Saturday, January 28, 2012

Breaking News with Maggie: Announcing Our 60 Followers Giveaway Winner!!! :D

This is Maggie Wilson with an important announcement!  We have a winner, folks!  Out of 14 entries, our winner is...



CLAIRE!! (AND MIA, TOO) ;)



Congratulations, Claire!  We'll be sending you an email shortly to confirm your win.

Claire will have one week to respond and claim her prize.  If we don't hear from her by Saturday, February 4th, then we will hold another drawing and a new winner will be chosen.  

Thanks for entering, everyone!  We hope to bring you many more wonderful posts in the future.  Here's looking at 100 FOLLOWERS!!! (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

Oh yes, and one other quick announcement...Tess, Emma and I wanted to wish Hayden a Happy Birthday!  Tomorrow is her 12th birthday...again (remember, we don't age?), and we most likely won't have a chance to be on the computer then.  Mama really wanted to give each of us a little celebration on our birthdays this year, so I think there may be a little party of some kind tomorrow.  If there is, we'll be sure to post pics later.

This is Maggie Wilson, signing off. ;)

Ummm...we just looked, and Claire, you didn't give us your email address.  Could you either leave a comment with your email or just email us at nevergrowup.beastsbelle@gmail.com?  You can just put "Attn:  Maggie and Tess" on it, and then Mama will know it's for us. Thanks!
                                                              

Emma's Editorials: Trivia Game Answers!

Okay, it's the moment you've been waiting for...well, one of the moments, anyway! ;)  I'm here to share the answers to our trivia game! :D

All of the answers are in red, and each answer is followed by links to the posts or pages where the answers can be found.  Since many of the answers were on Mama's "My Dolls" page, we only did a link there the first time, rather than doing a new link every time it was mentioned.  I hope that works okay for all of you.  It just seemed kind of repetitive to keep doing a link to the same page. :}

Also, on behalf of all of us, I'd like to apologize...our first question apparently could only be answered if you knew it by heart! (And some of you did, so congrats!)  We searched the blog high and low but couldn't find any mention of Ella's full name.  How embarrassing!  So, as a result, everyone gets #1 correct, whether you got it or not.  If you did end up with the correct answer, you get a bonus point for being a super duper follower! ;D

So, without further ado, here are the answers to the game:

1.  What is Tess and Hailey's little sister Ella's full name?
             Elinor Anne Prescott

2.  What is Maggie's favorite food?
             Fried chicken   (see Maggie's section in "My Dolls")

3.  Which of Jane Austen's novel is Tess's favorite?
             "Pride and Prejudice"  (Tess's section in "My Dolls"; "Tea with Tess:  In Which Emma and Tess Discuss Their Jane Austen Favorites")

4.  Who is Rachel's favorite Marvel superhero?
              Thor (Rachel's section in "My Dolls"; "Maggie's Memos:  Day Six"; "Maggie's Memos:  I'm an Official Avengers Fan!")

5.  Which Bollywood actor is Emma's favorite?
              Shahrukh Khan (Emma's section in "My Dolls"; "Tess's Tidbits:  Vivah Movie Night"; "Breaking News with Maggie:  An Interview with Emma Grace")

6.  How would Hayden most likely spend her day:
              a. telling a story in a fancy dress
              b. running in a marathon
              c. working a mathematics equation
(Okay, for this one you're supposed to guess after reading Hayden's section in "My Dolls" and this post: "Guest Post by Hayden:  A Trip to Mimi's") :)

7.  Where would Charlie love to go someday?
             The ICR Creation Museum (Charlie's section in "My Dolls")

8.  Who is Hayden's favorite Disney Princess?
               Princess Jasmine, Belle, and Ariel (Jasmine is her most favorite princess, but we're not sure that we ever made that clear.  So now you know!) :)  (Hayden's section in "My Dolls"; "Emma's Editorials:  Our 106th Post...Welcoming Hayden")

9.  Hailey enjoys:
               a. singing
               b. soccer
               c. interpretive dance
(Hailey's section in "My Dolls")

10.  Which city in California did Maggie travel to over summer vacation?
               Eureka, CA ("Maggie's Memos:  Back from Vacation:  Day 1")

11.   Which popular fictional characters does Tess NOT like?
               The characters from Twilight ("Tess's Tidbits:  A Jane Austen Girl in a Twilight World")

12.  What would you most like to see in a future post?
               Any answer is correct! :)


So, you may be wondering how you did?  Well, now that the contest is over, we'll be posting your answers in the comments of our original trivia game post and you can see.

