On To The Baby Store (Photostory)

 Danielle considered going straight home after the Melanie encounter, but she decided to continue with her plans and head to the baby store.  Being in the baby store always helps her feel better.

Sandra, the owner, is there with a few customers.

Kendra is there with Cameron.  She's in search of a new stroller.

That looks like Sharmaine and Kobe.  What are they doing at the baby store?

"How are you doing over here, Kendra?"  (Sandra)

"Okay, I guess.  What kind of reviews did this Graco stroller get?"  (Kendra)

"It's one of our best sellers, and I haven't had any complaints."  (Sandra)

Just then Danielle enters the store and the door chime alerts Sandra.

"Hello Danielle. Nice to see you again."  (Sandra)

"Hey Danielle."  (Kendra)

"Hey guys."  (Danielle)

"Do you need help finding anything?"  (Sandra)

"I'm just browsing.  I need a little bit of everything."  (Danielle)

"Ok.  I'll check on you in a few."  (Sandra)

All of a sudden Danielle catches a glimpse of Sharmaine.  She immediately thinks, "what are they doing here?"  She scurries over to confront her.

"Sharmaine?"  (Danielle)

Sharmaine and Kobe both turn around.

"Hey cuz."  (Sharmaine)

"Hey yourself.  What are you guys doing here?  Is there something you need to tell me?"  (Danielle)

Sharmaine smiles.  "How quickly we jump to conclusions.  We are here to buy a baby shower gift for Kobe's sister.  For all you know, we could have  been shopping for you."  (Sharmaine)

"You're right.  Sorry for jumping to conclusions."  (Danielle)

"How are we doing over here?   Are you guys finding everything okay?"  (Sandra)

Just then Danielle's phone starts ringing.  She's hoping it's not Rod.

"Excuse me.  I have to take this call."  (Danielle)

"I don't know Cameron.  This stroller seems a little too big.  What do you think?"  (Kendra)

"Hi honey."  (Danielle)

"Hi.  Where are you?"  (Rod)

"I'm at the baby store."  (Danielle)

"Are you okay?"  (Rod)

"Yessss."  (Danielle)

"Well I just got a strange call from Melanie."  (Rod)

"Really?  What did she say?"  (Danielle)

"It was hard to understand all that she was saying, but I gathered the two of you had a run in."  (Rod)

"I'll tell you all about it when I get home.  It really wasn't that big of a deal."  (Danielle)

Rod sits back and scratches his head.  He can't imagine it wasn't a big deal considering how bent out of shape Melanie was.

Sandra is busy at the cash register, when she hears a familiar voice.

"Hi, mommy."  (Ricky)

"Well this is a treat."  (Sandra)

Sandra's husband, Deion and her son, Ricky, stopped by before his baseball game.

"Are you ready to pitch that no-hitter?"  (Sandra)

"I wish you could be there."  (Ricky)

"I'm going to try to make it before the end of the game."  (Sandra)

"Honey, are you still there?"  (Danielle)

"Yes, I'm here.  We'll just talk about it when you get here.  Please be careful."  (Rod)

"Okay, babe.  I'll see you soon."  (Danielle)

"I like this."  (Kobe)

"Is she having twins?"  (Sharmaine)

"Not the stroller.  The giraffe."  (Kobe)

"You can get the giraffe, but you have to get something a little more substantial to go with it."  (Sharmaine)

This is a picture of the baby store when Kendra was pregnant.  It has a larger footprint than the current one.  I plan to reclaim this space and put the new baby store here and add more stuff.

A Bratz Invasion (TRU Sale Ends Today)

I almost missed a 20$ off TRU sale.  It ends today.  It applies to everything, not just Bratz, and shipping is free for orders over $19.  I wasn't sure I would find anything I wanted, but I did.  Remember the Bratz Abroad series, that I fell in love with?  Their retail price of $24.99 wasn't in my budget.  TRU has them on sale for $9.98 and with the 20% off, they were $7.98.  I plan to use the clothes and accessories for my pre-teen girls like Nikaya, and Nicole.

Photo courtesy of Toys R Us

UK Sasha

Photo courtesy of Toys R Us

Brazil - Yasmin

Photo courtesy of Toys R Us

China - Cloe

Photo courtesy of Toys R Us

Russian Jade

Photo courtesy of Toys R Us

Sporty Outfit - On sale for $2.78

I didn't see any great deals in the Barbie section.  Worth checking out though.  The promo code is friend20.  Don't forget to apply it to your order, like I did.  I had to cancel that order and redo it.  

Not Perfect, But I'm Happy!

