Calista In My Life

A couple of months ago, I was telling my husband that one of the local museums was having an AG tea party and inviting people to bring their dolls for tea.  I told him that I almost considered going, until I saw that the admittance was $25.  I could buy another doll with that, I'm not paying that for a silly event.  My husband told me that I could've taken Calista and Bob to the event.  I said "Bob is gone for the summer, remember?"  My husband cracked up laughing and said "I like it that you're so consistent."

On Tuesday, we were in the car and my husband said out of the blue "Well, it's the first day of Fall, do you know what that means?"  I thought about it for a few seconds and didn't know what he could be referring to, so I said "No, what does that mean?"  He said "It means Bob is back!"  I cracked up and said "Yeah, Bob is back."

Well, Bob may be back, but Calista is not there.  Calista is currently spending as much time as she can on Biloxi Beach.

Wednesday, she spent the day in New Orleans.

I will let Calista describe her trip when she's ready to post her next diary entry.  I just wanted to tell you the story about my husband, and also to show you these cool beads that we got while in New Orleans.  I saw the ones below and I immediately thought that the instruments attached would make pretty decent instruments for some of my dolls.

When I saw the beads below, I initially thought that the footballs would be way too big for 1/6 scale dolls.  I was going to give these to someone as a souvenir.  But when I posed Calista with these, well I think she looks adorable holding that football and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to keep these for myself, also.

I just have to take a moment to express my appreciation for my husband.  Not only does he listen to me talk about dolls, he actually keeps up with the storylines that I write, and he encourages me to keep doing what I want to do.  And as if that weren't enough, he has no complaints about me bringing a doll along with me every time we take a trip.  He smiles as we walk along streets, eat at restaurants, spend time on the beach, etc. all while having a doll along and snapping photos.  He did protest a little bit about me bringing my laptop on our trip.  He knew that I'd be working and blogging while on vacation. :)

Color Infusion Janay

I had been pretty much ignoring the female dolls from Integrity Toys for a while.  With the arrival of this Color Infusion Janay doll, now I'm paying attention again.  I love some of the changes that have been made from my older Integrity Toys/Fashion Royalty ladies.  Goodbye sharp little claw-like hands!  Goodbye pointy little Barbie feet!  Hello to a more realistic body, with more realistic hands and feet.

My only issue is that I have fewer shoe choices for Janay.  I found a few pairs that would fit her.  The shoes below are from Jakks Pacific Lola.  She can put them on, but she can not stand in them.  I need for her to be able to stand.

Her feet are similar in size and shape to Monster High dolls (the size of Clawdeen Wolf).  The shoes below are from an Operetta fashion pack.  She can stand in these shoes, but she hates them.  I don't blame her - they have dice for heels and a spiderweb design.  Below, Janay models the Monster High shoes and a Sparkle Girlz outfit.

Below, she is wearing another Sparkle Girlz outfit and a random pair of boots.  They may be Barbie boots.  They don't really fit, but she can stand in them.

In the photos below, she is wear Sparkle Girlz clothes and Sashabella Paws'  boots.  She can stand in these boots, but she hates them. 

She has decided to go with the lesser of the 4 evils and she will wear the Sashabella boots until I get her shoe situation sorted out (which may be a little while).  She is wearing a Milan Barbie fashion below.

Besides shoes, she has certain other demands.  She demands new clothing, lingerie, and above all she demands that I release Remi from his cardboard prison.

My overall impression of Janay is that this is a beautiful doll!  She does not have the articulation of the action figures that I like, but she makes up for that in beauty.  She is tall - even taller than most of my male dolls, but that doesn't bother me.  I wish that she could stand without shoes and without assistance.  I don't necessarily want Integrity Toys to give their dolls hideous ankle joints or joints in the feet, I'm just saying it would be nice if she could have flat or heeled feet.  I don't know how to achieve that in an attractive way, but it would be nice.  They've done a good job at combining aesthetics with functionality with other features, so I'll leave the feet issue in their capable hands.  In the meantime, I'm glad that she can stand in certain shoes.

***I just read a post from someone, saying that the newer Integrity Toys dolls being released have modular limbs, and that IT should have the option of having lower legs for different heel heights.  Sounds like a good idea to me!***

A Tale of Two Dasias

I'm so happy to have 2 Dasias in my collection - one to play with, and one to display.  In the photo below, Dasia on the left is my newer one, and she is just a little darker than my older one.  Dasia on the right has seen better days.  I've gotten the new one just in time, because the band holding the older one's hair in place just snapped and her fuzzy curls were falling.  The stains on the upper part of the older one's body did not come from her original clothing, but the stains on the lower part did come from her original stockings.  Yes, I know I need to get some Oxy10. 

