The Flickr Americangirlcourtney Image Generatr

Released: 2021
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New

Released: 2021
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New

Released: 2021
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New

It's kind of ironic that I spent so much of my youth trying to be "grown up," yet as an adult, I find myself constantly indulging my inner child. Childhood is often painted as the most innocent care free time in our lives, when our biggest concerns revolve around petty schoolyard drama and our toys. In a lot of ways, I can't relate to that feeling. As far back as I remember, I struggled with being painfully self aware and majorly insecure. Yes, even in preschool, I have faint memories of feeling like I didn't belong, and of not relating to the cheerful spirits of my peers. I also was forced to grow up fast, due to life circumstances that were nobody's fault, like my mom's cancer diagnosis and all the family dysfunction that ensued after her passing. By the time I was eleven, I felt like my true childhood was well behind me. So I don't exactly share the sentiment as many other adults do, viewing my youth with rose tinted glasses. In fact, you couldn't pay me to get into a time machine and relive those days (maybe I'd go back for an afternoon, but no more than that). For me, dolls helped me cling to the remnants of a broken, lost childhood...even when I was technically still a kid. I suppose that ultimately still resonates with me when it comes to the dolly collecting hobby.

After my mom died in 2002, my whole world was turned upside down. It was hardest on my dad by far, and I saw the changes in him immediately. I know that he tried his best, but there were many times he failed me and my sister. He often forgot just how young I was, entrusting me with responsibilities that were his (like having me hold onto all his important paperwork). The older I grew, the more and more burdens were placed on my shoulders. I tried my best to take it in stride, but deep down I mourned the innocence of youth that I so jealously watched other kids enjoy. The only moments from that time I remember feeling like a kid, like the parent/child balance had been restored, always centered around dolls. I recall how Dad's warm brown eyes would soften as he walked into the toy aisle and saw me ogling a doll. That one instance in Target, when I was thirteen and the 2005 Bratz Collector's Edition pack had been issued, stands out the most to me. Colleen was at home, toiling over a school project, so it was just me and Dad that evening. When I saw the Bratz set in the doll aisles, I fell in love right away. Dad was always generous when it came to opening his wallet, but that was especially true with Bratz. Despite the cost of the four pack, he didn't hesitate to ask me if I wanted it, when he returned to the aisle after getting what he needed. In that fleeting moment in time, he was my old dad and I was just a kid without a care in the world. There were countless occasions that mirror the same sentiment, many that involve Bratz specifically.

After a five year break from dolls, Dad and I were quick to reestablish that same bond. He would come home from visiting friends, often with a doll in tow. There was that time he found me miniature Disney books at a yard sale, that he thought would be perfect for my displays. I was nineteen by then, dealing with his cancer diagnosis and the crushing financial crisis that came along with it. The word carefree wasn't even in my vocabulary then. But those small gestures Dad made for my collection, or even the larger ones like spending Christmas Eve 2011 hunting for Party Cloe, reignited my inner child. After he passed away in 2012, I admit that my dolly innocence was tainted. I dabbled in the online collecting community. The negative voices of others, paired with my desire to fit in, changed how I viewed my dolls. Additionally, I let the stress and sadness of losing my dad rot me from the inside out. What should have been my form of escape, became another weight for me to carry. Luckily, I have always been self reflective (even to my own detriment in many cases). So it didn't take long for me to figure out my mistakes, and to correct the situation. Since 2014, I have fully embraced a positive, carefree attitude towards collecting.

