Road Trip to Jacksonville, FL for Barbie Sales Room

Several members of my doll club (Atlanta Doll Collectors) and I headed down to Jacksonville, FL for the mother of all Barbie bazaars- the convention sales room! Five Barbie-loving divas and two precious 8-year-olds hit the road for a weekend trip.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped at a couple of Walmart stores. In the past week several club members have found some amazing clearance deals, like AA Made to Move dolls as low as $3.50 and Fashionistas for $5. I bought the items pictured below: AA Girl Scout for $5, Skipper and vanity set for $13, and a new fashion pack. I currently have all the Fashionistas I want, but a few of my dolleagues picked up petite doll #25 Blue Brocade for $5.

The MC squared dolls were on rollback (sort of) for under $10, so my eldest daughter and her road buddy got these.

Beauty AND Brains

When we arrived at our hotel, several travel dolls were dressed for the pool as shown below.

My rerooted Carol Ferris doll is looking pretty poolside.

Mara's Summer doll is the lifeguard on duty.

On Saturday we shopped 'till we dropped, staying in the sales room from open to close (10:00-3:00). Here is a group photo of several club members and me with Mattel designers Carlyle Nuera and Bill Greening. Some bystander got suckered into taking this blurry pic...sorry.

Speaking of Carlyle, here is a sneak peek of the next doll in the Harlem Theater collection. He will make many collectors happy with this one. The photo is courtesy of one of my traveling companions. She is curvy, fully articulated, and GORGEOUS... a total must-have for me.

Madame Lavinia

And now here's our haul:

-souvenir candy jars for my daughters and me

The middle one reads, "Keep Calm and Buy a Barbie."

-fashions, accessories, and miniatures

Nicolette models the boxed fashion above.

-furniture and two new dolls

BB 2.5 has been on my wishlist for over a year!

My ladies try out the sofa that will go in the VIP lounge of Robyn's club.

Weary from our shopping exertions, we hit the beach for some R&R. Here are some pics of the Davis family on vacation.

Grace and Darren take a stroll.

Building a sand castle with Dad

We know what that look means...

That's all folks...thanks for stopping by!

Lena Intervenes (Photo Story)

Lena peeks her head into Jamal’s study and sees him working at his desk, probably prepping a Sunday school lesson.

Hey, beautiful. Come on in. I need a break anyway. (Jamal, noticing Lena in the doorway)

Oh, good. I thought I’d check on you since you’ve been in here most of the day. I brought you some coffee and a snack. (Lena)

What would I do without you? (Jamal)

Lena smiles as she hands over the coffee and plate of doughnuts. Then she takes a seat opposite her husband.

I talked to Cynthia today. (Lena)

Glad y’all are on speaking terms again. When was the last time you talked to her? (Jamal)

She texts from time to time, but it’s been months since I actually talked to her. You know people don’t bother picking up the phone nowadays. (Lena)

True.  How is she? (Jamal)

She sounded okay. She’s “modeling” in another music video.  She says she’s coming here after she leaves Miami. And she’s looking for work in Atlanta. She thought I might have some ideas about where to stay. (Lena)

What did you tell her? (Jamal)

I told her I’d do some looking around for her. (Lena)

The girls will be happy to see her again. (Jamal)

Yep, they will, which is why she can visit, but she can’t stay. They’re at an impressionable age, and I don’t think she’s the best role model them. (Lena)

So she hasn’t changed much since her last visit, then? (Jamal)

Nope, still the same old Cynthia- cussing, drinking, partying, and sleeping with whatever man or woman has her attention for the time being. And heaven knows what else! (Lena)

Just promise me you’ll avoid another falling out. Don’t browbeat her with another hellfire and damnation speech…please. (Jamal)

Don’t worry I won’t start another fight. I’ve accepted that I’m never going to win her over that way. (Lena)

Lena stands to leave but then changes her mind, determined to get to her real reason for interrupting Jamal from his work.

That wasn’t the only thing I wanted to talk to you about. (Lena)

Oh? What’s on your mind? (Jamal)

I hope you won’t think I’m meddling, but… (Lena)

I know that if you feel the need to involve yourself, then there must be a good reason. Go on. (Jamal)

Nora confided in Monica and me, so I’ll need you to keep what I'm about to tell you between us... (Jamal)

Jamal looks concerned.

Don’t worry I’m not gonna ask you to conceal a murder or anything like that. (Lena)

That’s a relief. (Jamal)

It seems that Nora’s husband may be addicted to pornography. (Lena)

Well Pastor Moore and I have counseled close to a dozen guys with the same issue. Did you suggest counseling? (Jamal)

Of course, but Nora doesn’t think Kirk will agree to it. (Lena)

That’s too bad. We can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. (Jamal)

There’s got to be something you can do to persuade him. (Lena)

Well, I don’t want to put him on the spot. That could drive him away, which is the opposite of what we want. (Jamal)

Lena slouches in the chair, exasperated.

Hey, don’t you still preside over the men’s fellowship meetings? (Lena)

Mm hmm, Pastor and I take turns leading the meetings. But I don’t see what that… (Jamal)

Maybe you could talk to Pastor about adding this issue to your list of hot topics. Clearly it’s a growing problem if you’ve had to counsel a dozen men. (Lena)

That’s not a bad idea at all. In fact, it’s a good one. But I don’t see how that will help Kirk when he doesn’t usually attend the men’s fellowship meetings. (Jamal)

Lena sighs.

We just have to think of a way to get him to those meetings. I’m confident that after attending a few meetings, he would feel prompted to seek help. (Lena)

It doesn’t hurt to try, but bear in mind that we can’t focus our meetings solely on this topic. I’d probably avoid it altogether at the first meeting with Kirk present. Otherwise, we risk making him feel like he’s been set up. (Jamal)

I understand. Now we just need to figure out a way to get Kirk to the next meeting. (Lena)

Thanks for reading!

Ooh Who's That Girl...Uhura?

Yesterday's mail brought a much needed dolly fix. I ordered the 2016 Star Trek Lieutenant Uhura from BC.com last month. I was intrigued by the character likeness and the articulated body that appeared to be the same as the Wonder Woman body. At the time there were no IRL images to inspect, so my fingers were crossed that she would be a keeper. I'm not a Trekkie, so her permanence would be determined by her redressing and restyling potential.

I lover her! She is a spot on depiction of Nichelle Nichols during Star Trek's television run in the late sixties. Since that was before my time, I looked at pictures I found on the internet to compare. I'm considering either Latonya or Nicolette for her name. She is an attractive woman in her mid-30s, and already has a beau. You will see her in a story or two before the year is out.

As you can see from the first two pictures, she has the same arms as the Made to Move dolls. However, she does not have any torso articulation. She has articulation in her hips and knees. Her thighs do not swivel like the Made to Move dolls, nor are her ankles articulated. Therefore she has less range of motion in her legs, but still plenty for posing and playing,

A look at the box front

A closer look at her original hair style

Uhura's hair after washing and removing foam hair shaper

Out of the box, she was given a quick shampoo. I also removed the foam hair shaper that was attached to her scalp with plastic ties.

"Pink tees and ruffled skirts? Please...I'm a grown a$$ woman,!"

She scoffed at my initial wardrobe offerings, and then hit the mall on the hunt for some things more to her liking. Her look is far too sophisticated for sparkle wear and the like. Just when I think I'm done buying doll clothes for a while...

If you have an opinion about which name I should choose, feel free to cast your vote in the comments. See y'all soon.