So I finally got to do what I've been tempted to do for years:  I combed Dasia's hair!  Her curls yielded a nice afro once picked out.

I searched for clothes for my older Dasia to wear, and found that she can wear some of the stretchier Ken tops.  In the photo below, Dasia is wearing a Ken top and Russell Williams' shorts.

Russell did not approve of this at all, and has flat refused to loan Dasia his shorts.  He has suffered the indignity of being here for years without pants and without shoes, he is not about to go completely bottomless.  So the search continued.

Dasia can wear Weekend Hang TJ's warm up suit (it's a tight fit).  Dasia borrowed Scottie Pippen's shoes for the photo below.  I like it when dolls can stand without the assistance of stands, and this was the only way that I could get Dasia to balance in Scottie's shoes.

My newer Dasia is now redressed in my older Dasia's original outfit.  I will leave the hairnet on her head to prevent any hair fiascos.  Dasia can stand in her original shoes without the use of her doll stand (which I still have around here somewhere).

If the 2 Dasias ever want to go out together for a night on the town, Casual Dasia can borrow Tracy Turnblad's dress.  She can't fit Tracy's shoes however, so that will be an issue.

If you want to see how well Dasia poses compared to other larger dolls, check out my Large and Lovely Doll Comparisons.

Thanks again Black Doll Enthusiast, and thanks Georgette!

Grown Folks Business

Thank you everyone for helping me choose a title for my stories featuring my dolls that are adults!  I appreciate everyone who voted on the poll, and everyone with clever and fun title suggestions of their own.  Grown Folks Business had 53% of votes on the poll, and that's the title that I'm going with.  There is now a tab at the top of the page called Grown Folks Business, and if you click there you will see all of the stories in reverse chronological order going back to the beginning.

So let's check in on Palmer and Zalika, shall we?  

Since the break-up, Zalika has thrown herself into her work, volunteering for extra projects at her job (much to the annoyance of her assistant, Vincent).  Zalika is also on the Board of Directors of the largest charitable organization in Roxville, and has volunteered to chair the committee responsible for planning their largest fundraising event of the year.  She has been going home late each night of the week feeling physically exhausted, but still has trouble sleeping.  Staying busy throughout the day has helped her to keep her mind from dealing with the pain of losing Palmer, but at night when everything is dark and quiet, her mind races with thoughts of millions of possibilities regarding her failed relationship and how things could have gone differently.

As Zalika sat in her office at work on Friday, she busied herself with one of her many projects, while simultaneously thinking of ways that she could keep busy on the weekend.  She was interrupted by her assistant Vincent, who came into her office and announced rather excitedly "David Palmer is here to see you."  Zalika sat there stunned for a moment while Vincent looked at her wide-eyed.  She told Vincent to send him in, and Palmer entered and closed the door behind him as Zalika stood up.  Her mind was racing.  This is something that he NEVER would have done during the time when they were seeing each other, why would he do this now?

Zalika took a few steps towards Palmer and said quietly "It's not a good idea for you to come here."  Palmer said "I'm sorry, it's just that you haven't returned my calls, texts, or emails..."  Through the window of her office, Zalika saw Vincent and one of the other assistants casually and slowly strolling by outside her office, looking through the window while trying to pretend that they weren't looking.  "Excuse me for just a moment...", Zalika said as she exited her office.  "Vincent, would you please book a conference room for me for the next 30 minutes?"  Vincent headed to his desk and said "Sure, let me just see what's available...  All of the conference rooms are booked."  Zalika tried, but was not successful at hiding the annoyance in her voice as she said "All of them?"  Vincent said "Well, no one is in Conference Room C, but that room is undergoing remodeling and there is no furniture."  Zalika said "That's fine, I'll take that one.  Just bring me a couple of folding chairs, please."

Zalika led the way to the conference room and Palmer carried the chairs that Vincent had provided.  Palmer caught a glimpse of her thigh as she walked, and he couldn't help but to think about how sexy she looked, even in her work attire.  Once they had entered the conference room, Zalika closed the door.  She felt more comfortable there, a room with no windows and away from prying eyes, with little threat of disruption since the room was currently not being used.  Palmer held her chair for her as she sat down.