Here are the official results:
-Mia: 13 points
-Mary:  13 points
-Jessie:  11.5 points (we gave you half a point for #11, because it's kinda true, even if it's not the answer we were looking for) ;)
-Maddie F.:  10.5 points (you got half a point for the same reason as Jessie) ;)
-Savanah:  10.5 points (same as the others)
-Emma:  10 points


If you scored 12 or above, bravo!  You are a Jane Austen and Unicorns Expert! ;)

If you scored 10 or below, well done!  You know us pretty well!

If you scored 8 or below, hmmm...you might want to brush up just a bit, but still pretty good.

If you scored below 5 points, you are hereby commanded to read our entire blog to get to know us better!  Lol...not really...just teasing you. ;)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our fun little game.  Thanks for the great ideas for future posts, too!  Mama was so glad that Jessie mentioned putting something up about Hayden on our "Meet the Gals" page...she'd completely forgotten about it! :}

We'll have a post up soon announcing the winners of our giveaway! :D

Friday, January 27, 2012

Maggie's Memos: Last Day to Enter Our Giveaway!

What's up, everyone?  Just wanted to remind you that today is the very last day to enter our GIVEAWAY (click on the link if you're not sure what I'm talking about).  It's also the last day to get an extra entry for participating in our TRIVIA GAME (once again, click the link to see the game).

So far, we have 8 entrants (4 of them have played our trivia game and have an extra entry).  Tomorrow, we'll post the answers to our trivia game and let those of you who participated know how you did.  Then we'll hold our drawing and announce our winner. :)

Remember, you're playing for some (ick) sparkly Lisa Frank stencils, a (double ick) cutesy Lisa Frank kitty notepad, a doll-sized Mountain Dew (that's really lip gloss...gross!), and an autographed picture of Tess and me (finally, something worth having!).

We'd love to get some more entries for our giveaway, but hurry...it all ends tonight!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Tess's Tidbits: Our Trivia Game

Okay, here's the trivia game we promised!  Maggie, Emma and I all worked together to figure out the perfect questions for all of you to test your knowledge. :)  All of the answers can either be found somewhere in this blog or on Mama's "My Dolls" page on her blog (click the link to go there).

The point of this trivia game is to have fun, not to be competitive.  Of course, we hope you get all of the answers right! :)  But regardless of your score, if you participate, you'll get an extra entry in our 60 Followers Giveaway, as Maggie mentioned in her earlier post.

We also decided to combine our trivia game with an opportunity to ask what YOU would like to see from this blog (instead of doing it as a separate post).  As I said before, we may not be able to use everyone's ideas, but we would like to know what you are interested in seeing on our blog. :)

You can either post the answers on your own blog (be sure to leave the post's url below so we can find it!) or you can leave your answers in the comments. :)

So, without further ado, here are our trivia questions!

1.  What is Tess and Hailey's little sister Ella's full name?

2.  What is Maggie's favorite food?

3.  Which of Jane Austen's novels is Tess's favorite?

4.  Who is Rachel's favorite Marvel superhero?

5.  Which Bollywood actor is Emma's favorite?

6.  How would Hayden most likely spend her day:
   
       a. telling a story in a fancy dress
       b. running in a marathon
       c. working a mathematics equation

7.  Where would Charlie love to go someday?

8.  Who is Hayden's favorite Disney Princess?

9.  Hailey enjoys:

       a. singing
       b. soccer
       c. interpretive dance

10.  Which city in California did Maggie travel to over summer vacation?

11.   Which popular fictional characters does Tess NOT like?

12.  What would you most like to see in a future post?

We will run this trivia game for the same amount of time as the Giveaway.  The last day to play the trivia game and still receive an extra giveaway entry is FRIDAY, JANUARY 28TH.  Of course, you are welcome to play after that date, but you will not get an entry for the giveaway, since by then it will be over.

