Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A New Face in AG's MAG Collection

Here is something else worth mentioning that was new in American Girl's latest catalogue:



Meet My American Girl doll F5151. She is described as having light skin, layered brown hair, and brown eyes. Here's a close up:


Why is she significant? you may be wondering. Well, because if she had existed over a decade ago, Mom would probably have gotten her rather than little old me to be her look-alike doll. Ever since Mom became interested in American Girl dolls way back when, American Girl had never made one that looked much like her. It's strange because Mom isn't some freak of nature: she has long, straight brown hair without bangs, brown eyes, and light skin without freckles. It seemed that anytime AG made a brown haired doll with brown eyes, she either had bangs, short hair, or medium-toned skin... until now...

F5151 isn't as good of a match for Mom as me, since Mom never has had her hair this dramatically layered. Still, it's close enough that it sure is lucky for me that she wasn't around back in 2001!



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Review of AG's Newest Outfits

Hi there! We got a new AG catalogue a few weeks back, and as usual, they've added new stuff! Read on if you care to learn what we think of the latest in high AG fashion.

Saige's Tunic Outfit: $28
When I first saw this outfit, I thought the tunic was a bit much even though I love the color. The more I've looked at it, the more I've decided I like it. I'm still not totally sold on the white tie, but it works when you wear it with those jeans, at least. The jeans themselves are pretty and would go well with most shirts, though I'd be sure to get them dirty within 5 minutes of putting them on. The magenta ballet flats are basic yet fun and play up the magenta in the design on the tunic. This outfit gets definite two thumbs up from me. I can see why it's number 1 in popularity of the new items.

Mix and Match Outfit Collection: $90
This will take a bit of explaining... buy all 3 of these outfits together, which are also sold separately for $30 each, and receive a bonus purse and pair of sunglasses.

On the left is the School Days Outfit. AG doesn't typically use much green, so it's fun to see an "apple green" shirt. The shirt's asymmetric neckline with bow and sequins makes it way more special than your typical solid colored shirt. I wish there were photos of this outfit from the back and the side so I could see how wide these wide leg pants are. They remind me of the pants people wore on the Brady Bunch, for some reason. The yellow shoes aren't my favorite, though I don't hate them. It's more that I would feel like I had bananas on my feet every time I wore them. Wearing the purse with this outfit ties them in so they don't look so "Whoa! Those are some shiny yellow shoes!"

In the center is the Striped Hoodie Outfit. This one gets a big Eh from me. I know bold colored skinny jeans are in right now, but these orange specimens just don't do it for me. In my opinion, the shirt has an awful lot going on. I think it'd be nicer to either let the horizontal stripes have center stage or have a floral design on a solid background, but throwing both together looks a bit odd. The gray canvas shoes are great, though. If they had white laces rather than pink they would go with everything. Just saying.

Finally, on the right we have the Flower Sweater and Skirt. Of all AG's new outfits, this is my favorite. The skirt is sweet and cheerful. The sweater looks great with the skirt but would also look fabulous with jeans or other neutral bottoms. I really want to like the shoes AG paired with this, but I am struggling because they remind me of both bowling shoes and saddle shoes, neither of which seems especially appropriate for such a classy, modern outfit.

As far as mixing and matching goes, you could make some rather strange combinations. (The green shirt with the green-less floral skirt, for instance, or how about the pinky-red sweater with the orange skinny jeans. XD) Really, only the navy pants work with all three tops. AG could've done a better job of making 3 outfits that can truly all be mixed and matched, if you ask me.

Tropical Bloom Outfit: $28
Five out of five stars from me on this one! Cute and comfortable at the same time. :) I love the color pallet of seafoam green, purple, and white and how both the shirt and leggings get pretty white designs. I hope we can add this to our wardrobe eventually.

Purple Peacock PJ's: $24
I have nothing negative to say about this outfit. A winner from start to finish in my book. I approve that AG went with blue slippers rather than purple or lavender to pop the blue in the top. I would totally wear this one with real shoes and call it a daytime outfit rather than only wearing it for pajamas. Both top and bottom could easily be mixed and matched with all kinds of stuff too. Please, Mom, can we get this? Christmas is only 3 months away...

Talent Show Set: $38
I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything nice to say about this outfit other than that the color palette is okay. If you're into dressing like a circus clown or a bitty baby, look no farther! Goofy headband, wonkily proportioned dress in a bizarre style, and weird pink shoes with stupid little bows do not a whimsical outfit make. The hoop, platform, and ball would be fun to mess with, but my dog Silver would not be caught dead in that frilly clown collar.

Silver Stitch Hoodie: $14
The description of this hoodie refers to the color as "berry." Is "berry" actually red and not a dark shade of pink or magenta?! If so, extra cool. The stars inside and the silver stitching make this one snazzy hoodie. I wish there was a photo of the back so we could see if the "foil AG logo on back" is obnoxious or not. If it ever goes on sale, we should definitely get it.

