Shelving old projects!

Manuel seems pleased with the kitchen, but something's different (and not just that the handle fell off the refrigerator).

Do you think the rooster platter's about to fall off its shelf?

I'd been messing around with trying to finish the Steampunk Orchid's trim -- with increasing reluctance, as every method went wrong, and I wasn't enjoying it -- when it dawned on me that I really, really hated the project. There were some very negative associations surrounding the era when I'd done the major building on it -- associations with people and events that are out, out, out of my life -- and it needed to go away.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award (tag)

Phyllis of A Day in the Life of My Dolls tagged me with the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, so let's take a shot at the questions before I'm a month late to the party!

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
I started out as a dollhouse miniatures enthusiast, though my next post will be about how more of the miniatures moved out of houses/roomboxes and into the Billy bookcases. Here's a sneak preview of the half-scale tower.

Vi and Va arrive, deeply discounted

The Mystixx Rococo Zombie apparently heralded Failed Doll Concept Month, as on Sunday, my mother emailed me with the news that Target had the Vi and Va line on clearance, so it was now or never on deciding if I wanted them or not.

Poor Viviana! Multiple markdowns.

Clearly, I went to Target. The shelves were stripped of Vi and Va dolls, their place taken by Disney Descendants and new Bratz. One lone end dump had five Valentinas, and it was only when I went back on the third try that I found the Viviana shoved away under a shelf. They both had to come home. They're sisters. They can't be separated.

Cue the Zombie Apocalypse

Maybe the zombie apocalypse happened.

Actually, at the end of June, my cheap metal futon frame broke at a stress point. After the month that was required to find a new bed frame that I liked, I can testify that it's very difficult to feel like a sexy, successful adult while sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor. At twenty-five, I could do it. At my current age, which is not 26, the concept was a disaster. Even the sewing machine scorned me, so I still haven't clothed some exciting arrivals that my parents sent.

Now, from the vantage point of my fresh-from-Craig's-List replacement bed frame, I feel like a king of France ruling the civilized world from a reclining position, so it's apt that on last night's trip to Tuesday Morning, I found a lone Mystixx Rococo Zombie for $7.99 (list price $19.99 when introduced at Toys R Us).

Bonjour. Je voudrais manger vos cervaux.

"A Mystixx what?" is a reasonable response to this news. Even Playhut's official Mystixx site does not admit this happened, briefly, last winter. It features only the Mystixx Vampires (one of which was reviewed by Toy Box Philosopher in 2012), which did not have the joined elbows and knees of the Rococo Zombies.