The Girls

Earlier this year, I became smitten with 18" dolls.  A friend was involved in planning an American Girl doll tea party at the library and I became intrigued.  I remember my Mom buying an American Girl doll and accessories as a Christmas gift for her one granddaughter twenty or more years ago, but I wasn't interested at that point.  I had boys, so Christmas in my house was books, hero action figures and things with wheels. Dolls were alien in my world.

To satisfy my curiosity, I did what every librarian does and combed the web for information.  In addition to the genuine American Girl doll website (now part of Mattel), there are sites, blogs, online marketplaces, outrageous auctions for retired dolls and retired outfits, how-to's and DIY's for rescuing well-loved and unloved dolls (and even changing them into boys!), spare parts (arms, legs, bodies, heads, wigs), clothing and shoe patterns, handcrafted couture (and not so couture) garments for sale on Etsy, and (a surprise to me) doll snobbery. It truly was captivating and became my version of the "Housewives" programs. I learned more about 18" dolls than I ever anticipated.

Of course after all this research, I couldn't not have my own girl.  My favorite historical American Girl doll is Molly McIntire - I think because she looks so cute in her glasses and I've needed vision correction ever since I couldn't see the blackboard in Miss Chapman's 3rd grade classroom. But I wasn't ready to part with the big dollars needed to bring Molly home because, of course, she is "archived" and only available on the secondary market (translation:  eBay).

Caroline, the first

So what did I do?  I purchased a Madame Alexander "Favorite Friends" doll titled "Sweater Dressing" from an online purveyor of toys and named her Caroline. Her face is just beautiful with blonde straight hair and blue eyes (two different blues, but that's OK).

However, I still yearned for Molly. So I hunted, read descriptions, watched, unwatched, followed and after several weeks I found the perfect Molly on eBay. She was "Buy It Now" (I really didn't want to bid), complete with accessories (score!) and in NRFB condition ("Never Removed From Box" in doll collector lingo). So I took the plunge and she was on her way to Connecticut. She arrived and I was in love. I was very excited that Caroline had a friend to keep her company.

Caroline & her new friend Molly

One fateful day I was shopping in Target and wandered through the doll aisle.  Now, if you are not up on 18" doll info, you most likely don't know that Target carries the Our Generation line of 18" dolls. Some purists refer to them as AG knock-offs (the snobbery I mentioned), but I think they have their own charm, as well as being one-fifth the cost of an AG doll. Yes, you guessed it. I brought Eva home that day - she called to me from the shelf and I answered.  She has reddish hair that is pulled back in two enormous ponytails, brown eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. I just love the freckles and her confident presence. She joined Caroline and Molly on the bed in the guest room. So then there were three.

Molly, Caroline, & Eva dressed for Fall

We all know that three is not a good number for girls (remember Middle School?) so I thought about finding one more girl to even the number.  I did some research and decided to look for Nellie O'Malley, another archived historical AG doll with a face that is different from Molly's. (There are 8 different face molds, FYI.)  I found Nellie pretty quickly on eBay at a fairly low price, read the description and bought her.  What's the saying - you get what you pay for?  This Nellie was a huge disappointment. She smelled of tobacco smoke, the accessories noted in the listing weren't in the box, her dress was crumpled and she had abrasion marks on her face. I was not happy. So back she went to Texas.

Nothing would do but to embrace the challenge and find another Nellie. The hunt was on and a week or so later another Nellie was on her way to CT - a NRFB find with accessories and storybook.  Not smelly, with a crisp dress, all accessories intact, Nellie arrived in perfect condition. She has shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, dark blue eyes and freckles across her nose. She is sweet and lovely. The girls hang out and enjoy doll life.

And that's the way it is - the story of my girls.  A friend told me that if I had grandchildren, I wouldn't have these girls.  One never knows . . . . they are just my cup of tea right now.

Nellie, Caroline, Eva & Molly dressed for Christmas

Break out the extra blankets . . . the thermometer here in Eastern CT reads ZERO degrees.  Cheers!