Tuesday, December 31, 2013

{ Saying Good Bye is Hard to Do! }

Well, the day has come to say goodbye to our sweet friend, Isabelle!  Tomorrow she becomes the official American Girl® "Girl Of The Year" doll for 2014!!  We are super excited for her!

After saying goodbye to the girls in the upstairs bedroom, Isabelle popped down to the downstairs bedroom to say goodbye to the rest of us.  As soon as Isabelle walked in, Faith called out to Isabelle "Hey, did you see that you had a 'big reveal' on the Good Morning America show this morning?"  Faith could tell by the look on Isabelle's face that she didn't believe her so she added, "Yes, yes, you were! It was totally awesome!"


I spoke up....."It was really cool Isabelle.  You should have seen all the little girls' faces when they pulled the box up to reveal you standing there.  And, then what was really cool was this; there were four little girls that had come out dancing as a 'clue' right before you were revealed and after the reveal they gave each of those girls an Isabelle dressed to match each of their outfits!  The little girls were sooooo surprised!" 


 "Oh Saige, I wish I had seen it!  I'll have to watch it on YouTube tomorrow."


"Hey!" Faith spoke up, "I heard that you and the girls upstairs got to take selfies together! I want one with you too!"  Needless to say, Isabelle was totally up for more selfies!


I looked over at Lanie and saw a small tear trickle down her face. "Isabelle...why do you have to leave? Cant you stay???" Isabelle ran over to Lanie and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, Lanie! I can't stay. There's a little girl out there that's depending on me to be there for her! Maybe I can come back and visit sometime?"  "Yes, you must." Lanie replied trying to hide her tears.


Then Isabelle called for a big group hug with all of us GOTY dolls. "I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Izzy exclaimed. "But don't worry - I will definitely come to visit all of you again!!"


Well, as of 12 o' clock midnight, I will no longer be the Girl Of The Year. Although it makes me a little sad, I'm happy my title will be passed down to such a sweet girl like Isabelle. We all wish she could stay, but we know she can't. Saying goodbye is a hard thing to do! We all wish Isabelle the best of luck as she takes on her new title. Happy New Years Eve everyone!!  ~Saige ♥

Saturday, December 28, 2013

{ Hanging Out with Isabelle ~ American Girl® GOTY 2014 } Part II

Starting where we left off;
I went to get the little parting gift we got for Isabelle and returned to the bedroom.  Harper, Hope and I gathered around to give it to her.  We love giving presents......it's much more fun to give than receive! 


Isabelle hopped up on the bed to open the box.....Harper could hardly contain her excitement!  She loves to give presents!  And, she was a bit anxious because she had suggested this particular gift.


"Go ahead Isabelle, open it, open it!  If you don't do it NOW, Harper is going to faint!" I exclaimed.


Isabelle carefully opened the box to reveal a super adorbs pair of reindeer socks!  She had admired a pair that I was wearing the other day so Harper felt sure that she'd love a pair for herself! 


"Yipeeeeee!  Oh, I absolutely LOVE these reindeer socks!!  I especially love his red nose!!" Isabelle squealed.  "Aren't these just like yours, Christina?"  "Yes, they are!  It was Harper's idea.....she remembered how much you liked mine the other day." 


"Oh, Harper.  I love these.....every time I wear them, I promise to think of you!"  Harper blushed a little but deep down she was proud of herself for being able to give her new friend something that she knew she'd love. ♥


Just then and without warning - Isabelle jumped up and exclaimed "Let's take some selfies!!!!  That way I'll always have photos of each of you and our fun times together!"  We all agreed it was a superb idea! 


I was first!  Yay, me and Isabelle together!!  Cool beans!!


Next up - Harper and Isabelle!  Don't tell Harper but it's a bit out of focus.....however, it's still very sweet and Harper thought the "soft focus" made her look "glamorous!"  She's so funny.  


Then it was Hope and Frolics' turn.....and it was in that moment that I saw my opportunity to totally photo bomb them!  Just as Hope was saying; "one.....two....three!"  I jumped up on the bed behind them and waved!!  Ohhhhh, I timed it perfectly!    


