Monster Exchange Lorna McNessie and Marisol Coxi

There are a lot of exciting new dolls coming out from Monster High, and one of the lines that I was most excited for was Monster Exchange. If you remember the posts I made during San Diego Comic Con,  you'll remember how excited I was for the reveal of Lorna McNessie! As soon as we heard Lorna's trademark, long before we saw the doll, I was already excited and had a really clear image of how I thought she should look, and it turns out, my imagination was right on! I wasn't initially as excited about Marisol based on those early promo photos, but once she came out in stores and people started posting their own photos, I was definitely won over.

As soon as I heard that the Monster Exchange dolls had been spotted at the local Toys R Us, I went right there the next day, armed with a $15 coupon. They had this lone, including the Lagoona and Draculaura, and also the new Haunted line (minus Porter), and let me tell you, it was a hard decision picking just two to come home with me! But since I knew I definitely wanted Lorna, I figured it just made sense to get Marisol too, and have a look at these two very different dolls together!

So without further ado, let's get into it!

Disney Store's Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6

As soon as I saw Big Hero 6, I fell in love with basically all of the characters. One of my favourite though, was Honey Lemon! I thought she was just adorable, and I loved the science behind her "powers". If you haven't seen the movie yet, I won't give too many details, but I will tell you that you should definitely see the movie! I really enjoyed everything about it, and I walked out of the theatre knowing that I'd be adding at least a few toys to my collection.

As soon as I saw the Disney Store was making dolls of Honey Lemon and Go Go Tomago, I knew I had to have them! I love action figures, and as you'll see later in this review, I did pick up Honey's action figure too, but my heart definitely lies more with dolls these days. These two dolls in particular are pretty exciting, because they feel like a real departure for Disney, in terms of the kinds of dolls that they usually sell, and I'll go more into those reasons once I really get into the review.

Honey Lemon here was the last one in the Disney Store we went to, and my friend was nice enough to grab her for me as an early Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure there's going to be a Go Go Tomago under the tree for me on Christmas morning too...but that's a surprise! :P

Anyways, let's into this review, shall we? I can't stand it anymore!

Freaky Fusion Bonita Femur

Still working on getting back in the saddle, but I really am trying! I've got dolls scattered all over the apartment and videos that need to be edited or finished...Whew! I mean, too many dolls is a good problem to have though, right?

Anyways, I've figured out a way to take decent photos at night with my current set up, so I was able to take some pictures of Bonita after work one night to get this review up! Originally when the Freaky Fusion Hybrids were released, I was so excited about Avea and Sirena that I kind of gave Bonita a once over and then passed her by. Over the last few months, I've been seeing a lot of photos of Bonita and her cute face and gorgeous hair really started to win me over. Unfortunately, these dolls are pretty pricey up here, and she never quite made it to the top of my doll wishlist at her regular price.

Luckily, I was finally able to snatch her on a good sale for just about $22, and I'm definitely glad I did! Click through for more of this lovely moth!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire "Effie Trinket"

Well, I have had this doll sitting around in her box since I got her in August, just waiting for her turn in front of the camera. I have no idea why I waited so long, but since Mockingjay came out this week, I figured it was the perfect time!

I decided to just do a video review for now, but I may take some photos of her and Katniss in the future, since I don't think I ever actually reviewed my Katniss Barbie either! If you're interested in having a look at Effie, check out my video below!

And for those of you who aren't into the video thing, stay tuned! I have a lot of great stuff coming up, and I'm just trying my best to find the time to work reviews into my new schedule. I think I've figured out how to take photos at night as well, so that'll definitely help out! 

As a sneak peek, check out this picture of what I got on my epic toy hunt to Toronto yesterday!

I've also got Monster High's Bonita Femur AND the Student Disembodied Council 5-Pack, so there's definitely lots of good stuff coming up, plus, Christmas is just around the corner, and I bet Santa will be bringing me some dolls! :P

Hope everyone is doing well! What dolls are on your Christmas list?

Sweet Screams Ghoulia Yelps!

Whoa, long time, no see, huh? Sorry it's been so long since I last did a review, but things have been changing a bit in my life recently. I got a job about a month ago, and going into a full time schedule again has been a bit of an adjustment (understatement!), and this blog has definitely suffered. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things, and get reviews done on the weekends when I'm actually home while the sun is up! And hopefully, with a new income, I'll be able to buy a few more dolls, but we'll see!

Anyways, enough of that and onto the doll, right? After my first week at work, I went over to the states because I discovered I needed some new clothes if I was actually going to have a real job. And of course, I had to poke my nose in a few stores to investigate the doll situation. We went to Target, and I found SO many things that I was looking for, but I was good, and just picked up the number one thing I was hoping to find, Sweet Screams Ghoulia! The Sweet Screams line is one of my favourite lines of dolls that Monster High has come out with, and of course, Ghoulia is my favourite character, so she was a must have! Her and Abbey seem to be taking their sweet time to make it up to Canada, and  I was hoping to grab at least Ghoulia over in the states anyways to take advantage of the fully English packaging, so I was definitely excited that it all worked out!

