I realized this weekend that I never posted the photos of my dolls in the "snow" during the winter school break.  I know I have taken my dolls out into the real snow before, but this year, it was much easier (and warmer) to do the photos from inside.   I took the photos on a window sill of a big picture window.  This way I could get the photos so the dolls looked like they were outside. 

Here are a few.

Jess making a snow angel.

Cecile and Bud taking a walk in the snow. 

Rachel making a snow angel. 

I will try to upload some more "springy" photos next weekend.  I can't believe how fast time has flown.  The end of our 3rd quarter is this Friday!  Can you believe how fast the school year has gone by?  It feels like just yesterday I was coming back from winter break.

Our weather here has been wonderful.  I am sure it is not to stay, but try to enjoy the nice weather (if you have nice weather) while it lasts,
Lily

Below is the Guess that Picture Answer from last week.  

This is Josefina's display case from the old American Girl Place.  I don't remember if this the same one at the new place! 

Here is Round 4's photo:

Your job is to guess which doll which doll is Loran.  (Think about both Loran and I have "L" names...).

I am sorry for not posting this sooner, I have had a long busy week and have been playing catch up today!!

~Lily

I am sorry for not posting this sooner... I had every intention of doing so, but my mind was wrapped around going back to school tomorrow (making sure I had everything I needed), and a few other things!

I have never posted a photo that was pixelated mainly because whenever I attempted to pixelate a photo, it never worked!  However, I tried again tonight, and it worked!  Here is your photo for this week:

I tried not to make this photo too hard... ok, here is the question that goe along with it, you should be able to answer even if you haven't seen the photo.  This photo was taken at American Girl Place in Chicago (the old one) in 2007, which doll's story does this represent?? 

Again, I apologize for not posting any earlier, I just had my mind wrapped around so many other things!  I hope everyone has a great 4 day week.  I'll try to post sometime this week (perhaps a Show and Tell Wednesday on my blog).

~Lily

_ American Girl is going to publish 3 new mysteries!!!!!!  The mysteries will be released on February 28, 2012.  Now that I have told you that there are going to be 3 new mysteries, I am sure you are wondering who the mysteries are going to be about!!

The 1st mystery is going to be CECILE REY'S first mystery!  Here is the cover.  The title is "The Cameo Necklace" and is written by Evelyn Coleman .

_ Here is Amazon's description for Cecile's mystery: "As Cécile exits a crowded showboat after enjoying a lavish Floating Circus, she stumbles--and when she gets up, she realizes that the cameo necklace she borrowed from her aunt is no longer on her neck. Knowing that the necklace was the last gift Tante Tay's husband gave her before he died, Cécile is desperate to find it. As she tracks down the people in the crowd who were near her when she fell, her search takes her into many corners of New Orleans, from a society tea party to the crowded French Market, even the dangerous cypress swamps...and deep into secrets she never imagined! An illustrated Looking Back essay provides facts about the 1850s.".  I am not sure why Amazon is spelling Cecile's name that way, but I decided not to mess with it...

The 2nd mystery is going to be MARIE-GRACE GARDNER'S first mystery!!  The title is "The Hidden Gold", and is written by Sarah Masters Buckey... one of my favorite AG authors!!

_ Here is Amazon's description for Marie-Grace's mystery: "Marie-Grace can't wait to begin her journey up the Mississippi River with her father. The steamboat they're traveling on is the biggest and fanciest boat Marie-Grace has ever seen. It's crowded with all sorts of interesting passengers, including Wilhelmina Newman, a girl her age. Wilhelmina is traveling alone, and she's carrying a secret in one of her trunks--clues to hidden Gold Rush treasure. Marie-Grace and Wilhelmina have to unravel the clues to find the gold--and they're not the only ones looking for it! An illustrated "Looking Back" essay provides facts about the 1850s."

The 3rd mystery (and the last that I know about) is REBECCA RUBIN'S mystery!!!  It is called "The Crystal Ball", and it is written  by Jacqueline Dembar Greene!

_ Here is Amazon's description for Rebecca's mystery: "Rebecca and her neighbor, Mr. Rossi, seem to be having bad luck. When Mr. Rossi sprains his wrist, Rebecca takes over the care and feeding of his pigeons--and discovers a strange black pigeon with an eerie message warning Mr. Rossi of danger. Where did the pigeon come from, and what sort of danger is lurking? Is Rebecca herself now in danger as well? Only a visit to a fortune teller will reveal the truth!"

I was on Amazon the other day to purchase McKenna's books (Kindle Edition) and saw these.  I went back Wednesday evening to capture these, deciding I ought to share them with you.  I did change the description font color to black so it would stand out, but I didn't do anything else to the description of the books.  The screen captures are directly from Amazon.com, and I do NOT own the images. 