We hope you all have a wonderful time playing.  Just how well do you know all of us? ;)

Breaking News with Maggie: Announcing Our 60 Followers Giveaway!

Hello, this is Maggie Wilson of "Breaking News with Maggie".  I'm here with my fellow blogger, Tess Prescott.  Tess, I understand you have an announcement to make?


T:  Um, yes.  But I thought we were making the announcement together.

M: (stage whisper) Tess, just play along, okay?  It's more interesting for our followers if we do this as a "Breaking News with Maggie" post!


T: (embarrassed) Oh, right. (clearing throat)  Yes, Maggie, I do have an announcement to make.  Here at Jane Austen and Unicorns, we have finally reached 60 followers!

M:  Yay for us!  And what are we going to do about that, Tess?

T:  We have a few things planned.  First, we have a special giveaway.

M:  A giveaway?  How exciting!  May I ask what the giveaway prizes are?

T:  Well, here, I've got them with me.  Can you help me hold them up?


M:  Sure.  Okay, so it looks like we have some stencils...

T:  Yes, four of them.  They're Lisa Frank glittery stencils.

M:  (dryly) Oh, joy.  Glitter just makes everything better.


T:  Some of us think it does.

M:  What else do we have?

T:  There's this really cute Lisa Frank kitten notepad...

M:  I'm sensing a theme here, and it's not a good one!


T:  Well, you might like this.  It's a Mountain Dew can, just our size!


M:  That's a little better.  Of course, you humans know what's in these, right?  CHAPSTICK!!  Yummy, I'm just gonna get a nice drink of thick, nasty inedible stuff...

T:  Maggie!

M: I 'm just sayin'...

T:  And lastly, we'll have an autographed picture of us that your dolls can use as a poster.

M:  Which is the most awesome part of this giveaway!

T:  Um...we also have a trivia game planned and then a post where we ask our readers what they would like to see on our blog.

M:  More Maggie posts, obviously!  I don't see why we even have to ask!

T:  (ignoring this answer)  Of course, we can't promise we'll be able to use all of the ideas, but we'd like to get some feedback on how we're doing.  I do hope to get some more "Tea with Tess" posts done (I've even got some ideas started!), and I know Maggie and Emma have some ideas as well, but we also want to hear from you, our readers! :)

M:  Well, this all sounds great!  What are we going to start with, Tess?

T:  I thought maybe we could start with the giveaway...if you think that's a good idea.

M:  Works for me.  But next time, I get to pick the giveaway prizes, okay?

T:  Uh...okay...as long as they're not all piratey or something.

M: (under her breath) It would even out the overly-pink giveaways this time around.

T:  What?

M:  Nothing...on to the Giveaway Rules!  Listen up, everyone!

1.  To enter our giveaway, leave a comment on this post with your name (or username) and email address.  We have comment moderation on, so we're the only ones who will see it (and Mama, of course).

2.  You may enter the Giveaway until Friday, January 27th.  On Saturday, January 28th, we will put all of the entrants' names in a hat and draw our winner.

3.  If you're under 18, please get a parent's permission before entering.  We will have to get your mailing address, and we want to make sure your parents are okay with that!

4.  Sorry, but we'd like to keep this contest within the USA, simply because of shipping costs.  We hope our out of country readers understand.

5.  There will be 1 winner...all of the giveaway prizes are going to be given together.

6.  The winner of the Giveaway will be notified via email and on this blog.  They will have one week to respond and claim their prize.  If we don't hear from them by Saturday, February 4th, then another winner will be chosen.

We hope you have fun entering the giveaway.  Our trivia game should be up shortly.  All participants (within the US) in the trivia game get AN EXTRA ENTRY in the giveaway. :)

This has been Breaking News with Maggie.  Stay tuned for more fun.  This is Maggie Wilson, signing off. (I love saying that!!)

T: (clearing throat) Ahem.

M:  Oh, right.  This is Maggie Wilson, and Tess Prescott, signing off.  Happy, Tess?

T:  Thanks, Maggie.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Maggie's Memos: Me Again!

Okay, I know you guys are probably wondering why you haven't heard more from us.  Tess and I have officially figured out how we're going to celebrate 60 followers.  Unfortunately, Mama has been pretty much hogging the computer while trying to get her 100,000 page views activities.  Whatever.  Just rub it in.

