Are y'all psychic?

Okay, first things first.  I'm still doing six-day work weeks and my rear is dragging, so it took a few days to throw this post together.  But here it is, my Galentine's Day box from Treesa!  Treesa told me that she has a Cabbage Patch Kid that she's fixing up for me, but she said that doll needs a little more work.  So seeing this doll was a shock!  Meet Alexandria Florida, y'all!  

Treesa picked out some papers to send (Alex's original papers are long gone), and I think she chose well.

I can't remember if I said this here on the blog, but I've been wanting a redhead with the #2 head for a long time.  I saw one on that video about the Cabbage Patch Kids beauty pageant, and the combo just kinda stuck with me.  Kinda makes me wonder if Treesa is psychic!  Apparently Alex is a big coincidence, as Treesa ran into her at a thrift store and thought she might be a Jesmar with those freckles.  Alex could indeed pass for a Jesmar, but she's your regular Coleco Kid.  From 1983, no less!  I wonder if Alex was one of the dolls that adults battled each other for back in the day?  LOL, anyway, I figure that the mischief in my room will increase once Alex meets Matthew Tommie.  #2 heads can be tricky, especially in pairs or groups, kinda like My Twinns with the Ariel head are!  Treesa reports that the dress is from an Etsy shop that I usually like, but the inside edges are kinda raggy and neither she nor I are thrilled with that, but I've got plenty of other cute little outfits that Alex can wear.  By the way, someone loved Alex and loved her hard at one point, because she's got a rent in her foot that has been mended.  A God-given tattoo is what I like to call scars, be they on dolls or on humans.

<sings off-key>  And I have loved you in a tame way, and I have loved you wild!  LOL, what a fantastic little Cabbie, though!  Alex would've made a fine present by herself, but she didn't travel alone.  She has her own little Cabbage Patch Kid...or I'm gonna pretend as such.  

I'm also going to pretend that he's a boy.  Tufties can be either/or, but I like boy dolls so that's that (I also like tufties, LOL).  He's really cute.  I think I'll name him Jeremy Kyle, after the British talk show host that used to split my sides.  Jeremy belongs to the Magic Nursery cradle/carriage set (hey, I remember that commercial!) and dates from 1998.  

The next package hearkens back to a recent post.  I've got Strawberry Shortcake and her little cousin/bestie, Apple Dumplin'.  Apple's pet, Tea Time Turtle, is also here.

Treesa gave me the lovely idea to do a post about Strawberry Shortcake clones and knockoffs, just as I have done with the Cabbage Patch Kids.  I think I'll do that, 'cause there's plenty of 'em!  As a huge coincidence, I have Apple's hat buried somewhere. 

I really got a kick out of this one, a Build-a-Bear piece.  He's a miniature Floppy Kitty!

Floppy Kitty is adorable in any size, but then I would think so because I'm biased towards orange tabbies, LOL.  My Adric is an orange tabby.  Y'all know those God-given tattoos I talked about above?  Adric has inflicted a few on me (accidentally, I swear!).  Adric is a sweet cat but he's also horrendously clumsy, and he tore the livin' sh!t out of my arm while falling off the kitchen table one time.  Anyway, Treesa included some other Build-a-Bear stuff, in the form of these shoes.  Shoes are always welcome. 

These socks aren't Build-a-Bear socks, but...well, footwear.  They're baby socks and will fit my larger baby dolls.  They're soft!

Then there's Dudley, another Wendy's Furskin Bear.  I think these are so cute!

Fans didn't go as ga-ga for Furskins as they did Cabbage Patch Kids, but these bears do have fans.  I like these little ones a lot because they're easier to store but have the same cute factor.

I had a laugh at Treesa's label on these items.  She wrote "Baby doll accessories...I think."  Suits me.

I love that butterfly!  The items above would suit themselves to playing Dolly Doctor, should I ever go that way.

This little mermaid was made by Simba and would make a nice companion for my Sea Wee.  Remember the Sea Wee, Treesa?  I think she's so cute!

Treesa included some more carrots for Justine-Marie's horse...

...and some goodies for my dolls to bicker over.  That cake looks nummy!

