My New Tall Barbie #TheDollEvolves

Last Barbie review post before my comparison pictures! Today we look at the Tall Barbie.

29: Terrific Teal

The last of my four new Barbies! She was one I settled for because the Tall one I want isn't available yet. But I did like this doll's curly hair and that teal skirt!

Out of the package

Hair straight out of the box

I'm really glad I liked her curly hair in general rather than how her hair is styled, because the images that show her do not accurately represent how her hairstyle looks in real life. And the back of her hair looked so sad. lol

barefoot / shoes / front view

I'm not a fan of her shoes, but that might be because I like the higher heels on my Barbies. Maybe if they had an open toe I'd like these shoes more though.

bracelet

She has a small bracelet, which is secured by rubber band because it is way too open and small to stay on its own like my original's bracelet.

Brushed out her hair

I tried brushing out her hair a little, to fill it in a bit I think. It made the curls seem a bit softer.

compared to her image on the pamphlet

Behind her is the image they put out of her. I wish her curls started a little higher on her head. I also kind of wish her hair was a bit brighter of a red. It looks more like an auburn brownish color in person.

Front view / side / back view

Her bracelet and her skirt are my favorite parts of her outfit. Not too keen on the shoes. I dislike her shirt.


Here's my Tall doll without clothes:

front / side / back

So she has slightly longer legs than original. And she probably has bigger feet. It looks like her torso is a bit longer too. She has a slender figure, pretty much goes straight from her chest to her hips without dipping in at her waist.

clothes

Her skirt is lovely. It's a thin fabric and it has an elastic waist. Her top... I really don't like her top. The print is cute. But it's too boxy. I pulled the back so that the velcro crosses over and only barely touches and it's still too loose. If it was tighter, or shorter, or if the collar wasn't so high to make it look boxy... any of these things would have greatly improved this top. What kills me is that there's darting, but it still feels boxy.

tucked in shirt

So I tucked her shirt in. It's improved her top so much. Much better!


Overall, I like this doll a lot. I do love her curls, and her skirt. And I like the tall dolls. I gotta admit though, seeing this doll in person versus it's promo pictures makes me scared to get the tall doll that I want. I feel like her hair might look more like a clown... we'll see. ♥


OMG, so I took all of these pictures on a comforter that's on an inflatable mattress. I managed to get this lady to stand on her own on the bed. Bah hahahahahaa

Standing on her own! She stood for about 10 seconds before she toppled over.

Buy her here

Barbie's Twitter

View my reviews for Curvy, Original, and Petite.

My New Petite Barbie #TheDollEvolves

I've already covered Curvy and Original, now it's time for Petite!

23: Love That Lace

This was my other first choice doll out of the four. I love her outfit and her hair style. So cute!

My New Original Barbie #TheDollEvolves

Hello! Finally had the time to take some pictures and share some thoughts about one of my new Barbies! I decided to open the Original Barbie model first, just because it's an original Barbie. There will be less photos for this one I thinks.

Number 19: Ruby Red Floral

I chose this Barbie because of her Asian eyes and long straight hair. When I originally decided to pick one of each up, she was in the final cut. (unlike my Curvy and Tall dolls, which I settled for because the ones I wanted were not for sale yet)

My New Curvy Barbie #TheDollEvolves

Greetings! It has been months since I've last posted here. My apologies. I'll give an excuse, but really, it's not all that surprising. I battle depression and anxiety and it's sometimes hard to keep up with things for me. But I haven't abandoned this blog. I'll still be here, posting when I'm up to it. 


Last week, Mattel announced a new line of Barbies featuring three different body types. So of course, the very next day, I placed an order. However, many of the Barbies in this new line are either not available to preorder yet, or aren't coming out until next month, so instead of ordering one of the ones I'd really like to own, (or patiently waiting for them to become preorder-able) I settled for one I'd get sooner rather than later.

On the third, I got an email that she was shipped. And at 7am on Friday, I saw through tracking that she was on a truck ready to get delivered!