And so here I am in 2023, still finding myself as a 32 year old woman, trying to nurture her inner child. Connecting with younger me has been a form of therapy all on its own. In some weird way, it makes up for all the time that was lost/stolen. I don't care how weird that may seem to other people, perhaps other collectors even. I still talk to my dolls--venting to them about my day. And when I need an extra pick me up? Cradling my beloved Baby Otis is a surefire way to feel better. My sister and I have even found ways to reconnect with doll play...the traditional way. Some of our childhood characters have returned for videos, but there are new personalities too (who we've grown to love just the same). I often find myself questioning whether "12 year old Shelly" would be proud. I think she would be. First of all, younger me would approve of my vast American Girl collection, and how the dolls still look cozy around my room. I think she would have enjoyed the videos I make now, and the photos/posts we make on Flickr. In fact, I KNOW 12 year old me would be ecstatic to see my social media, because I spent an awful lot of time perusing Katti's Dolls website back then. Funnily enough, somehow my younger self predicted that I would grow up to be a collector. I was careful not to throw out damaged dolls, or do quick fixes...sensing that one day in the future I would have the knowledge and skills to do it right. When my most cherished doll, Josefina, got a tatty, frizzy wig, I refused to trim off the damaged portions. I told myself that one day I would find a technique to fix it. The same happened with Alison, Cool Times Barbie, who unfortunately was given a pixie cut at Shelly's Salon. I started hoarding shed Barbie hair from my doll brushes, somehow knowing that I would find a way to implant it back into her head. Sure enough, one of my first orders of business as an adult collector was honing the re-rooting technique for Miss Alison (although I bought new hair for her). Regardless of the years that have gone and the new experiences that have shaped me, I still very much feel connect to younger me. Whenever I see a new doll series or collection, I can always pinpoint which ones would have spoken to my kid self. Those dolls in particular tend to mean even more to me. And of course, there are those childhood fantasies we all have, that get fulfilled when we become adult collectors. This photo was inspired by one of those dreams--Colleen and I used to ogle the American Girl spreads, creating stories based on the outfits, accessories, and dolls we admired. I never take it for granted when I can make a childhood desire into a reality. I have come to see that my dolls, in their own way, are like the warm hug my inner child needs, and that's why I cherish each and every one.