"Christina!!!" Harper yelled at me from the other side of the room, "You totally photo bombed Hope and Isabelle's selfie and that is not nice!"   It took me a minute to pull myself together and stop laughing so that I could say - "Sorry guys, I couldn't help myself.....it might not be nice but it sure is funny!!!!"  Let me see the photo! 


Isabelle spoke up to calm Harper down a bit.....and fortunately, she and Hope were giggling too!  "Oh, sweet Harper, don't be upset with Christina.  That's SO her to do those kinds of silly things!  She is such a goofy girl.  This photo will be a great reminder of just how much fun I have had here!" Isabelle said. "Now we need to go find the other girls... cause I need to say goodbye now.  You know I am leaving and I cannot wait to meet the little girl who will love me forever!!  I am super duper excited!"



Monday, December 23, 2013

{ Hanging Out with Isabelle ~ American Girl® GOTY 2014 } Part I

Hello all!  Christina here.....Saige is super duper busy so after begging her constantly for the last couple days, she gave in and is letting me make this post.....Cool beans for sure!! 

Yesterday Isabelle and some of us girls had some time to just hang out. Whew, with Christmas right around the corner, there has been an awful lot of activity around here and not much time for just chillaxing!  After lunch, we went to the upstairs bedroom, which we all call "the Kanani Room".  We decorated it in colors that reminded us of Hawaii, so yeah, that's why we call it that.  Moving on.  We got Isabelle some yummy hot chocolate and all plopped down to chill.

"Hey Christina, This is a cool bedroom" remarked Isabelle.  "I love the colors!"  I agreed with her that the colors were super nice.  "Isabelle, tell us about your house!"   


Isabelle thought for a few seconds and just as she saw the Capiz shell wind chime over Harper's head, she exclaimed, "Oh, I know, I know!  In our living room, my mom has hanging this beautiful mobile she made.  She named it 'Pond Dreams'.  She created it two years ago after one of our visits to the aquatic gardens at Kenilworth Park.  It had just rained and big round lily pads covered the pond like shining green scales ~ water lilies and lotuses were scattered around the pond like jewels.  The water was sooooo still that it mirrored the sky and the reflections of clouds seemed to glide dreamily around the plants.  It really reminded me of the Claude Monet painting we had just seen at a special show at the National Gallery.”  Oh boy, we were all glued to her story!  Totes cool, she had been to the National Gallery!!!! Isabelle continued; “My mom seemed just as taken by the beauty of the lilies as I was because as soon as we got home she set about working on ideas for this new mobile. Piece by piece mom mounted the different fabrics and scraps that she collected at flea markets, thrift stores and rummage sales onto wire frames.  After this, she hung each portion on a wire connected to the ceiling in our living room.  When she was finished, it looked like a single water lily surrounded by lots of green lily pads and clouds and rippling water.  Randomly placed tiny crystals reflected just like the raindrops in the sun!”  We all agreed that we wish we could see this beautiful piece of art her mom created.  We were almost in unison with our replies; "Isabelle, you must promise to send us a photo!"

Just then, Harper jumped in;  "Tell us more Isabelle!  What's it like being a ballerina?  Do you get to dress up in pretty costumes?"


Isabelle was eager to share; "Well, this Fall, my mom encouraged me to design my own costume and so I took out my tablet and my stylus and began sketching and guess what my inspiration was??  The pond lilies!  When I was done, my mom really liked it!"  Isabelle went on;  "So I used 'Henrietta' - my moms sewing machine - to sew my costume.  Whenever I spend time in my mom's sewing room, I forget about all the things at school that are bothering me.  I just relax and enjoyed the rhythmic sweep of my arm as I send the needle in and out of the material."  Then she described her costume, "The tutu part of my costume looks like a pond lily;  the gold, yellow and pink layers surround me like the petals of my favorite water lily.  I also designed a 'lucky' flower sash for around my waist.  My teacher has a 'lucky scarf' and I decided I wanted something similar.  I will wear both my lucky scarf and my tutu over top of my black unitard."

