Tagged: Brini's Questions

A big thanks to Brini of Brini's Doll Domain for passing around the Liebster Tag.  I did a variation on it earlier this month, so I'll be skipping the tagging round, but since Brini's questions are different than the ones Musume had, so I'm going to answer do the Q&A section.

1.  What is your most treasured doll and why?

That's a tough one! Nostalgia complicates things, but if we're talking about dolls that I've collected as an adult, it would have to be a tie between these two:

"Karel" (Volks SD13 Heath) and "Tshepo" (Iplehouse YID Aaron)

They're definitely my "who to grab in case of fire" pair.

A quick comparison: Iplehouse EID and Dollmore Glamor Model Heads

I've been asked a few times by people who own one but not the other if Iple's EID and Dollmore's Glamor Model heads and bodies are compatible.  The answer is not really, but it might be possible for people willing to make some modifications.

Iplehouse EID Chase & Dollmore Glamor Model Mettaa

Comparison shots of the heads (and head swaps) below the cut:

Random Toy of the Day: X-Men Minimates (DST)

It's a new year, so how about some new (or at least new-to-me) Minimates?

My first new minimates of 2016 are the X-Men Beast, Storm, Cyclops, Shadowcat and Colossus, and came to me via Gwen of the cooking/AG blog A Peek into the Pantry (Cheers, Gwen!).  As usual, Minimates are pretty standard block figures, so there's not much to say about them, so on with the photos!

Out of the Box: Volks SD16 ebony Amethyst

I've mentioned that this doll was incoming a few times since the October FCS, but now she's finally made her grand entrance.

There was a little drama getting her back from the post office: I'd been out of town over the holidays, and when returned home I found a parcel pick-up slip from the post office. On the 30th I went over to pick her up and found that the location listed on the slip had been closed permanently as of the 29th. They listed a replacement address, so I went over there.  And that place  turned out to have a sign on its door saying it was closed until the new year for renovation, and listed the original, now permanently closed location, as its replacement. Luckily for me the new year was only a few days away, but still!

In any case, let's get on with the de-boxing!

Tagged! Liebster Award 2016

The Liebster Award question tag is making the rounds, and thanks to Musume of My Dolly Adventures, the tag has come my way. I always have fun reading other people's answers to these, so let's get on with it!

RULES:

1. Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog (Thanks, Musume!)
2. Post the award image on your blog. 
3. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter. 
4. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers. 
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer. 
6. List these rules in your post. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them your post.

Review: Grace's Bistro Set (American Girl)

Every year American girl puts out a new "Girl of the Year", a limited one-year doll with a number of tie-in books and accessories.  Some of these sell out before the year is over, but the ones that don't usually go on sale.  I happened to be wandering through the American Girl Place Houston shop in December, and came across the 2015 doll's bistro set at a 30% discount.  Given my great love for doll chairs, it ended up coming home with me.

Grace's Bistro Set

A Quick Comparison: Illusion Spirit mini and Volks SDC Hands

Since Volks has yet to release option hands for the SDC boys, a question that pops up fairly often is about the alternatives that might be out there. Illusion Spirit's jointed hands are one option that comes up fairly frequently, and while I don't have those, I do have an Illusion Spirit mini with their standard hands, which have the same wrist joint, so if you're curious about the fit, this is for you!

Top row: IS hand on SDC arm front & back.
Bottom row: SDC Miko and IS Zhu Qing, each wearing the other's right hand.

The wrist joint on the IS hand is slight smaller than the SDC one, but still fits reasonably well. I can't speak to the colour match since my IS sample is tan, but it looks like fit wouldn't be an issue at least.

Dolls of the Louisiana Plantations

Final destination: New Orleans

Back in early December I went on a road trip down to New Orleans with my mother and sister as a way of celebrating my mother's birthday.  That trip involved lots of jazz and beignets, as one would expect.

But on the way there, we spent one night and a day and a half in Vacherie, Louisiana, home to several historic sugar plantations. We drove past several, and did a tour of two of them:  the American-style Oak Alley Plantation and the Creole-style Laura Plantation. And at each of them I was able to do some doll-spotting, so I thought I'd share some of those dolls here. Enjoy!

Happy New Year & 2015 in Review

Happy New Year!

Since we're now into 2016, it's time to do the annual look back at who joined the doll and figure posse this past year.

I started out 2015 by bringing home way too many minimates:

And it was all downhill from there! ;)