Monday, September 30, 2019

(Mini) REVIEW: My Little Pony Classic Pinwheel

In a move that will forever annoy me, Basic Fun delayed the full 2nd set of Rainbow Ponies, thus creating a bunch of old stock backlog, so when the full set finally released, stores didn't put it out. A few people have gotten lucky and more seem to be appearing as time goes by, but Pinwheel and Starflower are still quite scarce.

I've been trying to get them from Target.com, but every time I get the in stock email, even if I click the link immediately, they're already gone.

So I caved and bought this Pinwheel for $21.99 on Amazon. I should have gotten Starflower, who I saw before her, but I opted not to. Regretting that a bit.




Pinwheel was my most wanted from this set though and she's the harder to get of the pair, so I'm pleased with my choice.

Pink is not my usual favorite color, but I love the darker shade they used for her.

Slightly different angle. She's just lovely. I really hope they keep going with these. I'm mad they dropped the Flutter set because no stores would pick it up. Idiots. Considering how hard it is to get these on Target.com when they first release, you would think they would have given it a shot.

But there is hope for more. A set of Gusty, Sparkler, Surprise and HEART THROB has been mentioned. So Soft Heart Throb was one of my fave childhood ponies, so I'll take a repro of the regular version of her. And another set of Lickety-Split, Cherries Jubilee, Tootsie and Posey has also gotten a mention.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Friday, September 27, 2019

REVIEW: Hairdorables Pets Series 2

I'm working against the clock a bit here, so this is going to be mostly pictures and less words!

I got my Hairdorables Series 2 Pets from Amazon today. I wasn't hugely into the pets, but got almost all the ones I needed. (If anyone has the mint green Comet, let me know!) But when I saw the shimmery transparent lushness of Series 2, I knew I'd want a lot more of them.







They're divided up into two styles: slumber party and outdoor fun to match the S3 Hairdorables.







The slumber ones tend to be the darker colors, while the outdoor are lighter.




So of course it's mostly the slumber ones I'm going to want. I love the darker colors.

And you know what that means. I opened 3 outdoor ones an only 1 slumber.

They are completely mixed though. No waves, I don't think, so you could get literally any of these.



I got both Picassos, which is why I don't think there are waves.

Portrait Picasso is on the left.

Peaceful Picasso is on the right.





I'm not positive, but I think Portrait got the wrong glasses. Those look like Tiptop Tango's.



And I finally got a Comet! I still want the Series 1 green Comet, but I do love this one. This is Star-Gazing Comet.

My only issue is that he doesn't stand well and neither does the telescope. But they're so cute, they can lean on things.






And finally, Sunny Sahara.




I don't care for her mold, but in the right colors, she's really cute.

I hope to order more fairly soon! I've got other things to take care of first. But I do like these and definitely want all the dark ones.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

MONTH IN REVIEW: July and August 2019

Well, I got behind on my Month in Review posts again! Let's catch up.

As usual, this is going to be mostly bears, because I'm not including any of the dolls I've reviewed here.

This adorable warthog is named Windypops. It's a silly, whimsical name thought up by Will, who's part of the husband and wife team behind Charlie Bears.

Windy was supposed to be a second quarter release, meaning April, May or June. The US still does not have him, even though we're finally getting huge shipments that are going to get us mostly caught up. Because he was one of my most wanted from this year's collection, I decided to order him from Amazon UK and I have no regrets. I mean, I hate taking a pre-order away from my stockist, but I've made up for it by adding a couple more. Windy's my second favorite Bearhouse character after Dringle the sloth.



Moulin Roty is an awesome plush company. I have one of their little ragdolls that I got on ebay. The only downside is that their prices are pretty high. I started an ebay search for them a few months ago, after seeing a lot of cute dolls in my ragdoll search. I discovered Lucien the horse on Amazon and had to have him, despite his rather high price tag.

He's an adorable little edgy artsy nerd horse. He's just fabulous.

There's actually one that keeps being relisted on ebay for a very low price if anyone would like their own Lucien.




This vibrant cutie is called Parsnip. He's one of a pair (the other is green and named Sprout) that I've always wanted, but never imported. It was worth waiting, since I got him from a US seller!

I adore orange. It's one of my favorite colors and not because of Halloween! I always liked black, ever since I was a kid, but orange is very much an adult favorite. I can't wear it, but my purses frequently have orange in them somewhere. So I always appreciate the orange bears.



I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get Sparks, because not only is he mohair, which I typically limit myself to only one full-size per year, but he was a Charlie Bears Best Friends Club exclusive. I happened to be up at 5am on his release day and was able to order him. Mostly because CB Direct US has Afterpay, which is seriously a collector's godsend.

Sparks is a stunning phoenix. I love his big smile and his head plumage is on wires, so it's bendable and you can "style" him in different ways.




