Goschenhoppen 2014 Part 1

Slightly Backward This Year

Lanie, Haley, Kaya, Kirsten, Melody, 2 or more

We're Back

Hi! We're back from festival.

Nice!

Hey, what's that in your pocket?
Ah. That's a wooden nickle.

Wooden nickle?

Yes, everyone who goes to the festival gets one. On the one side there are pictures of cleaning tools.

Cleaning tools?
Yes, the theme this year was "Cleaning, always cleaning."
Oh.
On the other side is the who, what, when.
Umm...

Who sponsored it, what it is, and the year. See.
Oh!
May I hold it?

Sure.
Where did you get this beautiful new kerchief?

One of the wonderful ladies in the needleworking and textile section  gave it to me. Isn't it great?

It's gorgeous. The colors are perfect for this dress.

Such a pretty pattern. I wish I had been there to thank her too. 

[If you are reading, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!]

I bet it would look good with your "meet" dress too. Go get it!

See very nice!
Ooooo. Love it. Cool. Looks great!

What else did you see?
Who did you meet?
Did you see Mountain Mary?

No, I missed her. She was there Friday, but we didn't see her Saturday.
Too bad. She's so nice.
I did meet lots of nice people.
Tell us.
Okay...

Come back tomorrow for more of Lanie's trip to the 2014 48th Annual Goschenhoppen Folk Festival.

Best wishes,






#goschnhoppenfolkfestival
#goschenhoppenhistorians

On the Island

Ah, Vacation!

While the drive was lengthy we had plenty to look at on the way. Between the scenery along side the road and reading magazines and playing games the time passed quickly.

It was good to stretch our legs and boy did we. To keep the house safe, they are built raised, so there were a lot of stairs to climb. (And even more to the widow's walk. We got lots of exercise.)

We had breakfast on the upper level widow's walk. 

What a great view! It was fun up there. (In fact, since we didn't go to the beach with the others, we spent our time either up top or inside watching Nick, Nick Jr., and the Disney Channel.)

The sunsets were stunning. Here are three that we caught. Aren't the gorgeous? The second one we just caught on our way to dinner. We walked everywhere - it was great exercise.

Xyra brought back new shells every day. These are from the first day. (We'll show you the rest later - that's an entirely different post topic.)

We hope to come back again in the near future and get more pictures. We did get to see this great rainbow...and it was a double. So cool!

Where is your favorite vacation spot? 

Best wishes,

Goschenhoppen Time!

48th Annual Goschenhoppen Folk Festival

Tomorrow is the first day of the 48th Annual Goschenhoppen Folk Festival. This year's theme is the cook stove and "cleaning, always cleaning."

The festival takes place on the Antes House plantation in Frederick, PA. It is off Rt 73 between Zieglerville and Gilbertsville. Find directions here. The cost for adults (age 16+) is $12, but you can get a two-day pass for $18; and for children (age 6-15) is $3. Children age 5 and younger are free.

It would be fun if you could come visit. If you are in the area and can, check out the Before You Go and FAQs. The Before You Go section has a plantation map with the festival layout. Make your way over to the Butter Churning demonstration and mention Tea Time With Melody Q. Xyra chats with everyone, but if you name drop she will give you a bigger smile.

Friday the festival runs from 12 noon to 8 PM. Saturday the gate opens at 10 AM and runs to 6 PM.

I went last year. It was a lot of fun to see the different home skills and trades and past times. Do you remember this? 

Were you following us then?

I wonder which of my sisters will be going this year? Do you have any guesses?

Come back again soon.

Best wishes,

Outfit Review: OG All Eyelets On Me

Another Great Our Generation Outfit

While the Wherever and Ever outfit nagged to be brought home, this one practically jumped into the cart.

All Eyelets on Me

This one caught my eye because of the color, eyelet top, and polka dots! LOVE polka dots. This is a 5-piece set with shorts, top, sweater, shoes, and sunglasses. The cat eye sunglasses - another reason this outfit jumped into the cart. Plus it is in the $12.99 OG fashion section. (You may remember Melody wore the shorts and top in the Whose Shoes? Results post.)

