'd have a decent set up for around $45. It's possible the wire racks are flimsy, but I won't know ‘til I've spent the cash. At least Mal-Wart does free ship-to-store...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:51 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Tired !

We had tornado watches livening up our evening last night - luckily not tonight, though !

Today was the usual Monday shuffle. I was a baaaad girl while out running errands. Like tonight's image ? There's five more princesses to come. They're on the cover of the coloring book I bought today. The $12. coloring book I bought today. Well, it said twelve bucks on the cover, I got it with a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby, but still. Can't believe I shelled over $7. for it, either, but I was in love with the cover and many of the stickers included. Luckily, I don't love all 600 of ‘em, but images of Ariel with a gold tail and Snow and Jasmine in tiaras were irresistible. I tried to find a smaller coloring book (shoot, I was whining six months ago about paying $3.50 for a 36 page Cars one) or at least stickers of the new ‘Enchanted Tales' version of the signature gowns, but no go.  

I was telling Beloved Hubby about seeing it at Hobby Lobby Friday, all shocked and outraged. Twelve bucks for a lousy coloring book ! He told me to get it already. D@mn, that man knows me too well.  

Looked around at shelves and storage. Didn't see anything I really liked, and plastic shelves are always a pain. Showed Beloved what I wanted, and he said he would gladly make the cubby shelves for me, it'd probably cost around $40. for materials, though. Here's hoping ! You know I'll be eyeing baskets and bins in the meanwhile !

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:50 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:51 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Springy, not stormy

Another busily happy day.

If you can believe this, do - I've not yet deboxed the Bling Bling Spa I bought Friday ! Haven't had time. But Delancey has a home, so I'm happy.

Beloved Hubby has his office back - the PILs have most of their stuff out of it. However, he doesn't want to build his custom desk, or move the computer in there from my Lab, until he's textured and painted the walls and ceiling. I don't blame him. But the kitchen table's too crowded, too messy, and too close to the litter box for his comfort.

So today, we moved the glass picnic table inside the office. That'll work for a while. Shoot, that table used to be our dining area table ! Anyway, with that, he needed a lamp. I had a desk one that didn't see much use now that the star one is fixed, so I snagged that for him. We also did an office chair shuffle, so I have a ‘new' sewing machine chair. Then he ‘made' an end table out of some wood and an empty five-gallon paint bucket. I gave him free run of the fabric stash, and he selected some black material with gold and copper stripes in it - I'd gotten like six yards of it at a yard sale for $1. - and tucked and wrapped it. The table now looks like a large ottoman, pretty darn good ! So he's all set up.

Dearest Son has his ultimate Indiana Jones Lego set - putting that together took hours. But it's amazing. Pull the golden statue off the altar, and the wall gives way ! Another wall can be raised and lowered with a small gear. The iconic huge boulder is also well-imagined and engineered. It's most impressive.

Sometimes, when I see a particularly well-made toy, and the extra effort really glows, I think back to a scene in Silence of the Lambs. Bug expert friend of Clarice remarks that the moth evidence she presents to him for identification was raised well, it was obvious. ‘Someone loved him,' he says. Someone on the Lego staff truly loves Indy ! It's obvious...

In more doll-related news, I did a silly thing this evening. As is usual for me when my immediate ‘needs' are met (I may have my ‘Midge #2' case next week !!) and there may still be money left over (grin), I think of how to better store and use my Barbie clothes. I hate how I have it now - nearly everything's in zippered plastic bags that used to hold bedding, inside a plastic tote box with a split bottom. Cheap, sure, and I can pull the ‘blouse' bag and the ‘skirt' bag when I need to. But it does take a bit of shuffling, and I always wonder if keeping all those cottons and nylons in sealed plastic bags is such a good idea.

What I'd really like is a cubbyhole-and-basket setup. Beloved Hubby could easily make the frame - and I could easily find baskets to fit. There's just the time involved, mostly because Beloved rarely has any. Purchased ones tend to be small...yet somehow, still expensive. So I'm looking at various plastic shelves and drawers. And hoping that maybe I can find something at a thrift store or yard sale. Heck, I'm even looking at kids' toybox organizers ! When I'm grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll check out those plastic drawer cabinets. How do you store all your stuff ?