Firework arrived a bit late for the Fourth of July, but hey, at least he came in July. He was another low-priced ebay find. I've gotten a lot of them lately and it's been awesome.

Firework is one of those that always hovered near the back of my wishlist. I was more smitten with Firecracker, who's black with long hot pink tufts shot throughout her fur. But in person, Firework's fur is gorgeous and he's very nice to cuddle. Better than Firecracker actually!




In July, I got my first new Fairy Hearts since 2008 or 2009 when they came out. I bought all 3 that were at Target!

If anyone sees them in Target or anywhere and you have some spare money, I will happily pay you right back if you pick them up for me. Seriously, I love these things.



Thistle is my first artist bear that's not either Charlie Bears or Kaycee Bears. (I do have a one of a kind mohair bunny made by a lady that was at a local doll show, but I'm strictly speaking about bears here.)

I saw him in the process of being made on Facebook and just fell for him. I love his odd color combination and his adorable face.



The end of July brought another Charlie Bears show to QVC, so of course I bought several.

Lollipop on the left was the most anticipated bear I've seen in a long time, but Cherry Pie on the right actually has caused more of a clamor, because the US still remains the only place that has him!

I love my Cherry Pie, because his fur naturally fell into little devil horns, which I made more prominent with a little arranging. He's my little imp and one of my favorite bears.






Delicate little Lena was from the same QVC show, but arrived in August, so we're starting the month with her.

It's hard to tell in the photo, but she's tiny. I don't even think she's 10 inches tall!









Waffle is another QVC bear.








Ulrika was an unplanned purchase, but seeing her presentation made me want her.






Sienna is one I wasn't going to get, but my mom kept asking "Are you sure?" until I stuck her in my cart...and then she was sold out.

I think I was quite early on the waitlist for her, because I had an order confirmed within a few hours, I think.





Boom Boom joined my Marvel Legends collection.

I have Mr. Sinister from Amazon, but I haven't opened him yet. I should do that.
















I ordered 3 Hairdorables Series 3 from Amazon and got extremely lucky! I opened both of the rares! Not the ultra rare, but the regular rares, which in my opinion are harder to find, since they don't have a special background.

This is Late Night Noah and her amusing face mask.





And Sensational Skylar.

These two are both great, but I don't think I would have overpaid to get either, so I'm glad I got them how I did.








My third one from that order was Slumber Sallee.






I bought Night Owl Neila on ebay.

Neila is my favorite.



And I did a trade for Shine Bright Neila, who's my favorite Hairdorable EVER.

Starring Sallee was bought on Facebook.







And Acoustic Harmony (on the left) was from the same trade as Neila.









Kenya was bought on QVC during one of their promotions. She's been on my want list for a while.







And I got Shelby after getting Waffle and liking him. They're the same bear in different colors.







I'm a fan of Killstar's plush, but never ordered any until I got the hydra along with my boots.

Definitely going to get more eventually!






Lani and Zadie got pulled off layaway this month. They're both so soft!




ZigZag was one I didn't pre-order. He's supposed to be an aardvark, but the head just didn't come out right. The body is great, but the ears should have been much longer and the face should be longer and more conical.

But when he got added to QVC, I decided to try him out. What I love about QVC is that it's great for ones you're not sure about, because you can send them back. I pulled Zig out of the box and loved him despite his inaccuracy. He's still not an aardvark in my mind. He's some sort of composite creature. But he's cute no matter what.





Adelaide the fennec fox was one of my pre-orders. I love the Bearhouse line because this is where Charlie experiments with different animals and she normally does a great job.

Adelaide is so sweet!





Glorious Oona arrived with Adelaide. She's one of the four Queen's Beasts in this year's collection. The first, China the bull, never made it to the US until recently, but I have Goliath the lion and now Oona. China will be here with the giant batch I have on pre-order right now. It's going to be a massive layaway!





There was a surprise QVC show no one knew about and Bread 'n' Butter Puddin' was one of the bears added to the site, although he didn't get shown on the show itself!

I love this misfit of a bear. Every single one is very different!




I tried watching Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty because of this character. This is Miguel. He's an Anubis chihuahua. I love Anubis and I love my two chihuahuas, but that combo gives me a headache. So did the brief bit of the show I watched.

But me pass up any form of Anubis plush? Not gonna happen.




And we end with...more Fairy Hearts! I overpaid for two more on ebay and got two new ones!

Seriously, I will pay you guys to find me more of these.

Now we're caught up! Until the end of the month...

Thursday, September 12, 2019

REVIEW: Hearts For Hearts Girls Nyesha and Zelia

Hearts For Hearts Girls is continuing to rerelease older characters. The only one I've bought so far was Mosi to keep in her box, but I couldn't resist the newest pair: Zelia and Nyesha.

HFHG are available on Amazon. They're around $40 each. (Nyesha's a little more for some reason.)

So here's the original Nyesha on the left and the new on the right.

