Welcome to Kirsten's World Book Review

 

Welcome to Kirsten's World

(AKA Why didn't I wait before doing her where would she be post?)

 

 

Just so you know, the history aspect of American Girl has always appealed to me. That's why I love the world books so much-they're like the looking back sections on steroids. Yes, you can find all of this information online, but it is so nice to have it in a child-friendly, colorful volume based on a character. I'll take advantage of it when I have my own children and I love it now. I wish American Girl made these for all the characters but only 8 got a volume like this: Sam, Molly, Kirsten, Josefina, Kaya, Kit, Addy, and Felicity.

 

I'm going to go through all the world books I currently own (Kirsten obviously, Josefina, Felicity, and Molly) and show you a few pictures that I thought were really cool. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I bought this one on eBay for around $12 shipped. The rest I found in used bookstores for around $10. They aren't too hard to find but if you see one, snatch it up!

 

 

 

The cover, showing Kirsten and some of the key pictures.

 

Furniture and Accessories Review: Rebecca's Sideboard and Her Souvenir Set

Rebecca's Sideboard and Souvenir Set

 

 

 

Ah the beauty of sales...

 

 

I said earlier that I was beginning to think AG might price themselves out of the market, but I may actually be wrong. They have offered so many sales lately-I managed to score the sideboard when it was on sale for $65 (it usually retails for $130) and the souvenir set for $12.

Who would they be in the future? Part 2: Kirsten

 

 

 

So I have a strange obsession with Kirsten-it's not so much that I love her character all that much. It's more that I am absolutely obsessed with her era and her clothes. I have a thing about being a pioneer I guess-I wouldn't mind being Laura Ingalls.

Special Edition Outfits-First Impressions

 

Spring Release 2015

So I'm going to take a break from who would they be today to review the new historical outfits. I do not own them (yet), and I do not live near a store. These are just the rambled opinions of an online shopper.

So this was clearly the reason they were having a sale-to make way for the new stuff. I scored Rebecca's Souvenirs so I was happy!

I'm disappointed that Josefina still has nothing. Caroline doesn't either, which kind of surprises me. I was always under the impression that she was a very popular doll. I think Josefina is going to be archived at some point in the near future. I know American Girl says that they'll be doing something with her this spring and I hope that's true-I just don't believe them.

Anyways, here are the items that were released for the historical dolls this spring. Enjoy!

Who would they be in the future? Part 1

Samantha and Nellie



 

So I currently have guests, which means I can't access my dolls because the dolls are in the guest room so...

 

The doll fun has all been in my head recently. That does not mean I'm crazy...the fact that I spend all this money on dolls means I'm crazy. Kidding...mostly. But really, almost all the disposable income I can claim either goes to travel or dolls.

 

Anyways, I decided to do a new series on the dolls in the future. What would these girls live through as they grew up? Some periods would intersect. For example, Samantha and Nellie would live through Rebecca's series, Kit and Ruthie's time, and finally Molly and Emily's time.

Grace Thomas-Initial Thoughts

Happy New Year!

A new year full of fun AG things-super exciting! Here are some rumors I've heard swirling about:

-First, I believe that the 1950s doll we've all seen stock pictures of might be released this year. This hasn't been confirmed by American Girl so maybe not-but I am really hopeful!

-Second, it was confirmed by the company on the Facebook page that a BeForever African American doll will be released in 2016. This is incredible news and I am excited to learn what time period she is from. I am all about the historicals, not so much the GOTYs. I'm hoping for a Civil Rights Era doll. I think that would be awesome.

But of course, it is the new year, and Grace Thomas is the doll of the hour. Bye bye Isabelle, hello Grace Thomas.

And I...don't know how to react. I think she is a very pretty doll-much prettier than Isabelle was, IMO, mostly because I think we have a surfeit of blonde dolls. Her eyes are very striking and I love her freckles. I really love the side bangs-she looks very stylish and sassy, which I certainly approve of. I want this doll.