Without further ado, lets have a look at this super neat doll, shall we?

Frankie Stein's Recharge Chamber

So, I can't even tell you how I excited I am to show this to you guys! I don't have a photo post for it, because honestly, I don't think it's possible to capture how cool it is if you don't see it in motion! 

Even though it's practically brand new, Frankie's Recharge Chamber has already gone on sale, and I was able to grab it for nearly 30% off! Well, technically my husband got it for me, but you know, details, right? I think he was nearly as excited to see this thing in action as I was, to be honest, and neither of us were disappointed!

All in all, I think this is one of the coolest toys Monster High has ever put out, and the Frankie that comes with it is especially gorgeous! Let me know if you want to see some more detailed photos of her and I can definitely do that, but in the mean time, check out my video to see her Recharge Chamber in action!

I put a spell on you: Monster High's Casta Fierce!

It might be a little bit early to say Happy Halloween, but in my world, it's never too early for Halloween and it looks like Monster High agrees! In the past, they've done special releases for Friday the 13th like Catty Noir, which is awesome, and this year for the first time, they've put out a special doll just for Halloween, and it's about time, don't you think?

This special doll is Casta Fierce, another pop star in the MH universe, and let me tell you, she definitely lives up to her name! I found her at Target this week, pretty quickly after she started hitting shelves in Canada and I just had to have her. Halloween is my favourite holiday, and Casta has two of my favourite colours (orange and purple) all over her look, so she was a definite must have! Casta is the daughter of Circe, a Greek goddess of magic, and I really like this backstory. It's definitely more creative than her just being a witch, and I love how they brought some of the mythology into Casta's story. Circe was known for turning her enemies into animals, and in the Monster High webisode about Casta, we see that Casta has mostly stopped performing, because of her tendency to accidentally turn her audience into animals! 

Enough talking, right? Let's look at this gorgeous doll!

Inner Monster "Scared Silly/Shockingly Shy"

Even though I do have quite a few Create-A-Monster dolls, they've never been my favourite thing that Monster High has to offer. Generally I've bought them when I think the character is really special, like the bee girl, or the three-eyed ghoul, or the blob girl...okay, maybe I do like them more than I thought! What I'm saying is, that for a doll like that to really grab me, it has to be super cool, and I think the Inner Monsters are super cool indeed! When we first saw photos I definitely thought they were neat, but I wasn't sure how they would translate in person. They have a lot going on and lots of pieces, and that can be awesome or it can be overwhelming!

As soon as they hit the shelves here, I knew that the one I wanted was Scared Silly/Shockingly Shy. Not only is she orange and purple, two of my favourite colours, but she has cool crossed eyes! They're a bit pricey up here, around $30, which seemed like a bit much, but Toys R Us had a 30% off sale and well, here we are! I also grabbed the matching add-on pack from Wal-Mart, because I love the extra face it comes with. Extra face! That's why I love Monster High!

Anyways, if you'd like to see some of the things this beauty can do, click on through!

Freaky Fusion Ghoulia Yelps

It's been awhile since we actually talked about dolls over here, hasn't it? Well, I've finally gotten to this lovely Ghoulia doll in my stack of things to blog about, and it's about time! It felt like it took forever for me to finally get  my hands on her, and now she's been sitting boxed up in my kitchen for what feels like weeks since I got home, but it was finally her turn in front of the camera!

With the exception of the Hybrid characters, Avea and Sirena in particular, most of the Freaky Fusion line doesn't really appeal to me. I've seen all of the Fused Ghouls in person now, and only Dracubecca and Cleolei are even a bit appealing to me, and I definitely am not a fan of Neighthan's style, though his sculpt is really cool. So, I'm not sure how many other dolls from this line you'll be seeing me review, at least not until they start going on sale...but that might change once I see the movie too, that always changes my mind on some things!

Anyways, without further ado, let's take a closer look at Ghoulia, and see what Draculaura thinks of Ghoulia's interpretation of her style!

FanExpo 2014 Haul!

Just a quick post to let you know that I posted a video showing my haul I got at FanExpo this year! I'll be doing full blog posts on the two dolls, and let me know if you'd like to see detailed posts on anything else, I'm happy to do it!

Thanks for watching!

FanExpo Canada 2014 - Saturday and Sunday, with haul!

It's been a few days since FanExpo, and I can feel the Con Crud starting to set in. It never fails that 4 days of not enough sleep, crappy food and tens of thousands of people in not nearly enough space ends with me being sick, but it's also always worth it!

This post is going to cover Saturday and Sunday, and also I'm going to show you pictures of some of the stuff I got! Saturday is by far the busiest day of the weekend, though this year, even Thursday was busy, and I found it tricky to take too many photos simply due to the sheer amount of people. I did still get some fun shots, and I hope you enjoy them!

Oh, and maybe I found a TARDIS on a hill!