2-in-1 Track Outfit: $34
I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination, so I don't know much about what's cool when it comes to track attire. The watermelon color combo looks great to me, and I especially like the shorts. I'm not quite sure how this is a 2-in-1 outfit, however. It has a jacket, yes, but how does that make it 2-in-1? I don't think you'd really want to wear the jacket without the shirt underneath. Overall, it's a very cute outfit and not as expensive as I thought AG would make it.

Basketball Outfit: $34
This is definitely a more girly looking basketball uniform than the old red and white one. Some girls will appreciate this, while others will probably roll their eyes. I personally like the purple-aqua combo much better. I know it would no doubt cause a major price hike, but wouldn't it be cool if you could choose your own jersey number to be printed on it when you order? Or if heavy-duty stickers of 1-9 were included with a blank jersey so that you could choose your number that way? This would be much nicer if you wanted to get multiple jerseys for multiple basketball-loving dolls.

Witch Costume: $34
*Stifles a snicker* Ahem, right. Yup, this would be just peachy for Halloween. If I was going to get a witch costume, though, I'd want a traditional flowing black robe like in Harry Potter. Now that would be more like it. I'm not sure why the broom needs that goofy handle at the end, as you can clearly pose for pictures without needing it.

And now for a few more that are not super new but still show up under the "What's New" tab on the AG website:

Sweet Spring Dress: $30

This dress is fine but not my style. I don't really like the drop waist look or the ballet-esque straps on the shoes. Close ups of the fabric show it does have a gold shimmer to it, which I think is prettier than solid cream. Still, it is predominately cream with a little bit of pale pink here and there. Maybe I'd like it better in person, but I think I'd have at least chosen a slightly brighter accent color so the outfit doesn't look so muted in far-away photos.
Plaid Party Dress: $30
Adorable dress! The slanted plaid of magenta, white, blue, and a hint of green... just perfect! The tie belt, barrette, and magenta trim add to the dress without overpowering it. And hooray for blue sandals! They make the outfit even more tempting. I wonder if it will ever go on sale?

Easy Breezy Outfit: $28
I was excited to see AG make turquoise shorts! At first glance, I was excited about the shirt too. Sure, it's girlier than I normally go for, but the plaid and flowers together totally work. Then I saw it wasn't a sleeveless tee but a halter top, and my excitement faded. I don't do halter tops. Period. Call me crazy, but I don't like the world to see my back unless I'm in a swimming suit.

Cycling Outfit: $28
It's a realistic cycling outfit in yellow and purple. If you're into cycling and have a bike to cycle on, great. The shoes and shirt could work with other athletic wear too, most likely, but I wouldn't recommend wearing those shorts for anything but cycling, lol.

Lots of Dots Bath Wrap: $24
Oh, my. That certainly is a lot of dots! This could come in handy when you're done showering and other people are chomping at the bit to use the bathroom. I find it easy enough just to use a towel myself, but if I was going to get a bath wrap set, this one would do just fine. My favorite part is the little purple bow. :^)

You made it to the end! Congratulations!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Shark Week

Hi! Bethany here again. My birthday yesterday rocked! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful.  I spent a lot of the day outside with my sisters. We started this new game where we are all witches at Silverspark Academy, which we've decided is the midwestern U.S.'s equivalent of Hogwarts. Running around with "wands" (sticks we found in the backyard), pretending the horses were unicorns, making up new spells and potions... It was great fun.

Then after we'd worn ourselves out, we went inside and stuffed ourselves with popcorn and mini Snickers while watching a Star Trek: Voyager marathon in the basement.

Mom took me up to her room at 10:00 for our sleepover. It's shark week on the Discovery Channel, and a program called "Alien Sharks" was on. At first we were both not so sure we should be watching this before bed, but it ended up being way more interesting than scary. We saw people go down in deep sea submarines, a dead whale lying at the bottom of the ocean become an ecosystem of creatures, a cool robo-jellyfish, and of course some really bizarre-looking deepwater sharks. Here are some of them:

Sixgill shark:


















- easily identified because they have 6 gill slits rather than the usual 5


Goblin shark:

















- can protrude their jaws out amazingly far to nab prey



Frilled shark:















- they may be responsible for some of the tales about sea serpents, since they definitely look the part



Megamouth shark:



















- extremely rare
- has an enormous mouth for filter feeding
- the inside of its mouth has a phosphorescent glow: probably to attract prey


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

One Special HI2 Pony

Guess what? I, Bethany Jo Walsh, caught our first ever horse with all positive stats on Horse Isle 2! I think I am especially lucky this week because it's the week of my birthday. :) Check out our special little Shetland stallion.

Here he was, just south of YouTalkinToMeFins' tree, waiting for me as still as could be.

Any smaller and I might have to get out a magnifying glass...

What a smart little guy!

I'm not sure we will be keeping him around permanently. I think he's cute, but really, only 8.3 hands? It's just silly to imagine 5'4" Mom riding him, and she's the model for our avatar. XD Besides, we already have a horse with the "unique" personality (Felicity's Galileo), so do we really need 2? Plus as much as I like liver chestnuts, there are tons of them cantering around on HI2. As long as he isn't named, there's a chance we won't get all emotional about him, lol. I'm guessing we'll keep him around until we catch our second 6/6 horse. Hopefully the next one will be a bit... erm... bigger?