It is a big day for Nanea and Benny! They have been wishing for one of Lea's Rainforest Houses for a long time. In fact, Nanea has been wishing for one of these since she arrived. That's a big wish, since it's a large item and an expensive one! Well, we saved up enough money to get one, but finding them at the price we wanted is not an immediate thing, you know. There was one listed on Craigslist for $300, up in the very Northern Cleveland area. It would be about two hours' drive for us, but that wasn't terrible. Then, someone told me that the Rainforest House was going to be at the new American Girl outlet mall opening in Hershey last weekend --- for only $150! Not bad, because our friends live not too very far from there . . . and we've been as close as sisters for over three years now and never actually met. So, that sounded like a good way to meet. They were willing to go over on opening weekend to get one, then we could drive out to pick it up. It would be close to the same price as the Cleveland house, but we'd get to meet!

Well, they went over, but all the Rainforest Houses had sold. Back to the drawing board. There was one listed in Cincinnati Craigslist for $275, but that was farther away than the Cleveland place. It didn't seem like a viable option. That is, until Dad volunteered to pick a friend up at Columbus Airport this afternoon. That was almost half way down there, and then Mom found that the same person listing that had two houses. They listed one on eBay for $200 plus shipping --- and they were willing to sell one to us for $200, if Dad picked it up! Wow! Add about $40 dollars in gas, and there is a brand new (giant) box in our living room! 

It will take us a little while to decide just where to set this up, but Benny and Nanea cannot wait!

This is a fun week coming up for them, because the AG store in Columbus is holding a "Nanea Celebration" day on Sunday afternoon, August 26th. We're planning on going for that, so Nanea has gotten on a new dress for the occasion. 

Dolls. I love them. Doesn't matter if they are Gene Marshall, American Girl, felted wool . . . you name it. I like dolls! Anyone who knows me, also knows that I inherited Mom's passion for England and British history as well, so you would probably say that it was inevitable that I would end up with a Girl for All Time doll. These are a line of hard vinyl 16" dolls made for the British market. They look British. Well, I really liked the one called "Matilda", because she looks particularly British, has brown hair and grey eyes. Also, her face appealed to me.

We found a deal on eBay that had the doll with her entire bundle pack (which included her meet outfit, traveling cloak, ball gown and nightdress with cap), along with her pet dog. I was so excited. She was listed as "display condition only, adult owner", and the price was a bit less than buying new. Not bad. So, I ordered it and waited impatiently for the mail. Several days later a Priority box arrived in the foyer --- and I knew things weren't looking too good. For a 16" doll, the box was only 12" inches wide, after I had asked that she be shipped carefully wrapped and stretched out straight. We opened the box and there she was, bent in half with a little piece of bubble wrap thrown on top of her and no packing for anything else.

The packing was very disappointing, but the doll was (surprisingly) not harmed. But the smell! We've never gotten a box in our house that smelled so bad. Just like dirt. People dirt, house dirt, unwashed dirt. I held my breath while look at the doll and found that there was brown crusty stuff all over her shift. We shoved everything back in the box and closed it up as fast as we could. The living room smelled so bad that we had to open all the windows and air everything out for two hours. It was so awful. I was so disappointed and went to file for a return on eBay. 

The seller never sent any kind of e-mail or anything, but the return was accepted and a return label promised. The following day, a label was uploaded and we went to print it out. For anyone not familiar with eBay returns, the item must be returned in the same packing as it was sent and via the same postage rate as was paid. We had paid $18.90 for a decently heavy Priority Mail box. The uploaded return label supplied by the seller was for 13 oz. via First Class mail. You can't mail anything heavier than 13 oz. via First Class, and it was totally against the eBay system rules to try uploading a label like this. Had to call eBay and report it. After ten days or eBay notifying the seller, telling them that they had to supply the correct label --- and no response from the seller --- eBay closed the case and issued a full refund. They said to keep the doll or throw her away. That seemed a real shame, so Mom and I decided that we wouldn't lose anything for trying to clean it all and wash the clothes. We wouldn't be out anything.

We got a beautiful morning yesterday, so I made a makeshift table outside, and we filled three bowls -- one with shampoo in water, one with laundry soap in water and one with plain rinse water. 

Mom and I put gloves on and took the box outside. That helped, because the smell was able to dissipate without getting in the house. We put all the clothes into the soapy water immediately, rinsed them off and hung them on the clothes line to dry. Even the little plush dog got hung on the line! 

For the doll herself, we shampooed her hair with wig shampoo, and then I washed her with baking soda paste. Here she is after being washed, letting her hair drip a little.

Everything dried by last night, and we were really amazed at the quality of the clothes. Everything got dunked in the soapy water except for the shoes and costume mask (which wouldn't survive getting wet -- just aired those). The smell was gone, and the clothes washed amazingly! I really didn't expect that, because doll clothes tend to not do so well. And a lot of this was faux fur and velvet to boot!

So, she was alright in the end, and I've decided to name her "Eleanor Violet" (after this amazing adopted relative). I think that I'd like to make 1830s clothes for her, but she's happy with her medieval outfits for now. Here are some pics of her modelling her various clothes this morning!

She is a very quality doll. Nothing cuddly about her, and you don't get the same "Mothering" impulse that comes with American Girl dolls. These Girl for All Time dolls look like quality, old-fashioned dolls. Like something that would have been in an expensive mail order European catalog in the 1980s or '90s. I've always like the 1840s German wooden dolls, and this is larger and gives the same period feeling. So cool! Her wig is not the most beautiful thing, being very fine hair and appearing rather thin. However, it is very long and meant to be styled into old-fashioned hair dos. I think it is perfect for that and really looks very realistic.

​First off, here are photos of Eleanor dressing into her ball gown. She has bloomers on that don't show in the photos. Then, there is her shift, followed by her slip and necklace. The gown is a two-piece shirt and skirt set. The clothes are all beautiful and very quality --- no velcro on any of these things. The shoes are not much and could be easily made at home.

And here are photos showing Eleanor in her meet outfit and travelling cloak. It's velvet and very gorgeous! And yes, we even washed the hat, and it looks like new! You'd never know that it had been dunked in soapy water. There are a couple of photos in here showing the doll holding her pet dog, who is actually a plush made by "Aurora".

And finally, here she is ready for bed, wearing her nightgown and bed cap. She is so cute! This looks very like a Jane Eyre type of outfit, and there's something endearing about her in it!

So, this is the newest addition to the doll world around here, and now Mom is going to get one for herself. I hope this helps someone make a decision to add one of these beauties to their own doll family! They are really neat!

More coming about Nanea and Benny really soon!

I can't believe how cute this little fellow is! He has loads of personality, and there is nothing "girly" about him. It's interesting to see that removing the eye makeup on Nanea really changes it. There is not as much little girl look, even when dressed as a girl. I wonder if that's why they put it on Nanea in the first place?!

Benny is still getting introduced to all the other dolls here, and he's glad that there are six other fellows in the house to play with him! He and Nanea are now practically inseparable, though, and making all kinds of plans to practice their swimming and diving together (pretend water, of course). Pop is going to build a Rain Forest hut for them to live in, and they are hoping to find a pet parrot along the way!