She arrived at 4pm (ish)

Thriftbooks experience #2, and also, my need to use Amazon

Helloooo, here again with another post about thriftbooks.com.

 I mentioned in my last thriftbooks post that I ordered a love story book for my iggle swap partner. Well, I ordered those in early February! And I didn't hear from my iggle swap partner until the 25th. From her, I learned she enjoyed paranormal romance.... and The Princess Bride, while many things, is not a paranormal romance. ROFL. *sad trumpet*

So, I went back to thriftbooks to pick up a book for her that actually fits the genre she likes. I decided to get the book Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion. I think a zombie romance counts as a paranormal love story right? Heee.

Aaaaand then, just like last time, I decided I would also like a copy of Warm Bodies. I've only ever seen the movie, but I've been meaning to read the book. I wandered on to the site and ordered two copies - $4 each!

This time, both copies are fairly recent, so I didn't care which one I keep. I also noticed that, this time, they were being sent from two different places. One coming from Maryland, one from Washington. Opposite sides of the US! Haha.

I decided I would send the first book to get to me.

But alas! Within hours of my order on February 25th, I received an email stating they could not find one of the copies I'd ordered! They issued a refund for the book, so I went back to see if I could find another copy for around the same price. I couldn't. Soooo I ordered a copy for $5 on Amazon.

Thriftbooks.com Quick (not so quick) Review or Look at these books

Note: This was my intended love story book for the iggle swap, but then I heard back from my partner, and found that this book didn't fit! Serves me right for jumping the gun and ordering early! LOL. Oh well, I'll keep the book as a backup to giveaway in the future. lol. 


So one of February's IGGPPC Swaps was a love story book swap. I decided to sign up for all of the swaps in February, so I sat there for a good long while, just thinking about what kind of book I would want to send to an iggle.

I'm actually a lover of sappy romance novels. I love how, no matter what, there's always a "and they all lived happily ever after" ending. That being said, I don't read them too often. They're great, but not priority books. Although sometimes I find myself needing to read a sappy romance, because soooo many books I read have sad endings or have characters I just can't get behind. And I need some cheering up. So enter sappy romance. I've only ever found a small handful of romance novels I didn't like. Therefore odds are I'll be grinning like an idiot with tears of joy by the end of a romance novel.

ANYHOO... I know I love romance novels, but I also know not everyone does. In fact, I feel like it's one of the most hated upon genres. So what do I send as a love story book? I thought of Nicholas Sparks, but then... I'm not that big a fan of him. I loved the first of his books I read - A Walk to Remember. But then, after reading a few more of his books, it started to feel... the same. Someone dies in almost all of his books. Sometimes it's a secondary character, sometimes it's a main character. And it gets tiring.

So I didn't want to send a book I probably wouldn't like! And now what???

The idea came to me as I was reading a chapter of As You Wish.

Why not The Princess Bride?

A quick search online showed some fairly reasonable prices, although with shipping it wasn't so great. As I searched though, I found an ache forming in my stomach.

I do not own a copy of The Princess Bride.

And I was afraid I might not want to part with the copy I end up buying...


So, I decided to halve my budget, and try and get two copies of The Princess Bride. One for me, and one for my swap partner.

And then I found thriftbooks.com.

This website has millions of used books with free shipping to the US!

And they had The Princess Bride!  Hoorah!!

Geek Fire Labs Lip Balm - Quick Review

In January, GirlHero.net had a review and giveaway on Geek Fire Labs Lip Balm. I was drawn as the winner! So after much deliberation and narrowing down, I chose Cunning Hat, a lip balm inspired by Firefly/Serenity character, Jayne Cobb. (He's my favorite Firefly character. ♥)

The label design is adorable on this balm. Too cute.

Quick Review - Mashed Cauliflower

So I was wandering Tumblr one day and came across some healthy food substitutions. I read through the post, but honestly can only tell you one substitution, because it stuck with me and made me curious.

The post said that cauliflower could be boiled and mashed to serve as a mashed potatoes substitute.

