Tess's Tidbits: New Rooms

Hello and a heartfelt welcome to all of our beloved readers!

  I must begin by apologizing for our long absences on this blog. :(  Maggie already explained our earlier reason for being so quiet in the previous post, so I will not discuss that again.  However, I know that many of you were eager to hear from us again right away, and we made you wait almost two whole months before putting up another post.  I wish I could fully express how truly sorry I am for our lack of posting.  :(

When we first got back to our normal selves, it took us some time to get into our usual habits and routines.  Then, in the middle of everything, Mama discovered mold in and around one of her bedroom windows and had to completely change her entire room.  As a result, she decided to move all of our rooms directly on top of each other.  This meant that we essentially lost two whole doll rooms.  As you can imagine, much rearranging and downsizing was needed to make sure everyone had a place, especially since we now had to fit three dolls to a room instead of two.

I must confess, I found this move quite distressing.  It's always difficult to be uprooted and have items replaced or taken away altogether (I'm still mourning the loss of my curio cabinet, which is now being stored above the rooms).  However, now that things are where they belong and where they will stay, I finally feel I can move on and work on enjoying where I am.  Also, now that everything is settled, you should be hearing from us a bit more frequently.   

One wonderful blessing from all of the rearranging is that Ella is now in our room with us! :D  Hailey, Ella and I are thrilled to finally be together once again. :)

Here is what our rooms looked like when Mama first stacked them and started helping us arrange them.

Our room looked like this originally.

Hailey's Hello Kitty nightstand was beside the bed.

The bed was in the back corner.

My Caroline doll with our mini dollhouses. ;)

My dresser was in the other corner...

...and the white shelf that used to belong to Hayden and Jenna was on the other side of the room.

Oh, and I supposed you've already noticed that Hailey, Ella, and I are now in Hayden and Jenna's old room.  We enjoy it overall.  It's lovely to have colored walls instead of white ones.  However, it's taken me some time to get used to being so high up!

Mama wasn't particularly pleased with the way our room turned out, so she helped us rearrange it one more time.  This is how it looks now.  I must admit, I prefer this arrangement myself.

On one side, we have my dresser.

The bookshelf is behind it.  Each of us had one shelf to fill with our special treasures.  My figurines are on the top shelf, Hailey's Hello Kitty collection is on the middle, and Ella's doll collection graces the bottom.  The very top of the shelf has Ella's Wizard of Oz collection and my favorite picture of the three of us.

Hailey's nightstand is still beside the bed.

Here are Hailey and Ella, enjoying a sisterly chat on the bed. :)

At the end of the bed, there was just enough room for our dollhouses, my laptop, and Ella's new Isabelle doll from McDonald's.

Now that I've gotten used to the new arrangement, I'm quite content there with my sisters.  I still miss my curio, but I'd much rather have an extra sister in the room than another piece of furniture, no matter how special it is. ;)  

I thought you might enjoy seeing the other rooms as well.  Mama very graciously allowed me to use the photos she took.

Here is Emma, Hayden, and Charlie's new room (formerly Emma and Charlie's).  

The bed is on one side of the room, covered with dolls and stuffed animals from all three sisters.  Since they had to add Hayden's posters to the room, they each chose their very favorite posters to hang and put those up. 

Next to the bed are their art and craft supplies. 

The black shelf that was against the side wall before is now against the back wall.  Because it has three shelves, it is the perfect place to display their amazing collections.  Just as in our room, each sister has a shelf of her own.

Next to the shelf is a tub with extra toys and Hayden's Aladdin poster.  Since the time of these pictures, the Aladdin poster has been exchanged for a Strawberry Shortcake fuzzy poster that Hayden colored, and the Aladdin poster is now over the dresser. 

Next to the toy tub is the dresser that looks as though it was made for this room.  :)  You might also notice that the Hathaway girls have the rug that used to be in the room I shared with Hailey.  I've always loved that rug, but I think it looks wonderful in their room. :)

Our last room, formerly the one Hailey and I shared, belongs to Rachel, Jenna, and Maggie.  Isn't it lovely how all of the sisters have been reunited? :)

On one side of the room is the tall floral dresser that was in Maggie and Rachel's room.  The top has some of Jenna's extra things since she has the least amount of space.

The bed is in the back, against the wall.  This side of the room also holds all of Rachel and Maggie's posters. 

At the foot of the bed is the tub that holds all of Rachel and Maggie's extra action figures.  Maggie's collection has grown quite large since you last saw it. ;)

Maggie and Rachel's shelf is in the corner.  Jenna got to use one shelf for her My Little Ponies.  

This side of the room has all of Jenna's musical posters.  Didn't she hang them up nicely?  It looks so bright and cheerful.  Hmm, perhaps we should find more posters for our room...

