Insurgent Tris plus Other Purchases

I have the next three photo stories all written out, but I can’t seem to find the time to photograph them. Yet, somehow I’ve managed to find the time to purchase more dolls and doll stuff. I am determined to get the next story in the Friends and Family of Amber series posted before this month is over. In the meantime, though, have a look at what I bought.

I’d been holding on to my TRU reward coupon for over a month, because my closest TRU closed its doors for good in January. My venture to the Duluth store a few weeks ago was a major let down. It simply doesn't compare to the store they closed. Today, since I had to take the girls to the mall for new shoes, I picked a mall close to a different Toys ‘R Us. They were advertising a number of promotions on each doll aisle. I took advantage of the $10 off any $35+ purchase of Barbie dolls, accessories, and/or playsets . I bought the new Insurgent Tris doll and the TRU exclusive AA cheerleader.

I passed on the Tris doll from the first movie, but this one caught my eye because of her spunky short haircut. I worried about having to purchase an articulated body for her since I knew none of the bodies I had on hand would be a match. She has the nostalgic tone, which is quite pale. Articulated options to match this tone include Pop Life Kelly, Frank Sinatra Barbie, and Liv Hayden. I was pleasantly surprised to find that her knees are articulated. I may be able to live with this since she can at least sit comfortably. She does not have molded panties, and either her vest isn’t meant to be unzipped or mine is stuck. Her new name is Tristin Turner, and she is a police detective.

I spotted the cheerleader doll on my last trip. She caught my attention because she has articulation in the elbows and knees and provides a body donor option that is less expensive (at $13.99) than the Barbie Style dolls. With the promotion and my reward coupon, I paid about $8 for her. I forgot to photograph her before the deboxing. Here she is next to Robyn (on the new Barbie Style Grace body) and Amber (on the Barbie Style 2.0 Nikki body ). You can see that her legs are similar to the now discontinued SIS dolls. Also, she has pink molded panties, but thankfully they do not have Barbie printed all over them. The cheerleader I bought is a body donor for my 2014 Holiday Barbie, a new resident who will make an appearance in the coming months. I finally caved and bought one when Walmart marked them down to $7. You will see pictures after her body transplant.

I finally got to see the Fashionistas below in person. I'd only seen these ladies online before today. They are both much prettier in person. Mattel.com identifies both dolls as African American, which surprised me initially. The curly-haired doll is as light in person as she looks in the picture, and while this isn’t the tone that comes to mind when I think of an AA doll, I’ve known plenty of AA girls with this complexion. I am quite tempted to get both of them…oh when does it end? I’ve added 10 residents already this year and I have another 5 on my wish list. I may need an intervention.

And while I’m on the subject of dollies vying for a ticket to Dollton, let me add that the Fifth Harmony dolls are suddenly very interesting to me. When they first came out, I was like “meh” every time someone blogged about them. Lately, I find myself staring at their boxes and contemplating them for longer periods of time on each visit to a store. Tonight I snapped a pic of Ally as I wondered if she would be a good match on a Barbie Style Teresa body. Has anyone rebodied an Ally? If so, I’d like to hear about it. I like Dinah as well, but they didn’t have her at this store.

In other news, I used my Barbie Fan Club reward to buy a second bakery set. I paid 74 cents plus shipping. I'm waiting for another sunny day to paint it to match the first one. I also have new Etsy purchases that will make an appearance in the next photo story.

Thanks for reading!