Written by my sister:
It was the beginning of 1997 and Mom presented me with my first ever American Girl catalog. I'm assuming it was the one my parents received when they purchased my first American Girl, Molly, for Christmas 1996. My tenth birthday was coming up and Mom was probably trying to get ideas. I loved that catalog--cover to cover, not just the Molly pages (although those were my favorite, obviously). I remember feeling really confused by the section at the back labeled "Girl of Today." I thought, at first, maybe it was a section to purchase modern clothes for your favorite historical character to wear if you felt like it--some of the girls at the back bore a strong resemblance to Molly, Addy, Kirsten, and Samantha. But others were distinctly different. I remember loving the birthday party page with the grill and the dolly hamburgers. Apart from Molly's spread, it was probably my favorite page. About a year later, I remember a new outfit being added, making the page all that more exciting--the "Lawn Party Outfit" or "Birthday Outfit." I could've cared less about the croquet set it was marketed with. I loved the adorable purple jumper bedecked in fruit! Over the course of the next year, our collection expanded--Addy became Molly's first like-sized companion when Shelly picked her for her birthday in August 1997, followed by Samantha the next August, and I chose Josefina for a good report card present a few months after that. Two years after I'd gotten Molly, we finished the then-historical collection with Felicity and Kirsten. But Shelly, of course, wanted to get another doll. We started to seriously contemplate the Girl of Today dolls. I'd fantasized, but not thinking it would ever really come to fruition, of the doll modeling the Lawn Party fashion, all year. But then Shelly and I each picked a favorite doll--she picked the blonde who was advertised the most and I, naturally, chose the girl modeling the Lawn Party outfit--to make up a story about that we'd talk about every day. We talked about where the girls--who we dubbed Angela and Valerie--were going, what they were doing, and, most importantly, what they'd be wearing. We discussed getting the "sisters" for Christmas 1999 and opening them together like we did Felicity and Kirsten in 1998. But I chickened out. Honestly, I cared more about the Lawn Party outfit than the doll, wasn't even really sure what number she was to order (the pictures were all very grainy, square, and small on the page that showed all the choices), and wasn't really sure I wanted to actually get "Valerie." But, less than two months later, I decided to get Valerie for my birthday. If you've read my personal fun fact on Molly McIntire, you've heard about this pivotal moment in my life as a doll collector before. Valerie did not live up to my rose colored dreams--probably because she wasn't modeling the ever-important Lawn Party jumper. (I think you could put that jumper on anybody and it would still be the best thing ever.) I felt remorseful. I suddenly wished I'd stuck to just Molly. Kirsten and Josefina never disappointed me the way Valerie did, but I didn't connect with them the way I did with Molly either. I took Molly into bed with me, and sang Shania Twain's "You're Still the One" to her. (Dramatic? Yes.) From that point on, it became just me and Molly and, when I moved to the pink room downstairs the following September, I hid all three of the other AG dolls behind my bureau mirror (over the course of the next couple years, Shelly would pull them out and adopt them one at a time). In Christmas 2004, Molly was...falling apart quite literally. So, Dad bought me another Molly. Although my second Molly didn't feel like family at first the way my old one did, she was a new, shiny Molly who actually fit Molly's 1944 Swimsuit (old Molly's bum was too distorted at the time). So we grew to be close friends by the end of high school (I got her for Christmas my junior year). This was followed by two more Molly's, then Emily--who, let's face it, is an extension of Molly. Was it technically still "just me and Molly?" No, by the end of 2015, I had five American Girls--which is more than I had in 2000 when Valerie was my fourth--but they were all still part of Molly's world. In 2014, when the historical line was revamped for BeForever, I began to fall in love with, gasp, someone not connected to Molly! Rebecca Rubin. That purple outfit really made her stick out in the line up. (I'm thinking the theme here is I like dolls wearing purple?) However, I'd always liked the idea of Rebecca--perhaps not as strongly as we liked the idea of Melody Ellison and Kavi Sharma prior to their releases, but I liked the idea of Rebecca. She reminded me of a paper doll from an American Girl magazine. Her name was Liana Katz. Liana had a Jewish heritage and her wardrobe encompassed a modern outfit and several outfits reflecting what her ancestors wore. I swear, her pink dress with the white boots with black buttons would NOT look out of place in Rebecca's collection! But Rebecca was a three-D model and all her clothes were all from around the time period of my favorite Liana fashion. Of course, I always liked her! But I was afraid to get her--afraid that I'd feel just as let down, that she wouldn't live up to my fantasy (of course, brand new Rebecca dolls were being sold in the fashion I first fell in love with her wearing...so at least that was a start). I waited FIVE years (and got another Molly). But Rebecca, unlike Valerie (who still lives with my sister) did NOT disappoint me. No, my only regret? That I'd waited so long and didn't get to enjoy her for those five years that she was just a fantasy! (Valerie was more fun as a fantasy than the real doll I guess.) I realized, in my 30s, that I could very much enjoy another doll besides Molly, and not just "it's my sister's doll and I love to dress her", but to call her my own. (I tried to get Shelly to buy Rebecca for herself so I could play with her at one point.) So, a year later, when a grainy stock image of Courtney Moore caught my eye, I only wasted five minutes telling Shelly that SHE should get the doll so that I could play with her and decided I absolutely had to have her. Me and Courtney...our bond isn't like my bond with Molly exactly (though the fixation is pretty close). It's more like Shelly's bond with Corinne Tan--a grainy stock image led to instantaneous desire, the actual doll did NOT disappoint, and she's been an obsession ever since!

