The New & Improved Victoria

Sunny just finished treating her first "doll hospital" patient, Victoria. Vicki is Sunny's oldest doll (she got Victoria when she was 7) and has been through some pretty rough situations, such as a hair cut, a make-over, and a trip in the pool, so, well, she naturally isn't in the best shape in the world. BUT, with the help of some of stephanswodadancer's videos and other helpful doll care YouTube clips, Sunny has transformed Victoria from a worn AG doll to looking nearly new! Sunny's mom wouldn't let her do a downy dunk on her but she did let Vicki get cleaned with a Magic Eraser and brushed her knotty hair out for Sunny. Anyways, please enjoy the photos of the new and improved Victoria!

Vicki Now

Vicki Then

Vicki's skin is much improved and her hair is much more manageable than before. Magic Eraser and a good brushing really does work!

BONUS COMPARISON PICTURES:

Notice that Victoria's skin is now the same color as Gwen's and Gwen was just bought back in October!

Hope you liked the photos! Sunny and Victoria were very happy with the results. :) Happy Friday!

Cali***

Prepping For The Spelling Bee

I am so, so, SO happy right now. Jane and I both made it into the school Spelling Bee!!! Today we studied in Sunny's room for almost an hour on words we had trouble on. I still need to work on spelling "origami" and "deception". I keep spelling "origami" with a y at the end and "deception" with a s. Hopefully, I'll be able to remember them by the spelling bee, which is in early February, a few days before Valentine's Day. So, anyways, before I get even more off-topic: I was practicing with Jane when Nellie walked in, all cocky and smug. Apparently, the Frosted Meadows spelling bee is merging with the Madame Montez spelling bee and Nellie is participating...or so she says. I remember last year...ugh! Obviously, she beat me...and, well, won the school title. Jane and I were so mad because, like this year, we had studied for weeks and Nellie barely studied at all.

So, anyways, Nellie came in all braggy and boasty and started saying how this year was going to be just like the last. And then Jane and I said, "Whatever" and Nellie left with her nose stuck in the air. And that's why I have to beat her! I just have to. Even if Jane wins, I'll be happy.

I made a bunch of spelling flash cards that I'm going to practice with after this and then possibly read the dictionary (I know that sounds nerdy, but I really want to win!) before I go to bed tonight. But, before I finish this post, I just wanted to mention that Sunny has been working on fixing up Victoria, her oldest and first doll. Today she cleaned her skin with a Magic Eraser (something I highly recommend if your doll has dirty skin) and tomorrow- or maybe tonight- she's going to tackle her tangly brown hair. Okay, so be on the look out for a post of before and after pictures of Vicki soon! Happy Wednesday!

Cali***

Dreaming of Summer...

Even here in sunny Florida, winter can get boring and depressing. I mean, school is back in session (ick!), the weather is warm but not warm enough for swimming or going to the beach, and there's no fun holidays to look forwards to, other than Valentine's Day which isn't until mid February. So, yeah, I'm pretty bored. Okay, really bored. Other than massive loads of algebra homework and an essay on the anatomy of the human brain, my school life has been pretty boring, as well. I can't wait for the Valentine's Day Ball and I can't wait for summer vacation even more. But, I can't speed up time. I guess I'll go finish up my essay. :(

To get you in the summer mood I included a picture of Julie by Sunny's sunflowers. Bye!

Cali***

P.S.: If you haven't checked out our YouTube channel yet, there's a link under our RELATED LINKS that will bring you to it. Right now we have 2 videos up. Okay, bye...for real this time!

Check Out Our YouTube Channel!

Sunny made a YouTube channel!!! I am so excited!!! We only have one video up now, but hopefully we'll be able to make another and upload it this weekend. Sunny's username is SunnyshineAG and the link to the channel can be found on the sidebar under "RELATED LINKS" or by clicking here. Hope you enjoy our first video (it's not that good...) !!!

Cali***

Elizabeth Becomes Annabeth

Remember how I mentioned both Sunny and myself are obsessed with the Percy Jackson novels? Well, apparently, so is Elizabeth Cole, which is odd because she seems like the old-fashioned type who'd be into reading Little Women or The Wind in the Willows. Anyways, you're probably wanting to know how I know Elizabeth is obsessed, so here:

She changed her name to... Annabeth Chase.

A lot of you are probably thinking "who the heck is that?" Well, I don't blame you. Annabeth Chase is the heroic, spunky girl character in the series. And the even odder part? Elizabeth looks just like how Annabeth is portrayed in the books. It's scary.

Sunny was a little hesitant about letting Elizabeth change her beautifully classical name, but she agreed to let Eliza- I mean Annabeth go through with it. If you ask me, I doubt Annabeth will keep her new name forever. She'll grow out of the whole Percy Jackson fad eventually.