FanExpo Canada 2014 - Thursday and Friday

Well, after a very tiring but AMAZING four days, I am back home from FanExpo! It was a great weekend as usual, and I have some photos to share! I never take as many photos as I would like to, and this year was no different. I find it difficult to take a lot of photos when I'm in costume myself, as I don't like carrying my camera in front of my cute costume, but I still think I captured some good stuff! We also planned to vlog, and we even started vlogging but...well, turns out I'm bad at remembering to vlog when I'm having fun!

Anyways, I have two posts of photos from my weekend coming up, and I do also have some things I purchased that I will be reviewing as well, so stay tuned for that! If you're interested in seeing some of the great costumes I saw, and a little glimpse into what FanExpo is like, then click through!

It's impossible to be standing underneath the CN Tower and not take this photo, I think. I'm pretty sure I take it every year!

FanExpo 2014!

Well, it's that time of year again, the time of year that I look forward to the way kids look forward to Christmas...

It's FanExpo time! This weekend, starting on Thursday, I'll be heading to Toronto to attend all four days of FanExpo Canada, Canada's largest pop culture convention.

This year, to make things a little more interesting and to pass the time when waiting in some of the seemingly endless lines, my friend Jill over at Talking Tiny Toys and I decided to make up a little scavenger hunt. If you're going to be at FanExpo this year, we'd love to see you play along! Tag your photos #fanexpohunt on Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter, and we'll use our favourites (credited of course!) in recap posts both here and on Tumblr. Be creative, and have fun! Also, follow my social media (Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram) even if you're not going to be at FanExpo to see some of my own entries!

Also, if you're going to be at FanExpo and you'd like to say hi, drop me a line or keep and eye out for Tina Belcher on Friday, and Miss Piggy on Saturday! Or if you're running a booth that sells something cool I might be into, I'd love to hear from you and feature your stuff! 

I'll be doing a few posts after the convention recapping what I saw, and Jill and I are even planning on vlogging as we go around, so there should be fun stuff coming up on the blog in the next little while. I hope you're all as excited as I am!

Shopkins Unboxing!

So, this is something a bit different, in that there isn't really a blog post to go along with it, but I figured this should go over here as well!

Thanks to Chad Alan over on YouTube, I have recently developed an obsession with Shopkins, tiny groceries with cute faces. What? I don't even know, but I bought 18 of them today and I definitely want more! They come in mystery baskets or in larger packs, and I bought a mix, so check out the video below to see what I got!

I hope you like this unboxing video! I'll probably do more of them, as I really LOVE blind boxes and blind bags, so why not include you guys in the excitement?

Do you like blind bags, or do you prefer to know what you're getting? Let me know in the comments!

Ever After High's Holly and Poppy O'Hair

I am back today with another doll review, and if you watched my latest doll hunting video, you'll know what it is! Well, I guess you'll know what it is if you read the title of this post, but just go with me here.

Holly and Poppy O'Hair have been on my wish list since we first saw them, and I've been (im)patiently waiting for them to hit Canada. I even checked over in Buffalo when I went, but had no luck finding them. Luckily, my local Target did its fall reset, and after months of having nothing new, basically had EVERYTHING new, including Holly and Poppy! I also still had my voucher from Mattel from back when I got my Avea Trotter with the hole in her ear, and I was able to use that to get this set for a little less than half price. Definitely a win!

I've always loved the story of Rapunzel, one of my favourite colours is purple, and I'm a sucker for red hair, so basically, the O'Hair twins were practically designed with me in mind!

Click through to see lots of pictures of these gorgeous dolls, and to see me unbox them!

Monster High Student Lounge

Well, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Or at least it feels like it! But I am back with a new review today, and news on some things coming up.

First, I wanted to share that I have recently started taking my camera along with me on doll hunting expeditions! Since I really like watching other people's doll hunting videos, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and try it out, and so far, it's really fun. If you'd like to check those out, drop by my YouTube channel and let me know what you think!

Secondly, at the end of this month, I am going to be attending FanExpo, a major convention here in Canada. On the off chance any of my readers are going to be there, let me know as I'm always up for meeting doll fans in person! Also, I'm going to be cosplaying as well as covering the convention for the blog, so there should be a few posts covering all the cosplay and other fun stuff that I get to see over the course of the weekend, so look forward to that! My friend Jill who blogs over at Talking Tiny Toys will be with me, and I think we're going to try to vlog as we walk around, and I'm pretty excited!

Lastly, if you do watch my doll hunting videos, you'll know that today I found a ton of new stuff, and came home with Holly and Poppy O'Hair from Ever After High, so look for a review of those two coming up soon!

Phew, okay! With all of that housekeeping out of the way, we can get on with today's review! Just a few days ago, August 13, was my 3rd wedding anniversary with my husband. And, well, he obviously knows me really well, because he got me the new Student Lounge playset! I'd been thinking about it since I saw it at Wal-Mart, so he went back and grabbed it! I just loved the look of the zombie foosball table, and the vending machine is too cute!

So click through to see all the details of this super fun set, and a video review of my first thoughts!

