Trick or Treat with Marisa

Marisa's American Girls Trick or Treat Dolloween Giveaway!

What better way to go dolloween trick or treating than with a giveaway!
Marisa has a great trick or treat prize pack made up and there is still time to enter!

Head over and enter now!

Costumes 2013

After searching through the wardrobe we found some fun costumes for this year.

Here we are ready with our treat buckets. 

Wondering what we are? Read on…

Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie, Melody, Xyra

Oh what fun putting together our costumes!

Speak for yourself! You had the easiest one this year.

(chuckling) I guess I did. But you were the black cat last year.

(giggling) True. Who’s calling it for next year?

Let’s wait for next year. Although…I haven’t been the cat…yet.

Good idea. Show it off, Lanie!

Love those tails.

Meatloaf is such a good sport!

Hey, Kirsten, thank you for lending me the outfit.

You’re welcome. I think you make a nice Laura Ingalls.

Not really obvious. Maybe you should carry one of her books.

Well, they can think of me as a pioneer girl and that is fine.

Your turn to show it off…do a little spin.

Meatloaf!

Just take another picture of him. He’s too cute.

Yours isn’t very obvious either, Kirsten. What are you supposed to be?

A Victorian Lady.

Cute.

I wish I had a hat or something.

Show it off!

And show us the shoes! They are really cool.

Melody! Your turn!

Are you a charwoman?

Nope. A little more recent than that.

Really?

Yeah. I was on the Internet and saw a great idea for Rosie the Riveter. 

My headscarf isn’t quite right.

Close enough! That’s really cool!

Thanks. I’m glad it is warm this year. Short sleeves are usually no good for October in Pennsylvania.

(laughing)

We’re ready to go!

Happy Halloween!

Doll Diaries Giveaway Alert!

Another Fabulous Giveaway Through Doll Diaries!

This time they have teamed up with Silly Monkey to giveaway two great outfits to one lucky winner.

Head over to Doll Diaries for the details and Silly Monkey to see all the great things they have to offer!

Our favorite Silly Monkey outfit (besides the two in the giveaway) is #5212.

Isn't it cute?

Good luck to all who enter!


#dolldiariesgiveaway
#sillymonkey

Move Over Flat Stanley

If you follow Living a Doll's Life or American Girl on Facebook then you have already seen this story. However, it is just too sweet not to re-post and share over and over.

Dad's Promise to Daughter...

(He deserves a medal and so do all his friends who are helping.)

I'm an active duty Air Force father and I have a story I would like to share. My seven year old daughter, Emaline Grace, has three American Girl Dolls and while I was packing my things for my remote tour here in Thule, Greenland, she brought one of her dolls in and sat on my bed while I loaded uniforms and cold weather gear into my duffel bag.  

She took my hand and said since she couldn't come to Greenland with me that she wanted me to take her doll with me. She explained if she couldn't see all of the things Daddy was going to see and she couldn't come spend time with me then at least her doll could. Choking back tears I agreed and promised to send pictures of her doll everywhere I went. That night Emaline and I got online and ordered a winter outfit for her so that her doll would stay warm.  

A few days later I kissed her and her brother goodbye and boarded an airplane bound for Baltimore where I would catch a military rotator to Greenland. I snapped my first photo of her doll at the airport in Boise where I departed, and then again in Chicago for my layover, and again in Baltimore. I took photos all along the way to Thule Air Base, 950 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  

So far her doll has travelled across the country and beyond. She has seen abandoned Nike Missile silos, stood inside Cold War bunkers, and planted her feet on the Polar Ice Cap. She's been aboard Danish Search and Rescue ships, aboard ocean liners, dipped her toes in the flowing water of a glacial stream and rode an ATV to the coast to see Musk Oxen herds grazing.

She sat in the truck when we saw the polar bear, stood on the shoreline when we watched a pod of seals in the bay, rode a helicopter to native villages on the outreaches of the ice and explored a cavernous ice cave. She has been a trooper the entire way, riding shotgun in my hiking pack braving the environment just like I have. We did have to have a custom made parka made for her as Emaline wanted her doll to match Daddy!  

I have taken pictures of most of these moments and most of my military friends isolated up here with me have commented or remarked on the doll or reminded me sternly to remember to bring her when we've made plans to go out. I email the pictures to Emaline and we get a chance to talk about where her doll has been and what she has seen.  

It has helped bridge the gap that is sometimes difficult to fathom when you leave your children behind. Having this bond has brightened an otherwise bleak tour for me and has helped me (probably more than my daughter) weather this difficult time.

