Lila Monetti, Girl of the Year 2024, was released during an extremely difficult time for me. I had just lost my dad the month before and was still having a hard time navigating my family's new reality. I do vaguely remember seeing posts about Lila when she was released. With her amber eyes and caramel-brown hair, magenta attire, and palomino horse, I couldn't help but be drawn to her. I love magenta. I love palomino horses. I have light brown eyes and I had her same hair colo

As I alluded to in the post about the AG Boxer PJ's and Robe , there's one '90's pajama set that I have wanted for decades . The moment I saw the 1996 Slumber Shirt outfit from the A Girl of Today line, I was head over heels. I don't know if it was my love of teal at the time or the fact that I exclusively wore nightshirts to sleep in, but I thought it was the most incredible sleep shirt I'd ever seen. I wanted the girl's version so badly. I'm pretty sure by this time I had

If I could "time travel shop" from any of the catalogs Pleasant Company / American Girl has released in its past 40 years, I would probably choose one from the late '90's. I pored over those so often as a kid, they're basically etched in my memory -- especially the pages with the school outfit sets and the pajamas. The late '90's pajamas are amazing. They look realistic, incredibly comfortable, and timeless. Take for example, the AG Boxer PJ's from 1998... Happy "Jammie Janu

Out of all the doll customization or restoration things I've done, repainting lips always makes me the most nervous. I attempted my first two lip repaints back in February 2024, after watching and reading many, many tutorials. Each recommended to use acrylic paint, thinned with water or floating medium, and to work carefully in several thin layers. Feeling pretty confident in my ability, I gave my mom's doll slightly more berry-colored lips and I slightly darkened the lips on

Last year, after it was pretty clear that American Girl was not going to re-release Kirsten's St. Lucia Outfit on its own, I decided to take a stab at making my own . I'm still pretty happy with how the tray came out (I think my saffron buns are much nicer than the official American Girl ones), but the headpiece could've been a little better, and I'm not really satisfied with the dress I sewed -- particularly the neckline. It's very boatneck, but not in a nice looking way. Th

One of my favorite collaborations American Girl has ever done is their "The American Girls Collection" with Hallmark. This collection was released in the early 2000's and included a variety of fun items, including bookends, charms, stationary, and (appropriately) ornaments! The ornaments depicted the main historical girls (Kaya, Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Kit, and Molly) in their meet outfits, birthday outfits, and holiday outfits. My parents got me three of

Sometimes my "fun finds" come from the most unlikely of places. Here are a couple I found at Bath & Body Works. What's on sale today? One of the earliest doll-sized finds I stumbled upon was a Bath & Body Works mini candle. It's been about a decade since these came out, but if I remember correctly, these were marketed as fun stocking stuffers. I think they're essentially tall tealights in glass containers. Mine still smells just as good as it originally did. I've read online