American Girl Place

Finally! The moment R9 and I had been waiting for! A trip to American Girl Place. We were already planning a trip to NYC (another tag-along trip) to see AG Place, but then I learned there was a Boston store so of course we started plotting. Turns out AG Place is not in the heart of downtown but on the way back home from Boston. So, we made a stop and not to be disappointed in this high-end mall, there was a LEGO store for the boys to enjoy.

We got a picture of R9 and then the two of us outside the big doors. There was someone there to greet us as we walked in and the magic was all around!
R9 remembered her frontier clothing for our trip to Sturbridge Village and forgot her American Girl doll!! That's just plain odd because those girls take trips with us everywhere when we aren't going to American Girl Place. No matter, we figured this was really a scouting trip for our trip to the bigger store in NYC.

We checked out all the corners of the store. Downstairs was where all the dolls and their displays were and we walked all around getting pictures of R9 next to her favorites and their collections. Yes...we were definitely AG Place newbies and complete tourists! Upstairs...yes there is an escalator in this store! We found the craft/party room, the cafe and soda fountain, and the doll salon.
Doll salon. That's right. In case you don't know...you can have your doll visit the salon and get an "updo" or any styling you'd like. You can have your doll's hair restored to its original style and there is a poster with styles to choose from.

Perhaps the more interesting information is that you can have your doll's ears pierced. Nearby to us were three generations of girls waiting in line for a style. Mom and daughters were enjoying themselves while Grandma was close by checking out accessories (for there are many...). She stumbled upon some pierced earrings and points them out to her daughter who replied something about getting ears pierced first. The puzzled look on Grandmother's face told me that her grand daughters already had pierced ears and you could see it settle on her face when she said, "These are for the doll????" She looked at me and said, "Glory Be! I was born a hundred years too late!" I had a good laugh at that.

A shot of the salon chairs. I didn't want to ask permission for photos- so out of respect to the dolls the chairs are empty! I had to ask some of the employees if everyone got to work in the salon or were the stylists special. The craft room lady said that the stylists are the stylists. They don't rotate. Oh man...would that have been an amazing job as a teenager or what?? As long as you can handle tons of pink. I thought it was great how they had hooks everywhere for the dolls to stay. Even in the bathroom stalls! No...I didn't take a picture, but I seriously thought about it. Anyway, R9 thought that maybe Kirsten would like to have her braids redone and looped back up when we go to NYC. Perhaps...though I'm pretty sure I can braid for less than $20.
I thought it was great fun even if it was completely over the top! We brought home a souvenir for her dolls. Of course they sold shirts for girls too, but I figured her dolls would not outgrow an American Girl Boston tshirt quite the way R9 would. Samantha is sporting it below. I left the matching jeans behind because R9 was sure she could make a skirt to match. Samantha sports a contemporary look below. R9 is not a fan of American Girl Today dolls. She prefers the historical dolls and since Kit has a short blonde bob, R9 figures that's her "Just like me doll". The rest have long hair and she's over that.

While we're talking dolls, I thought it would be fun to share with you one of R9's Christmas gifts. This tea set is from her Grandma and Grandpa and she adores it. This one is doll sized (she has one that is itty bitty and loves it also) so she can serve tea to the girls. The nice thing about this set is that it is lead free so you can play with it and put liquid in it and not worry. R9 is hoping for a girl sized set for her birthday so she can have social events with her friends.

It came in this sweet little box and I will tell you that her brother's have partaken of a tea or two. It's only fair because she has participated in more than her fair share of light saber battles and spy adventures.






























So, I'm messing with pictures in this post. I always go with a center upload. Hmmm...probably should stick with that.

In April we are supposed to hit NYC, but that is in question now unfortunately, so we may not be able to see American Girl Place New York. Our plan is to take a doll or two and have a treat at the soda fountain. R9 is hoping to have enough money for her next doll. Not sure she can pull it off by then, but out of the 7 dolls she owns she has purchased 4 of them. She has two more sewing gigs that might help out enough.

Of course she did bring home a new doll. Addy was her choice and so appropriate because R9 spent so much time reading about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. She was so excited to have a Civil War era doll- a brave escaped slave!

Stay tuned for more adventures of the American Girl dolls. She is already planning her June birthday party. Remember the Molly party from last year? I'm not sure yet of this year's theme/motif. You know we'll keep you posted.