Now, at this point ALL us girls were so glued to what Isabelle was saying that NONE of us noticed Daisy, the beagle pup, inching closer and closer to Isabelle's hot cocoa.  Then the unthinkable happened - Daisy started licking the whipped cream right off the top of Isabelle's hot chocolate!  Not only did it gross me OUT.....I was SO embarrassed!!!!  "Bad Daisy, bad, bad Daisy!"  I scooped her up and had to totally hide my smile at the bit of whipped cream stuck to her little black nose. 


In the sternest voice that I could muster, I chided;  "Daisy, you are not allowed to have whipped cream!"  Isabelle was super understanding and giggled, "Well, you might as well let her lick the rest since I think I'm going to pass on finishing it myself!"  Harper snickered too....but reminded us all that Daisy's tummy might not agree with the rich, creamy treat and none of us wanted to clean up after that!  Yew!


About this time, Hope spoke up and said, "Bring Daisy over here and put her next to Frolics, Christina.  Daisy always minds her manners when she's around Frolics."


Now, Frolics had been minding his own business but when he realized he was being volunteered as the beagle "baby sitter" - again - he lowered his head, hoping we would change our minds. 


Knowing Frolics would be less than thrilled about my request, I decided to butter him up first!  "Oh Frolics, you are such a good boy!  I wish Daisy here were half as well behaved as you are.  You are the best little buddy ever!  Would you please keep your eye on Daisy for me?  She could definitely learn from you, you sweet little boy.  And, I'll give you a cookie if you do a good job, okay?"  Well, now, I knew that using the word "cookie" would definitely get his attention and I was right!  He looked up at me wagging his tail and I knew I'd convinced him that beagle-sitting would be worth it!   



Hope, seeing my ploy, jumped in on the act.  "Oh Frolics, you are the sweetest, kindest doggie ever!  We all love you soooo much!"  And, we both lavished him with some love for extra measure!


Frolic lapped up all this extra attention and nuzzled right up to Daisy.  We all swore it looked like he was whispering "the rules" to her!  And she certainly looked like she was paying attention.....let's hope so! 


Meanwhile, Harper had gone to the kitchen to get Isabelle a new cup of cocoa.  And, we all reminded her to keep a watchful eye on it!  Daisy can be pretty stealth when she wants to be!    

 
We spent a bit more time listening to Isabelle tell us about her good friend, Luisa.  And, how there was a girl named Renata that isn't very kind to her and calls her "Dizzy Izzy" every time she makes a mistake on the dance floor.  We all agreed that was not very nice at all and that the best thing to do with a person like that is to "kill them with kindness". 

Isabelle also told us more about her mom's sewing room and her mom's sewing kit that she keeps in a old carved wooden box that belonged to Isabelle's grandmother - which made it very special to her mom.  After this, I left the room to go and get a little present that we had gotten for Isabelle.  I'll share more on that in my next post!!  Stay tuned!  ~Christina :D



Sunday, December 8, 2013

{ Let's Talk "Hair" with Girl Of The Year Isabelle! }


As I came towards the bathroom this morning, I noticed McKenna dragging our zebra chair through the bathroom door.  "Oh good gravy, McKenna!!  What in blazes are you doing??"  "Oh, I'm just getting the bathroom ready to have Isabelle sit down and show us how she attaches that super cool ombre hair clip!  You said we could do this today, remember?  Enquiring minds want to know, Saige!  Hey, can you give me a hand with this chair?" she asked.

I was like, "Sure.....I forgot we talked about that McKenna.  This is a great idea!"  As McKenna backed up, I saw Salsa, our itty bitty Chihuahua right behind her and it worried me a bit.  But then I thought, hey, she moves pretty darned fast.  I guess you have to when everyone is like 100 times bigger than you are!


Ha!  Just as we got through the bathroom side, I guess Salsa decided that the safest place to be was ON the chair, which also meant she could go for a short little ride!  Silly little Salsa!


