Our Generation "Charlotte" Doll by Battat

I have become much more interested in 18" play dolls recently.  In the comments section of a recent post, Juliet asked me if I own an American Girl doll, and I felt more than a little silly telling her that I do not.  Many of you know that I've thought about this purchase a lot, and I have every intention of reviewing one of these dolls (maybe Rebecca, Saige or Emily?  Will you help me decide in the poll on the right?), but I just can't seem to make it happen.  I think part of the reason is that there are so many amazing American Girl resources out there--Doll Diaries and Never Grow Up being among my favorites.  Those sites make me feel like I already have an American Girl doll, and so I tend to be more interested in investigating other options.

I often refer to the less expensive American Girl imitators when I am discussing the prices of various 18" dolls.  I have mentioned the Springfield Collection, the Journey Girls (Toys R Us) and Our Generation (Target).  I've never actually reviewed one of these brands, though.  The other day while I was browsing at Target, I noticed that the Our Generation girls were on sale for $18.99 (down from $22.99).  That's a pretty good deal.  Not only that, but there was a cute little redhead with bright blue eyes that I had never seen before sitting on the shelf all alone--clearly hoping that I would bring her home.  Meet Charlotte:

Our Generation doll, "Charlotte."
$18.99 on sale at Target.

Monster High "Headless Headmistress Bloodgood"

For the better part of this week, I have been working on a different Monster High review, but I was getting bogged down by too many pictures, mixed opinions and stuff like that.  I took a break to run some errands and check out what's on the shelves at Toys R Us and Walmart...and I am so glad I did.  I knew about the Headless Headmistress, but she had dropped off my radar somehow.  When I saw the shelves of Toys R Us lined with blue horses, I think I squeaked out loud and maybe jumped up and down once or twice.  What made it better is that I was clutching some beloved Toys R Us dollars, so the $42.00 price tag on this set wasn't quite as intimidating as it might have been.  I'll get back to that other Monster High review some day, but for today, I just couldn't wait to get Mistress Bloodgood and her blue steed out of their box:  

Monster High Headless Headmistress Bloodgood and
Nightmare.

The Arizona Doll and Toy Museum in Phoenix

I am back amidst the greenery (and cold) of Maine, and am working on my next normal review, but I want to quickly share one other neat spot I found in Phoenix.  Within walking distance from our hotel was the beautiful Heritage & Science Park, home to both the Arizona Science Center and the Arizona Doll and Toy Museum.  The park offered an excellent arrangement for my family--my son and husband made a beeline for the science center while I stopped in to check out the doll museum before joining them.  Everyone was happy--and both museums are excellent.

The Arizona Doll and Toy Museum is situated in an old house right next to the science center.  The house, called the Stevens-Haustgen house, was built 1901 and is a perfect place to display a big collection of lovely old dolls.  It costs $5 to tour the museum's four rooms, which seemed like a good deal to me.  All in all, I think I had about a half an hour to spend looking around, and this wasn't quite enough.  It would have been ideal to have twice that much time so that I could read all of the identification cards and maybe learn a thing or two about my very favorite dolls.  Because I was a bit rushed (and also distractedly excited by rooms filled with dolls...), I forgot to take a picture of the outside of the museum.  So, I'll just go ahead and start with a picture of my favorite display:

Antique bisque doll school scene at the Arizona Doll and Toy Museum
 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Doll House and Toy Store in Scottsdale, Arizona

Well, I tried to track down a place called "JBS Dolls and Gifts." This shop advertised having custom porcelain dolls and doll making supplies, in addition to some collectable doll lines like Zapf and Madame Alexander.  Sounded perfect.  Unfortunately, I didn't call ahead or anything, and when we pulled into the shopping center where the store was supposed to be, there was no doll store.  Just a donut shop (not a bad thing) and a few other miscellaneous retail spots.  My second try was a few miles away in Scottsdale, at a place called The Doll House that Sarah (futuredoll) recommended (thank you, Sarah!).