Lately Treesa also has been wrapping some items so that they're kinda like blind bags.  I like that.  I don't expect Treesa to do that with EVERYTHING she sends, because that would be a ridiculous amount of work, but one or two little things is just right.  She did that with these cute conversation hearts.

Fun fact about me:  I despise the taste of conversation hearts, but I think they make great decorations!  These are also the perfect size to be candy for my American Girls. 

Also wrapped up in paper was this little feller, who would fit in the palm of my hand. 

But he's not just any baby, though.  He's a zodiac baby, and very fittingly, he's a Libra.  He's so cute!

Lastly, Treesa included a book.

It has some tips for writing stories about one's American Girl dolls (or other dolls), which will come in handy because I like doing that for my dolly children.  I'm not gonna lie, though...a lot of my dolls' backstories go further than science vs. math or favorite cake flavors.  My American Girls deal with bullies, religious differences, family conflict, and budding romance.  My ball-jointed dolls all have backstories that are downright dark at times.  But still, cake flavors and school subjects are a good place to start.  It should also be remembered that my AG characters are mostly older than the nine or ten years that the historical characters are.  My dolls, my rules.

Well Treesa, that box was another banger!  Alexandria Florida, Jeremy Kyle, the mermaid, and the Libra baby are making friends and finding their place in my dolly world, and the rest of the items are cute.  I especially like those rubbery carrots, LOL.  I like the way vinyl feels.  Where did you find the Libra baby, by the way?  He's interesting. 

Love,

RagingMoon1987 

Birthday box

As I said on Saturday my birthday has come and gone.  I'm 38, one year closer to 40.  I get Mondays off so I slept most of the day with my dogs by my side, and oh man, did that feel good!  Uncle Man-Child moaned about wanting to take us out to eat, but Mama is on a cane and had just gotten off work, and I'm on a walker and hadn't yet showered, so we shut that nonsense down PDQ.  Mama and I ate leftover chicken and German chocolate cake and chilled out.  When you get to be my age just being remembered and thought of counts for a lot, though I'll ALWAYS want a cake, LOL!

On the ninth my birthday box came; Treesa always sends me something for my birthday.  First off was this teddy bear, Hal (short for Halloween).  He's one of Treesa's personal teddy bears, one with a decorated nose like Raina and Summer Daisy. 

My Newborn Nancy, from Tyco and Treesa's sister A.

Nancy runs on batteries, and she's a thumb sucker, just like I like. 

She also could suck on her bottle or pacifier, and she could be burped.  Pretty cute!  Treesa insinuated that she still works, so I need to get some batteries and try her out.

Y'all have met this next one.  She's a Wellie Wisher with bobbed hair and a sweet face.  I've chosen to rename her "Billie."

Mama insinuated that she'd like to complete the Wellie Wisher set, and that may mean another Willa since Mama likes her original outfit.  We'll see!

Now this...THIS is something I had never heard of before.  She is a Grandma's Marshmallow Baby, and she's from Playskool.  Ghost of the Doll has a forum discussion about these, but no official page.

Treesa says that this doll belonged to her, but she didn't really bond with her.  She named the doll "Marshmallow," and I think that's as good a name as any since she's soft like a marshmallow.  Here's a better look at her face.

It's kinda hard to tell in that image, but Marshmallow is a pale lilac color.  Some of the other dolls like her are blue, pink, or yellow.  Marshmallow may get a closer look in the future, just like Primrose Jessalyn and Violet did.

From the Cabbage Patch Magic Meadows, this is Sundance.

Sundance is a Crimp 'n' Curl Pony, which pleases me greatly.  I loved the Pretty Crimp 'n' Curl Cabbies, so having this throwback is fun.  Sundance will also fit in nicely with a herd of My Little Ponies.

Also fresh-picked from the Cabbage Patch is this little boy, from a Beachtime Twins playset.

He's a cute little boy, with auburn hair, green eyes, and a nice tan.

Both doll and pony are from the Hasbro era, and they're semi-in scale with one another. 

About that time Lily wanted to get in on the action.  She pouted when I made her stay off the couch.

Lily is a good girl, though.  I love having my cats in the house again!

Back on track, this one's a Sea Wee.

Kinda hard to see her cute little face, but she's got a big smile.  I think she's Seabrina, from one of the TropiGals sets.

