A Christmas Vacation in the City

Dear Readers,

I have posted a little Christmas story on my Instagram account so I wanted to share this as well on my blog for those who don't have Instagram!  The first dollhouse I bought after my daughter was born was a dollhouse from Calico Critters/Sylvanian Families and I still love this brand very much.  The animal figures are adorable and I wanted to share my love for these toys by creating a photo story with them.  I have also included toys from the Playmobil company and miniature from Re-ment.

The Norwood Mouse Family live in a cozy cottage in the countryside.

A few days before Christmas, the Norwood Mouse Family gets a call. Their cousins are inviting them to come over for the holidays

Mommy mouse hurriedly picks a few vegetables from her garden as gifts to her cousins. 

Far away in the city, the Milky Mouse family is getting ready to welcome their cousins for the Christmas holidays.

The Milky Mouse Family are gathering in the living room to light the Christmas tree.

At last the Norwood Mouse Family arrives!

“Fresh vegetables? Thank you ! It’s so sweet of you! But my family prefer cookies and cupcakes.

“This is your room ? I never want to leave this place!"

“Let’s watch the World Cup and play video games after! Best vacation ever!”

After a very exciting evening, all big and little mice are fast asleep.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! 

Christmas vacation was so much fun but being away makes you appreciate your own home even more because nothing compares to home! Merry Christmas dear friends! May you enjoy happiness and peace with your loved ones.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this story and I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a happy new year!

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was not paid nor received gifts to write this or mention any store or website.  

Dal Cinnamoroll 10th Anniversary

Dear Readers,

I would like to show you the latest addition to my doll collection: DAL Cinnamoroll 10th Anniversary!  She was released by Groove (which also makes Pullip dolls) on September 2012 to celebrate Cinnamoroll 10th year anniversary!

Per Wikipedia:

Cinnamoroll (シナモロール, Shinamorōru?) is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamon, is a white puppy with long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a plump and curly tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. He starred in his own manga series, an anime movie and various animation shorts.

This is not the first time Groove had made a Dal Cinnamoroll though.  There was a first Cinnamoroll produced in 2008 and she was quickly sold out.  This re-release has a few differences in the faceup and accessories.  The new version has notably pink eyelids instead of green.

I have been eying this doll on Amazon for months now.  My finger kept hovering over the "BUY IT NOW" button but I was trying to be good after a month of high spending!  But then I saw her price suddenly drop to $50 (no tax, no shipping fee) and I didn't want to miss out on that chance so I bought her.

She is much cuter in person than in pictures!  And her Cinnamoroll suit is super soft and beautiful!  The lining of the suit is made of a soft fabric in blue with white polka dot.  I had to hide her right away because my baby wanted to squish her in her arms!  You would too if you saw her :)

Her accessories are:

• Cinnamoroll suit (with detachable mittens and boots)
• Black dress and bloomers
• Black top hat
• Teacup-shaped purse
• Moustache Necklace
• Black cane with a charm
• Chocola plushie
• Blue stand   
• Collector card

I like her dress and bloomers very much.  They feel silky and fit her perfectly.  But despite the high number of accessories, there are no shoes for the doll.  The white boots are very tight and it's nearly impossible to put her feet in them!

It's too bad I don't have enough space in my house to keep the box because it is a work of art in itself.  All the Pullip/Dal/Isul/Taeyang dolls produced by Groove actually come in box with an elaborate design!

I like how her doll stand matches her hair color and the inside lining of her suit!  And the moustache, cane and Chocola plushie all include a charm and a chain of some sort which I guess are useful if you want to attach it to your cell phone or handbag/backpack!

All in all I am very happy with this doll.  She is very pretty and has very nice accessories.  I would prefer the 2008 Cinnamoroll because of the accessories (white bag + plushie and a cup!), but that version is usually priced over $200 nowadays so I'll settle for this 2nd version.  And  I think I actually like this doll version better because of her blushing face and pink eyelids!

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.

Hello Kitty here, Hello Kitty there!

