Mini Adventure #1?

#1?

Now that Felicity has more friends to hang out with, she and her friends can have adventures of their own. This is the first and we are hoping not the last.

Rebecca and Felicity Have an Adventure

Felicity, Rebecca, both

Mini Dolls…Mini Photo Story

What’s this?

A Tea-for-One set.

It’s so pretty. I love the colors.

And all four pieces match.

It’s too big for us to use.

Too big for our tea, but it's great to sit against.

(giggles)

Should we keep the title "Mini Adventure" or should we change it to something else?

Leave a comment with your vote.

If you think we should change it..,
suggest a new title in your comment.

Best wishes!

Mini Rebecca Review

Rebecca Rubin Mini Doll

Monday* Mini Rebecca Rubin joined our family and became Haley's doll. She is one of the prettiest of the mini dolls…her coloring and eyes are unique.  A bit more expressive than some I have seen.

The mini dolls do not stand well on their own; at least not without a lot of adjusting and tons of patience. I think it is due to the sock/tight seam being centered on the bottom of the foot. (Yep, that's it. I took Felicity's socks off and she stands fine in her bare feet.) 

Front view

Rebecca's hair is really full and curly. Very soft too. The little gold barrette is cute, but doesn't tame her curls that much. It may be removed, but I’m not going to unless I have to.

She arrives in a tiny version of Rebecca’s meet dress. It is made of a heavy burgundy material with black an gold embellishments. She is also wearing black tights, white bloomers, and black and white button-up boots. (LOVE the boots.)

Back view

Her dress and boots have Velcro down the back so you can remove her shoes and clothes. There is elastic at the dress's waist so it doesn't just slide right off.

Rebecca’s Clothes

Here you can see her dress, bloomers, tights, and boots. I love that you can dress and undress her.

Doll Body

Like the larger dolls Rebecca's head and limbs are vinyl and her body is soft. Her head is attached similarly as you can see by the strings at the back of her neck. Rebecca has huge tags attached to her back. The biggest wraps around half of her body. 

Redressing

The tights and bloomers and shoes are easy to get back on. The dress is another story. The elastic at the waist gets caught on the bloomers. That’s a slight annoyance. The big issue…the cuffs. Because the materials used to make the dress are heavy, the seams are thick. The thick seams narrow the space where the hand should go through the wrist; her thumb and pinky get caught trying to go through the cuff. (I had wanted to trade clothes with Felicity, but that’s not going to happen.)

Hands

Speaking of hands...I’ve had the Felicity mini doll since before AG changed her meet outfit. Their hands are shaped the same way, but Rebecca’s vinyl is softer and you can kind of squeeze her thumb and pinky in a bit. Felicity’s vinyl is rigid…there is no give in her hand, so I don’t think it will go through the cuff of Rebecca’s dress.

Overall

Rebecca's mini doll is great! Pretty and expressive face. Soft hair. Cute outfit. 

How many mini dolls (AG or other) are in your family?

Come back again tomorrow for a mini adventure. ;-) 

Thank you for stopping by. Visit with us again soon.

Best wishes.

*Rebecca arrived Monday but we didn't post her arrival until Tuesday.

Time for a tea comparison!

National Hot Tea Month

Kaya, Kirsten, Xyra
(I chose red today because the links are green and I didn't want anyone to get confused.)

As National Hot Tea Month comes to a close...
We thought we should do at least one hot tea specific post.

French Blends

In the fall we reviewed Octavia Tea Company’s French Breakfast tea. The other day Xyra bought a carton of Stash Breakfast in Paris tea, so today we’re going to compare the two.

Octavia’s French Breakfast ingredients:  Fair trade certified black tea, vanilla bean, rose petals, natural vanilla flavor.

Stash’s Breakfast in Paris ingredients: blended black teas, lavender, bergamot extract, vanilla extract.

Today we did not “prep the cup” because we wanted you to see the colors of both. We’ve just poured the water and have set the timer to steep 3 minutes.

Both have a nice dark color and each has a distinct aroma.

Here we have added a tiny bit of sugar and a splash of milk to both cups. They look the same.

Let’s retry the OctaviaFrench Breakfast first.

Hmm, lots of vanilla with a hint of rose.

Yep, vanilla is first thing I think of.

Now for the Stash Breakfastin Paris.

Wow, the lavender is really powerful.

Very interesting, I get a bit of vanilla here too.

Xyra:

Octavia is very good, if you enjoy vanilla in your tea. Not overpowering, but very smooth and nice. (I’m not a huge fan of vanilla in my tea.)

Stash is okay, but the lavender is a bit overpowering (in my opinion). It reminds me a lot of Revolution Tea’s Earl Grey Lavender, but with more lavender.

I combined the two brews in my travel mug and headed off to work. They blend together nicely.

While we really like France, I don’t think we will restock these teas. We’ll try another new blend instead.

Prepping the Cup

Some have asked about how we “prep our cup.” When served a proper tea one adds the sugar and/or milk to the cup before pouring the brewed tea. As the tea enters the cup it stirs everything together and dissolves the sugar at one time. We practice this when making our own tea too, because we like not having to dirty a spoon in the morning. However, if you use your tea bag more than once (not advised) do NOT prep your cup. Milk and sugar will enter the bag coating the leaves. As the day goes by the milk will start to go bad and when reused could give you a tummy ache or make you ill.

I know we have asked before, but...what do you like in your tea?

Or

How do you take your tea?

Stop by again soon! We love your comments.

Best wishes,

#breakfastblendtea
#octaviatea
#stashtea
#revolutiontea

A Fun Surprise

Still Celebrating Christmas

Haley, Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie, Melody, Xyra, 2 to all

Our package from Lady Jem in Germany arrived!

This box is marked with our names.

What’s inside?

I don’t know.

Well, open it.

We have to set it down.

I love this snowman ribbon.

It’s Rebecca Rubin!

Really?!

Wow!

Cool!

Let me see, please.

Look a hard bound copy of her book.

She’s really pretty.

Who’s up for a re-read?

May I hold her?

Sure.

Her curls are like yours, Lanie.

Yeah.

So it was addressed Lanie or Haley…who’s claiming her?

Just look at her pretty dress and those tiny boots.

She’s really pretty, but I didn’t love her story enough. Haley?

Really?! You don’t mind if I have her?

Not at all. She's great, but you seem to like her better.

Yay! Now I have a doll and a teddy.

Congratulations, Haley!

You look great together. 

The dolls’ dolls meet.

Which is your favorite AG mini doll?

Glad you stopped by. Hope you come again soon. We're always up to something.

Best wishes,