Jenna has the same special fold-out bed she did in her old room, with the crate behind it to store some of her special treasures.

There are things we all miss about our old rooms.  We enjoyed having more space and more room for our belongings.  However, I think Mama did an excellent job of condensing things in a way that was as painless as possible.  It could have been much worse.

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, Coral and Alice have a small room on the other side of Mama's room.  It's not nearly as roomy as ours are, but they seem to enjoy it just the same.  They also have the luxury of being on ground level and therefore have easier access to the rest of the room. :}

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour.  In the coming month, we'll be working on getting all of you caught up.  Hayden will do her post about her vacation she took this past January, and we'll also share a bit about Coral's arrival.  

Also, Mama and her family are heading out for their yearly vacation to the coast next week.  Mama still has not announced which of us will be going with her.  As soon as we find out, we'll let you know!

Until next time, my dear friends,

Tess

P.S. Since we changed our header, here is a copy of our previous one. :)

Tess's Tidbits: Unlikely Roommates

I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it feels to be blogging again after such a lengthy hiatus.  I hope you will forgive us, dearest readers, for keeping you waiting for so long.  

I realize that you were most likely expecting this post to feature our Three Year Blogoversary giveaway.  I suppose it might have been wise to do that post first, but I felt that we were so disconnected from all of you that we needed to catch up a bit before launching another giveaway.  Maggie agreed with only a bit of protest, especially because she feels our giveaway item is too "girly". ;)

Goodness, where to begin?  I feel as though I could write for hours, although nothing monumental has happened in our lives since we last communicated.  Once Mama got home from vacation, all of her thoughts were on getting her daughters ready for school and preparing herself for her elementary art class.  To be honest, we've been feeling rather neglected.  Most of us are wearing the same things we've worn all summer long.  It is so inconvenient to have one's clothes packed away and to be so dependent on someone else for every little need.  It doesn't bother me as much as some of the others, but I must confess I've missed Mama dreadfully during these past months.  Sometimes I feel that she no longer has the time to devote to us that she once did.

Still, I suppose I mustn't complain.  I've had a splendid time reconnecting with my youngest sister.  Words cannot express how thrilled Hailey and I are to be reunited with her once more. :)  

The only shadow to darken our happiness was this: we'd been wondering how on earth we could fit another sister into our room.  Although we loved having Ella with us, Hailey and I had filled the room to the brim already with our belongings.  It would be extremely difficult to try to fit Ella's doll collection in there, too (yes, Mama kept ahold of Ella's collection). :)

On that note, I must give credit where credit is due.  Just this past week, Mama rearranged some of her other collectible items and made a little half-room for Alice and Ella to share.  I thought it was very nice of her to change things around so much just to make my sister and the Hathaway girls' cousin more comfortable.  You should have seen how many hours she spent moving things this way and that!

In spite of Mama's generosity, I wondered how my sister would do with Alice as a roommate.  The two of them certainly were not the most likely candidates for sharing a living area.  Of course, I was sure Mama knew what she was doing...I hoped.   

When the room was all finished, Ella excitedly brought me up to show it to me.  Hailey and Charlie had already made plans, so Hailey assured Ella that she would come see the room later that day.

"Well, here it is!" Ella said with excitement, waving her arm around the tiny room.  "What do you think?"

I took in every inch of my sister's new abode.  My first thought was how horribly small it was compared to our other rooms, but of course I didn't say anything.  Ella was beaming as if she were giving me a tour of the Taj Mahal.  If she was happy, there was no use in pointing out any flaws.

My eyes roamed across the room.  Mama had certainly done her best to make it a friendly, homey place for them.

Alice's blue dresser and a white shelf were in the corner.  The shelf held Alice's collectibles and her fish tank.  I also noticed that her blue lamp was in just the right spot for reading while sitting on my old sofa.

Next to the white shelf was a sweet little curio full of Ella's dolls.

At the top was Ella's small Wizard of Oz collection.  Some of you may recall that Ella has always enjoyed musicals, especially "Singin' in the Rain".  Well, in her absence she added a new favorite:  "The Wizard of Oz".  She is apparently still hoping to find a "Singin' in the Rain" poster for her room, but she was thrilled when Mama found her a lovely Wizard of Oz poster. :)

I noticed that every nook and cranny of the room seemed to be overflowing with Ella's extra dolls.  I hoped Alice wouldn't mind.