Kaya

Here we see Kaya wearing the entire outfit and holding the package photo.

Close up of the package photo.

The sweater is a nice thick knit. Not too heavy that it's winter, but not flimsy either.

The sweater has one Velcro closure at the neck.

The other side has a cute heart-shaped button. You can also see the detail of the knit in this picture.

Kaya put the sweater and sunglasses aside. (The sunglasses, while cute, do not seem to fit anyone except Lanie.) You can see this eyelet top has puffy, ruffled, cap sleeves.

The back has a Velcro closure. It does not open completely, you have to step into this one.

The shorts also have a Velcro closure. These too are a little snug.

They have a heart-shaped button on the front that matches the one on the sweater.

These shoes were featured in the Whose Shoes? game. They are hard plastic loafers.

The really cute thing is that they are labeled in side so you know which foot.

Haley

Here's Haley in the All Eyelets on Me outfit. You can see the sweater fits her more loosely.

Couldn't get the sunglasses to stay on her face despite the headband.

They barely stayed on her head. Very flexible plastic, but a little too flexible.

Overall a super cute outfit with lots of mix and match pieces.

What are your thoughts on this outfit? Who do you think wears it best? (You can vote for me, Melody, too since I wore most of it in the Whose Shoes? Results post.) 

Best wishes,

Catalog Arrives

July American Girl Catalog

We got home the other day and found a new American Girl catalog in the mail pile. Cool! Looked at the corner...July 2014. Really? Shouldn't the July catalog arrive before the last week of the month. Oh well.

Pets, So Cool!

We love how the catalog focuses on the pets. They are so very cute. The $28 price tag is a bit much. We're still hoping that the corgi finds its way to our collection.

In reading the descriptions we now understand why so many are saying, "They're all girls." It's true that each description mentions "her mouth." However, if you look closely at them, the writer obviously copied and pasted the text "has soft...toy!" for each pet. They may be called "her" in the description, but when the pet arrives home you can decide if it's a boy or a girl. Example, one of the other bloggers just introduced her Isabelle as Allison Hazel to her followers. So don't let the catalog copy keep you from naming your pet what you want.

New Horses.

Did you see the Paint Filly listed? Very pretty. Just note the Painted Filly is a foal and not a full grown horse. It is $48; that's $27 more than the Our Generation Foals available at Target. The OG ones are just as pretty and come with a lot more gear.

On the AG website you can also see the new Chestnut and Palomino horses. These are the grown horses. They cost $75. Still cheaper than Steps High, but $40 more than Our Generation horses (that, again, come with more gear).

New Outfits

Of the new outfits, the new Coconut Cutie is still a favorite, but not so much the others. [Did you see The Doll Wardrobe's recent post?] It's okay for us all to agree or disagree on our favorite outfits; it's like trying to decide a favorite food-differences make life interesting.

None of the outfits, including the sports and hobbies, looked good in this catalog. I don't think it was staged very well.

Costumes

While not as elaborate as some other costumes, I do like the Bee Myself costume (seen in an earlier release) and the new witch costume. The boots are a little goofy, but overall quite nice.

New Wish List

While the new catalog overall was kind of disappointing, we did still make a wish list. (Note: Our wish list is just that - a list of things we wish we had; we may not get any of these items.)

• Corgi Puppy
• Spiky Collar and Leash
• Blossoms collar and Leash
• Pet Camping Set
• Preppy Pet Outfit
• Cuddles and Cures Pet Set
• Dreamy Daisy Pet Bed
• Jewel Highlights
• Bright Highlights
• Stackable Lunch
• Isabelle's Legwarmers Set
• Charm Keeper Necklace
• Witch costume

Other (Online) Catalog Notes

The Beach Chair Set is SOLD OUT; not marked "back ordered."
The Cello Set has been further reduced to $18 - that's a little over 62% off. :( So keep your eye on the sales.

Which item on your AG wish list do you want the most?

Best wishes,