Friday, November 15, 2013

{ A Letter From Isabelle }


Hello all!  As Cindy mentioned in the last post.....McKenna and I were so excited to receive a letter from Isabelle that we skipped the Halloween party!  I know, right?  Now, if you don't know who Isabelle is, let me fill you in.  Isabelle Palmer is going to be the American Girl® Doll's "Girl Of The Year" 2014!  Now do you see why we are so excited?!?  Totes! (that's tween lingo for totally!) 


So, when I opened the envelope, out fell a letter and two postcards from Washington DC.  One postcard had all the monuments surrounded by beautiful cherry blossoms and the other was of The Kennedy Center.  I opened her letter and began to read.....she said she and her family love to go to The Kennedy Center for shows and concerts.  I think that sounds like a lot of fun too!  She said she lives "on the edge of Georgetown about as far southeast as you can get and still be in the District."  Since neither McKenna or I have been there, we decided that we are going to look on Google Earth to see exactly where she lives.   


Isabelle went on to tell us that she and her sister attend the Anna Hart School of the Arts; a 150 year old building that was converted to a public school for the arts.  They are both ballet students.  To get into the school, students are put into a lottery and since Isabelle's older sister, Jade, was chosen via lottery, Isabelle was also able attend.   


At this point, McKenna jumped up to go and get Lanie so she could hear all about the 2014 GOTY girl.  She didn't want Lanie to miss out on any of the details!


McKenna was getting a bit anxious to hear more about this Isabelle and was wondering what on earth was taking Lanie so long in the bathroom?  FINALLY, Lanie arrived!


Lanie begged me to let her read the letter but I explained that since I am the current GOTY girl, it was my responsibility and privilege to handle all things Isabelle.  Fortunately she understood.....Lanie is such a sweet girl!  McKenna, however, was getting quite impatient and spoke up asking me to "read on!"  "Wait, wait McKenna!" Lanie blurted out, then turning to me; "Saige, I just wanna know how old is Isabelle?"  Since I had scanned a little forward in the letter while waiting on Lanie, I knew the answer; "Lanie, Isabelle is 9 years old."  Lanie was delighted even though she had confided in me last week that she secretly hoped Isabelle would be the same age as she was.  "Close enough!" Lanie replied.  I was glad she was happy about it. 


Back to the letter!  So next she told us a bit about her mom and dad;  Her mom "works at the Smithsonian conserving old textiles, taking apart and repairing gowns that were sometimes 200 years old."  "Whoa!" McKenna exclaimed!  "Now that is old!"  I absolutely agreed, as did Lanie.  Isabelle also said how much she enjoys spending time in her mother's sewing room, designing and sewing her own costumes with special finds from the monthly flea market that she, her mom and her sister go to.  All three of us were totally impressed that she sews at such a young age!  Isabelle said she'd share more about her designs and her mother's special sewing room when she comes to visit...and we can't wait!

Next Isabelle wrote that her dad "is a hospital administrator but his first love is Jazz.  He composes songs and does the band's arrangements as well as plays the drums in a jazz band that plays at bars, weddings, and bat & bar mitzvahs."  McKenna found this little tidbit extremely exciting as she loves Jazz!  She said she did a school project last year on the music of our Nation's Capitol.  Goodness gracious, McKenna had a wealth of information to share with us on this subject!  She said that one of the first major musical figures to come from Washington D.C. was John Phillip Sousa who was a composer for military brass bands.  Did you know that he composed many of our patriotic marches?  I didn't!  McKenna also shared other well known figures from DC including soul singer Roberta Flack and the legendary jazz musician Duke Ellington!   


What I read next was also terribly exciting;  "Ohhhh girls!.....She has a fuzzy white kitten named Tutu!!!"  We all three squealed with excitement since we all have dogs here at the dorm...except of course Lanie, who has her bunny.  "A kitten! A kitten! A fluffy white kitten!!!!" Lanie exclaimed.  "I soooo hope she brings her kitten with her!"  Lanie was so loud in her excitement that she woke up Hollie who had been napping in the top bunk of the bed.  "A kitten?  Where?  Did someone get a kitten?"  "No, Hollie, Isabelle, the new GOTY girl has a fluffy white kitten named Tutu.  Isn't that exciting?" 


At this, Hollie jumped down to see what all this GOTY girl and kitten talk was about.  I filled her in as she looked over McKenna's shoulder at the pretty postcard.


Then I had to talk some sense into Lanie.....you know how she is about animals.  I told Lanie that it was highly unlikely that she'd bring a tiny kitten all the way from Washington DC for a GOTY girl visit.  Slowly...ever so slowly, she came to her senses.  Sheesh.  Then Lanie took the letter and headed out to read it to the other girls who were in the kitchen and family room.  I can hear her now telling everyone about Tutu.  :)


Well, Isabelle sounds like an incredibly talented 9 year old little girl;  ballet, designing and sewing her own ballet costumes, jazz musicians in her family and Kennedy Center shows.....wow!  We have to start getting things ready for her arrival!


And while you're here...check out It's a Doll's Life Shop on Etsy!  There is also a link on the right hand side column of my blog.  I really like the photo "Friendship Cards"!  :)


35 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Claire! Thank you! I threw my hair up that morning expecting to look in the mirror and see a total mess but I was like, hey - this looks cool! I'm glad you liked it too! ~ Love, McKenna

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  2. I didn't know Isabelle was from Washington, DC - cool! My twin sister and I are pretty excited about seeing her collection, my sister especially as she's a dancer herself.

    I don't know if Isabelle will come here, though. I've already got one friend named Isabel who isn't too happy about a GOTY sharing her name!