So, along with her new name, Annabeth found herself some new duds: a modern day jacket, a t-shirt, some shorts, and tennis shoes. It was hard for her to go away from her usual pink dress and high-heels, but, despite my doubts, she did it. :-)

Also, Annabeth is a daughter of the god Athena in the Percy Jackson's so now "Annabeth" is acting like she has magical powers and is a demigod. And everyone's starting to wonder if maybe... oh, never mind, it's probably not true. How could Annabeth really be Annabeth?

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week. The weekend will be here soon!

Cali***

Random Ramblings

The title says it all. Today, Martin Luther King Day, Sunny came home from her mini-vacation, and spent the entire day doing homework, chores, and unpacking her suitcase. I begged for her to let me post while she did that stuff, but she still insists I'm "too young" to use her laptop on my own. Oh, well!

On another note, the Liberty Jane contest results were announced this weekend!!! Congrats to Sitara for winning 2nd place out of over 1000 entries, Starr for getting into the top 50 designs, and to anyone else who participated and won the Liberty Jane design contest. Great job!

I know this is a major topic change but I'm so happy about it, I feel like I must let it out! This week is a three day week at my school! As you all know, today most schools were closed for MLK Day, but on Friday there's a teacher planning day so all FMSG students have the entire day off! Noelle, Shannon, and I want to go to the beach for a mid-winter photo shoot, but Sunny isn't sure if she'll be able to take us. I hope so! The beach by Sunny's house is very pretty, especially in early morning and during sunset.

I know this post wasn't very long or very interesting, but that's all I need to say for now. Sunny might be working on her first doll project sometime soon so we'll definitely post about that! Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Cali***

Melody Valerie Couture- Statement in Taffeta

Not much has been going on, other than loads of homework and tests for both Sunny and myself. Thankfully, the week is now over and the weekend has now started! 3 full days of rest and relaxation...

Not exactly. Sunny and her family are going on vacation this weekend and will be coming home on Monday. She might bring along one of her dolls, possibly me or Piper, but she's not sure at the moment.

Anyways, for Christmas most of you all know Sunny got the Melody Valerie Statement in Taffeta dress for Shannon Rose. It's such a pretty, high-quality piece of couture. I absolutely love the sapphire-colored taffeta. I highly recommend MVC designs! They are very beautiful and look great on all dolls. Thank you, Melody Valerie Couture!

Since we haven't posted too many pictures of this dress, Sunny and I agreed today would be the perfect day to showcase it. Enjoy the photos!

Cali***

Denim Mini-Skirt by Sunny

Sunny tried her hand at doll-clothing making this weekend. She decided to start with something simple: a denim mini-skirt. She knew that her dad had some old jeans he didn't wear so she asked him if she could use them on her project. (By the way, this was made on Saturday, the day when it was super cold!!! It didn't snow so Sunny spent her day-off doing this!) He said okay, and Sunny went to her room to work. In an hour, after countless attempts at making the skirt turn out presentable, her first piece of homemade doll clothing was born! I have to admit that it isn't the best skirt in the entire world, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Below are some photos of Noelle modeling the skirt. She claimed the skirt the moment she set eyes on it. I was a little mad, but Sunny agreed to make me something... eventually. This week she's going to be super busy with tests. Ugh! Anyways, enough of my ramblings; enjoy the pictures!

Cali***

Brrrrr!

Yes, I said it. Florida, land of the palm trees, is cold. REALLY cold. Like 30 degrees cold! Some of you who live way up north probably think that's warm, but to us Floridians that is unusually cold. Actually, reports of sleet and snow flurries have been sighted in the Tampa Bay area. SNOW!!!!! I have never seen snow in my entire life so I've been really excited this morning, waiting, hoping it might flurry, even for a moment. Unfortunately, it hasn't snowed yet...

Anyways, Sunny took me outside this morning to enjoy the cool (okay, freezing) weather. She took a few photos of me outside but these were her favorites. The third one was photo-shopped to look like it was snowing. Hopefully, it will snow later and Sunny'll be able to get some real photos of us in the snow. =) However, the second picture is of frozen dew on a pine tree in our backyard. It is probably going to melt as the day progresses, but I thought it was cool anyway. Okay, enjoy the pictures!

The frozen dew is hard to see, but if you look closely at the tips of the tree you can make it out.

Once I was done with my winter photo shoot, Sunny made me a cup of hot cocoa and a muffin. Yum!

Cali***

P.S.- Even Sunny's dogs were cold this morning. LOL!