Now you see him...Monster High Invisibilly

Do you ever get that feeling that you just NEED to go to a specific store? Like a doll collector spidey-sense, telling you that something you want it just waiting for you on the shelf and you need to go get it NOW? Well, that happened to me the other night! My husband and I were going to the movies, and there's a big Wal-Mart across the street. We often stop there before the movies to get candy, and we do check out their toy section every time we're there. I've had luck there in the past finding things before they hit the Wal-Mart's closer to home like the very first Ever After High dolls, and this store came through for me again!

I rounded the corner into the Monster High aisle, and the first thing I saw was Scaremester Gigi. Whenever I see a new doll, there's always a split second of "wait..." before I pounce on the shelves, it's like it takes my brain a second to catch up! I dug through and found Twyla and Catty as well, and then allllllll the way at the back, all by his lonesome, was Invisibilly! I'm having pretty good luck with boy dolls lately, huh? Dexter and Billy both in one week! I was pretty excited to find Billy, because not only do I think his doll is pretty handsome, but I think we all know that finding boy dolls can be tricky and a bit like a wild goose chase, so it was nice to find him so easily, when I wasn't really even looking!

I'm hilarious!

Anyways, let's get on with it! Click through to actually see Billy (I promise!) and hear what I think!

Charming indeed! Ever After High's Dexter Charming

Now that San Diego Comic Con is over (phew!), we're back to our regularly scheduled programming!

This past weekend, my husband and I went over to Buffalo for a trip to the Albright-Knox art gallery, and when we were done...well, maybe I made a request that we do a little doll hunting. My budget was pretty small, only enough for one doll unless I found something AMAZING (aka the We Are Monster High 5-pack) that I was willing to blow it for. Well, that didn't happen, and I was beginning to think I was going to come home empty handed!

We hit up Toys R Us first, where there was a single Clawvenus on the shelf, and absolutely nothing else that we don't have up here in Canada. I was hoping to get to see Cleolei or Freaky Fusion Ghoulia, and Holly and Poppy O'Hair from Ever After High, but it was not to be! Next we headed to Target, where I was looking for Sweet Screams Ghoulia or the 5-pack, and again, nothing. I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed at this point. Nothing quite like going to another country for a doll hunt and coming home empty handed!

Our last stop was Justice, and I was feeling pretty hopeless at this point. As we closed in on the doll shelves, I saw a lot of blue, and lo and behold, there were five Dexter Charmings! He was definitely on my list so I snapped one up, and did a quick circle around the shelf to see if anything else was hiding. No Invisibilly, though he was kind of a pipe dream anyways, but they did have another Clawvenus and a few Dracubeccas! I gotta admit, you guys, Clawvenus is totally a mess. I thought maybe she'd work better for me in person...but I was wrong. The colours are just a lot, and the colour of her skin is really distracting. Dracubecca is pretty cute though! I'd consider grabbing her at some point when she's on sale, I think, she seems well-designed.

But enough of that, let's talk about the doll I actually did get! I have to say, I was really looking forward to Dexter's doll. I think he's adorable in the webisodes, and I love how well Ever After High has been translating those characters into their dolls. 

Click through to find out if Dexter lives up to my expectations!

The final day of San Diego Comic Con Reveals: Sunday!

Today's reveal is one I've been curious about, since it coincides with the tiny coffin we saw in the cabinet on preview night! Monster High is up early with the teasers this morning, and posted the following photo to their social media sites:

Twitter: "This LAST #SDCC2014 reveal is one you’ll need to see to believe… Draculaura like never before!"

Instagram: "We won't be able to keep this in the coffin much longer... Draculaura has an all-new lurk! #SDCC2014"


So, what do you think it is? She looks like molded vinyl to me, but her eyes in this shot remind me of Blythe dolls...hmm... This just makes me even more curious to find out, so hopefully they do the full reveal soon! I'd personally love to see small vinyl figures ala My Little Pony, maybe even blind bags? Stay tuned for more info!

Click through to find out more!

San Diego Comic Con Reveals: The big one, Saturday!

After yesterday, I was really hoping that today's reveal would be something AMAZING, and I think it was!

It started this morning with a tease from Monster High on all of their social networks.

"She doesn't mean to be cryptic, but #MonsterHigh's newest student body isn't sure she's ready to reveal herself to the world! Double tap to show her some love and convince her to finally surface from the dark waters! #SDCC2014"

Anyone else know who this is IMMEDIATELY? Click through to find out, and to see more!

San Diego Comic Con Reveals: Friday!

Well, I have to say...today's reveal isn't exactly the most exciting thing I've ever seen, but in the interest of completeness, I'm going to put it up here anyways!


We got our first clue from the Monster High Twitter this morning, as usual, posting:


"We're bringing a few #MH classic looks out of the catacombs for #SDCC2014! Stay tuned for the bone chilling reveal!"

Anyone who knows their Monster High stuff should know what they're looking at here, but if not, click through to see the full reveal!

San Diego Comic Con Reveals: Thursday!

Well, things are just getting going over in San Diego, and the Monster High Twitter is already teasing today's reveal!