Fun fact about me:  I've started gravitating towards tiny dolls like this, not just for dollhouse reasons, but because I can carry them in my pocket or my hand, even when I'm using my walker.

With MS being a possibility that walker may be my companion for life now.  Anyway, severe weather is back in the cards; remember that the Midwest and the South get a second tornado season in the fall.  With the Sea Wee being little she may ride in my pocket on Saturday. 

Speaking of dollhouses, this next item gave me a laugh.  See what Treesa wrote?

Y'all remember pretty well what I say!  Inside that parcel was a tiny DIY dollhouse kit, complete with house and furniture.  The pictures I took of the furniture didn't come out, but they're teeny-weeny.  The dolls themselves were tucked into this pretty little drawstring bag. 

Ooo, ooo, I bet the dolls are worry dolls!

Yeah, there are six of 'em!  I love worry dolls!  Y'know, if I ever do have room for a large dollhouse, this will make a fine plaything for the residents. 

Then there were these.  I freaking LOVE Pound Puppies!

I used to have a small collection of these.  I loved how soft they were, and how different they all were.  There were dogs AND cats, both equally adorable. 

The eighteen-inch contingent was not forgotten, and this little item came from Treesa's personal collection.  Forgive Seabrina; she wanted to have a little fun.

Treesa said that this could be used by the historical dolls, but Justine-Marie can use this too for her horse.

Then there are these bedroom items, which I think Airy might like.  I love the little nail polish bottle!

Then there's this kick-a$$ rag doll.  She's sized for American Girls, but they may not get her.  She's awesome!

The last item is something practical for me.  The picture didn't come out well, but it's a Monster High lanyard.

That's good.  I like rotating my lanyards with the seasons and with my moods.

As is often the case with gifts, I've had either Billie or Nancy or Marshmallow by my side for the better part of the weekend.  Nancy even shared my lunch on the fourteenth...while Mama took forever to come home and Uncle Man-Child asked nonstop questions. 

I guess he gets some sick pleasure out of hearing me say "yes" and "no."  I refuse to say more than that!  Anyway, the box was another hit, but unfortunately it made me want a vintage Pound Puppy.  LOL, Mama's gonna kill me!  But thanks once again, Treesa, and thank you to your sister too for her personal doll.

Cheers and joy,
RagingMoon1987

The Labubu trend

I knew that these homely little goobers were popular, but I didn't know that they were popular enuff to spur a thriving bootleg line.  I'm referring to Pop Mart's Labubu figures, of course; these little things look like one of the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are, and they are driving peeps wild.  LOL, even that link thinks Labubu looks like a Maurice Sendak character!

I never cared much for Where the Wild Things Are, by the way.  There's just nothing to the story.  There's nothing to many of Sendak's books, come to think of it.  Not terribly surprising, considering that Sendak considered Herman Melville one of his "gods."  I tried to read Moby Dick for the accelerated reader program in high school, and that book bites.  ANYWAY, Labubu looks a lot like one of the characters from that book, complete with the big toothy smile.  Despite those teeth, Labubu is supposed to be a friendly, helpful sort, though sometimes the plans go terribly awry, as best-laid plans often do.  According to the link these blind box figures are the most popular, so I got one of those to start out with.  He/she is from the Exciting Macaron wave.

As usual there are several variants, including one secret Labubu that's rarer than the others.

I like all the options, but unsurprisingly the green one is my favorite.  I ended up with...

...Soymilk!  I don't hate that result, and I actually like soy milk.  Soymilk is about six inches from head to toe with vinyl face, hands, and feet.  His fur is soft, and I don't know this for sure but his eyes look like they might reflect light, like those red things on bicycles do.  I'll warn y'all, by the way, not to give these small Labubu dolls to small children, because Soymilk's left foot popped off right after I got him.  I was able to repair him easy-peasy, but beware just the same.  

Since I'm always giving shout-outs to tornado towns, shout out to Plainfield, Illinois, from where Labubu hails.  That tornado was a 24-carat mutant, and Plainfield came back bigger and better than ever.  So hats off to you, Plainfield, and to the other communities that got hit in that event too (Joliet, Crest Hill, and Wheatland Township also lost citizens in that tornado).  Thank you for my Labubu!  He hangs out on my walker for the time being; if I can ever get OFF the walker then Labubu will have to go somewhere else, but for now he's my mascot.