Dear Readers,

I was very spoiled by my blogger friends this year.   Melissa from Julia's Bookbag sent me a super adorable Hello Kitty New Year red packet!  If you like books, tea, Hello Kitty, Japanese stuff, Russian fairy tales, etc... you should totally read her!   She is super funny and I learned so many things thanks to her blog.

She also sent me Hello Kitty marshmallow and Botan Rice Candies!  If you never had these, you should try them because they taste so good.  It has actually been many years since I ate one so eating them brought back many good memories.   The presents were for my son but he only wanted the money and marshmallow so I ate all the rice candies hehehe!

Speaking of Hello Kitty, did you know Groove created a Little Dal Hello Kitty doll?  In fact, Groove did a special collaboration with Sanrio and released 3 mini dolls:

1. Little Dal Hello Kitty Baby
2. Little Dal Cinnamoroll Baby
3. Little Byul My Melody Baby

And for some reasons, they are actually super cheap on Amazon right now at only $19.99 (and you can get free shipping if you buy $35 or more but it also depends on the seller because some of them will have a separate shipping fee).  I don't know why the price has dropped down so much but they are usually around $29 and sometimes a lot more (on EvilBay)!

Here below are some photos of them from Amazon so you can see how cute they are!

Each of them wear a bib and they have a giant hoodie shaped like the character they represent.  I am not a huge fan of Byul's facemold but I have to say this My Melody Baby is pretty cute!

I think they would make great presents for Hello Kitty fans and Sanrio fans too.   They are quite small at about 4 inches so it's not a big doll and they can be stored easily thanks to the rectangular box in which they are packaged.

I have updated my Amazon Shop and added the Sanrio Little Dal dolls.  There are a few more dolls that are on sale too if you want to go over there and take a look.

I updated my Amazon page for Little Dal so you can see on the first and second page the dolls on sale right now.  I am a biting my fingers because I bought the Coral doll at twice that price for my niece just a few months ago!

You can also access my shop by clicking on the pretty Mini Lalaloopsy picture on the right-hand side bar! 

I am quite excited about these dolls so I bought all 3 Sanrio Littles :)  I know I should save money but how can a woman resist a good sale?

Disclaimer : This post contains affiliate links.

One more day until New Year...

Dear Readers,

Are you ready for this weekend?  I am so ready.  I am ready for a restful and pleasant Lunar New Year.  My home is not totally ready yet though.   I took Thursday off to finish cleaning up and preparing for the big day on Friday.  On top of that, we are having guests tomorrow!  My husband's cousins are coming over and some of them are staying at my place.  Let me tell you something, there is no greater incentive to clean your house than when you know you are going to have visitors!  

We bought a few plants and flowers.  My boy had a really fun time decorating the bamboo tree with lucky charms and miniature lanterns.

I bought my favorite gummy candies from Kasugai and I placed the lucky money in their red envelopes.  

I didn't forget that I wanted to show you miniature items for the Chinese New Year.  Here below are miniature pieces made by Orcara.  The firecrackers and candied fruit tray (which we typically eat during the New Year) are very well done.  You can remove the fruits from the tray's compartments.  

The doll is a Hello Kitty Mini Valentine Doll purchased at Target today.  I was very curious about her because I have never seen any Hello Kitty doll this size before.  Here she is next to some other Mini dolls so you can compare the size.

She is almost the same size as the Playmobil figure so she would look totally fine in a Playmobil house!

Another doll I found at Target was the Valentine Special Target Exclusive Mini Lalaloopsy Doll: Velvet B. Mine!  She is only $4.99 (comparatively to the usual $6.99 for Mini Lalaloopsy dolls) and she comes with 2 pets and a velvet cake on a stand.

Doesn't she remind you of somebody?  Yup... Dollop Light-N-Fluffy!   Dollop comes with more accessories but I definitely like Velvet B Mine's dress better!    

There are also new Mini Lalaloopsy dolls at Target but I will post about them another day because it's so so late right now and I desperately need some sleep!