I just can't figure out why it's gonna cost $40. to store maybe $30. worth of doll clothes...

Anyway, what I did, stupidly, was go through all said doll clothes. Fewer I have, less space I need, right ? Two hours vanish, and while I'm happy sorting through my wealth of Barbie apparel, there really isn't much I want to get rid of. How much did I decide to ditch ? One dress. Yup. That's it. One dress. (sigh) I really am greedy...

It just hit me how funny it is, that I may soon have ten Barbie cases - nine on display - but I'm having trouble finding a place for all her clothes !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:51 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Still buzzed from yesterday, but a bit sad...

Whew ! I'm finally caught up ! Like I said, it was busy and crazy around here these last two weeks.

Had a bad yard sale experience I'll tell you about soon. But I'm still buzzed about yesterday. Spent at least an hour brushing out Pegasus' mane - and, of course, it pooofed out into a lavender and white synthetic cloud. So I braided it. I probably have the only Pegasus that looks like a Wagnerian Valkyrie or operatic Viking maiden should be on her back, instead of Barbie. But really, it was that or cut it. Hair got caught in the light-up crown, in her leg joints, in her eyelashes, in the wing sockets. PITA. The braid doesn't even look that bad, honestly.

I also got to spin around Hobby Lobby for an hour or so. Got the stuff I need for my latest project, and got another miniature sewing machine for the collection - now five strong, six if you count the wind-up Barbie one I haven't found yet. This latest one is the tiniest yet - it's a charm. HL actually had two - one was a tiny sewing machine, another was an even smaller one, dangling from an ‘I (heart) 2 Sew' pendant. I got that one, detached it from the words, filed off the hanging loop, and taped it to the windowsill, so it won't fall off and land down the heat/AC duct. That's my second that was jewelry, and next time I go back there, I'll get the other sewing machine one. Who knew there were so many tiny sewing machines out there ? The ‘ I (heart)' part went into my jewelry box. I'll dangle a tiny star or heart where the sewing machine is, and wear it.

If I'd had more cash, I'd have bought this patch I saw - "Wicked Princess". Spidery black font on a light pink oval. Believe it or not, it is a Disney product. So this palm-sized thing was almost $5. They also had ‘Happily Wicked' ribbon, so you know I'll end up at HL again - soon as I get over the guilt for this spending spree, and there's another 40% off coupon out there.

(Sigh) Ok, the yard sale today. Beloved Hubby and I were out when I spotted a pink Victorian Barbie house - the big one - in front of a house advertising a yard sale. What can I say, I can spot that shade of pink three blocks away. I soon learned that the house wasn't for sale - ‘Mom' told me when I quietly inquired. A moment after, the house's proud owner stomped up, her little foot landing hard on mine, and she shouted, "IT'S MIIIIINEEEhh !" at me. Four syllables, I kid you not, at what I hope is her top volume. Um, OK.

Rest of the sale was junk, but while talking with ‘Mom' some more, I learned a few things. The sale was to help the kids earn money for their trip to an amusement park next week. Um, didn't they just have Spring Break, last week ? Also her little treasure of sweetness and light / dollhouse owner had stolen two of her brother's toys, put them in with the sale stuff, and made him buy them back. ‘Mom' thought this was great fun. I got to meet Unfortunate Brother a few minutes later - he'd picked up a "Jesus Saves" crucifix made from children's letter blocks glued together and painted in kid-friendly colors. He didn't have enough money to buy it, but ‘Mom' said it was OK, he could have it. After all, Gramma gave that to him on his Christening, so...

Ok, now I was ready to go. Even if the doll house had been for sale, I wouldn't have given these people a dime, but I seriously wanted to slip the boy a $5. bill. Knowing the lovely (cough) ladies (wheeeeze) in his life, though, he wouldn't have kept it long. The only item of interest was a fantastic programmable sewing machine - brand-new, much better than mine. Cheap, too. Her husband was hoping it didn't sell, because if it did, he'd have to buy the $800. embroidery machine (and the not-included Disney modules) she wanted now.