I think, after that, I realized just how much my younger self (both our younger selves actually--I vividly recall 2004, when Shelly came, sobbing, into my room late at night to tell me she wished she'd asked Dad for Kit instead of Samantha) WAY overthought dolls. In my years as an adult collector, even when the only dolls living in my room were the three Mollys (the third joined my collection shortly after we got back into dolls in 2011), I got so much joy dressing ALL Shelly's dolls, including the three that used to live in my room. They all felt like family. I remember how much we both worried when we sent our beloved Kirsten away to the doll hospital to have her eyes replaced (heck, it was hard with our Felicity named Emerald in 2021 and we'd only known her for a week when we sent her off). What I love the MOST about how we collect all dolls in general, but especially American Girls now? Back in the 90s and early 2000s, a new American Girl could not be purchased except by having Dad dial a number and place an order (we didn't have internet access at home back then). She could not be found at select retailers, an American Girl doll (even not an 18 inch doll but a Bitty Baby or another one of their fine products) could only arrive by UPS and it was a HUGE occasion. We would often take old dolls (favorites like Molly and Addy) and have them join us in opening a new friend or opening a new outfit or accessory set. We would take new members of the dolly family around the home to see things and, most importantly, introduce her to all the other American Girls in our home. Nowadays, things are a lot more mass-produced. We bought Isabelle on a very cold weekend at the AG Place in our state--something we'd never done before and would never do again (our nearest store closed around 2020). We have found a LOT of American Girls secondhand at flea markets and thrift stores, something that never happened when we were kids. At the end of 2022, a friend of mine gave me THREE of her daughter's old dolls (including the Julie pictured here, who we call Jolene). But, even though access to American Girl is SO much easier for us (largely in part to sites like ebay and, even more so, because now Shelly and I are wholly in charge of the purse strings), we don't treat it like it's a casual, every day occurrence (even though the number of dolls added to our collection in 2022 and 2023 is staggering). We still view it as a special moment, because it is. We still will take our dolls out to open new arrivals with us (Shelly told Rebecca about the 2023 Christmas surprise long before I knew about it) and we always give our new plastic friends a tour and introduction to all the other members of our AG family! Whether it is a doll we spent a very long time looking for and had to make a big effort to track down--like Cecile--or a doll who literally just showed up at our door (due to a few generous people, quite a few actually have!). Whether she (or he, we've got a couple Bitty Twin boys) is old and shabby or new and shiny, a new American Girl is always greeted with the same excitement that Addy was upon arrival over 25 years ago! While looking at one of our newest additions, Joynomi, earlier, it crossed my mind that an American Girl--any American Girl--makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Perhaps it's my deep love for Molly that makes me love them all or maybe just because we both love dolls so much. But either way, I have learned so much from my sister, who was always so much more willing to love more than one doll and so much more willing to accept the new. I have decided to wholeheartedly embrace my love for dolls--both new and old, large and small. For too many years, even as a kid, I worried too much about things being perfect or having a theme to a collection. However, in the last couple of years, I have been able to let go of unnecessary worries and set my inner child free!

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2023-

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: Even though I never really was into Care Bears growing up, so it doesn't strike a personal cord with me, and Shelly and I have known Strawberry Shortcake for over 20 years, I think I might prefer Courtney's Care Bears nightie over these, which is also shocking because I like pink better than blue. I think Courtney's Care Bear pjs are just more special to me because I ordered them when I ordered my doll, but they were on back order, so Courtney and I opened them together and it was her first time opening an outfit with me. Plus, I really like the way the artwork is done on the Care Bears nightie. That being said, I LOVE the artwork on these pjs too! It's actually more realistic that the Strawberry Shortcake decal is smaller and more subtle. The pattern on the sleeves helped inspire Shelly to make the adorable earrings to go with them! (She had pink, sweets themed clay charms!) When paired with the earrings Shelly made and the scrunchie this comes with, it's absolute PERFECTION! She looks so sweet! (Pun intended.) What I love about both Courtney's nighttime looks to date is the fabric choice. It's fleecy, but very polyester feeling. This fabric is SO accurate to what I remember in the early 90s (it's sort of sweaty to wear to bed). Not very breathable, but super soft and cute. So realistic! In addition to the striped pattern, fabric, and adorable decal, I really love the zipper! This outfit may look simple, but it's actually quite the work of art!