Palmer sat down and said "It's really not my intention to disrupt your day.  I just haven't heard from you, and I really needed to know that you're okay.  Are you okay?"  Zalika paused and thought about how to answer the question.  Was she okay?  No, she didn't really feel that she was okay, but this really wasn't the time or the place to go into it.  After a long pause, she said "I'm making it."  There was an awkward silence.

Palmer:  I just really wanted to speak to you, to see you.  When you wouldn't return my calls or texts, and you wouldn't answer the door when I came by, I became... I don't know...  I just really needed to know what I'd done to make you hate me, and what I could do to make it better.
Zalika:  I don't hate you!  I could never hate you!  I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never meant to make you feel like this is somehow your fault.  I blame myself for all of this!  I'm just trying to get through this the best way that I can, and I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't know how to make this any easier.  

 

As tears welled up in Zalika's eyes, Palmer reached into his pocket and handed her his handkerchief.  Zalika had always thought that it was cute, old-fashioned, and rather sexy that a man as young as Palmer carries a cloth handkerchief in this day and age (monogrammed with his initials even).  As much as he hated to see her in pain, Palmer was relieved to see her show emotion, because that let him know that she did still care.  Zalika dabbed her eyes and then handed the handkerchief back to Palmer.

Palmer:  I want you to know that I respect your decision to end our relationship, but I want to ask you if you'd reconsider.
Zalika:  I can't even begin to tell you how many millions of times I've reconsidered over the past month.  I keep replaying things over and over in my head.  But it always comes down to the same thing.  Nothing has changed.  We can't change the past.  We can't control how others will seek to destroy you.  If we were to get back together, we would be torn apart again in what, a month?  A year?  Several years from now?  I can't go through this again.  This is too hard.
Palmer:  What can I do to change your mind?
Zalika:  My mind is made up.
Palmer:  What can I do?

They talked for several more minutes, but in the end nothing changed.

Palmer:  Well, can we at least talk sometimes?  I miss you so much.  I miss you helping me to see the lighter side of any situation.
Zalika:  I wouldn't be much help to you in that right now.  Not much is funny to me anymore.
Palmer:  Can I call you?
Zalika:  Eventually, I may get to the point where it's not so painful being around you without being WITH you.  I'm not there yet.  Let me be the one to contact you.

Zalika stood up.  Palmer asked if he could give her a hug.  She hesitated for a moment, and nodded.

Zalika allowed herself to linger in that moment, just for a little while.

Palmer held her tightly, not wanting to let go.

Zalika let go first, saying that she needed to get back to work.  "And by the way, I didn't know that you had come by my house.  I haven't been home much lately." 

Palmer nodded and stepped towards the door to leave.  Zalika stopped him, and asked if he'd be willing to do something to support her fundraising effort for the charitable organization that she served.  Palmer said "Of course!"  Zalika asked if he would record an ad for radio or TV to briefly talk about the organization and to advertise the fundraiser.  Palmer agreed.  Zalika told him that someone would be in touch with his people.  They said good-bye.

As Zalika walked back to her desk, Vincent said to her "I can't believe that I just met David Palmer!"  Zalika nodded and kept walking.  Vincent followed her into her office.  He asked "What was he doing here?"  Zalika told him that she had been trying to contact him to seek his support in her fundraising efforts for the upcoming event.  She said that Palmer was a very busy man, and that it was nearly impossible to reach him to arrange a meeting.  When he found himself in the area and with a few minutes to spare, he had decided to drop by.  They met to iron out the details, and he'd agreed to help.  Vincent said "I can't believe he stopped by here in person like that!"  Zalika told him that Palmer is the real deal and that he is humble, and that he truly cares about his community and strives to improve it.  Vincent said "Well, he's got my vote!"

Don't Fight the Feeling

Sometimes you've just gotta break down and get what you want, right?  I've broken down a lot lately.

I've been wanting a Shindana doll for years.  After seeing blog posts by Black Doll Enthusiast and D7ana about Disco Wanda, I decided that she would be the one.  So I decided not to wait anymore and to go ahead and buy her.  My Disco Wanda is much lighter than I expected her to be.  Is it possible that mine is a Juanita?  On top of the box, there are stock numbers for both Wanda and Juanita.  Will I find the stock number on the actual doll?  I will be removing Wanda (Juanita?) from her box soon, so I guess I shall see.

Ever since I found out about the Kenner Dana doll years ago, I have wanted her.  As a child, I had a Darci doll and she was my favorite fashion doll at the time because of her pose-ability.  I talked about my childhood Darci doll in this post, and I also mentioned my desire for Darci's AA friend Dana that I didn't even know existed until I was an adult.  I tried to talk myself out of wanting Dana many times because I decided long ago not to go down the path of trying to replace my beloved childhood dolls.  But Dana's different from the doll that I had, so I've finally broken down and purchased her.  And let me just tell you, the 9 year old little girl in me was giddy when I held this doll in my hands.  Black Doll Enthusiast had a recent post about Dana.