I was never so happy to get out of someone's yard in my life.

Oh, and I found the Belle card in a 25c box yesterday. It was with the bracelet, everything still in an unopened package. Too tight for my wrist, but I wonder if Beloved Hubby's employee's fiancée has that one already...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:50 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Overwhelmed with luck - and happy !

I feel *much* better today ! So I decided to take a little ‘me' time and prowl. Hit a few yard sales, the Tuesday Morning I've been meaning to hit since February, and maybe TRU.

Always yard sales first ! There were a few today, and the first one was a gold mine. Spent a big whoppin' $4. there - and scored a teddy bear in a nice robe (Timey/Dottie size), a jewelry box (more later), a Barbie Pegasus horse, a carriage, and ‘Troy' and ‘Gabrielle', dolls from High School Musical 2, complete down to their shoes ! I kinda wanted Gabrielle, but never got her, and now I had one, for just a quarter ! Troy is a serious lookin' fella, but I liked him, too.

It can be argued that the next best thing to great finds second-hand is researching great finds. Discovered that Troy and Gabrielle were sold as a ‘Summer Romance' set, and are still in their original outfits - only her necklace is missing. They retailed for about $20. - $25. new.

My huge-wingspan pink Pegasus is, of course, from 2005's direct-to-DVD Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, and she's also darn near new. Yup - my first Barbie horse (all together now) still had her hair in the factory set. With bonus plastic packing clinging to one fetlock, and a clear rubber band around her neck. Brietta's necklace, saddle and doll seatbelt's missing, but she still had her star hairclips - and I had even more of ‘em, from a baggie of Barbie stuff I got from a thrift store last week. Had her mirror and brush already, too (you know I can't toss out stuff that's star-shaped !). From what I can tell, she's still on her factory batteries - her ‘crown' still glows. She earned much ire from parents rating her at Amazon.com, over the detachable wings. I played with her for a good fifteen minutes and only lost one wing, once. Maybe I'm not doing it right. And it's possible the parents would rather the wings break than snap on and off. I like that this pretty, well-jointed figure can be a horse or a Pegasus. Her legs are amazingly poseable, and I love her long lashes ! She was around $30. on release. Mine was $1.50, with the carriage/coach.

The coach is the Royal Kingdom Carriage, from 2004's Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper. I really need to start watchin' these movies if I'm gonna buy the toys at yard sales ! It's missing quite a bit - two horses and their attachments, and some detail butterflies and a fake front gemstone - but it's in good shape and it'll make a fun photo prop. Right now, two R2D2 action figures are piloting it, sans horses, and it flies. At least, that's what Dearest Son says. It also had few fans at Amazon.com. Apparently, this $30. toy had numerous problems, mostly butterflies falling off and the horses refusing to stay attached. While I doubt Brietta will condescend to pulling it, I come across numerous Barbie horses in my thrift travels, and was thinking of getting one, for kicks. Might still do that, and rig up my own tack.

I actually found myself at Mal-Wart later today, eyeing the Disney Princess horses speculatively...one question arose, though. Why don't some Princesses have their movie horses ? Belle has a yellow grown-up My Little Pony clone, Cinderella has a blue one. Shouldn't Belle have Philippe, and Cinderella her Major ? I guess blah, cartoony horses are easier to paint and sell... still, I'll probably buy used, even though numerous Barbie horses are for sale at Mal-Warts and TRUs around the world. Why pay $15. when used goes for a buck ?

The jewelry box...(sigh) Well, it had a ballet theme, and was pretty. Old, too. I always wanted one as a kid - a cardboard jewelry box with a musical movement and a ballerina figure that twirled. I had a Mickey Mouse box, with a Mickey that spun to ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head', so I really longed for the classical plastic bob-haired one with the scrap of scratchy tulle skirt. Never got one. By the time I had enough jewelry to need more storage, I'd long since outgrown Mickey. Didn't really need this one, either, since my grown-up selection of plastic beads and unique, weird necklaces currently nestles in a lovely armoire, a fantastic Christmas gift from my PILs about ten years ago. But for $1., I couldn't resist finally having that tulle-skirt doll twirl to ‘Dance Ballerina Dance' on my nightstand. So there it is.