This intrigued me. I am a fan of mashed potatoes. It is one of my favorite foods. But it is quite heavy a food. And sometimes I just don't feel like eating potatoes. I also love cauliflower. I prefer it over broccoli, because it's easier to eat. So mashed cauliflower didn't sound too bad to me, and if it could be a substitute for mashed potatoes... then hell yeah!


I went out and purchased a... thing... what is it? A head? Of cauliflower and broke off what looked like a large single serving to drop in a pot with water to boil.


I boiled it longer than I normally would, hoping it would make it easier to mash. Then I drained it and started mashing with a fork.

After mashing, cauliflower retains quite a bit of liquid, so milk isn't needed. Then I stuck in some butter - the same amount I would have added to potatoes.

But I was hesitant. Could mashed cauliflower really work as a mashed potatoes substitute with just butter mixed in? So I added a very small teaspoon of sour cream. Just to help with the flavoring.

This picture was the finished product. You can see how lumpy it is. I only had a fork to mash it. I think a potato ricer would produce smoother results. I should get a potato ricer. Heh.

ANYHOO, time for the tasting. It tasted... good. Like, really good. I mean, you can tell it tastes a bit like cauliflower, but the texture and the butter and sour cream... it really did seem like mashed potatoes. I ended up loving it! I made it as a side for a noodle dish, and I wish I hadn't made the noodles and just made more mashed cauliflower!

I've had this three times since - once with butter and sour cream and twice with just butter - and I am in love. Seriously, addicted to mashed cauliflower. I hear a blender gives the cauliflower a closer consistency to mashed potatoes, but I probably won't be bothered. Smashing with a fork seems to work for me!


Overall, for me, mashed cauliflower is an acceptable substitution for mashed potatoes. And that's coming from someone who's in love with mashed potatoes! Mmmm.

Red Velvet Oreos - Quick Review

Stopped at the grocery store today for some microwave dinners, and came across these:

Limited edition Red Velvet Oreos!


I am a fan of red velvet cake. I loves it. So I had to pick these up.



Behold:

The oreos are beautifully red velvety looking. I love the color!


And inside:

There's a cream cheese flavored filling.


The cookie is delightfully chocolate-y. You can smell the cream cheese from the filling, and the filling itself is pretty good. Not as "cream cheese-y" as I'd hoped, and it's still got that sweet, sweet "oreo filling" flavor.


Overall, I very much enjoy these. They are quite tasty, BUT... I prefer the original oreo over these Red Velvet ones. Still though, they're a nice change. ♥

REVEAL Men Calvin Klein Review

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Influenster sent me a sample of the men's fragrance, Reveal Men by Calvin Klein. I was hesitant about receiving this, because I'm actually quite picky about fragrances I used and Boyfriend uses. Some scents I just can't do, because they're too strong, heavy, sweet, etc. and they make me sick to my stomach.




Taken from the Influenster Reveal Men Product Page:

Sensual – Vibrant – Captivating

REVEAL Men Calvin Klein captures the tension between instant attraction and playful seduction. Make him feel confident and sexy with this vibrant, salty oriental fragrance. Crystallized ginger, raw salt, and vetiver notes will leave him charismatic and spontaneous. The scent is addictive and he will be irresistible.

Top: crystalized ginger, lentisque essence, pear brandy
Mid: raw salt signature, agave nectar, kiwano
Base: Haiti vetiver, vintage vanilla bean, golden amber

Quick Review Tea Post

As I mentioned in my Not-So-Secret Not-So-Christmas Santa post, I got this tea from my lovely buddy! I certainly didn't wait long at all before I opened one to try it!

One of my favorite teas is from Tazo - their Calm Chamomile tea. When I mentioned it on the twitters a while back, my buddy responded with how she loved their Passion tea. I had never tried it before, so she threw in a few packets for me!


As soon as the hot water touched the tea bag, I could smell the tangy fruit. The tea was a pretty reddish - purple. I tried it without any sweetener first, and it was very fruity and quite a bit tart. Too tart for me to drink on its own, so I added a bit of honey.

Overall I love this tea. It tastes fruity and fresh and mmmm. Delicious!