Nanea Comes Home To The Doll House!

Hi Doll Friends!!

So as I mentioned in my last post, last week was my Birthday. I wanted to make my birthday post as 'realistic' as possible with the little party and in that little party Heather Doll got an American Girl Doll from Josh Doll. So... In real life....

I got a new American Girl Doll from my husband Josh! I'd had her on my wish list ever since I heard of her coming out sometime last year I think... Before I even saw her I knew I wanted her in my collection. Why you ask? 

Well, Nanea is American Girl's most recent Beforever Doll. Beforever Dolls are American Girl's historical line of dolls... She is from Hawaii and her time period is right around when Pearl Harbor got attacked. So why did I have to have her in my collection? Well, nearly a quarter of a century ago, my husband was newly enlisted in the Army and we were newly weds. Guess where our first duty station was? That's right, Hawaii. 

We had our first apartment together in Wahiawa, Hawaii. We lived there for three and a half years and made friends we are still friends with today. It was a magical time in our lives and Hawaii, much like all the other eleven states I've lived in, sort of became part of me from having lived there. 

Her time period also makes me smile... Not because of Pearl Harbor naturally because that was horrific. But because my grandparents lived in that time period and it feels very real to me becasue of them. My husbands grandfather was in the Army too and his grandmother was a nurse in the service so I still have some of the envelopes from their constant correspndance (Why only envelopes? Because Gram requested her actual letters be burned to safeguard her privacy.). So it feels very real and close to home to me despite it being so long ago. 

Then, of course, there is the fact that Nanea is a drop dead gorgeous doll! She is just so beautiful!

The day she arrived (my husband actually got me a gift cert for AG because he wasn't sure which on my wish list I wanted most... Honestly I wasn't sure until I ordered her either... LOL) was a very sunny day and so I grabbed her out of her box and tried to get some good photos of her in the pretty sunlight. 

And I just could not stop taking photos of her....!! As you can see.... 

I just kept snapping more... and more...

I love every detail about her! I'd do more of a 'review' but honestly there are so many on YouTube that I just feel like it would be re-inventing the wheel. Here is one of my all time favorite Toy Reviewing YouTuber's Mommy from Mommy and Gracie Show telling about her Nanea. She always does such a profesh job, I just adore her.

So I know Nanea will be in many adventures in the doll house going forward! Also, American Girl Doll also makes a hula outfit for Nanea but it's $35!! I know the quality is high but I just couldn't bring myself to buy it when I knew that the OG Hula Set was like half the price and comes with a lot more stuff! I actually already owned one of the sets as you may remember from when my sweet doll Cat put on a Hula Class at the Doll House. Since I had the money from my Birthday though I decided to buy a couple more sets so that Nanea and Cat can both have their own hula skirt and an additional doll friend can have one too! I think I am going to have a New Year's Luau this year because the last Luau we had in the Doll House was a lot of fun! 

Here are the two sets! Aren't they cute! So stay tuned for that post in a few weeks...! Yes, a few weeks!! The last month of the year flies by so fast because Christmas consumes it. As it well should. Jesus's Birthday should be celebrated for at least a month, right? 

Better run!

Have a fantastic week!!

XXOO
Heather

A Day At The Beach! Doll Photography!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

Some of the dolls 'went to the beach' Saturday. 

Here is their little story. 

*winks*

Here are a lot of the girls  in the morning just enjoying the beach house.

They built sandcastles... Here is Amy with hers. (which is actually one like these figurines that I got at a thrift store and think makes a perfect sand castle for the dolls!)

Star, Leonie and Nanea searched the beach for sea shells... They found some fantastic ones!
(The shells actually came from one of those tourist trap gift shop bottles of shells you can buy at just about any gift shoppe near a beach... Mine was 50cents at a Garage Sale) 

Then Carla had the great idea to call Cat Doll and see if she would come and teach a hula class!

Charlsea is very fair and so she hid a lot under an umbrella on the lounge chair and slathers on suscreen!

Star had never been to the beach before and she loved everything about it!

Carla is telling Nanea about the hula class and that Cat was on her way over! Nanea was excited because she hadn't been to a class in such a long time.

Before they knew it, Cat had arrived! Carla hadn't met her before and so she ran right up and said hi!

Several of the girls were interested in taking a class... Cat brought along a few extra grass skirts and tuutuu's for the rest...

They were ready to get started! They just needed to move the pink picnic table out of the way...

Cat is such an amazing instructor that before they knew it, they had a few moves down. Spectrum and Amy both played the ukelele for them.

So much fun!!

Here they all are after the class. Left to right: Cat, Charlsea, Leonie, Saila, Nanea, Carla (in front), Star, Amy and Spectrum.

Most of the girls went into the beach house for a rest but Amy wanted to lay out on a beach towel and enjoy the weather...

Later in the day they were expecting a few friends to drop by and finally they did... Jamar and his cousin Omar arrived! (Omar actually just arrived in the Doll House very recently and I haven't even told you his story yet... I'll link to that post when I get it done)

Nanea was sunbathing, Star was making a sandcastle and Leonie was talking to Charlsea about thier native Canada and so Carla and Spectrum showed Jamar and Omar the shells they'd found earlier. They had been busy photographing them, then looking them up on google to try and identify what manner of animal may have housed in the shells. The guys thought that was a pretty interesting project and immediately wanted to join them.

Charlsea and Leonie had decided in the morning that since they were both newcomers to the Doll House and the country, they would wear 'twinsy' bathing suits. They had been inseperable friends since Leonie arrived even if they were from different places in Canada. 

Nanea knew it was time for more sunscreen! She didn't want to burn!

Omar hadn't met Saila before yet and they had a great time talking to each other about where they were from. Saila's Canada sounded so interesting and unique to Omar and Omar's Baltimore sounded so interesting to Saila. Isn't it fun to talk about different places and how much they are different but also how much they are the same.

Finally Barbara arrived... She brought along the groceries so they could have a cookout. How fun!

So it was a great day at the beach! Later on they all cooked out and ended evening watching sun set over beach while they ate Ice Cream.

I hope you had a relaxing weekend filled with family and friends you love.

XXOO 

Heather