"A new reveal is coming your way that's going to conjure up some major buzz at #MonsterHigh! #SDCC2014 "



Click through to see the full reveal, and more as the day goes on!

San Diego Comic Con Reveals: Preview Night!

I may not be able to attend San Diego Comic Con myself, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we can all at least see what awesome things Mattel has in store for us! Over the course of the nest few days, we'll be seeing some reveals from Monster High and Ever After High, and probably some other toy companies too, and I know I'll be hanging on eagerly to see!

I thought I'd share some of the photos as they turn up, and we may as well start now! None of these photos belong to me, so make sure to check out the blogs of those I credit!

It all started on the Monster High Facebook page with this photo, and this teaser: “This scare-cute couple will have you screaming que fangtastique! Sneak back soon for another lurk inside the coffin at these terrorific transfer students! #SDCC2014″

Click through to find out who they are, and to see more!

Long Live the Queen: Ever After High Raven Queen

Well, I have officially reached the end of my birthday gifts! Today I'm reviewing Raven Queen, from Ever After High, and it feels very overdue. From the beginning, Raven was one of the characters that really attracted me to Ever After High, the other being Maddie Hatter. Maddie was the first doll I picked up, but when it came time to buy Raven, I decided to get her Legacy Day version, because she's wearing a really fabulous outfit! I don't regret picking that one up, but I've since decided that I want to stick to just getting the Signature version of each character, so that meant I needed to grab this Raven too! I'd been putting it off, because I did already have one Raven, and there were other things I wanted more immediately, so thankfully my husband knows just what I like, and got her for me. 

And let me tell you, I am glad he did. I can't believe it took me this long to add her to my collection, because I really love nearly everything about her. As usual with EAH dolls, there are a lot of gorgeous details, so click through to get a good look at them!

Art Class Draculaura

Next on the list of dolls I got for my birthday is Art Class Draculaura! She was the last Art Class doll I needed, and now that I have her in my hands, I really love her. For the last little while I've been feeling kind of burnt out on Draculaura, and even the Draculaura dolls I already had were kind of...uninspiring to me. I don't know what it was, considering Draculaura was my first ever Monster High doll, and I always really love her character in the webisodes and movies, but something about her just wasn't connecting with me.

Well, I have to say, this doll has turned that around! I don't know if I'll be running out to pick up Draculaura dolls that I missed or anything like that, but I'll definitely be giving Draculaura a second glance from now now, thanks to this lovely lady!

Click through to find out what's so special about this Draculaura, and to see my Unboxing/First Impressions video!

Sweet Screams Frankie Stein (and Birthday Haul!)

I've not only got a review today, but also a bit of a preview of what's going to be coming up! My birthday was on the 22nd of June, and I was lucky enough to receive a few dolls as gifts. None of these are particularly new and may not be super exciting, but I was very excited to get them as they all filled holes in my collection!

I got Art Class Draculaura, finishing out my Art Class collection, basic Raven Queen, who is the last of the (readily available!) basic Ever After High dolls I needed, and finally, Sweet Screams Frankie Stein! Frankie is my review fodder for today, because I think she was the one I was most eager to get my hands on. Her and Draculaura have been on the shelves for awhile, and with the announcement of wave two featuring Ghoulia and Abbey, I was getting a bit antsy. You just never know when a doll is going to disappear forever, you know?

So, click through to see what I think of Frankie Stein, and watch my unboxing video to see my first impressions!

Ghoul Sports Spectra Vondergeist and Toralei

I had a lovely surprise the other night when I went to my local Wal-Mart and turned down the doll aisle. I was all set to complain that it was a mess because the same box of One Direction Oreos had been sitting in the same spot for three days (don't ask why i was at Wal-Mart three days in a row...) when I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked like bubblegum. I moved juts a bit quicker, and sure enough, what I'd seen was Ghoul Sports Clawdeen's bubble, and behind her was the rest of the line! Ironically, I ended up leaving behind Clawdeen, but both Spectra and Toralei came home with me.

Spectra grabbed my attention as soon as we saw the prototypes from Toy Fair, but Toralei snuck up on me a bit! I'm not generally the biggest Toralei fan, but this doll is GORGEOUS.

Click through to see more photos, and an unboxing video!

Freaky Fusion Sirena Von Boo

As I mentioned in my review of Avea, I also picked up Sirena Von Boo in my Amazon order. These two were totally my must haves from the Freaky Fusion line, since they vary the most from the regular Monster High body. I may yet pick up Bonita Femur as well, but I think she's going to need to be an in-person decision. Based on photos, I'm still unsure, but who knows once I have her in my hands!

But, back to Sirena! She's a fusion of a mermaid and a ghost, and she has a mermaid tail! Like many little girls, I grew up loving mermaids and wishing I could be one. My friends and I even used to put our feet through those weighted rings that you'd throw in the pool and swim down to retrieve so that our legs were held together and pretend to swim like mermaids! So, I was definitely very excited to get my hands on Sirena, and I was not disappointed.