So, we have some great  things planned, including a trivia game and a giveaway.  We hope to have the first post up by no later than Friday.  Don't give up on us!  It will be there. :}

I gotta go for now...Mama's wanting to check her email.  Man, that lady is pushy!

Talk to you soon!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Maggie's Memos: Wow, 60 Followers!

Hey, we're moving up in the world! :)  We've finally hit 60 followers!  Yes, it's me...Maggie.  I figured it was about time I posted so you didn't all think that this was now Emma's blog.  I know she had a lot of things to post about from Christmas, but good grief!  Let's not take advantage of being an honorary member of Tess and Maggie's Blog, shall we?

Tess and I were thinking it would be fun to do some sort of blog event in celebration of reaching 60 followers.  We're still in the brainstorming stage, so we'll keep you posted when we come up with something clever. :)

Thanks to all of our followers, readers, and fans.  This wouldn't be nearly as rewarding without all of you. :)  Yikes, I can't believe I said that...normally Tess is the mushy one.  I must be getting soft in my old age. ;)

Laters!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Emma's Editorials: Home Again


We had a wonderful time at Mimi's house, but all good things must come to an end. ;)  The Tuesday morning after Christmas, Mama piled us into the car with several other dolls and stuffed animals, and we drove back home.

We got back and dropped our stuff off in our room.  Then we went to find Tess and Hailey.  Grandmama had found a few little gifts for them that we wanted to give to them right away.

We found the girls in their room, putting Christmas decorations away.



Tess was carefully re-packaging the glass Nativity Scene.


Hailey was taking down the Christmas wreath.


They had a box that already had their stockings and the Christmas books in it.


We all climbed up and said hello.  Hailey and Tess were really happy to see us.  We all compared notes about our separate Christmases.  It sounded like Tess and Hailey had enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, especially since their cousins got to come stay with them over the holidays. :)


After a while, we passed out Grandmama's presents.  Hailey went first.  She was so excited to see the adorable Hello Kitty gumball machine that Grandmama had found!


I think it's going to look just perfect on her Hello Kitty shelf!


It even came with extra gumballs. :)


Tess opened her gift next.  It was a set of adorable little clay figurines, just perfect for her collection.


Tess couldn't wait to put them in her curio cabinet with the rest of her figurines.


Hailey also got a really cute little Hello Kitty drawing set.


It came with a heart-shaped notepad...


...two red Hello Kitty markers...


...and two Hello Kitty stickers.

We stayed and visited for a little bit longer after the gifts were opened.  But then Mama came back into the room and said that we all needed to get our Christmas decorations down so that she could put them away.  We said goodbye to Tess and Hailey and headed over to our room to work on our decorations.

Later that week, Mama had a big surprise for us.  She'd found a really cute white bookshelf for us at the thrift store and decided that to use it, she'd have to switch our rooms around.  So now, our room is on the long dresser where Tess and Hailey's used to be, and Tess and Hailey have our old room!  

It took a lot of work to get everything rearranged...almost a whole day!  But once everything was done, it was well worth it! :)

Here's what our room looks like now: 


And here's a closer look at each side:

The white shelf on the left side of the picture is the one Mama found at the thrift store.

And here's the other side of the room:


I think that my favorite parts of our new room would have to be the art shelf and my special shelf on the new thrift store bookshelf.  (Okay, that's a lot of shelves in that sentence!) ;)

The art shelf has all of our special art supplies, from blank notebooks, to pencils, erasers and paints.  I really enjoy sketching and haven't done much of it.  I hope having all of our supplies out in the open will encourage me to do more with my drawing.

This is my shelf on the new bookshelf (which, interestingly enough, only has books on the top!). ;)  I have my new Christmas Belle doll, a few Beauty and the Beast Squinkies, my mini Pascal, some stuff made in India, and a little portrait of myself on there.  Oh, and also my new Disney Princess tin purse I got for Christmas. :) 

Here's a sneak peek of Tess and Hailey's new room, too:

I think it turned out really cute. :)  

I know I didn't share too many pictures, but Mama has a post on her blog with more pictures if you're interested.  You can see it HERE. :)

Talk to you guys later...I'm off to do some sketching! :)