Y'know, Labubu reminds me of Monchhichi, with the stuffed body and vinyl face, hands, and feet.  And sure enuff, Monchhichi is making a comeback thanks to Labubu.  I never cared much for Monchhichi, but I guess now is a good time to change my 'tude....like I just did.

She's not bad!  She's softer than I thought she'd be, and cuter in the face.  Mama told me point-blank that she likes Monchhichi better than Labubu, LOL.

One of these days I need to do a post about my plushies.  I like plushies almost as much as I like dolls, especially if they're unique.  Or gifts, like my mini Furskin.  So I need to finish excavating my house, gather all my plushies together, AND FIND FLAXIE!!!  I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS AND I WANT HER!!!  I've also got a Squishmallow and some other cute things that I've never shown y'all, and some sentimental things that I've kept from childhood.  Not a ton of stuff, but worth showing just for the memories.

Fuzzy love,
RagingMoon1987

If it's not too early for Disney then it's not too early for me

Walt Disney World kicks off Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Bash today (it'll run until Halloween proper).  I can only imagine how those cast members must feel in those Halloween costumes, particularly when August is so cotton-pickin' hot!  But then again, a lot of those cast members have to run around in full-body costumes anyway, folks like Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Goofy, so it's hot 100% of the time.  Still, I hope they'll be okay!  Heatstroke and heat exhaustion are no joke (I've had the latter).  But either way, Halloween Season has begun at Disney World, and if it's not too early for them then I can do it too.  Halloween is Mama's favorite holiday, and she...well, she's bought one little Halloween-themed outfit so far.  Exhibit A.

Silver Bird is already ready to hit the streets and gather some candy!  She's even got her little bucket, which the sticker says came from Oriental Trading Company.

Oh Lordy, I used to love Oriental Trading Company catalogs.  I look back on it all and realize that most of it was just junk that could clutter up a kid's room, but to my child's eye it was TREASURE!!!  A lot of the Halloween stuff glowed in the dark, so I always loved those catalogs the best.

Rita Cheryl is a little more understated than Silver Bird, but she too is ready for the oncoming fall, and the blazing weather that will inevitably come before Halloween gets here.

I do have a jacket and footwear for her to wear when it does turn cold, but for now Rita Cheryl is happy as a lark without all the frippery.

Of course no post of mine is complete without a Cabbage Patch Kid.  Mama got this for my Kids, and I promptly assigned it to Idalia Gale.

There's always gotta be one in the mix who WILL.  NOT.  wear a dress, and for me that someone is Idalia Gale.  Oh, she'll wear dresses when I push the issue, but it's like pulling teeth without anesthesia.  Idalia Gale is a jeans-and-overalls Kid, full stop.

Going a size down now, I have a Halloween-themed outfit for So Surprised Suzie around here somewhere (always somewhere!), but because I'm so organized I can't find it.  Never fear, I've had this outfit waiting since last winter.

There's always something available for a Baby Face doll if you know where to look, and not to brag, but I know where to look.  This particular dress is an eBay find, from Luvable Creations.

This next doll is a new face to the blog.  She's Lorifina, though I call her Lori.

Lorifina dolls came in simple little sleepwear, and items for this doll can still be found on eBay, but a healthy cottage industry also exists for this doll, and that's what this is here.  The eBay shop is dea850, and most of the items in this ensemble are handmade.  The shoes are not handmade, being Lorifina-brand shoes.

Pretty sweet kicks, I must say.  These slid onto Lori's feet with zero fuss, by the way.  Lori has sizeable feet, and the openings to the shoes looked kinda small, but they gap open enuff that I had no trouble getting these on her.  

From the very tall to the very small, here's another new face.  Meet My Mini Baby!  Ayla Diamond is her name.  Ayla...I've got another Ayla in my collection, but don't tell the Baby Name Genie that.  I like the name Ayla anyway, so I can live with having two.  Here's the new Ayla; she looks nothing like Big Ayla.  My Mini Babies have sweet little faces...but they're all asleep!