For more photos, my thoughts, and another unboxing/first impressions video, please click through!

Freaky Fusion Avea Trotter

Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've written a post! Feels good to be back though, and I have something that I'm really excited to share! Monster High's Freaky Fusion line is basically huge, with four new hybrid characters, fused versions of existing characters, ghouls dressed as other ghouls, and that isn't even everything. The majority of these dolls aren't really up my alley, however, some of the hybrids were absolute MUST-HAVES! The first of those is Avea Trotter, and she is a doll that I knew I needed to have as soon as I saw a picture of her. She's a fusion of a harpy and a centaur, and I mean. CENTAUR. I wanted her so badly I did something I have actually never done before, and ordered her (as well as Sirena Von Boo) from Amazon US.

After what felt like the longest 10 days of my life, I finally got her, and promptly tore into the box! And well, she has her issues, however, I am completely head over hooves in love. 

I've actually decided to give something new a try this time as well, and I recorded a little video of me unboxing Avea, and doing a bit of a first impression review on her. So, click through to see that, and ever so many photos of this pretty incredible doll!

Christina does Niagara Falls Comic Con!

I've got something different today that I hope will be fun! I'm thinking about expanding the scope of the blog a little bit to talk about more things that I love besides just dolls. Maybe I'll talk about books, movies or TV shows, who knows, but today, I'm going to talk about one of my favourite past times: Conventions! I have been going to conventions for about 10 years now, both comic conventions and other kinds, like the Rocky Horror Picture Show convention I talked about before.

Every year, my friends and I go to a big multi-fandom convention in Toronto called FanExpo, but recently, a smaller convention has started up closer to home, the Niagara Falls Comic Con. That took place this weekend, and my husband and I put on our best costumes and headed out to soak up the nerdiness! We're into a little bit of everything from comics to sci-fi to horror, and conventions, big or small, are always a fun way to connect with lots of people who love the same things you do.

I mostly took pictures of the cosplay I saw, since that is one of my favourite things about going to conventions, but I did take a few of some celebrities, and of some of the many stores selling their wares.

So click through for a glimpse into Niagara Falls Comic Con!

Zombie Shake Venus McFlytrap and Rochelle Goyle

I really like when dolls take me by surprise. Sometimes, photos of dolls are released and I love them immediately, and it's just a matter of finding them on the shelf and taking them home. Other times, I see pictures and I'm not sure, or I'm pretty sure I don't like a doll, and then I see them in person and something changes. This set is definitely one of those ones that surprised me, but I think there's more to it that just the dolls themselves.

The Zombie Shake sets have been turning up in the US for a little while now, but I hadn't gone out of my way looking for photos of them or anything. I'd seen the promos and wasn't super excited, mainly because I didn't (and still don't!) understand why there's a whole line of zombie themed dolls in fancy outfits, and Ghoulia isn't part of it! In addition to Venus and Rochelle, there is another two pack of Meowlody and Purrsephone, the werecat twins, and after watching the Zombie Shake webisode, these are the only characters who do get a new look for the dance. The webisode is worth watching though; it's a take on Monster Mash, and Ghoulia does at least play a pretty big part!

Anyway, that's a lot of words to tell you that I like these two more than I expected to, once I was able to take my Ghoulia-goggles off and enjoy them on their own merits, and not think of what could have been. Could it be that this is my favourite Rochelle ever? Maybe...Click through to see more!

Well, Well...Introducing the Disney Store's Maleficent

Growing up, Sleeping Beauty was one of my favourite Disney movies, and Maleficent was one of my favourite villains. She turns into a dragon! Sure, she's the Mistress of All Evil, but who hasn't wished they could turn into a dragon at one time or another, right? When I heard they were doing a live-action movie about Maleficent movie, I had mixed feelings, but as soon as we started seeing images of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, I was definitely on the way to being completely sold. She looks gorgeous in the film, striking and just a bit spooky, and basically perfect, and I knew well before seeing the movie that I was going to need a doll version of her.

And the Disney Store didn't let me down! I heard that she was starting to be found at Disney Stores, and conveniently, happened to be near the closest Disney Store this weekend and was able to pick one up. I'm a bit gun shy about Disney stuff lately, since I still haven't been able to get myself an Elsa doll to go with the Anna doll I got before Christmas, so I didn't want to wait too long to get Maleficent. Though, considering the fact that this doll costs $38.95 in Canada, I doubt they'll be flying off the shelves like the Frozen stuff has! (Speaking of Frozen, my Disney Store had an Olaf bathing suit, and some t-shirts and that was basically it for Frozen stuff. What gives?)

So, does Maleficent live up to her price point and my expectations? Click through to find out!

It's just a jump to the left...My first custom doll!

I've got something a bit different for everyone today! Remember way back when I bought Ghoul Spirit Spectra and screwed up her hair? Well, for awhile after that she sat in my doll storage bins as I thought about what I wanted to do with her, and then one day, it came to me!