I've attached one of the pictures that seems to embody the adventure (it would only allow me to upload one).

Thank you.  

Sincerely- 

Dave BuchananUSAF Active Duty

Isn't that awesome?! I love it.

Ps. I apologize, I don't know how to get the highlighting off the story text.

Finding Costumes

The Hurrier We Go...The Behinder We Get

Melody, Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie

I can NOT believe Halloween is tomorrow!
What are we going to wear?
Come on let's get these open and start searching.

Oh, Kirsten's bonnet...that might be an option.

Keep searching.
I know the Black Cat Costume is in here somewhere.
We'll come up with something.
We always do.

Check back tomorrow to see what we found to wear.

Have a great day!

Halloween Decorating

Love Halloween

We can not believe Halloween is only two days away. With everyone focused on Seven lately our preparations are lacking. However, yesterday we had some time to change a few things around. I think the inside of the house is starting to shape up.

Vlad (bat next to me) and Norbert (dragon bottom right corner) have moved into position. Then we filled the new green vase with black roses. A huge black spider has taken up residence with them. He's a nice spider though (not one of Aragog's children; they're nasty). Then there is the funny pumpkin and witchy black cat to the left.

Spell Book

While searching for the different Halloween items we stumbled upon an old spell book. Some are really funny! Others needed tweaking. Let me read you a few.

I think these fall under transfiguration:

Redbreast rail,

Your head is a tail.

Tweedle dee dee.

Tweedle dee dye.

Turn this Jell-o into pie.

A plant is a plant,

A thumb is a thumb,

For great plants

You have a green thumb.

This one helps you get dressed:

Button to hole,

Snap to snap,

Zippers up

And that's that.

Funny, huh? I don't think we'll earn any O.W.L.s for these.

Have a great day!

Ocatvia Tea 3

Change in Plans

Melody Xyra

This Morning

Oh, No!
What?
We're out of Raspberry Earl.

We are?
Yeah. See.

Okay...change in plans. What kind of tea shall we make today?
Oh, hey! How 'bout the Ginger Peach from Octavia Tea Company?

Nice! Brewing instructions please. This is a white tea we don't want to mess it up.
Add 1 - 3 teaspoons tea to pot, infuser, or bag. Bring water to boil and allow to cool slightly. Pour water over leaves and steep 3 1/2 minutes.

I'll get the glass pot warmed.
Wow! This looks different than the others.

Really?
See it has larger leaf pieces.

All those bits and pieces are the natural flavoring of the ginger and peach as well as the tea.
That's cool. Okay, the timer is set. I wish it would do seconds as well as minutes.

Don't worry. We'll wait until the timer sounds to get the cup ready. That will take 30 seconds.
Look at it dance. So neat.

Great color and smells yummy.

Yep, tastes as good as it smells.

I'm glad Nana Kestral gave us the Chocolate Mint so we could find out more about Octavia Tea Company.
Me too!

Have a great day everyone!


   
#Octaviateacompany
#gingerpeachwhitetea
#morningtea

Doll Diaries October Giveaways

We have been so busy we have fallen behind again in our reading of Doll Diaries. It is a favorite. We want to thank all of you who are staying current and reminding us to head over to check it out. There are three (3) giveaways and a photo challenge that you can enter.

Two Closing October 24

1. My Pink Planet Ruby Costume Giveaway: Doll Diaries and My Pink Planet have teamed up to provide one lucky reader with a Red Riding Hood costume. It is really awesome. (They copyright their images, so I can't capture one to show you. Click the links to check out the details.) Our favorite costumes at My Pink Planet are the Jezebel Pirate Gal (Xyra made a glow in the dark Jolly Roger flag a few years ago. It's fun!), the Fabulous 50s, and Pink Ladies. (We could put on Grease with the last two).
2. My Doll's Life Sparkle Witch Costume Giveaway: Doll Diaries and My Doll's Life have teamed up to provide one lucky read with a Sparkle Witch costume. Our favorite costume at My Doll's Life is the mermaid.

Closing October 25

DreamWorld Collections Siege Jacket Four Piece Set Giveaway (Our favorite!): Doll Diaries has teamed up with DreamWorld Collections to provide one lucky winner with the four piece Siege Jacket outfit. If you've been following us you know that this is our favorite outfit offered by DreamWorld Collections.

So head on over to Doll Diaries and enter the one you like best or all of them.
Best wishes to all who enter!

Don't forget to enter the October Reader Photo Event: Dolloween Parade too!

Happy October!