Ily 4EVER Fashion Dolls by Jakks Pacific

First of all, I want to thank Hannah for stepping in and reviewing the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls last week! I've been learning the ropes at my new job (and bringing home rag-tag foster animals in the process...) and was grateful for a helping hand.  I thought it was especially fun to learn about all of the different face molds.  I love the newest Stitch face, and because that doll is a freckled redhead, of course I had to add her to my collection.  Her presence in the house will probably prompt me to watch Lilo and Stitch, finally, which is something I'm embarrassed to say that I've never done.  So thank you to Hannah for that enrichment, too!

Since we're on the topic of ily 4EVER dolls, I want to take the opportunity to talk about the newest 11.5 inch fashion dolls from that line.  For anyone unfamiliar with the brand, ily 4EVER dolls are characters dressed with inspiration from their favorite Disney character.  So they're not meant to be Disney Princesses or anything like that, just Disney fans.  Anyway, I reviewed the original Shop Disney version of these dolls already, but the new dolls, which are made by Jakks Pacific, are different enough that I think they deserve their own review.  I decided to focus on a doll from this collection who is inspired by a sweet character who stars in a movie that I have no desire to watch again, Bambi:

11.5 inch ily 4EVER Bambi doll by Jakks Pacific, $29.99.

Disney's Ily 4EVER 18-inch Dolls--A Guest Review!

Dear Toy Box Philosopher blog readers, I’m Hannah, an adult doll collector from London, United Kingdom, and the author of The Toy Gems blog site. I have been collecting dolls since I can remember - which dates back to the age of two when my happiest photographs are with my dolls. I am also a writer/screenwriter and an English graduate who loves collecting dolls and figurines to surround my writing desk. My favourite toy brands growing up included these doll lines: MyScene, Liv dolls, Monster High, Moxie Teenz and of course the popular brands - Barbie and Bratz. 

I also hold American Girl close to my heart and as a British child I was always flicking through their digital catalogue and like any young American Girl, I grew up loving the doll brand. Before AG, other 18-inch dolls lines that made a big impact on me involved the BFC Ink Club dolls which were my favourite along with Journey Girls, My London Girl and Gotz. In recent years, I have enjoyed expanding my doll collection with dolls of varying heights including, the Ruby Red Fashion Friends/Siblies and the British brand A Girl For All Time.

Thank you to Emily for providing me with the opportunity to share a review of the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls on this iconic site. Growing up, I read every single blog post from The Toy Box Philosopher and spent hours scrolling through images and reading reviews. It was especially exciting reading about doll lines that did not have a Europe/UK release and accessing this knowledge was only viable through this blog.

I am a huge fan and have been reading for more than ten years now. And so it may continue… It’s also great to see what the future holds as ten years ago I would never have guessed that I would be writing and publishing a guest review here of my very own.

Ily 4EVER Minnie (left) and Tinker Bell (right).

The Miniverse Make It Mini Kitchen by MGA Entertainment

I've always loved miniature food, and have gotten even more interested in this type of thing since Lena moved into the Rainbow High House and started her own series of reviews: Tea With Lena.  After all, if Lena is going to be inviting guests over to her place for a chat and a snack, she's going to need a well-stocked kitchen, right?

Way back in the first Tea With Lena post, Ryleigh left a comment that mentioned MGA's Miniverse food. The Miniverse toys are primarily little surprise ball kits that include everything you need to make a tiny fake food dish.  I was immediately excited about Ryleigh's suggestion, but of course it took me almost nine months to act on it.

I'm happy that I was so slow in pulling this review together, though, because MGA has released several new Miniverse products during the last few months.  The most interesting thing to me is the Make It Mini Kitchen.  I love kitchen-themed toys, and I suspect this particular one will be popular during the holidays.  So, today I'll explore several of the Miniverse options that are currently available, including the kitchen set, and I'll keep my eye on how useful each item might be to Lena and her 1:6 friends.

Lena with a Miniverse Make It pizza.

Mali and Lilli's Boston Adventure

There has been a lot going on in my life recently!  A few weeks ago, in a very spontaneous decision that I might live to regret, I got a job.  I didn't really set out to get a job, I actually just wanted to do some volunteer work at a local no-kill animal shelter.  But that effort somehow translated itself into a part time job.  So my schedule is going to be a bit chaotic for the next few weeks as I get used to this new reality.  I'm optimistic that I can keep the blog going at a fairly normal rate, by writing shorter reviews or perhaps less frequent reviews, but who knows.  I will certainly do my best to make it awesome.

To add to the complexity of life, I also had a four-day trip to Boston planned around this past weekend.  My son and his lovely girlfriend still live in Beantown, and we wanted to go visit them.  I was very excited about the trip, but I didn't really feel like I could miss a weekend of blogging--what with the new constraints on my schedule and everything.

My solution to this problem was to find a small doll or two to bring with me on the trip, and try to take all of the photographs I'd need for a review while I was on vacation.  I also thought I could actually write the whole review while I was away, but that was unrealistic.  So here I am back in New Jersey, grabbing a few hours before work to tell you the tale of two little friends and all of the fun things they did together in Boston:

Little Friends Mali and Lilli by HABA, $11.99 each.