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2023-

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: I was excited when this first came out and knew I had to get it. However, because the outfit for Kit that we wanted was advertised as "limited time," and Julie's basketball outfit had been out a long time already and we were afraid it would retire, we prioritized those items at the beginning of 2023. I remember being a little annoyed that this came out AFTER the 2022 holiday season--I mean, I would've made sure it was part of our Christmas/my birthday order (my birthday is in February, but we ordered my "birthday" presents for 2023 during the holiday season in 2022). Plus, even though, at the time, Shelly said "I probably won't buy Kavi...I don't know," I knew she was GOING to get Kavi and that this would probably be part of a mostly Kavi order. I was right--everything else we ordered when we bought this was for Kavi! I was at work on Halloween--which also happens to be our chinchilla Clyde's "birthday" (gotcha day)--and I saw that they were running a sale! (I'm a habitual email checker and check it obsessively during my lunch.) I texted Shelly when I was eating lunch and asked her if she saw the sale. We talked about it back and forth on our way home that night and decided to go for it! This arrived the first Monday in November 2023, nearly three years after I got Courtney. I came home to find her modeling these (Shelly asked me whether she should wait to open them or open them and start accessorizing with homemade earrings. I told her to go ahead and open everything). They look SO cute on her! I have a real soft spot for Strawberry Shortcake--Shelly got her first Strawberry Shortcake doll in fall 2003 and got a few others for Christmas that year. We found some originals from the 80s for free outside a neighbor's house back in 2015. They are super cute. Courtney modeling these is so true to what was really popular in the 80s! She's very cute and so is Strawberry Shortcake!

Dolls in photo (from left to right):
-Courtney Moore
-Girl of the Year 2023 Kavi Sharma

Courtney always has the cutest jammies. I knew that making earrings to go with these Strawberry Shortcake themed ones would be a blast. I had gone the polymer clay route for her Care Bears nightie. But I wanted something more subdued for the Strawberry Shortcake ones...dessert themed yes, but not so bulky. I had gotten a pack of assorted shaped polymer clay charms via Amazon Vine. There were a bunch of desserts/candies, which I thought might be useful for this project. It turns out, there were several charms with little strawberries. These strawberry rolls were PERFECT. I liked that they had strawberries, were mostly pink, and had the swirls in the middle. The color perfectly matched the fleecy fabric, and the swirls reminded me of the stripes on her sleeves. I happened to find four of these strawberry roll charms. I wanted these earrings to be dainty and have movement, so I linked them together, rather than stacking them on one head pin. I added little green seed beads for two reasons. One, they prevented the soft charms from sliding over the bases of the head pins. Two, they picked up on the green stripes from the sleeves of these jammies! My sister absolutely loves these, which is what I was hoping (Courtney is her doll, so I am always a little nervous about whether or not she'll like the earrings I make for her).

Kavi is modeling the amazing Diwali Celebration Outfit. I bought it just for her, and had been pondering what sort of earrings I would design for it. The day the American Girl package was supposed to arrive, the perfect idea popped into my head. I was driving back home from dropping my sister off at work. I remembered I used these awesome gold bars for one of Ivy's outfits years ago. They were part of a deconstructed necklace, which belonged to my grandmother. I imagined that gold would be an amazing choice for this ornate ensemble. But I didn't just want to use the bars as they were. Instead, I envisioned fashioning them into triangles. I knew it could work since the bars had loops on both ends (since they were chain links on a necklace). I was not sure, however, if I had six of them leftover. It turns out, I had the exact amount I needed! I love that they are over sized...that's what I pictured them looking like in my head.

Released: 2021
Condition Acquired: New
Note: Courtney is wearing this top with her skirt from her "Skirt and Suspenders", her "High Top Sneakers", and earrings and hair accessory from her "Fashion Accessories".

Released: 2020
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New
Head Mold: "Classic"

Released: 2021
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New

Released: 2020
Date Acquired: December 2020
Manufacturer: American Girl (Mattel)
Condition Acquired: New
Head Mold: "Classic"
Neckstrings: No, ziptie

Personal:

Video:
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APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2022-