I called Isabelle in and started combing through her beautiful, long hair.....it was so thick and so healthy!  I was thinking of all the wonderful styles I could suggest when McKenna returned from getting a drink in the kitchen.  We both listened as Isabelle told us how she likes to put her clips in when she goes out.  She showed us how she has three little spots where she hooks the ombre piece into her own hair.  It's really very cool and both McKenna and I love the color! 



Here is a bit closer peek...she said there are three of these little hooks that hold her ombre hair piece in.  Cute isn't it?


After finishing combing Isabelle's hair, I wanted to show her some bows...especially this one that has all these super fun colors.  She did like it but she declined to wear it today as she still didn't think the bow's style matched what she had on.  That was fine with me.....she can wear it any time she wants. 
  


After McKenna and I dragged the zebra chair back to the bedroom we all decided we were hungry and going to get a bite to eat.  McKenna and Isabelle suggested some leftover pizza would be good......of course, that is if Trey didn't scarf it all down this morning.  He loves cold pizza for breakfast - yuck!


We had loads of fun with all the girl talk in the bathroom.  No place would have been more appropriate for our little 'hair discussion', right?  We girls always like to go together to the bathroom anyway so this just seemed natural.....and fun!  


Thanks for reading!  Hope you enjoyed it!!  ~Saige ♥  


18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:


Saige's adorable outfit (excluding boots) by Forever 18 Inches ~ Etsy 
McKenna's super chic outfit (excluding boots) by The Vintage Doll Trunk ~ Etsy



Tuesday, December 3, 2013

{ GOTY 2014 Isabelle's Visit! } Part 2

A friendly (but very important) reminder; we are absolutely thrilled (really thrilled!!) you are here and we hope you are enjoying reading about the dolls in our dorm.  Please know that we are perfectly fine with you sharing links to our posts so that others can see them too!  However please do not copy or crop photos from the Dolly Dorm Diaries blog to share on any other forum, blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. without getting permission.   (Permission will not/cannot be given for Instagram as the rules for Instagram state that you cannot post any photos unless you took them yourself.  Please feel free to visit and follow dollydormdiaries on Instagram.)  If you'd like to post one of our copyright protected photos on your blog along with a link back to Dolly Dorm Diaries, please let us know by sending us your request through a comment - be sure to give us your email!  Thanks and happy reading!!! ♥


It's me, Saige.  I'm back to finish my post about our super fun party for Isabelle! 

I hurried and did my homework as soon as I got home from school today but boy was I tired!  I could barely keep my eyes open in Algebra class until my teacher randomly called on me to come up to the smart board and solve a problem.....oh boy, THAT opened my eyes for sure!!!!!  I should NOT have stayed up as late as I did last night.  Not gonna do that again!

So, back to where I left off last night;  After Lanie and Isabelle had some get-to-know-each-other time, all four of us Girl Of The Year girls started talking about how special it was to be 'that' girl.  It's so much fun but it is also a big responsibility to do the right thing, set good examples and make a positive difference in the lives around us.  McKenna, Lanie and I had fun sharing our stories with Isabelle.  We're anxious to find out more about her story during her visit.

 
I finished up my punch and was going back to get some more when I burst out laughing.....poor Harper was Meatloaf's current quest for a playmate.  She was trying to politely "shoo" him away but he was having none of it!  None, nada, zippo, zilch!  Too, too funny!
 
 
Just then I overheard Cindy telling Trey that he could now have some of his favorite cookies.....BUT, not 15 of them at one time!  "No scarfing, Trey!" Cindy scolded.  In my mind I was thinking; Yeah, good luck with that!
 
 
Got back just in time for a quick photo of us all together as the party was starting to wind down.  And, Oh.M.Gee.  There was Meatloaf.....again.   That dog is the most persistent dog I know!  Fortunately, Meatloaf finally found a willing playmate.....seriously; I was thanking God for Coconut in that moment!  Off they ran, chasing that poor green balloon all over the kitchen - it's amazing it didn't go POP!  Secretly I was wishing it would just to see Meatloaf hit the deck.  :)  Too bad my wish didn't come true! 