The Doll House was easy to find and was right where it said it would be.  The store is bright and colorful and filled with high-quality toys and dolls.  A little fake frog croaked at me as I walked in the door, announcing my arrival to the friendly owners.  To my right, I could see a large display of Calico Critters followed by a wall of Breyer horses.   Off in a separate room on the right, I caught a glimpse of a huge Lee Middleton Newborn Nursery.  To my left were games and toys for younger kids.  I could see huge dollhouses at the back of the store.  This is one of those places that makes you happy the second you walk inside.

There were a thousand temptations in this store, but I decided to spend my limited time looking at what seemed to be their specialty--doll house miniatures.

Resin dollhouse miniature, "Jessica."

EuroGirl Diana Collection Doll by The Doll Factory

I've been pretty distracted lately--sorry.  There was a week of complete pandemonium in my house as we helped my son prepare for a big science fair in Phoenix.  Now that we're finally in Arizona, I have some time to relax and write.  I am so excited to be here--partly because of the science, but also because it's neat to be in the desert.  It looks completely different from Maine.   I mean, I saw a cactus at the side of the road last night as we drove from the airport.  A cactus.

My internet searching tells me that there are a few doll stores in this area, so I hope to have some time for live blogging later in the week (please let me know if you have a tip about a doll location in the greater Phoenix area!).  In the meantime, I'd like to quickly show you an 18" play doll that I have been wanting to de-box for a long time.  This is a (discontinued) EuroGirl from the Diana Collection.  She is a slim 18" size, like the Magic Attic and Carpatina dolls, but she has this amazing character face:

EuroGirl by The Doll Factory.

Funko POP! Cinderella

I got a tip a while ago about the presence of a Funko POP! Cinderella figurine.  This captured my attention for three reasons.  First, Cinderella.  Second, the name: "Funko Pop" sounds cool and is fun to say.  Third, I had never heard about Funko before, and I love learning about doll and toy companies and their products.  I decided to investigate.

Funko is a 15-year-old Washington-based company that is best known for making bobbleheads.  They also make a variety of pop culture items including action figures and plush toys.  The POP! line is a series of large-headed vinyl figures that are about 3 1/4 inches tall.   These toys have the proportions of bobble heads, but their heads don't bobble.  The figures cost anywhere from $1 (used) to $800 (discontinued), but the average price is about $10.  Cinderella was $8.99 at Amazon.

To me, Cinderella toys that cost under $10 are a special kind of awesome, so this funky princess quickly found her way to my house:

Funko POP!  Cinderella, $8.99.

Disney "Princess & Me" Rapunzel Jewel Edition Doll by Jakks Pacific

Over the last year, I have had several requests to review one of the Disney "Princess & Me" dolls.  I can understand why people are curious about these dolls.  First of all, at just under 20 inches tall, they make impressive gifts.  In addition, they portray the beloved Disney Princesses, and so collectors and enthusiasts of these characters will be tempted to own a large version of their favorite heroine.  Also, these dolls are comparably sized to many slim 18" play dolls like Carpatina, Kidz 'n' Cats and Magic Attic, which makes clothes-sharing an added temptation.

To be honest, I always walk a little faster past this section of the Disney doll aisle, purposefully avoiding eye contact with these huge princesses.  Their oversized faces and round, staring eyes freak me out a little.  Also, the price tag is a bit of a stunner.  All of the dolls cost $50 except for the Diamond Edition Cinderella, who (because of a bigger dress?) is $60.  That's really expensive for a Toys R Us play doll.  So, I have been reluctantly watching for a sale, but secretly hoping that I would never need to bring one of these large, glassy-eyed girls home with me.

As luck would have it, over April break, a really good sale started at Toys R Us.  All of the princesses (including Cinderella) were $39.99 (sale ends May 11th).  I headed over to my local Toys R Us and, with my teenaged son running in the opposite direction as fast as he could, I bit the bullet and settled in to inspect all of the dolls.  While Cinderella was the obvious choice for me, especially with the $20 off sale, I actually found Rapunzel to be the most appealing doll in the group:

Disney "Princess & Me" Rapunzel doll.