Happy Birthday Barbie and Daily Life Lately

 Happy 67 To Barbie!

Hello everyone!  Did you know that Barbie had a birthday this week and she turned 67?!  It's hard to believe that we are both the same age. She looks good for 67 don't you think?

My doll family has expanded from one to three. This is the first Barbie I purchased. I created the bridal headpiece and veil for her. She was a special Christmas gift from me to me! If you missed that post, where I explained about my new doll hobby, you can catch up here. 

I found this second lovely Barbie at Walmart. I also ordered some more clothes online for my Barbies, even though I am sewing some outfits as well. I'm an ameteur at dressmaking but I'm trying. 

I sewed this dress a couple days ago. I love the color and fabric. 

This is one of the outfits I purchased. Cute skirt, top and tennis shoes!

And this beauty is my newest doll and I found her at Dollar Tree! Yes, they were selling a true Barbie doll at Dollar Tree. It has been so much fun to choose my own Barbies that "call" to me somehow. I love their hair colors and faces. This is another one of the purchased outfits. It's rather glitzy and mod looking! I'm finding that not all of the shoes fit each doll the same but that's the way it goes. Each doll is just a little bit different in terms of body size and proportions. I have ordered extra doll stands which should arrive today so my two newest dolls will have their own stands soon.

I've been doing some Barbie research and did you know that the largest Barbie collection contains 18,000 dolls?! Can you even imagine? For now, I'm happy with three. As I mentioned earlier, I don't have room for tons of Barbies. But my little collection is fun for now. I do have my eye out for a "Clairol Misty Doll" which was actually my first fashion-type doll back in the late 1960's. The Misty Doll came with three hair color markers that you could use to change her hair color from the platinum blonde color to true blonde, brunette or red head. I have found some of these dolls available on Etsy and am thinking of adding one to my collection in the future. We'll see.

As I did research on Barbie's birthday, I also learned that she has an "official" name and birthday which I didn't previously know. She is officially, "Barbara Millicent Roberts" and was "born" March 9, 1959 when she was first presented at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. She was created by a woman named Ruth Handler and was introduced at the fair as a teenage fashion doll. There is also a lot of other "official" info about Barbie that I won't bore you with but found out in my research. That has been a fun aspect of this new hobby of mine. It adds to the knowledge base of what I know about Barbie for sure!

So, please join me in wishing her a happy birthday for this year! And now on to other news. 

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The Mr. in orange hat talking with the crew

We've been having tree work done on our property again to clean up fallen trees from Hurricane Helene. It's been 1 1/2 years since the storm and cleanup seems to be a never ending way of life. I know we were so blessed during the storm to keep our house and lives. But, our property was severely damaged and we lost hundreds of trees and shrubs when the hurricane force winds and, then, a tornado, tore through our area. It still brings tears when I think about all of it!

The Mr. surveying some of the work

At any rate, The Mr. has been working on debris as he can and the crew we had come over the last couple days did a great job adding to the cleanup. 

Getting this debris cut has made a big difference to the way our land looks. Large open spaces exist now where there was once lush forest. It makes me sad to think of what was lost, but grateful that, through it all, we survived and still have our home and property. Many others lost so much more than we did. 

And, I'll end on a happier note with this picture of the three furry amigos laying together in the hallway! River, Cassie and Garden join me in wishing you all a happy weekend and week ahead!

Join me next week when I will be back with another blog post. No dolls this time! 

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

The doll stands arrived!