But...I was really hoping for a doll of color this year and I am, again, disappointed. This is not what I wanted. I don't really know how to react. All these years and still no African American GOTY? What, black girls aren't special enough for a LE?

Also, don't be that person that argues dolls of color don't sell. It's all about the clothes and advertising. They could make a black doll a success if they wanted. Addy is out of stock currently-when I went to Orlando in December, you couldn't buy her. With two outfit changes, she won Be Forever. I see that argument on Facebook all the time when someone complains and it makes me so angry.

But...here I go. Grace is a pretty little thing-her hair looks very nice and I like the side braid. The blue eyes with the dark hair is very striking. Her outfit is cute-the boots especially. I'd wear them and the grey color is awesome. I probably won't buy her for now-after all, I don't have all the historical dolls yet, and they are my main collection. Grace will cost $120, and the justification for her price is the charm bracelet. Last year it was the highlights, this year it is the bracelet.

These are her meet accessories. and they sell for $32.. I LOVE polka dot stuff and so I adore this purse. If they made this for humans...oh, they will be making this for people??? Interesting... Also, fingerless gloves. Maybe I need some fingerless gloves! Is it bad that I take style advice from dolls?

Anyways, Riley might end up getting this. We'll see.

This is her welcome set for when she arrives in Paris. This makes me want to barf-it seems so touristy, like something an American would certainly wear in Paris. Gross. I prefer her meet accessories to this because the meet stuff doesn't seem so...clichéd. I like to travel and I hate feeling like a naïve tourist, which is what this screams to me. This will not be bought. I just wish I could get those macaroons without the rest of this junk. Maybe I'll call in for a replacement part. This sells for $32.

This is the Opening Night outfit and it sells for $38, which is really expensive for what this is IMO. I hate this. Too pink, too frilly, too...much. Pass.

I guess she wears this to work in the bakery. Kind of cute (I especially like the pink and blue combination) but I don't think this is Riley's style. I'll have to think about this some more, but probably a no. This sells for $34, which I personally think is a bit much for what this consists of.

Now this...this I can work with. This is the City Outfit. Riley needs a Valentine's Day outfit and this is perfect for that! This is my favorite outfit of all her things. I want this. It sells for $34 and it looks like it's worth every penny. I have seen some people speculating that this won't sell well after Valentine's Day-I'll still buy it. This is the only item of her collection that is definitely going on my shopping list. The colors, the style...Riley will look like so chic in this number. I would wear this myself.

Yep, she travels. This is actually two sets-the coat ($28) and the traveling set. I don't know. You know what the coat reminds me of? The awful powder blue puffy monstrosity that was in Marie Grace's and Cecile's collection. I HATED that thing with a passion. I might end up with it, since it is my goal to have complete historical collections. But this is the same thing, just modern. Pass.

Her PJs aren't so bad, but it's doubtful I'll actually buy them. I didn't really like the PJs that went with Saige or Isabelle. These are an improvement. The only dolls who currently have PJs are Kirsten and Nellie-I tend to find them boring unless I have the bed set for scenes and stuff. These are selling for $24.

Here's her little dog Bon Bon. He's $22, which is the going rate for the animals. He's very cute but Riley needs a horse before she needs a dog. He's not even my favorite AG pet at the moment-that would be either the Himalayan kitten or the Dalmatian pup.

I actually really like this but I probably don't have room for it. This is the bistro set, which I suppose is meant to be set up outside of the bakery. This is basically what I want my own table set to look like in my home but less touristy. If I had a kid, I'd probably buy them this. It costs $85.

Then there is this. This is the actual bakery, which goes for $500! I can barely believe this. I was shocked to see the price tag on Samantha's ice cream parlor but this...this is ridiculous. It looks like plastic too, and cheap, like something I could get at Target. Like the diner for instance. Pass, for lack of desire, money, and space.