Three years ago, I was hospitalized and given a devastating diagnosis (I'll be writing about that soon).  At that time, my husband told me that I needed to buy some doctor and nurse dolls to help take care of me.  I agreed.  I'm just now starting to gather my doll medical professionals.  I had previously purchased this nurse outfit, but I still haven't decided who will wear it.  

I've added a Nurse Julia repro doll to the medical staff here.  I've been wanting her for a while.

I've also added Dr. Ken to the staff.  Little Tommy will have lots of little friends to play with here.

I have another doctor and an EMT that I want to add to the medical staff.  I don't need any help from these dolls, but I have several dolls that could use some medical attention.

It's posts like this one from Vanessa that have me going back to Walmart in search of more Sparkle Girlz clothes.  Look what I found.

Black Doll Enthusiast recently posted about the availability of nude Dasia dolls.  I didn't even have to think twice about this purchase.  I've wanted another Dasia for years.  I have played with my Dasia a little, and her hair has become fuzzy over the years.  I will dress my new Dasia in the original Dasia outfit, and I will not play with her (much), and I will try my best not to make her hair fuzzy.  As for the other Dasia, there's going to be some serious doll play with that one.  I imagine that she will go through a significant transformation in the coming years.

And last but certainly not least, I've added Color Infusion Janay to my collection after seeing this post by Black Doll Enthusiast.  I tried hard to resist, but when I found myself going back to that blog post over and over again to look at the photos, I knew I had to get her or I would regret it.  I exercised very little restraint or patience and splurged a little to get her, but I'm happy that she's here.

My weekend is going to be extremely busy with real life stuff, but I'm going to schedule myself for a few hours of serious doll play!

5 Years Ago Today

Five years ago today, I started this blog.  The dolls pictured below kicked off the celebration.

Today we're celebrating again at reaching this milestone.  Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, making suggestions, inspiring me, and motivating me!  Through this hobby, I'm encouraged to continually learn, grow, and improve.  It will be interesting to see where the next 5 years lead me.

I've created a video for this occasion.  It's a compilation video that includes some never before seen photos and video clips.  I am the one singing.  :)  If the video will not play for you, please click here.

Action Figures in Sparkle Girlz Fashions

How much can they stretch?  Let's put them to the test!

 I'm trying these fashions out on my action figure ladies.  They are from left to right:  BBi Perfect Body AA (large bust), Hot Toys TT Cuban American, Takara clone with Mixis Opal head, Phicen, and Martha Jones.  They are barely squeezing into these fashions, but they did it.  The clothes don't fit quite right on some of them.  The capris that come with the outfit that the BBi Perfect Body AA is wearing will not fit, so she's wearing the top as a very short dress.

 The velcro will close completely in the back (barely).

Here are some fashions that I've shown previously.  These figures are from left to right:  Dragon Linh, GI Joe Helicopter Pilot, Triad Alpha, Sideshow Jinx, and BBi Perfect Body Hispanic (small bust).  Only action figure ladies that are as slender as Dragon Linh can wear the Sparkle Girlz outfits that have pants.  The Triad Alpha is wearing a Sparkle Girlz top, but different shorts.

And here's a group shot of a bunch of the ladies decked out in their new Sparkle Girlz attire.

Happy Labor Day - Fashions to Show

Curtis is a new arrival and he is spending his first Labor Day here.  Well, his head is a new arrival, but his body has been here for a while.  He is thrilled with his body, but he is extremely irritated at me for dressing him in this Ken fashion. 

Maybe it's because the clothes and shoes do not fit quite right.  I could barely get the velcro to close on his shorts, and his shoes are too small.

He seemed a little bit more mellow with his shades on.

Meanwhile, some of the ladies wanted to show off their new Sparkle Girlz fashions.  They are from left to right:  HSM Taylor head on Liv Alexis body, Bratzillaz Sashabella Paws, Sideshow Jinx, Hispanic Perfect Body, and Milan Barbie head on Kenya body.  The Sparkle Girlz shoes are a good fit for Kenya, but they are too small for the rest of these ladies.

I knew that Curtis would have no trouble making new friends here.  He will feel even better when I get around to dressing him in comfortable attire for him.

Happy Labor Day Everyone!