New Year, New Obsession

Last year my book obsession was the Harry Potter series and the Twilight saga. This year Sunny has gotten me on a Percy Jackson & the Olympians kick, and am I glad she did! They're probably one of the best series I have ever read... no joke! Right now I am just starting the second book, The Titan's Curse. Basically, the series is about a 6th-grade boy (Percy Jackson) who thought he was simply abnormal his entire life. He then goes to a school called Yancy Academy and has a very strange experience. From there, everything changes. Percy goes to a camp for kids that are "abnormal" just like him. But, really Percy Jackson isn't abnormal, he's a demigod (his father was a god and his mother was a mortal) and the camp he goes to is especially for demigods. When Sunny went to the movies this weekend, she saw a trailer for the movie-version of the first book, The Lightning Thief. I hope its as good as the book!!!

I didn't have much else to post about so I'm sorry if I bored you with my ramblings! More posts soon! :)

Cali***

Lanie Holland: Reviews & Opinions

As most of you all know, the new Girl of the Year is Miss Lanie Holland, a nature-loving 10-year-old girl. Her collection debuted on January 1st, and it is very, very, very cute. I'm already begging Sunny for the Butterfly Dress, which would be perfect when it gets warmer out and her Garden Outfit, as well. Below Sunny and I decided to write our opinions on each item in Lanie's collection so far. :-)

Lanie Doll & Book

The Lanie doll is very cute. Her blonde hair and hazel eyes are very unique, as is her fashionable side-bang hair 'do. The blue/green striped polo-styled dress Lanie arrives in is adorable, although it appears it might be a little short. I really want the blue/yellow flats...I love the little bow! Her headband looks really pretty in her curly, white-blonde hair, but the headband Sunny's sister got with Emily doesn't fit too well. I'm not sure if Lanie's headband is the same way. Over all, Lanie is a very cute doll and her "meet" outfit is perfect for the summer or late spring! She id definitely a doll someone might want to add to their collection! (Hint, hint, Sunny . . .)

Butterfly Outfit

Lanie's Butterfly Dress is, in my opinion, one of the cutest spring dresses AG has released! I love the style of the orange cardigan and the red dress. The sandals are very summery and the monarch butterfly hair clips are clever and cute. Sunny got an American Girl gift card for Christmas so she might be purchasing me this dress for a Valentine's Day or Easter party.

Accessories Set

This set is very cool, the laptop especially! It's really neat looking and it could be useful for us doll bloggers. The bunny is cute, as well. The bag is the only part that makes Sunny not so interested in the set. It says "Lanie" on it and none of her dolls are Lanie or are named Lanie so the bag wouldn't be used much if we were to get the set, which we probably aren't. As for the bracelet, I love it!!! I like the beads and heart on it, and I like that the beads are blue, my favorite color. All in all, this is a very nice set.

Garden Outfit

Lanie's Garden Outfit is perfect for the summer time! The tank top, shorts, and sandals look good for mix-matching and, again, I love the bracelet. I think this outfit would be great for going to the beach or the park. Very adorable!

Nightgown (PJ's)

These pajamas look very comfy! Also, Sunny thought the monkey looked like an orange version of Jess's monkey, Toshi.

Camper

Lanie's camper is awesome! It has a shower, a kitchenette, a cork board, and a fold-out bed. It really is a cool AG product... despite the price. This camper is extremely expensive! I don't think Sunny'll be getting this anytime soon... unless she saves her allowance for about 3 years! LOL!

Lanie's Hammock

Lanie's hammock is very neat! I love how all her stuff revolves around the outdoors. Love the polka dot fabric!

Wildlife Set

Cute woodland animals, what more could you ask for? The squirrel is my favorite, the owl is little bit creepy looking. I like how the set comes with butterflies, too. They match the butterfly clip that comes with the Butterfly Outfit.

Raccoon & Can Set

Very neat set! The raccoon is adorable, and the trash can is probably the first trash can AG has made.

(These pictures belong to the American Girl Co.! They are NOT mine.)

So that's Lanie's collection! It's a really interesting collection with all the animals and the camper. I'm very excited to start reading Lanie's books and see what else AG will make for this environmental GOTY. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on Lanie and her collection, too!

Happy New Year!

Cali***

First Post of 2010!!!

Hi, everyone! Happy New Year!!!

This is my first post of 2010 and the first post of the new decade! Can you believe 2009 is already over? It seemed like it was just yesterday Sunny was ringing in the new year last December 31st, back in 2008.

To start the year (and end the last) I just wanted to mention some awesome things that have happened to Sunny and I during 2009. It was such a great year for us!

*Rebecca, Gwen, Shannon, and Piper joined Sunny's doll family.

*Sunny's family got Gus, their cute french bulldog puppy.

*I got to go to Disney World!

*Sunny went camping at Fort de Soto Park with Jane and I.

*And I started this blog!

I'm somewhat sad the decade is over, but I am definitely eager to start another. Once again, Happy New Year, everyone, and happy holidays!

Cali***