And of course, if you want to bake in your bakery, you need to pay a separate fee for this set. This costs $68. So if you want that whole bakery experience, you're going to need to pay $568.

Now this is $150 and seems much more reasonable and much better in terms of size. This I actually kind of want but, once again, space will probably prevent it from happening. As of late night Jan. 1/early morning Jan. 2, this is backordered on the website.

Anyways, those are my thoughts about Grace-how does everyone else feel?

Clothing Review: Caroline's Meet and Meet Accessories

Meet Caroline Abbott:

One of the Two New Additions to the Family

 

 

 

So obviously Christmas has just passed. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday, whether that holiday was Christmas or Hanukah or something else entirely. While I am not super gung ho about it, I do identify as Christian (I actually used to pretty strongly identify as an atheist but then I went through an EXTREMELY tough time in my life and I HAD to believe in something, and Christianity was what I was used to-however I'll never push my beliefs on this blog) and so does my husband, so we celebrated. Since this was our first year together and I am currently unemployed from my move two months ago, it was a small Christmas but I did celebrate! Stockings, a tree with lights, etc. I used to belong to a family that didn't celebrate any holidays so I was super happy and I don't think I can stress enough how lucky I feel to have a husband who went to so much trouble to make my first real Christmas a special one.

 

Anyways, two of my presents were American Girl dolls. Caroline came from my mother, along with her meet accessories. My husband bought me Rebecca, her sideboard when it was on sale, and 5 other things (Kit's new reporter dress, the accessories that go with it, Kaya's winter accessories, Rebecca's movie dress, and Caroline's work dress). I made out like a bandit in my opinion! Don't feel bad for him-I saved for an Xbox One, along with a bunch of other stuff for his stocking.

 

Anyways, here is my review of Caroline and her meet stuff.

 



 

She is a beauty :)

 



My first impression of Caroline was that she was INCREDIBLY beautiful. I know people say she looks like a Barbie doll, and yeah, maybe a little. But I don't mind that-after all, I liked Barbies when I was a kid. Her hair is a very pretty color and looks very nice. I like pink too, so the pink isn't exactly going to push me away.

 

And then I touched her hair and I knew that she was going to be difficult. Worthwhile, but difficult.

 

You know, I was so afraid to buy Addy. After I bought her, I didn't take her hair out of the style for the longest time. As a white girl, black hair seems kind of mysterious. I've never been the kind of incredibly rude person that would dare to just reach out and touch a person's hair either, so I didn't know if it would be hard. Additionally, my hair is stick straight and I'm a wash and go and it looks good kind of gal. I didn't know how to do hair! But I needed Addy and soon, little pieces of hair came out of the roll, and I needed to do her hair.

 

And you know what? Sometimes I think her hair is really easy because it holds a style. The short haired dolls are easiest, followed, IMO, by Josefina, Kaya, Felicity, and Elizabeth. But Addy certainly isn't hard. No. Caroline is hard. Her hair looks nice now, but it's going to take worth. I DO NOT recommend this doll as a first doll for a child. I recommend Kit, Ivy, Nellie, or Emily.

 

Her eyes are very pretty though-they're a kind of sea blue/green that I find very attractive. She has the classic mold which is not my favorite (my favorite is the Josefina mold) but pretty enough.

 

They did well in choosing her colors too. Most of her clothes are in pretty pastel shades that I think fit her coloring. She's a pretty doll.

 

I won't even bother rating the doll because I love them all, but I have one caveat: not for children who do not have any practice with dolls.

 

115 for a doll, and they couldn't give me REAL embroidery? BOO....

Okay you saw her dress in the first picture-here is an up close detail of the sash. The dress is a very light pink cotton dress with ruffles on the sleeves. The material is very light weight-it seems kind of thin for Caroline's home. Yes, you could say it is a summer dress. But I've been to Maine during July (which is pretty close) and I wore jeans and a hoodie the entire time. This might be because I am from Florida, but I still think the dress is too lightweight, especially considering she was out on the water.