Later sales were a washout, as was Tuesday Morning. Toys R Us, on the other hand, had some interesting stuff. With the movie coming out soon, they were unveiling the '08 Speed Racer models in the ‘hot spot', this store's opening display. I smiled reminiscently and moved quickly towards the doll section, beelining as always for the red ‘Clearance' shelf-talkers. Nothing new, and the few remaining My Scene Roller Girls were back up to $10.

Amazingly, I found the Speed Racer Barbie set. A bit early, which is unusual for Mattel ! I was kind of predisposed to not liking it, and I don't. Price was good, at $40., and it really looks like the prototype photos. But a few days ago, I got to see, for the first time, a nude ModelMuse Barbie body. Yikes. I had no idea they'd bent her back so oddly. And it really showed on Trixie. Almost as bad as those American Idol dolls out a few years ago. Her elbows looked as though they'd been given a quick spin in a pencil sharpener, and her mouth was identical to the pursed-lip whistle/p+rn star Birthstone dolls I didn't like. Her hair looked as good as it could, plastered hard to her head, but I hated to buy a whole new doll for her head - when we all know the first thing I'd do is chisel her hair out of the styling block it was in, potentially wrecking her. That $40. set would end up costing $50. or more, at least.

Speed, though, looked pretty good. Fake leather outfit, cool helmet, brown eyes, good rooted hair. Too bad he's otherwise identical to the beach Ken I got for Christmas, and the Bridegroom one I scored at the After-Xmas sales. And in the Speed costume, he resembled my Robotech Rick Hunter doll so much, it nearly made me laugh. So I put it back. Maybe if Speed has bend-elbow arms or something, there's a chance. Otherwise, that's $40. back in the pocket.

Well, actually, only $19. I found a last-gasp My Scene playset, the Bling Bling Delancey Spa. Haven't had time to debox it yet ! And from what I can tell, it wasn't on clearance, either - $21. But it'd be sooo perfect beside Shinobu and Inaba's gazebo and grill ! Unless someone here sez somethin', Delancey will be on her way to a thrift store - evidently they haven't made her in a while, and with the My Scene line rumored to be headed for the Great Toybox of Memories and eBay, well... if anyone here wants her, drop me a note, ‘kay ? I'll be sure to post photos of it, but for now, here's an Amazon.com link -> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000F4LFBE/sr=1-1/qid=1206830486/ref=dp_otherviews_0?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&img=0&qid=1206830486&sr=1-1  .

Also scored a great Lego Star Wars t-shirt for Dearest Son. It's the Lego version of the classic poster - man, I hate to preface ‘classic poster' with ‘Episode 4', but I guess I should. On sale, too, which made it cheaper than the less visually appealing ones over at Mal-Wart. So it's put aside for a Monday morning surprise. If it came in my size, you know I'd wear it !

Hit Barnes & Noble and Hastings, neither has Barbie Collector. I think it's the last issue, which ranks. I've read that Haute Doll snarked about its folding, which just ticks me off more against HD. Folks at HD used to run Barbie Bazaar, and if they get any further away from my interests, they'll be in another galaxy. Or I will be. Their latest issue was in stock, and it was more of the same - ugh. Apologies to any true-blue fans, but there's no way they'd write two pages about yard sale finds, unless they found vintage or brand-new BJDs there, everything was a quarter (or they paid the authors to haul it off, about $2000. or so) and then it'd be slanted to make readers gnash envious teeth. I wish I could quit bothering even picking it up, but I get so starved to see new doll stuff...you'd think I'd realize my appetites are simply not what HD feeds. To me, Pegasus and Gabriella are new !

Believe it or not, there was even more to today, but I've already written a book ! I'll have to catch you tomorrow ! Hope your Friday was fantastic !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 2:49 PM CDT

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