Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween to all from the Dolls Behaving Badly gang!

I am so BORING.

Pneumonia does many things to a person, none of them good, and in my case it's also made me both bored and boring. I haven't done a thing worth blogging about, haven't taken any new pics, haven't gotten any new dolls or doll things, sewn nada. I'm starting to recover enough that this state of affairs is really pissing me off--last week I was just concentrating on breathing and sleeping, and this week I want to leave the freakin' house, awready, and talk to someone I don't live with. I'd say this is all a good indicator that the pneumonia is in retreat, because I actually have the energy to bitch about it.

This means, I hope, that tomorrow I'll actually take a pic of a couple of my 18 inch girls in their Halloween gear, and maybe also Martie in her Rapunzel dress.

Meanwhile, have an oldie to tide us all over:

Dear Intarwebs,

What do you think Martie is blogging about now?

Amelia from A Girl for All Time is HERE!

This penumonia has flattened me, it's true, but I've had a most charming companion to entertain me and help chase away the blues: meet Amelia, the newest doll from A Girl for All Time!

She's very pleased to make your acquaintance.

"You'll catch your death out there!"

Kids, it's been a rough week here at DBB, mostly due to my health, which took a nosedive first thing Sunday, acting like a flu, and just kept devolving. I have asthma and a loooooooong storied history with bronchitis, so I honestly was just trying to butch it all out, while having a 24/7 wracking cough, cold shaking sweats, and the inability to do anything of any use whatever (like my review of the darling A Girl for All Time Amelia, who is here and just wonderful and you'll hear and see  more shortly).

My husband Kevin, who is the hero of this piece, decided this morning that I was going to the doctor whether I wanted to or not, so gently bullied me out the door and to the Urgent Care a few miles away. Meanwhile I'm still swearing I feel better, honestly I do, *KAFF*KAFF*KOFF*KAFF*, I don't want to go, awwwww, c'mon, man!" *KAFF*COFF*KAFF*

They looked at  my pulse/ox, looked worried; listened to my lungs, looked worried; gave me a breathing treatment then a couple of x-rays, looked more worried.

So. Uhm.

I have pneumonia.

They thought about sending me to the hospital, but it looked to be in only one lung, so sent me home cautiously with Godzillacillins and steroids and codeine and many stern expressions. I am to go straight to the ER if I don't feel noticeably better within 24 hours of starting the meds.

So,  what this means is, I nothing very little done, but there is hope. And many drugs.
 

Review: Pen Pal Girls Star Doll Dress

I found the PenPalGirls dolls on a random doll run through eBay, first encountering Cady from China, and realized I hadn't seen these exact doll faces before. A new doll company! How cool! I love discovering new dolls, and companies just starting out, and after looking through some of their listings and site, I shot them an email enquiry about their new venture.

In response, I got a lovely reply from Aileen Le, who is, according to her email signature, the Brand Ambassador for the company. Aileen offered to send me an outfit from their line for me to review, as their outfits are made to fit most 18" dolls like AG. I of course said "Of course!," and a few days later I got a little box in the mail from Pen Pal Girls.

And here's what was inside the box:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTIE!!

Today mark's Martie's first appearance in what was then Threads Behaving Badly, as "Princess": In which we go to lunch.

Her first blog pic gave us a good idea of how the next year might go:

Friday Five.

Every now and then I want to feature a few blogs that I like and that influence me in some way, whether as a blogger, collector, or writer, and sometimes they're just fun. Today I start with five blogs that I enjoy regularly.

Doll Diaries
Char, who runs Doll Diaries, is, simply put, a real gem. She loves to share what she knows and finds, and she knows and finds some great stuff! She's primarily focused on American Girl and other 18" play dolls, and her Wilde Wednesday posts highlight her branching out into WI and Tonner dolls. I admit to being a regular aider and abetter in this.

TiggyZ Cabin
Tiggy is....well, you have to go see her. Tiggy is one of my all-time favorite doll characters, brought to life as few others have ever been. Tiggy speaks in Firefly, which isn't all that hard to read, but can be a real challenge to speak. I've tried. It ain't easy.

Tonner blog.
I've contributed to this one a few times, so you know it's quality. ;D Seriously, all the best news, views, reviews, and other things that rhyme, all about Tonner Doll, all in one place. And videos! Robert Tonner himself is very photogenic. Go check it out.

Karen Mom of Three.
Karen just comes up with the coolest stuff. She focuses on crafts, most of them easy and inexpensive, for your dolls and for your kids. I don't have small kids myself, but I've been accused (not unkindly, I hope!) of being perpetually twelve, so most of what Karen posts really appeals to me. She finds great dollar store stuff, too.

Fashion Doll Review.
Run by Alison Rasmussen, who is also the writer of BJDs for Beginners and a couple of other wonderful books about dolls, is the primary voice of FDR. If Alison doesn't know it about a fashion doll, it isn't worth knowing. Go check her out. She's a real sweetheart in person, too.

That's my first five! Have a blog you want to see me feature? Have a suggestion of a blog you love that you think I might like, too? Leave me a comment!

Review of Harmony Club Dolls "Summer"

I recently discovered Harmony Club Dolls, whose motto is "Peace, Love, Harmony," when I ran across them in a search for doll clothes. I'm always interested in new doll companies, especially in this cut-throat toy market that can chew a doll company up and spit it back out before I even hear of it, and this one has particularly appealling looking dolls. I decided to order the Rock this Town outfit Summer, the blue/green-eyed strawberry blonde, and a Halloween outfit for her, after I was sent a coupon code for 20% off my purchase. With accompanying $5 flat rate shipping, this brought my total down to under $100--hardly my $21 bargain from Saturday, but all the same, a total I could live with for a doll and two outfits total. She took a week to arrive from date of shipment, and showed up on my doorstep yesterday morning.

Peek-a-BOO!

Note the edits after the jump!

Pittsburgh Raine Festival! I mean, Ren Festival.

Yesterday we ventured outward to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, on its very last day for the year.