Barbie 1998 Family Cottage - Update

Dear Readers,

Do you remember how excited I was about the blue 1998 Barbie Family Cottage?  It was not a complete playset and I was missing a few of the original furniture.  Well guess what ...

TA DAAAAAAAA!

I found the chair and the crib in different Ebay auctions.  The crib was part of a bigger lot but I saw it immediately and I knew it must belong to the cottage!  It looked exactly like the crib I have seen on the picture of the original box (the picture of the box is from Amazon.com).

And when I received it, I placed it in the empty storage space intended for the crib and it was indeed a perfect match!

The chair was less difficult to find.  I hesitated to buy it at first though because of the price but I eventually caved in because I have not seen any other chair like it on the market.

The crib is a little snug for Licca-chan's little sisters but they insisted on trying it :)

I tried to take more pictures but as soon as I got Miki-chan and Maki-chan out, my baby girl was all over them.  So I could only take the picture above and that was it.  My girl calls them "baby" and she loves playing with the cottage!

Don't you just love it when you find the missing pieces to your playset?  Now I am on the hunt for the missing bench and baby seat ^_^

Miki-chan and Maki-Chan

Dear Readers,

The rain started around 1am.  It was a freezing rain.  There was lightning and much thunder.  An ice storm in the middle of the night that kept me awake for a few hours. In the morning, sleet was on the roads and tree branches covered with ice were falling.  Not a happy sight but I had to go to work.  The roads were ok and kiddo did go to school so it was not as bad as I thought.  The freezing rain will continue for a few more days apparently.   

The good thing is I am finally over my cold and the kids are doing slightly better.  After they went to sleep, I managed to stay up instead of crashing in bed in complete exhaustion like it was the case lately. 

I have been wanting to show you pretty new dolls I have been hiding in my cupboard for months.  They are named Miki-chan and Maki-chan and they are Licca's twin little sisters.  According to Licca's official website, Miki and Maki are 4 years old and were born on June 12.  Miki is a tomboy while Maki is a little spoiled.   Miki has wide open eyes while Maki has droopy eyes.

I got Miki-chan and Maki-chan from an Ebay seller in China.  They were cheap at only $8 a doll including shipping. 

The box was simple and easy to open.  

Notice their name is printed inside the box!

There were ties around their neck and feet.  It was easy to untie them.

I love the little tags/bags with their name on it!

I also bought two other dolls to be their friends: the brunette Aoi-chan and the blond boy Riku-kun.  I got them from an Ebay seller located in Japan.  They were slightly more expensive at $16 each including shipping. 

The back of the box has the same ties but no tape like Maki's and Miki's box.

Riku-kun is wearing a typical Japanese kindergarten uniform.  

He comes with a little yellow hat.

I had the four dolls for many months already but did not open them yet.  Now that I have a playroom, I decided to take them out of their box!   They are slightly too small for the playroom I had prepared for my Ai-doll.

The miniature sweets that Jennifer from PlushPussyCat sent me were the perfect size for them though.  

I think they are super cute and quite cheap so I didn't break my budget getting a few of them!  They came with adorable clothes that are easy to take off and put back on again.  Their garments are made the same way as most Licca's clothes (with the velcro closure in the back).

One thing I didn't like about them is that their movements are limited... but at least they are not as difficult to pose as Little Pullip, Little Dal and LPS Blythe!

Another aspect I didn't like is the hair.  They were awfully thin.  Aoi-chan had the worse doll hair ever!  It is crinkley and dry.  I tried washing her hair in warm water and then conditioned them but they still looked terrible!  

Pros:

• Affordable
• Easy to unbox
• Easy to dress
• Pretty clothes

Cons: 

• Bad Hair
• Limited movement options
• Definitely bad hair!

Do you like them?  

I will write about them in more details in another post.  It's time to sleep now!  

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was not paid or received gifts to write this or mention any stores or website. You may find a better store in your area.