I finally crocheted a complete garment for Barbie.  I've been wanting to do one forever, but constantly stumbled over the years trying to make it happen.  I've purchased supplies a number of times and gave them away each time because I was convinced it would never happen.   A couple of weeks ago, I saw a meetup group called Craft Addict, that meets once a week.  Their main focus seems to be knitting and crocheting.  I decided to check it out.  For a couple of hours each Sunday, we sit and work on whatever projects we want.  There is a lead lady, and other experienced ladies, who help you with whatever you need help with.  It's great to be able to get answers to questions that would ordinarily cause me to put the project aside forever.  The experienced people also told me how poorly written the patterns are in my Barbie crochet book.  So it wasn't just me!  Pattern reading is the thing that kept me from making anything in the past.  I decided I wouldn't be held hostage to poor pattern writing and I decided to make my own pattern of the garment in the book.  It worked much better than I expected.  Of course this first garment is my test garment, and it has a few issues.  

Jacquelyn is modeling the sweater.  It is a wrap sweater that ties on the side.  The neckline needs to be more symmetrical.  Next time.

Here you can see more details about how it wraps.

Of course I had to appease Dasia who was not thrilled about the whole crocheting thing.  This is my first princess seemed dress.  It's hard to see the details, but I plan to use contrasting black and white material next time.  It will be much easier to see the seeming down the front of the dress.

Side note about meetup groups:  I discovered meetup.com almost two years ago.  There are hundreds of meetup groups just here in the Atlanta area.  I imagine each state has meetup groups you can get involved in.  You can also start up your own group.  Some of the groups have a minimal charge (less than a $1 per month), but most are free.  It is a great way to meet people and try out new activities.  I have gained several friends that now feel like family members.  Check it out.

Back From The Store (Photostory)

No, this is not a story about Danielle returning from the store.  It is a story about Lena and Alan Jr. returning from the store.  I wanted to show everyone that the TJ clothes fit the Starting LineUp basketball action figures perfectly, and ended up turning it into a story instead of just a fashion show.

Lena peers through the back door as she gets ready to enter. 

Alan Sr is sitting at the dining room table (in his new sweatsuit). 

"Hey honey."  (Lena)

"Hey.  You're back."  (Alan)

"Yes.  Can you get the groceries out the car?"  (Lena)

"Yes.  Give me a minute."  (Alan)

"Okay.  What's that?"  (Lena)

"These are design plans of a new car that is coming to the market in about three months."  (Alan)

"Please don't tell me you are thinking about buying another new car."  (Lena)

Lena takes a seat at the table.

"You do remember that we just paid a hefty tax bill a few days ago."  (Lena)

"Funny how you didn't remember that tax bill when we got new furniture, etc."  (Alan)

"This is the first time, since being married, that I've bought new living room furniture.  You want a new car every year.  It's a car, honey.  Not a pair of shoes."  (Lena)

"What can I say.  I like cars."  (Alan)

"Okay.  This is not a conversation I want to have right now.  Can you please watch your son for the next hour?  There is something I need to do."  (Lena)

"No probs"  (Alan)

"And don't forget about the groceries.  There are only two bags."  (Lena)

"Come on lil' man."  (Alan)

"If you need it, there's a bottle in the fridge.  His walker is upstairs."  (Lena)

"Go.  I got it."  (Alan)

Lena heads upstairs.

 Twenty minutes later.....

Lena is resting comfortably in a bubble bath.  The new tub is part of the mini home remodel she is having done.  She would have loved to have a nice big soaker tub, but the bathroom was too small for that.  She took what she could get.  She and Alan decided to go ahead and purchase the condo as an investment property, instead of continuing to rent it.  She's not sure they will remain in this house, but she knows all the upgrades will increase the property value, and enable them to charge more rent, if and when they move.  

More Little Goodies

In the last post, with the shopping carts, I got an idea to put together a toy store.  I'm sure I have enough toys here to get started, but more is always better.  I wasn't really looking to buy more toys right away, but that decision changed when I stopped by Michael's yesterday.  They have a new line of charms that features doll miniatures.  They sell for $1.99 each.  I had a coupon, so everything I purchased was 20% off.

Here are the eight charms I purchased.  Not all of them are toys, but they are all perfect for 1/6 scale.

L to R: Bubble gum machine, glass of pink lemonade (my guess) with a straw and a sliced orange for garnish, a record player, fish bowl with a fish.  If I was doing a carnival, I would probably buy a lot of the fish bowls.  They are what I remember the most from the local carnivals.

L to R:  Bat and ball, hair dryer, toy airplane and headphones.

I put the kids in the picture so you could see the scale of the items.

I found two other interesting items.

A set of Indian sculptures.

They will look nice as decorations in one of the homes.

Next up are teeny tiny dinosaurs.  We used to have a museum here in Morristown with a large dinosaur display.  These would have shown up in the gift store of the museum.  Now they will be used in the toy store.

Perfect scale for our little ones.

I'm hoping to get some time soon to play with the dollies.  Maybe by the end of this week.