Real French Bakery Desserts

I went to the store the other day, and I decided to take some pictures of the cool French foods they had in the bakery! Maybe they will give you an idea for your doll's bakery.

There were tons of neat breads to choose from.

 

 These are called French Rounds.  They look like giant croutons LOL

From left to right:  Black and White cookies, Fudge Thumbprint cookies, and Madeleines right behind them.  Oh and look!  There are chocolate dipped ones, like Grace and her friends make in Grace Stirs It Up.

 Several selection of neat cookies, including several French kinds.

The watermelon cupcakes are so cute!

 This is the end shelf of the bakery cases.  It has more Madeleines, Lady Fingers, and more.  The swirl cookies look yummy!

These are Napoleons.  They are a French layer cake. 

 More layer cakes and tartes!  The picture below has eclairs. Yum!It was hard to take this picture because of the glare, but you can still see most of the goodies. 

Samantha, Grace, and Kit - A Face Mold Comparison

Over the years, I've collected Pleasant Company and Mattel versions of American Girl dolls.  Today I'm going to do a detail comparison of three classic mold characters - but each one has few differences!!!

 

I purchased Samantha in 2007, a year before she retired.  She is Pleasant Company, but came in The American Girls Collection maroon box.

This is Grace, my first GOTY doll.  I purchased her this month! She is an updated Mattel version.

Kit came home in 2008 when her movie came out.  She is a Mattel doll. 

 

In this picture you can see the unique highlights in Grace's hair, in comparison with Samantha dark brown waves.

 This is the neck stamp on Kit.  It says American Girl, LLC

 

 Grace's neck stamp simply says American Girl.

Samantha's neck stamp says Pleasant Company.

 In these pictures you can see that the Sam and Grace's vinyl colors are different.

 Here they all are from the side.  Samantha and Grace's bodies are actually about the same size, even though many have stated that Pleasant Company bodies are larger than Mattel's.  Believe it or not, Kit's body is different, and I have had a few difficulties getting pants on her.

Below is a comparison of their mouths.  Kit and Samantha's are light pink, and Grace's is a darker pink with more defined bottom lip.

 Grace has more bluish eyes than Kit's.  Kit's eyes have a greenish tint to them.

Here you can see the difference between Kit and Grace's freckles.  Kit's freckles have different odd shapes, while Grace's are all the same and more proportionally spread out.

Below you can see the difference in the eyebrows.  Kit's are feathered but are much thinner than Grace's.  Samantha's are simply lines!  I think the new feathered eyebrows are more realistic.  Another interesting thing to note about Grace's face mold, is the new eyelid line above her eyes.  None of my other dolls have this.  I think its a unique touch.  Do you guys have any dolls besides Grace that are like this?

So that is my reaaalllyyy in depth look at these three and their differences and similarities.  Let me know if there are neat features that I missed in this post!  

 

News - Julie's Bed is Sold Out + Rebecca's Bed on Sale

Today's Daily Deal was Julie's bed!  I hope everyone who wanted this version of her bed ordered it this morning, because its "no longer available" now.  

American Girl, however, has added Rebecca's bed as the Daily Deal because Julie's bed sold out.  Hurry and order it with free shipping for $75 now before its gone:  Order here

Journey Girls Bathub - Preorder Now!

It looks like Toys R Us has some new Journey Girls items, including this cute new bathtub set!  It retails for $29.99.  It looks very similar to the design of Sophia's bathtub for 18" dolls.  

 

You can preorder it here.

Kit's News and Views - 6/16/15

It's time for Kit's News and Views again!  Let's see what interesting news and cool facts Kit has uncovered this week:

American Girl has started up Daily Deals for the summer.  There will be one item per day on sale for 50% off plus free shipping!  Yesterday's deal was the new snooze fold out bed.  Today's deal is sold out: the school desk and supplies.  But don't worry, a new desk is coming out on June 25th.  

More Truly Me stuff will be launching June 25th.  These items include a new school desk, a lunch set, and a telescope.  Other rumored items include a Yorkie pet, a crockpot set, a Frankenstein Halloween costume, and more. You can read Lissie and Lilly's post on the desk and telescope.

Also rumored to be launching on June 25th is the revamped bedtime sets for the Beforever characters.  Julie, Kit, Rebecca, and Addy are definitely getting new sets.  We know Julie's bed will be the same but with a purple bedpost and a new bedspread. I'm not sure if Josefina's will come out or if her new bed will debut in August with her mini doll and Journey book.

Innerstar Sale is continuing until this Sunday, the 21st, so don't forget to check it out.

Caroline's ice skates are sold out.  Her party set is also sold out. 

Maryellen's mini doll and book photos have arrived!  It looks like she will have a dachshund and a bicycle.

And the BIG news of the day:

Grace Thomas's new summer release items are to debut THIS THURSDAY.  The in-store movie events begin on the 18th, and the DVD and soundtrack release on the 23rd. 

I can't post all the pictures here, but these are the items she will receive:

Sightseeing Outfit (on Grace Makes it Great) - $30

Sightseeing Accessories (red shawl, blue sunglasses, and the rumored black boots) - $28

Grace Inspired Tee for girls - $28

Puppy Tee for girls - $26

Paris luggage bag for girls - $50

Grace's hairstyling set - $22

Grace's bracelet for girls - $60

Eiffel tower jewelry holder for girls - $24

There is also rumored to be a French breakfast and French bread sets for Grace's bakery.  No pictures have surfaced yet of these items. 

What a lot of news!!! Phew!  Kit must be exhausted!

Welcome Home, Grace!

My Grace Thomas 18" doll has arrived!  I am so excited, and I think she is the most beautiful doll I've ever bought from American Girl.  Despite all the negativity, American Girl has really improved on the quality of these dolls.  

 

Here is Grace standing up in her in progress Paris bedroom! She looks so gorgeous.

Grace has bright blue eyes and unique freckles.  American Girl updated the doll molds (at least for Grace) and added a line for the eyelids.  She looks a lot more realistic.

Here are some close ups of her earrings.  She is wearing the heart earring with the eiffel tower dangles.

 Her hair has bronze highlights in it with a slight wave at the ends.  Her hair is the softest of all my dolls!

Here is a closeup of her meet shirt.  It has the feel and appearance of the Isabelle giveaway t-shirt from last year.  This year's giveaway was an apron with Grace's name on it.

Her charm bracelet is absolutely adorable.  The one thing I hated about this bracelet is the difficulty of getting it hooked onto her wrist.  Its a veeerrrryyy tight fit!!!  Little girls will definitely need some adult assistance with it.

Another view of the bracelet

The skirt is made from a fuzzy fleece material, and has a faux leather bow.  I thought the bow was satin from observing the pictures.  What a pleasant surprise!

Her shoes aren't as great of quality, but much better than Springfield or Our Generation designs.

And these are her other two earrings! She came with two pairs of heart earrings, blue bows, and eiffel tower dangles. 

So that is my little review of Grace!  What do you think of Grace?  Do you have her?

Welcome to Camp Doll Diaries!!!

 Photo cred:  Doll Diaries

 It's that time of year again!!!  Camp Doll Diaries has begun, and this week's theme is the groovy '70s!!!  My doll of the week will be Julie, and I'll feature all kinds of crafts and fun with her.  I will post a lot this summer because school is out, and there is so much I can do with Camp Doll Diaries!

I have rescheduled my trip to the American Girl store Nashville  -- updates on that later.

My doll Grace has arrived, and I will be doing several posts on her this week too! How exciting!

What's your favorite part of Camp Doll Diaries?