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: When I first saw this outfit, I wanted it just because it was made for Courtney. I mean, until 2022, Molly had been retired for close to a decade and Rebecca, who I got the year before Courtney, hasn't gotten anything new since. Because, until buying Rebecca in 2019, none of "my" dolls in the family (Shelly and I share pretty much everything--I dress most of her dolls more often than she does and she makes jewelry for mine) had gotten anything brand new from American Girl since I was a teenager! So, even though Courtney got a lot of new clothes in 2020 and 2021, there was still this HUGE novelty with one of my little people getting a new addition to her wardrobe. However, it was a pricey outfit and not very versatile, as it's a Halloween costume. So, I wanted to prioritize getting some of Julie's older fashions and Melody and Nanea's new ones that were more in the line of everyday clothing, not costumes. I also wanted to get some of Molly's reissued clothing and, because this is a costume and Molly's clothes were just newer variants of things I bought 20 years earlier, it was hard to decide what to prioritize, but I said I wanted Molly's stuff and that, depending on the 2022 holiday sales, maybe I would get this too. But then, Shelly reminded me of Molly's Beforever mini doll and I couldn't decide what I wanted more--this or Molly's mini. (That's how deep the Molly addiction runs--she's always top banana.) Luckily, I was able to get BOTH, so Courtney isn't mad at me. (She isn't used to seeing other people get new stuff in my room and she'd have spent a long time gazing in envy at my Mollys in their new clothes, holding the mini doll.) The more I thought about this, the more I wanted this. It's on the cover of Courtney's second book and I read about it online and it looks really good and I want to read it. It also ties into Courtney's first book (which I read and loved) because she's dressed up as Crystal Starshooter, a character of her own invention. I also thought Shelly would design amazing bling to go with this--and she exceeded my expectations! Clay Mrs. Pacman. Courtney also likes Mrs. Pacman and Pacman, so it's just fantastic! Shelly picked the female Pacman so she could do pink bows and tie in the pink of the costume! It looks futuristic, but 80s at the same time. And it looks so good on Courtney! She's going to wear this every Halloween for years to come!

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2022-

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: Unfortunately, I don't think this outfit will withstand the test of time--first of all, the pink fabric is the same sort of fabric seen on the Water Jewel Magic Jasmine and Aladdin dolls and other Aladdin/Jasmine dolls (but theirs is typically gold) and it is prone to discolor very easily. Shelly is pretty sure that the white fabric is like the 80s Barbie "pleather" and will flake/peel with age. I'm hoping she's wrong because it feels softer than that to me, but she's probably right and Courtney's "meet" boots are DEFINITELY that bad fabric, so it wouldn't surprise me if they used it on other items in her collection too. Considering the retail price of this, it's bad that they didn't think about longevity! But I love it anyway. It's really cute on Courtney. She looks like she does on the cover of one of her books. The stirrups on her pants are cool--I wore a lot of stirrup pants in the early/mid 90s and it brings back very fond memories. The blaster gun thing is very cool. I mean, she can't wear it and it's not something I'd display regularly, so if it had been cheaper to buy the outfit without the gun, I'd have done that to save a little. However, it's really cute and would make a great photo prop/video prop.

Dolls in photo (from left to right):
-Courtney Moore
-Girl of the Year 2009 Chrissa Maxwell

The earrings on the left were made to go with Courtney's Halloween Costume. She's dressed up as a video game character, which is why I thought I could get away with Mrs. Pacman jewelry. I've been dying to make Courtney something Pacman related since Colleen got her in 2020. This Halloween ensemble was the perfect opportunity (even though it's not technically Pacman related). I made the Mrs. Pacman charms out of polymer clay. Everything is clay--none of the details were painted on. Once the charms baked in the oven for 20 minutes, I glazed them with UV resin. Unfortunately, some of the resin pooled a bit before it could cure. That's why the edges of the charms look a little jagged (the clay itself was smooth). I added a few pink and yellow beads from a Walmart kid's kit. I wanted the charms to be somewhat dangly, and not snugly fit against Courtney's ears.

Chrissa's earrings are made to go with her Pajamas. I try to keep all of Chrissa's jewelry on the daintier/more delicate side (for myself at least). Her jammies are adorned with printed flowers. These clay flowers from Michael's were just right. I got them with a gift card from the kid's art section. As you can see, I really enjoy finding dolly art supplies in the kid crafting sections of stores (they have some super cute, cheap stuff). The purple beads are from the same pack as the ones I used on Courtney's earrings. These tiny colorful balls are always a perfect complimentary piece, whenever I need a filler for earrings I'm making!