My favourite movie of all time is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and my favourite character is Magenta. Attending Rocky is an essential part of my Halloween every year, and about 10 years ago, my husband and I even went to a Rocky Horror convention in NYC, and of course, I dressed as Magenta.

This is me, with one of the actors from the movie, Stephen Calcutt!

Once I decided to turn Spectra into Magenta, it all happened pretty fast! I ordered hair, I bought fabric and paint, and I just went for it. Click through to see how she turned out, and for details on what I did!

From Monster High to Ever After High: C.A. Cupid

Today I have kind of an interesting review. I've loved Monster High since 2010, and have recently come to love Ever After High as well, and the doll I'm going to be reviewing today is actually a bridge between those two worlds. C.A. Cupid began at Monster High, getting one doll release (that is now pretty highly sought after!) but never really becoming a huge part of the webisodes or films. Then, she took a walk through a magic mirror, and now she's at Ever After High, helping the students there to find their happily ever after, now that their futures aren't as certain as they once were.

This is a really neat opportunity for Mattel to reimagine the same character in two very different styles, and since I do have the original Monster High Cupid as well, we're going to do a little comparing! 

I must say, I'm glad I was able to finally get my hands on Cupid, since she took what felt like an incredibly long time to make it across the border into Canada. I had one in my hands months ago in the States but passed her over to pick up Jane Boolittle and Viperine Gorgon, thinking surely she'd be in Canada soon enough. Well, months later, and she finally turned up!

Was it worth the wait? Find out after the jump!

Just Right: Ever After High Blondie Lockes

The latest addition to my Ever After High collection is Blondie Lockes, the daughter of Goldilocks. I will admit to not being especially excited about her when she was first released, and for a long time I was actually planning on skipping her. But then there was that BOGO sale at Toys R Us, and I needed Apple, which meant I could get another one for free...and well, you know how this goes!

I will say right off the bat that I really don't like her name. I mean, could the designers have been less creative? It's like they just took the first idea anyone threw out and went on with their day. In general, I do think that the Ever After High names are a little simplistic (especially coming from Monster High, where there are some really creative names), but poor Blondie definitely got the fuzzy end of the lollipop here! 

Apart from that, there are definitely some interesting things about Blondie, so let's take a closer look! 

Life in the Dreamhouse Nikki (plus her fashion pack!)

Today I've got a bit of a two-for-one for you! I finally picked up Life in the Dreamhouse Nikki, and I couldn't help but grab her fashion pack too, so I'm going to be reviewing all of that in one post. I've been seeing the Dreamhouse dolls around less and less, and seeing Nikki even less frequently, and I was starting to get worried I might miss out on her! She's the last of the Dreamhouse dolls that I really love and feel like I need, and she was the last on the shelf at Toys R Us, so I feel pretty good about my decision!

This will probably be a quicker review, since I've looked at a few of these Dreamhouse dolls before, but there will definitely be lots of pictures of Nikki's beautiful face!

Stick around to see more of the gorgeous Nikki!

Monster High 2014 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Announcement!

Matty Collector just announced that the Monster High Exclusive at this years San Diego Comic Con is going to be a two-pack of popular background characters Iris Clops and Manny Taur. This set will retail for $40 at the convention, and will apparently be available on Matty Collector after the convention, though it will be very hard to get your hands on this set, based on what I know from past exclusives!

Bull in china shop seeks gentle ghoul with the stars in her eye to help navigate the confusing maze of high school love.

I think Iris in particular is adorable, and I love how different Manny is! I would love to get my hands on this set, but at the moment I'm not really sure how likely that is going to be. I'll have to decide how much I want it and how much I'm willing to spend and go from there. It is likely that these two will get later wide releases based on former exclusives like Scarah and Wydowna, so there will probably be another chance if you miss on out on them now.

What do you think of this two pack? Are you going to try to get you hands on them? Better yet, is anyone going to SDCC?

Guest post: Victorian Elegance Barbie

Today I have something different and, I think, pretty exciting for you! A friend of mine from grad school, Maggie, contacted me a little while ago about doing some posts reviewing her small collection of vintage collector Barbie dolls, and of course, I said yes! Today, I've got the first one to post, and with that, I'll hand it over to Maggie, on the other side of the jump.

The Fairest of Them All: Apple White

Remember how I said I wasn't planning on buying anything new for a little while? Well, Toys R Us heard me and gasped, and scheduled a Buy One, Get One Free sale on Monster High and Ever After High this past weekend. That's not the kind of sale you can let pass by, especially with the prices the way they are up here in Canada! I got myself a few things, and it's possible that someone else socked a few away for me for my birthday... ;)

I got myself Apple White and Blondie Lockes, and now I'm very nearly done with the basic Ever After High characters! I just need to get my hands on Cupid, and as soon as that happens, I'm sure the next wave will start hitting stores, because that's how these things work. Today, I'm going to show you Apple White, who I find myself enjoying more than I expected I would. Snow White has never been one of my favourite fairy tales, starting when I was four and I ran out of the movie theatre when the Evil Queen sent the huntsman after Snow White, and refused to go back in no matter how much my mother tried to convince me she'd probably be fine. There's some baggage there, alright? 