I am so excited to see the new mysteries, and can't wait to read them.  What do you think about the new mysteries?  Are you excited to read them?  If you do read them, I would love to hear your thoughts.  You can email a Review to [email protected], and I will be sure to post it. 

Have a great Friday,
Lily

Hey Everyone,
I finished McKenna written by Mary Casanova on Monday.  The book was really good, and I thought I would write a little review for others who want to read the book.  I also put a photo of the book so you know which book I am talking about (since there are 2 books!).

_On a rating of 1-5 (1 being worst, 5 being best) I would give this book a 4.5.  I really liked the background story.  I think there are a lot of girls who are behind in school and who are embarrassed or afraid to get help.  I think they also don't want to tell anyone about their help just like McKenna Brooks didn't. I also like that when McKenna breaks her leg, she takes the opportunity to focus on just being herself... McKenna Brooks.

I think the story would have been a little better if McKenna realized that she could focus on being herself McKenna Brooks without her breaking her leg.  I think Mary Casanova wanted McKenna to break her leg so that she would be able to realize that (plot wise),but I think you could have left the broken leg out and still have a good plot line.  I also didn't like that she questioned Josie's ability to tutor her just because she is in a wheelchair.  Those are the 2 downers for me and those 2 things are why I only gave the book a 4.5

I really liked the book over all and can't wait to read Ready to Fly.  If you read the book, feel free to submit your review and your opinion at [email protected].  I'll post your review here on my website (unless otherwise noted by you). :0)

Have a great week,
Lily

PS: I just wanted to note that I do realize the twitter feed at the top of the page is not working properly.  I am not sure why this is, but you can get a feed directly from twitter at twitter.com/agpixplace.  I will approach Weebly about why this isn't working.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the wonderful, and only.... CECILE REY! I am thrilled to be able to say I have another addition to my large "little" family!!  It truly is a blessing to have another doll.

Cecile was fortunate enough to be able to meet my dolls Rachel and Jess before any of my other dolls. :0)  I will be posting Cecile meeting all of my dolls the next time I upload photos onto my computer.  Everyone is so happy to have a new friend in their lives.  Cecile will be put on display most of the time, but will get to participate in some photo stories just like all of my other dolls!

Here is Cecile with Jess and Rachel.

Cecile with Marie-Grace's dog Argos.  I believe I will be changing Argos' name to Bud since I know someone who has a Bouvier named Bud.  That is the whole reason I got "Argos"/ Bud.

What did you get for Christmas, or Hanukkah?  Did you get Marie-Grace, Cecile or Kanani?  I would love to post photos of what everyone got for the holidays, so please email any photos of anything American Girl (or any doll things) you got to [email protected].  I will post the photos once I have enough, so send in yours TODAY!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a sneak peak at  McKenna (below).  Do you like her story?  Do you anticipate getting McKenna, or any of McKenna's things?  If you do, I would love to see photos.  Feel free to email any photos of any kind of McKenna to [email protected], and [email protected].

Lily

Hey Everyone,
Ok- here is the answer to last week's Guess that Picture.  I am pretty sure this is the exact photo... but I am not positive.

As you can see there are 5 dolls.  They are all sitting, on Mardi Gras Day 2009.  You may have remembered seeing this photo in Archived Photos and Posts>Photos: 2009 and towards the bottom.  This was before I used the blog format.

Tomorrow Cecile Rey will be making her debut.  Stay tuned as we have many more PLANNED posts for the weeks to come including Christmas gifts, crafts, and new outfits.

Have a great evening,
Lily

Hi Everyone,
I would like to say that PRIYA got the Guess that Picture correct!  The doll was indeed Kanani.  Hopefully we have some more people participate over the next few weeks... I do have email notifications on my comments and try to respond ASAP but sometimes, I don't even the email for a few days!

This week's photo you will have seen in Photos: 2009.  So feel free to check that out, to try to find it.  It would have been in late winter/ early spring (so scroll down a far way!). :0)

Here is this week's photo:

Please make an attempt at: how many dolls there are in this photo, and if they are standing or sitting!

I am pretty sure the photo I just posted below is last week's ORIGINAL photo:

The photo might have bee a full body shoot, but it was atleast this outfit, and Kanani!  Great guess Priya. :0)

Good luck guessing... I do realize this photo (the blurred photo) can be a little dizzying, but go ahead and take a stab.  I can't wait to hear what you guys think. :0)

I will do my best to try to do a few tweets this week, and maybe a blog post on this page, or my other page.

Lily

PS: Please let me know how you are enjoying this!  So far it is great fun to blur the photos as much as possible, and I can't quite make them pixelated but we are still trying... maybe next week.  Also let me know if you have other ideas.