Another dolly vlog!

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xYujMTgJ0U

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2020-

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: You would think a set like this wouldn't have a sentimental story, but, believe it or not, this really does: So, fall of 2020, I'd seen stock photos of Courtney and a very small part of me knew I was in (financial) trouble. One grainy image and I was HOOKED (not unlike Shelly and Corinne about a year later). I admit, I thought about her all the time and everywhere. She crossed my mind at home, during work, on the way to work, while eating breakfast...you get the idea. However, I was pretty sure I didn't have to jump into anything. (I took about four years to finally buy Rebecca!) However, due to COVID, my school district did all our professional development at home, online, as an option. (At some point, I basically begged Shelly to just drop me off at my school on those days so I could do it on a computer in my classroom, I don't work well at home.) Any sort of training where other people talk and my main job is to listen...it's a struggle for me. I zone out. Online? I had NO motivation to even pretend to listen. So, I was at home one day that fall doing my boring trainings and the American Girl catalog with Courtney's spread was on the table. I kind of kept sneaking it out, off to the side. I knew I secretly (not so secretly, Shelly figured it out) wanted her and was fantasizing. I was thinking which items in her separates collection I "needed", which I wanted but didn't "have to have," and what was dispensable. I hadn't realized, prior to trying to decipher what came with this set specifically, that they marketed her with earrings. (Her ears didn't come pierced, but they made her special earrings--because they wanted you to spend the extra fourteen bucks to have them pierce her ears. It wasn't enough that some of the separates combos cost nearly as much as the doll if you wanted all the pieces, they needed you to fork over the money to have them pierce her ears too.) I got to thinking, "I don't need this set because Shelly could make her a tulle headband and cooler earrings." It was in that moment that Courtney became "real" to me--picturing my sister making her earrings and a hair accessory or two. It was at this point that the yearn for her became too much. None of "my" American Girls had pierced ears (we share everything anyway and I dress "Shelly's" dolls more than she does), so it seemed really exciting. When the grueling PD day was over, I told Shelly of my fantasies of having Courtney and having her pierce her ears and Shelly said I should get Courtney for Christmas, when they ran the sales around the holidays. I didn't order this then and I didn't get the Belt Bag and Watch set either. (That was on the "I'd like to have it, but don't need it right away list"--I got that for my birthday about a year later.) However, in May 2022, they ran a Mother's Day sale. I'd made mental note of the sale, but figured I'd check it out when I got home from work. Shelly, on the other hand, also saw it and made some EXCELLENT purchasing decisions. This is one of the things she got. I was REALLY touched that she put this on our order--there were so many good things in the sale section and some of them were more practical than this. Honestly, the tulle headband Shelly made me is just as pretty (it has some sparkles in it, subtle but pretty and it's almost the same color) and I love the earrings she made me so much that I doubt I'll use the triangles and stars very much. (I love them though--they coordinate with her prized fanny pack!) So, it was really just the hand-warmers that I needed. Shelly knew how important dolly hand-warmers are though. I have a very fond memory of putting Isabelle's on in the car on our way home from buying her at the mall in 2014 and they were one of Shelly's favorite Isabelle items. These are the same lace as Courtney's tights! They aren't as durable as Isabelle's hand-warmers. They are so delicate. (And I don't think they keep her hands warm at all!) But I adore them. Plus, the earring posts are super useful--we've got so many dolls with pierced ears wearing Shelly's handmade earrings. The scrunchie is awesome! It matches her green tank top. This set evokes really good feelings in me, even if it's not all that practical. It reminds me of the day I decided I had to have Courtney, really saw her as part of my dolly family. It also makes me think of Shelly--how I loved the earrings and hair accessories Shelly originally made in lieu of these and how Shelly was thoughtful enough to pick this out for me when she was hitting up that sale!

Copyright: 2020
Number in Series: 1
Condition Acquired: New
Note: This is the book that came with my Courtney.

Outfit/Set: "Courtney's Caboodles and Hair Accessories Kit"
Condition Acquired: New
Note: A close up of the closed and open makeup compact.