    Sophie

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    1. I think your Isabel would not mind at all if you called the new Isabelle "Izzy", no? That's what the girls and I here at the dorm are hoping to call her. We want to check with her first though. ~ Saige ♥

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  3. Sounds exciting! Saige and Isabelle have very similar interests, so I expect they'll get along well. Is Isabelle still planning on arriving early?

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    1. Hello, yes! We are super excited to meet her. We are planning for her arrival here at the dorm to be sometime the weekend after Thanksgiving! ~ Saige ♥

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    2. EEEK! So excited! Will you have pics up the weekend you get her? If you don't mind me asking, how did you get her so early? And, what color will her eyes be? Everyone says hazel but her actress has BLUE eyes! Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really excited!

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    3. As soon as Isabelle arrives, we'll all be posing with her and sharing the pictures with everybody here. What I can tell you about her eyes is they are not the same color as her actress'. ;)
      There will be more information on her next weekend! Stay tuned!
      ~Saige ♥

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  4. Is any of that real info.?

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    1. Yes, of course it's all real info! I would never mislead anyone!
      ~Saige ♥

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  5. How are you getting her early?

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  6. Hi don"t mind me asking but how are you getting her so early?

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  7. Hi um I just wanted to know what day you'll be getting her!

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  8. Hi just wanted to know what day she'll be arriving!

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  9. She's on her way to the dorm right now! Were trying to find our streamers and other party decorations, so sorry I haven't been on to answer all the comments! It's REALLY busy around here! She's expected to arrive later this afternoon! We are all so exited! Stay tuned!
    ~Saige ♥

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  10. Are you getting her accessories too?

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    1. Hi there, Isabelle was not able to bring all her accessories.....she packed light since she's only here for a short visit before heading to her "forever home". ~Saige ♥

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  11. Hi! I love McKenna's boots! I also have afew questions :
    Do you have to dye her hair pink or does it come with pink ends? (Isabelle)
    Also,is her hair light or dirty blonde?
    Thanks!
    Xoxo Kanani

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    1. Hello Kanani, So nice to hear from you! McKenna says "thanks" for the compliment on her boots! They are way "attention getting" and she kinda likes that. :) Check back to hear Isabelle share about her ombre hair ends. ~Saige ♥

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  12. How did you get Isabelle? I mean, did AG send you a doll? o.o

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    1. Hello AGInParadise, No, Isabelle did not come to us from AG. ~Saige ♥

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  13. Where did you get the bunk bed, couch, and storage cabinets the mini dolls are sitting on? They are beyond adorable!

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    1. Hi Rachel, We have had our bunk bed for a very long time. It is exceptionally well made and we love the pretty design in the headboard and footboard. We got it from a man who made them and sold them on eBay. Not sure if he is still there or not? The storage cabinets were from Joann's online and were little organizers by Craftologie. They are the PERFECT size for all our little collectibles and books. I think by the "couch" you mean the zebra striped over-size chair, right? The chair is by American Girl® from many years ago. It was originally light blue but we didn't like that so some of the girls painted it! Now, it is über cool!! We all love to take turns sitting in it and reading! It's a fun project if your girls like projects as much as we do! ~Saige ♥

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  14. My sister and I are excited to see Isabelle's collection! My sister is a ballerina herself. I think I would rename Isabelle, though because my sister wants MAG #33 that she would name Isabel. i wouldn't really want to rename mine, but if I really had to, I would.

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  15. I love your xenophobia! All your dolls are Christian? RIDICULOUS! You are a racist pig!

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    1. Hello Molly,

      At first the girls and I were unsure what you meant by your comment above. Since we did not know what the word “Xenophobia” meant, we looked it up. We read that it means; “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign”. Of course, we all know what being a racist is; “poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race and the belief that some races of people are better than others”. So, all of us girls and Trey have been talking about your comment. None of us can figure it out. We’re surely not afraid of any strangers or foreigners and we certainly are not racist! We have learned in school all about racism and know how much hurt it causes. It’s a really, really BAD thing! In fact, being a “Christian” is the opposite of both of those words and their meanings. Being a Christian means we follow “Christ” and his teachings from the Bible. Jesus loves all people; rich, poor, smart, ignorant, righteous, sinner, Jew, Gentile, every race and nation of peoples and the list goes on. So, if we are what you are accusing us of, well, then we wouldn’t be living the life that Jesus wants us to, would we? So, we think you were confused and didn’t really know the meaning of xenophobia. If you did, you would know that it has nothing to do with being Christians or being racist. We hope that before you leave anymore comments - here or on any blog - you’ll be more careful with your words. We always say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” We get that from Philippians 4:8. It’s a good saying to live by. ~Saige and the D3 Girls. ♥

      P.S. This summer we drove right through the town you live in – Toano, Virginia – on our way to a really nice campground down on the Northern Neck of VA. It’s a really pretty area you live in!

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  16. Why are Christians the most despised religion more people die from being a christian than any other religion it must be because its the truth hope that made sense lol merry christmas

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  17. hehe do you live in warrenton, VA if so i live VERY close to you! ☺

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  18. Where did you get the desk with the computer on it? I'm assuming the chair is from AG, please correct me if I'm wrong.

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    1. Hi Evie! Thanks for asking!
      The desk and chair came is a retired set from American Girl!
      ~Saige ♥

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  19. Where did you get that parrot that's in the kitchen? Also where did you get that REALLY COOL computer?
    _Alicia

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    1. Alicia! Thanks for asking! The desk, chair and computer with mouse pad and mouse is a retired set from American Girl!
      ~Saige ♥

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