MONTH IN REVIEW: January 2017

New ponies kicked off the month and year! Like a lot of current playlines (Monster High, Ever After High, Lalaloopsy), My Little Pony is going through a little reboot. The new style ponies are much more dynamic and have such life to them. I really love them and I was pleased to find these at Target. I've been resisting the ones with outfits, but my need for Fluttershy might win out eventually.

It was a good month for DC Superhero Girls. The Wonder Woman of Themyscira doll came out at Target, the surprise basic Harley Quinn showed at Walmart, and the new plush became available on Toywiz. The plush are now popping up on Amazon, the Supergirl of Krypton doll is appearing at Targets, and we have the upcoming Katana release (and hopefully the rest of the plush) to look forward to.

Descendants took a huge leap forward with the lovely Jewelbilee dolls, but then kinda edged sideways with the nice but highly overpriced basic Mal and Evie. CJ remains a no-show in the US, but is widely available in the UK, or at least from UK ebay sellers anyway. I hope to see her hit the US soon, as well as more Jewelbilee dolls.

For Monster High, the Electrified Venus teased at SDCC finally found her way to shelves as a Walmart exclusive, accompanied by a surprise Cleo! I adore this Cleo, so I'm thrilled. I also picked up the 6 Fash'ems toys, though they're not for those sensitive to scents. They smell pretty bad! I think the chemical stink on mine is finally wearing off though. The Party Ghouls also found their way to Walmart and Toys R Us. I've got a Rochelle review coming up possibly tomorrow. And Music Class Cleo joined my collection thanks to ebay, not Walmart. Sigh.

Shibajuku Girls Series 2 made a very surprising appearance at Target, although only Yoko and Suki have shown so far. Both Koe and Shizuka are shown on the back of the box and on Target's website. I ordered Miki and Koe off Amazon and one of the fashion packs from Target.com, so it's been a good month for the Shibajukus. I really do adore Series 2 Yoko. I think she's by far the best one.

I made some Lalaloopsy purchases this month, too. I reviewed the brand new reboot Storm E Sky here, but also finally added Rosebud Longstem to my collection.

I was happy to finally add the adorable Briar to my Attractionistas collection. Will she be the last one? Who knows? I was certainly shocked to see her and Holly added to the line, which I had thought wasn't doing well enough to continue.

Lilo was added to my Animators Plush collection, as well as Gus and Scrump from the pet line.

The newest Care Bears were added to my collection after an almost month long gap between me finding Champ and finding the other three. I do love me some Brightheart, but I think Laugh-a-Lot is another stellar addition to this line. 

I lucked into snagging the Adagio Dazzle Equestria Girls mini on Amazon, although I still don't have Photo Finish. I'm not sure if she's been found in stores yet, but she's not in any of mine nor is she on Amazon except from overpriced 3rd party sellers. I really hope they make the other two Dazzlings! I love the minis line.

Epic Winter Maddie and Ashlynn were surprise finds at Ross  at a fabulous $9.99 each. I also got Apple a few days ago for free, because I had a $15 Mattel voucher. Just need Briar now!

My Shoppies love was renewed when I found Lippy Lulu's doll at Walmart and then the newest minis at Toys R Us. I've discussed them here a lot, so I won't elaborate any further except to say Rosie Bloom review coming hopefully later this week! The doll, not the mini figure.

Jumping back to older toys, I finally got some Hot Locks dolls, but only two. Sadly, these are annoyingly hard to find. I picked up Nahla (on the right) from a US seller, but had to import blue-haired Kai from the UK. They're awesome little dolls, but the giant hair poses display problems. Kai's pigtails are over a foot long EACH.

November Chyrsanthemum was a lucky Amazon purchase. I don't think of looking for G3s on there! But there she was. I took a chance and ordered the loose one, but she's in great condition and I didn't accidentally get the G1 birthflower instead! That was my fear after a miscommunication on a pony board I'm a member of turned into a drawn out trade that culminated in me learning she thought I wanted the G1 not the G3. I have May Lily of the Valley coming from Australia, so now I only need July Larkspur and collection complete!

This gorgeous Comic Con exclusive Atara Inferno joined my Bleeding Edge Goths collection this month. I paid quite a bit for her, more than for any of my others, but she was worth it. I was supportive of the natural red-haired version in the blue dress being the regular release of this character, but I actually never managed to bond with the doll. I'm not sure why, but this black-haired one really works for me, despite her being yet another black-haired BEGoth. The burgundy dress is great, too.

Going way, WAY back, these Tom and Jerry bendables were something I played with a lot as a kid, until Jerry got lost in the field next to my main childhood residence. I was devastated and we never did find Jerry, so many years later, I finally bought the pair again on ebay. I think I still have my original Tom though!

I got incredibly lucky on ebay and am now the very proud owner of Sugar Planet Frolique. I know the doll came from an estate sale, so there are still unanswered questions about the release of these characters. Nebula, Hailee and Slushee remain unfound across the internet.

I only bought two handmade plush items this month. My fabulous pink and black monster from TheMonsterCafe on etsy, who I showed off here, and a beautiful little goth doll from Chamber of Dolls, also on etsy. I bought her on ebay from the lady who's commissioned her from the etsy artist.

I named her Esther after the character from the Giant Days comics. I actually have another handmade goth doll named Esther, but I love the character that much.

The Rainbow Magic fairies dolls surprised me this month by existing. I profiled them here already, but they're worth another mention. I really wish they'd make more!

And finally, a Charlie Bears update. I've gotten back into bears again and four of them have come to join the hug this month.

Susan

Smudge and Susan both arrived on the 5th, Befuddle on the 13th and little giraffe Gilbert on the 30th. Charlie Bears just released their 2017 lineup on the 3rd and I've got 10 pre-orders, though two are for expensive mohairs and not confirmed yet. I also already have a new bear incoming, so expect more bears in February's month in review.

Not the most informative month in review, as they're a little harder to do now, because you've seen most of it already! I've been doing so many reviews, I feel like I'm repeating myself talking about the same stuff again, but there are a few new things here anyway. (Unless you're on my Flickr and then you've seen it all, as that's where I post things as I get them.)

Anyway, Party Ghouls Rochelle review likely tomorrow! After that, who knows? I did see the fancy gown Project MC2 Ember in Target, so maybe she'll make it here...

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.