Yeah, I ripped Miss Emily's blog off again, name generator and all.  She recently talked about tiny blind-bag silicone babies (posts HERE and HERE), and when she mentioned that Etsy has a thriving market for clothes, I was sold.  Most of the items for these dolls are crocheted, and I love tiny things that are crocheted.  Crocheting something that small is NOT easy; I've tried it and it made my hands and eyes ache.  This little outfit came from PaulasCrochetArmoire.  As an aside, the Star Babies in the second post are WAAAAY more expensive than My Mini Baby, but the only way they're superior is in the name (I think they're also handmade, so that's something).  Staaaaarrr baby, flashy little shiny little lovin' machine!  LOL, I freaking love the Guess Who.

Ahem...not all of my kids are getting ready for falling leaves, fun-size M&M's, and pumpkin spice lattes.  Summer Daisy is ready to soak up some rays.

Thank you again, Treesa!  She said she wanted to get that little outfit to me before summer ended, and she succeeded!  Maybe that little outfit would look better on a neutral-colored critter like Flaxie, but I STILL haven't found Flaxie!!!  The pink provides a nice contrast to Summer Daisy's fur anyway.  As an aside...have y'all seen this year's Build-a-Bear Halloween cats?  They are ADORABLE!!!  One of 'em has ghosts printed on its fur.

Mia isn't really dressed for fall either, but she and the next two dolls look so cute that I wanted to include them.  I guess frogs can be for early fall, since they're still hollering on warm nights.

There's a story behind this outfit, one that shows that our local postal service still has problems.  I ordered this super-cute little outfit for Cinnamon, one that mixed go-go dancers and tie-dying, and IT.  NEVER.  CAME.  The tracking number said "delivered," but I never got my cute little outfit.  So, not wanting to give the shop a bad review for something that was out of their hands, I messaged them and they offered me my choice of the other outfits.  I picked the frog dress above, as it was the same price as the lost dress and since Mia needed something nice and new (Cinnamon didn't).  We see the result!  The eBay shop is called Park Ave Doll Clothes, and they have a nice selection of items for a number of vintage dolls that aren't the easiest to clothe.  They've even got some things for my buddy Sasha.

Lastly, here's two more of my Cabbage Patch Kids, Rowena Skylar and the beloved Candela Laura.

As usual, these were gifts from Mama.  Candela Laura's set has Peppa Pig and Rowena Skylar's set has brightly colored insects.  More springtimey, these colors are, but my cares are nigh next to zero.  By the way, remember when I told y'all that Beryl June (one of my double popcorns) has a fan?  Candela Laura does too; a friend on Failbook told me that Candela Laura was her dream Jesmar.  I have seen a couple'a Jesmars that look a lot like Candela Laura does, so if my friend looks hard enuff she should be able to find one.  Candela Laura kinda just fell in my lap...but then so did Rowena Skylar, LOL!

The jumble of colors and themes doesn't matter too much since fall is a mixed bag in the Bootheel anyway.  Some years it stays hot until the middle of November, and another year it snowed in early October.  Still other years have seen the temperatures see-saw wildly, with a wave of severe weather accompanying each swing.  Last fall was very wet, thanks to Hurricanes Francine and Helene.  Seriously, Helene didn't cause my area anywhere near as much trouble as she did Appalachia, and she was STILL a doozie!  I hope it's a long time before the country has another terrible storm like that.  I wouldn't mind a nice long soaking rain though, as the crops are starting to need it.  Speaking of hurricanes...here's Erin's baby picture, taken on the 11th. 

Not gonna lie, this hurricane has me concerned.  She formed in the Cape Verde area, where some of the worst hurricanes form, and she's got nothing but the wide open sea in front of her.  Those waters are warm, perfect for Erin to grow.  So we'll see what happens.  As for me and for much of the east-central part of the U.S., the weekend and the bulk of next week are looking to be hotter than the hinges of hell.  We're not quite to "Everyone in McKinney is dead" mode, but we'll be close.

ALICE UPDATE:  My resident black widow has had a third clutch of babies, and I've seen her oot and aboot a couple'a times, but no more pictures so far.  Alice hides when I come around, and I can't say that I blame her.  I'd hide too if something a trillion times my size looked at me.  But Alice is alive and well, still spry, still beautiful, still nimble as a jackrabbit.

Sunny love,
RagingMoon1987