Lanie wanted a photo of just her and Isabelle together.  Lanie has really taken to Isabelle.  She thinks they could easily be sisters.  I definitely think they could too!  All though, I must confide that Isabelle's eyes are more of a greyish-hazel color as opposed to Lanie's greenish-hazel eyes.  Still, if you saw them on the street, I bet you'd swear they were sisters for sure!    
 

 
This was the last photo before I sent Lanie to bed.  They both look so sweet together, don't you think? ♥ 


Well, I hope you enjoyed our party photos.  I know I speak for all the girls here at the dorm when I say that we all sure had fun welcoming Isabelle to our dorm for her visit.  Each of us hopes to spend the next few days just hanging out around the dorm getting to know Isabelle better.  I'm sure we'll have more to share in a few days!  ~Saige ♥
Monday, December 2, 2013

{ GOTY 2014 Isabelle's Visit! } Part 1

Oh boy, we have been so busy decorating the kitchen for the special party to welcome Isabelle for her visit to our dorm.  We've been baking, straightening our rooms and gathering up all the dust bunnies for days!  Even Coconut and Meatloaf got into all the festivities!


I made a yummy raspberry punch for the party.  The color looked so pretty through the punch bowl!  I love parties! 

 
Trey was his normal "always hungry" self.....he kept trying to sneak some peanut butter kiss cookies.  Too bad for him that both Lanie and Harper designated themselves the 'cookie police' and were keeping a very sharp eye on him.  Lanie had to come to the cookies' rescue quite a few times before the party started!  If she and Harper had not been watching, I am pretty sure there would have been nothing but crumbs left for Isabelle!


Since most of our baking was sweets, we decided to order pizza from Ledo's.  All us girlzies LUV Ledo's pizza and Trey, well.....he'll eat anything you put in front of him!  I was worried the pizza wouldn't arrive before Isabelle but it arrived about 15 minutes before she did!  Yay!

 
Just after the pizza delivery guy left, Cindy walked in and exclaimed "I bought some Heartbucks treats!"  Boy does Cindy know us girls!  Nothing better than Heartbucks Lattes. 

 
Just a few minutes later, McKenna burst through the door!!  "She's here!!  She's here!!"  "Hurry everybody, she's coming!!"


McKenna no sooner got through the door and turned around when Isabelle walked through the door!

SURPRISE!!!!    WELCOME, ISABELLE!!!!
 
 
I know this sounds corny but she is exactly as I had pictured her in my mind!  She has lovely long blonde hair that she had pulled back off her sweet face so we could see her pretty hazel eyes. 
 
I immediately ran to give her a big hug! 
 
 
Next in line for a big hug was McKenna.....and Meatloaf!  Poor Meatloaf, all he really wanted was someone to play "balloon" with.  I think he was looking at Isabelle as 'fresh meat'.....someone who might fall for his big, sad eyes and give in to his incessant begging. 

 
McKenna and Isabelle seemed to really hit if off talking about their love of music.  As I left to check on the punch, I could hear them both talking about gymnastics and ballet and how it's a lot of hard work to keep up school work and do well at your sport.   
 
 
When I came back with some of my yummy punch, I found Lanie and Isabelle talking.  I was really happy to see them giggling and laughing together.  Lanie was really looking forward to meeting Isabelle in person.....maybe even more than me!  So, McKenna and I gave Lanie & Isabelle some private time and we talked about all the things we wanted to ask Isabelle about during her visit.  I must say though, we were anxious to have all four of us GOTY girls spend some time together.  We can wait though. 
 
  
Well, at this point of the day - or should I say morning! - I am exhausted.  From all the party preparations to cleaning up and then organizing all the photos.....I am just pooped!  I am afraid that my school work might suffer even more than it already is going to if I stay up any later.  So, I am going to have to go to bed now but I promise, when I get home from school tomorrow and finish all my homework, I'll post more party photos.  Nightie-night!  ~Saige ♥