Add to that her colour scheme of red, gold and white which isn't exactly my favourite, and originally, I thought I was going to be perfectly happy to pass Apple over, even though she's one of the main characters.

If you want to know what changed my mind, click through and read on!

From the Vaults: A new series, starting with Madeline Hatter!

So, even though I definitely do buy a lot of dolls, and often have something new to talk about, there are times when I don't. Recently, I've decided to take a step back and slow down on buying new dolls and take advantage of it being a bit of a slower time in terms of releases and regroup and get myself ready for all the new, exciting things that are coming down the pike from both Monster High and Ever After High!

In this downtime, I've decided I'm going to go through my collection and do reviews of some of my other dolls that I bought before I started blogging. I'm going to call this series From the Vaults, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun to take a deeper look at some dolls I may have had for years! These reviews may be a bit different, because I won't have the original packaging anymore, and I may have even played around with redressing the dolls in question, so you'll get a different look at them than just being straight out of the box. Plus, it gives me more opportunity to practice taking photos, which will be especially fun as the weather gets better and I can take some outside.

Over on my tumblr I asked for suggestions of dolls to feature in this series, and one of the suggestions was Madeline Hatter, so I've decided to start with her. She's the only Ever After High doll I have that I haven't reviewed yet, so it seemed like a good place to start! And since I've asked for opinions over there, I want to ask my readers over here as well. Have a look through my current collection, and let me know in the comments who you'd like to see my thoughts on!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's jump in and have a good look at Madeline Hatter, the first Ever After High doll to join my collection, but the last to be reviewed!

Join Maddie on her way down the rabbit hole!

She's so slow she's.....Deadfast! SDCC Exclusive Ghoulia Yelps

This is exactly going to be a review, since this doll isn't readily available anymore and is definitely a few years old, but I couldn't let her quietly join my collection without a bit of fan fare! Plus, Ghoulia hasn't had a new doll in the time I've been blogging, and since she IS my favourite character, I had to take the chance to get her in front of my camera!

As you'll know if you've ever had a look at my wishlist tab, my number one most wanted doll was the SDCC Exclusive version of Ghoulia Yelps, who comes dressed as her favourite comic character, Deadfast. In box, these dolls go for upwards of $300 dollars, usually WELL upwards of that, and that is not a price I was ever going to be comfortable paying. Especially when I know I would just take her out of the box, as cool as the box is. Recently in one of the Monster High Facebook groups I'm in, someone was selling an OOB Ghoulia. I nervously asked for a price, and while it was still more than I have ever paid for a doll, it was nowhere near what they usually go for, and I went for it. Maybe not the smartest decision I've ever made, but right now I'm pretty happy to have this awesome doll in my collection, so I'm feeling alright about it!

For more pictures, click through!

A-Tisket, A-Tasket: Picnic Casket Two-Pack, featuring Frankie Stein and Jackson Jeykll

Way back in November, Toys R Us Canada had the new Picnic Casket two-pack featuring Frankie Stein and Jackson Jekyll up for pre-order. It happened to coincide with their Black Friday sale, so I of course jumped on that and pre-ordered my set for 30% off! It was supposed to ship at the end of January, and then at the end of February, but I didn't actually get mine till the end of March. And then I ripped into the shipping box, super excited, aaaand...Frankie's makeup was smeared and Jackon had hair stuck in his lip paint. Sigh. You can see pictures of that original messed up set over at my tumblr. I was so disappointed!

Luckily, I do live close to a Toys R Us, and really only pre-ordered to get the discount, so on the weekend, we went off to do an exchange. My Toys R Us had an absolute ton of these two packs, and nearly every single one of the shelf was better than the one I actually received, so I grabbed a new one, did the exchange, and we were off! I was excited to finally be able to crack into the box and get my hands on these dolls, since Frankie is always a favourite, and I loved Jackson's outfit, though his hair needed a bit of work.

And I wasn't disappointed! Click on through to see lots of pictures, and my thoughts on the Picnic Casket two-pack!

She's got no strings: Cedar Wood

This week as an early birthday present, my mom gave me a brand new camera! It was pretty great timing too, as just a few days later I got both my Picnic Casket two pack, and, thanks to a friend who grabbed her over in the States, Cedar Wood from Ever After High!

Cedar is so gorgeous, she was the perfect first model to pose for me new camera. I'm still playing around with the settings and figuring out what works best for doll photos since this camera is considerably more complicated than the point and shoot I was using before, but this is the kind of learning curve I love! I mean, one of my favourite things to do is photograph my dolls, what could be better than getting a gift that is essentially permission to do it for hours?

As for Cedar herself, I think Ever After High has kind of out done themselves with this lovely lady! At first glance, she's obviously adorable, but the closer you look, the better she gets. I'm not even a huge fan of Pinocchio, and I was squealing at all the little details I was discovering! When Mattel gets it right, they really get it right, and I think they've hit the nail on the head with Cedar Wood.

Click on through to see just what details had me so excited!