One of the most obvious differences is her hair. The new one's is much less tightly-curled.

The new one also does not come with the cute tie, which is a shame. I love the tie.

The jacket and shoes are about the same, but the striped shirt is slightly different and the fabric at the hem of the skirt is different.



Face-wise, they're almost the same, but the original had much darker "makeup" around the eyes.

The reason I bought the reissue is that my original has that smell I typically associate with old plastic turning bad. It's sad that she smells that way, considering she only just released in 2014. I'm hoping they reissue Surjan next year, as she's the other one with the smell.


There are two reasons I bought the new Zelia and both should be pretty obvious!

One is her lovely new dress. She's the only reissue to get a completely new outfit.

The other reason is that my original on the left there suffers from the weird purple eyes. Some HFHG have eyes that turn this neon purple shade over time. It's really weird. Lauryce, Zelia, Mosi (a little) and both my deluxe Dell and Consuelo all have this problem. I should probably buy the reissue Lauryce at some point...






It's nice to have a brown-eyed Zelia again! I'm keeping her hair in the ponytail. It's cute that way. And I do love the new dress.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Glitter Girls Collection Part 1

I promised a Glitter Girls post and I kept my word, if a bit slowly!

I decided to photograph all my girls. I'll make note when they're not in their stock outfits.

Kani here is wearing mostly her stock. The stretch bracelet is a random addition. I think it came out of a 5 Surprise ball? And the shoes aren't stock. Her stock pair are glittery turquoise sneakers. These lovely blue flats with a star on their straps are from the Stepping Starlight leggings and shoes pack.

Everything in this article was purchased on Amazon unless otherwise noted.

In this case, the accessory pack was from Tuesday Morning.





Kani had to start us off, because she was my first Glitter Girl, but now I'll go in alphabetical order.

This is Amy Lu. She is entirely in her stock outfit.

She's one of my favorites, because I have a soft spot for brown-eyed blondes.




Bluebell here is also completely in her stock outfit.

She's one I struggled to get, because she went in and out of stock a lot last Christmas, which is when I bought most of these girls.

I like her more than I originally thought I would. She's very pretty and her hair, like all the girls in this line, is glorious.




Candice is my sleeper hit. I initially thought she would be one of my least favorites, but she's actually one of my top favorites!

She has silky dark brown hair and these gorgeous dark blue eyes that are almost, but not quite, purple.

She's wearing her stock outfit.





Eline! Eline and Amy Lu were the next dolls I purchased after Kani.

Eline is completely in her stock. Her shoes are some of my favorites.

I love her pretty red braids, freckles and dark blue eyes.




Elula is another favorite. I love her shorter, almost white hair.

She is wearing the A Scoop of Yummy Treats fashion pack.

Her stock outfit was a hot pink top over white leggings with a pattern and gold flats. You'll see the top on Poppy.




Keltie is one of my two newest additions.

She is wearing her stock outfit.

Keltie was a surprise find at Tuesday Morning. They had her, Elula and Poppy, plus a smattering of outfits and accessory packs.

I'll probably get Keltie a new outfit soonish. I plan on buying some new GG stuff maybe next week.




These are my two Lacys! The one on the left was bought first, but her little hair twist had gotten damaged either in the warehouse or on route to me, so they sent me a replacement doll when I said something.

Left Lacy is wearing the Sweet Tooth fashion pack and a random orange bracelet. Pretty sure these random bracelets came from 5 Surprise balls.

Right Lacy is in her complete stock outfit.







Nelly! Nelly was higher on my want list, but I kept buying lesser-wanted dolls before her, because they were the ones going in and out of stock. Poor Nelly never did go out of stock, which is ridiculous, because she's one of the best from head to toe. Love the hair and her outfit is perfection. The orange shoes are my favorite part. Love that shade!




Ah, Poppy of the staring eyes. These dolls tend to look a little bug-eyed in photographs, but are less so in person. Poppy photographs the worst though. Her sparkly light blue eyes just do not do well in pictures.

Poppy on the right was a Marshall's find. She's from the first version of Glitter Girls. Their limbs are poseable like the current ones, and they have these more serene faces. She's wearing her stock outfit.

Poppy on the left is the current version. She was a Tuesday Morning buy. She's wearing Elula's stock top/dress and the Flutter and Sparkle leggings/shoes pack.




And finally, Sarinia.

Like Poppy, I found her earlier incarnation in Marshall's. That's her stock outfit.

The current version on the left is wearing the Dressed to Dazzle fashion pack, but without the gold glitter boots it came with. Instead, she has the sneakers from the Starry Sneakers leggings/shoes pack.

That's my collection for now! I definitely want to order Fifer soon. She's the last doll I need. And I plan on getting her a fashion pack and maybe ones for Amy Lu and Keltie, too. We'll see what funds are looking like. But Fifer and her fashion pack for sure.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.