You can't see it on the image, but her dress has growth tucks on the bottom-basically, as Caroline grows taller, her dress can be let down, extending the usefulness of the dress. Because of that, you can see her pantallettes peaking out from the bottom. I wouldn't go so far as to say her dress is practical-it's hard for me to imagine Caroline sailing and working in the shipyard in this dress, but hey, whatevs. It's a pretty dress.

The waistband is attached and is embroidered with floral detailing. The green goes very nicely with the pink. I was kind of disappointed to see that the embroidery was just a screen print-it wasn't real embroidery, which kind of makes me sad, especially since Caroline's love of embroidery and needlework was emphasized in the story.  That takes away some of the niceness of it for me, but I can live with it.

The dress comes with matching pink flats-these are not embellished and I'm kind of glad-the outfit is already very girly and the addition of furbelows isn't going to enhance the outfit in my mind. I like the shoes, but it'll be hard to mix them with a bunch of different outfits. I'm kind of a fan of meet shoes being in a neutral color for this very reason. You can also see the pantalettes in the image. Interesting fact about pantalettes-the whole purpose is to be modest, but they were meant to be shown in young girls like Caroline. This is the case for some of the other girls-you can see Addy's for example. Josefina as well, when she is wearing European fashions for special occasions instead of her typical Mexican garb. Caroline's have some pretty lace detailing. If you pull them up, you can see her white stockings-simple and versatile. They're stockings, not much else to say.

 

 

Hats!!!

Next you can see Caroline's straw bonnet-my personal favorite part of the outfit! I love hats and I wish they were still fashionable. And no, I don't mean fedoras. I mean the fancy hats that these characters got to wear. Man, I love my freedom and rights, but boy do I wish I could wear clothes like this every day!

The bonnet is straw with a pink and green ribbon that can tie under her chin. On one side, a cluster of fabric flowers adds a touch of fancy to the whole confection! I would wear this hat!

She also comes with a draw string purse and a top. The accessories have not changed with the BeForever launch. This is technically a reticule. Interesting fact-if you look at Felicity's gowns, they almost all have slits in the sides so she can have her "pocket," which would be worn under her clothes. Caroline is the next doll chronologically. By her period, pockets were out of fashion because empire waist dresses (called different things in different places-also known as a Regency dress, made particularly fashionable as an Empire dress because of Josephine, wife of Napoleon) had such slim lines that pockets like that could not be worn. Therefore, girls like Caroline carried a reticule since they didn't have pockets.

I find this trend continues today. We focus on having a slim silhouette and so pockets in female clothes are almost useless, much to my rage. The pockets add bulk. That is why we carry purses or wristlets.

Thre reticule has a draw string to close it. This is a historically accurate touch, which I would be happier with if everything wasn't screenprinted! Boo! I know how much this cost-I deserve a well made thing!

This also came with a wooden top for Caroline to play with. When Caroline is all dressed, I tuck the top into the reticule-it fits.

All in all, I love this outfit. The colors are delightful to me, and they look great on Caroline. I do associate different characters in the line with colors (Felicity is green, Rebecca is jewel tones, Caroline is pink, Addy is that lovely blue they tend to promote for her, etc.) These colors are very Caroline. I'm not sure how practical the outfit is, and I hate the screen print. Therefore, I only give the dress a 8/10-lots of points for beauty, less points for a lack of quality.

The accessories are harder. If I was judging just the hat, I'd give it a full 10/10. I also love the top. But the reticule? It makes me mad. I'm going to give it a 7/10.

I love my doll-she's a beauty. I don't think AG actually failed on this one, and I have a feeling Caroline is pretty popular. But they failed on maintaining the quality and I've noticed this with some of her other stuff-the embroidery on Caroline's birthday outfit is also just printed.

Anyways, next I'll probably review Rebecca, but I do have a backlog of things-I want to introduce all the family and their meet outfits, so that's probably where this will go.