10/05/2008

Another Successful Convention Comes to a Close

Let me just get the bad stuff out of the way. The food sucked. We were served pasta three times in a row. Friday lunch was curly pasta swimming in an appalling sauce. Friday night was pasta with different toppings, Saturday at the W Club luncheon was more pasta, this time in the form of manicotti. Pat Feick found a good sized piece of cellophane mixed in with her food!
Next year I am filling out the food allergy form thus: no pastas, no gravies, no high fat-high cholesterol foods. What ever happened to vegetables and animal proteins? The desserts were good but I would have preferred to have consumed healthy main meals. This was like dormitory food. Very disappointing. And I would like my coffee with my dessert, not 30 minutes afterward. I must add that the coffee served in the hotel was excellent-even the decaf!
The hotel was very cold and the thermostat in the room had difficulty maintaining a comfortable temperature.
And now to share the fabulous rest of the convention...
At each event, the tables and the entire dining room were decorated beautifully. The centerpieces were not just standing on the tables, they were displayed on different stands which were lit from below. The tables themselves were dressed in frothy linens and the chairs were wrapped as well. It was beautifully done. Carol Roth and Alain Tremblay co-hosted the events. Thursday night's centerpiece was Eugenia dressed in a red version of Color Therapy Vanessa's green dress. She is fantastic. Friday luncheon centerpiece was the new character in the Hollywood Royalty line, Josephine Baker. At the W Club luncheon on Saturday afternoon, the centerpiece was a wig-less Kyori who came with two wigs, a coat and shoes and boots. Much of the items in the set were items we had seen previously. Saturday night the centerpiece was my love, Vanessa. She was displayed on a very, very tall pair of vases. One of which was filled with bubbly red gel which diffused a light at the bottom. It was very atmospheric and very dark in the room. The ice sculpture in the center of the dining room resembled a Russian palace. It was gorgeous.
In following installments, I will show and discuss the dolls from the convention collection and the convention doll herself. She is a new character called Tatyana. Her skin is like porcelain and I think she is a very fine looking addition to the line.
I'm exhausted from having so much fun! A big thank you to my wonderful table mates for making this my favorite convention, ever.
Tune in for more installments.

9/29/2008

36 Hours to Go

I'm excited! In about 36 hours we will be in Pittsburgh awaiting the start of the Fashion Royalty Convention the following day. I started this blog almost exactly two years ago during the Baltimore convention.

One year ago at this time it was a Saturday night at the convention and we were wondering who was in the box we were going to open after dinner. It turned out to be Going Places Vanessa, my favorite Fashion Royalty character and a ho-hum example of the same. Little did we know that there were to be three more Vanessas on their way whose value would plummet to never before seen depths. Horrors!
(If you had read my story called The Vanessa Reunion, you would know that True Royalty was right when she predicted that the more Vanessas produced the lower their value would be.)
Who will it be this year? I'm hoping for a fantastic Eugenia or the newly sculpted Veronique.
Watch this space for my links to my photographs from the convention. There will be many.

Prior convention dolls in order below:
Midnight in Monaco Veronique, Diamond Dusted Veronique, Cosmetic Takeover Natalia, Born to Gamble Kyori, Intoxicating Mix Vanessa, High Roller Veronique, Concerto in M Agnes, Intimately Acquainted Luchia, Going Places Vanessa, High Gloss Agnes and Back to Black Natalia.


















(Intimately Acquainted Luchia
missing this image)






(Back to Black Natalia
missing this image)


 (All images are mine except Intimately Acquainted Luchia and Back to Black Natalia. Courtesy of Integrity Toys.)

9/25/2008

Lana Turner "Iconic" Ships

Yesterday the re-sculpted Lana Turner Hollywoood Royalty doll arrived at my door. It didn't take very long before I was ripping into the package to get at her. I love the new box in which she is packaged. It's a window box. I'm sure those who do not debox their dolls are thrilled. The box can sit on a shelf and you can see the doll right through the window. At first, I wasn't thrilled with the appearance of Iconic. She looks bald wearing the head wrap. Today I redressed her in a gorgeous red beaded Ovaz gown and I fell in love. She is magnificent, classy and aloof-looking. I am very pleased with her and I recommend the purchase of this doll to those who may be undecided. She is selling for $89.99 which is bordering on the extreme end for such a basic doll, but prices for everything are rising and that's where we are today unfortunately.


Photo is the property of Integrity Toys and used by permission. My own pictures will appear soon.

9/22/2008

Gothic Dream Misaki Doll Collection

Photos of the new Misaki line were published today. Up first we have "Pure Evil Misaki."
Personally, I don't see the evil in that blonde hair, white costume and sweet face. She looks like an angel playing ringmaster. However her baton is black and silver and maybe it is an evil baton. ;)
I love the look of this doll. To me the edgy styling of the premier Misakis has returned and that's a wonderful thing. This collection will be wildly popular.
This is Witchie Witch Misaki. Who named these dolls? I love her hair - again it is reminiscent of Tokyo Here We Go. The boots are great-looking. The outfit - OK.
This is The Outsider Misaki. He or she is wearing a fabulous coat over jeans that are embellished with a wraparound knee strap and big cargo pockets . He or she is wearing a white shirt and a tie. I'm guessing it's a male figure but...I could be wrong. I could live without the blue/black hair but I suppose it ties in with the Gothy look. I don't see this doll as being dressed Goth, however. It's just a really sharp outfit a kid might wear to school.

All Images are courtesy Integrity Toys, Inc.

9/20/2008

Grey Lady Gene Marshall

Michael Basala, was trusting and generous enough to lend Grey Lady to me for a few weeks in order to photograph her. It's as close as I will get to owning one.She is lovely.



9/18/2008

On Thursday, the president spoke. 9-18-08

From the New York Times:
It was brief, two minutes. His brow was furrowed, and his words were careful: “The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.” Then, having imparted no specifics, he once again slipped out of sight.
In the increasingly surreal world of the White House, the appearance was a sign that all pretense of normalcy is gone. All week long, with Wall Street engulfed by what analysts are calling the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, President Bush had mostly stayed out of sight, except when trying to maintain the façade of business as usual.
If you care to read the rest of the report here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/business/19bush.html?src=linkedin
There are several President Bush dolls on the market. This is not a review of them, just a sampling.
Our President George W. Bush puppet comes completely dressed as shown. He is wearing a very fashionable pin-striped suit complete with white dress shirt, red tie, and black shoes. Of course he proudly wears the American flag on his suit too! His entire outfit is completely removable and can be redressed with toddler size 2 clothing. Stands 28 inches tall.
Operating your President puppet is actually quite simple! The mouth is completely moveable as are the arms and hands. Insert your hand through the slot in the puppet's back to open and close the mouth. The arm rod is used to move the hands and arms. With simple movements of the rod you can make your puppet wave, salute, blow kisses, fix his hair, etc. Activate the sound box by pushing the button located in the mouth. You are now ready to perform your own Presidential speech!

George W. Bush has been sticking it to the American people for over 6 years. And now it’s your turn to stick it to him!
Whether you want to make
“Dub-ya” pay for the sins of his administration (starting a war, spying on Americans, ignoring Katrina, you name it!) or prevent him from committing new ones (your guess is as good as ours!), The George W. Bush Voodoo Kit gives you the tools to exert a little political power of your own-with voodoo!
Included in this kit are a George W. Bush voodoo doll, spell pins, and a hilarious and effective book of spells and other information the corporate media won’t tell you.