Speaking of my lovely, old sofa, here it is.  I do miss it so, but I'd rather have it put to good use than sitting in Mama's closet like it was before. :} 

The beautiful American Girl Elizabeth doll was a gift to Ella from Hayden.  Some of you might remember that when Ella left us, she gave her Felicity doll to Hailey, and then Hailey gave it to Hayden when she arrived.  Hayden offered to give Ella back her doll when she came home, but Ella insisted that Hayden keep it.  My sister could see how much Hayden loved Felicity.  Hayden was determined to do something special for Ella, so when Mama found this lovely Elizabeth doll at the thrift store, Hayden asked if she could give it to Ella.  Mama agreed, and Ella was thrilled.  Now Ella's doll and Hayden's doll can be best friends, just like they are in the stories. ;)

My thoughts had wandered far during my inspection of the room, and when I turned to Ella, I could see she was waiting for some sort of response.

I gave her a smile and patted her arm.  "I think it's just right," I told her gently.

Ella smiled with pleasure.

At that moment, a jolly voice broke into our conversation.  "Hey, you two, how's it going?"

We turned and saw Alice heading our way, a smile on her face and her hand waving in the air.  I noticed that she was wearing her favorite sneakers.  I don't believe I've ever seen her wear anything besides sneakers, to tell the truth.  I'm sure there's some sort of "Doctor Who" connection there, as there usually is, but I'm afraid to ask.  I'd rather not get caught up in another three hour conversation regarding her favorite show. :}

Ella's face lit up at the sight of her roommate.  "Alice, I'm glad you're here!  I have something for you."

And without another word, she suddenly dove behind the couch to retrieve something.  She put something on the couch, out of sight, but when she turned, there was another something in her hands.

"I thought you might like to see my newest doll," she said happily, "especially since you're sort of a Wizard of Oz fan."

"She's a Lalaloopsy that Mama just got for me.  Her name is Dotty Gale Winds, after Dorothy Gale from the story."

She held the little doll out so we could see her.  

Alice smiled politely.  "She's really cute!  Her name reminds me a little bit of DG from 'Tin Man'."

Ella looked even more excited.  "Well, speaking of 'Tin Man', I asked Mama to pick something up for you, too!"

She turned around, put Dotty down, and picked up whatever it was she had deposited on the couch before.  When she turned back to us, she was holding a little metallic silver doll.  She held it out to Alice.

"This is Tinny Ticker from the same series.  She's for you!"

Alice took the doll slowly.  She seemed to be trying to find words to say.  "Wow," she finally stated.  "That's the first time I've seen a girl tin man."

Then she just stood there and stared at Tinny, as if trying to decide what to make of her.

"I...I thought Tinny might be the best choice...since you like 'Tin Man' so much," Ella continued, her voice slightly less enthusiastic.

"Well, you know," Alice stated in her matter-of-fact movie trivia voice (a voice we'd all heard numerous times over the past few weeks), "there really aren't any actual tin men in 'Tin Man'.  It's just what policemen are called in that version."

Ella's face fell.

I wasn't sure what to do.  I knew that saying something to Alice might only make my sister's embarrassment worse, but I also knew that Alice was completely clueless to the fact that she had just hurt Ella's feelings.  

Ella turned abruptly to pick up Dotty again, but not before I noticed her lower lip trembling.  

"If...if you don't want her," Ella said quietly, "I'm sure Mama can find a place for her."

Alice's head shot up, and at last she seemed to grasp what had happened.  An embarrassed look came over her face.  "Oh, no!" she insisted.  "I think she'll look great on my shelf.  Don't mind me...I just go into trivia mode and don't think about how things sound."  

She closed the distance between herself and Ella and put her arm around her.  "Thank you very much, Ella.  Sorry if I made you feel bad.  I like her...honest."

With that, my sister's sunny expression returned, and I felt like I could breathe again.  

In spite of that rocky start, Alice and Ella have gotten along splendidly ever since.  While they may not have much in common, they did discover a few similar interests.  They both love wearing stripes, they both love Fall the best out of all of the seasons, and of course, they both love the Wizard of Oz characters (although Alice prefers "Tin Man" to the original Oz movie).  She's tried getting Ella into Doctor Who, but Mama has informed her that Ella is too young to watch it. which really doesn't make all that much sense.  Ella is eight years old by human standards, but in doll years, we're all adults.  Oh well.  I suppose she'll just have to watch more period dramas with me. ;)

Dotty and Tinny now have special spots in Ella and Alice's room.  Dotty sits next to Ella's Madame Alexander Dorothy doll and her China Doll from "Oz the Great and Powerful".

Tinny's home is on Alice's middle shelf, next to her big M&Ms tin. 

I suppose that's all I have time for at the moment.  The rest of us are well and are looking forward to this new school schedule once Mama finds her routine.  I personally am hoping it will mean that we get to spend a lot more time with her.  I miss our talks and even our photo shoots. :}

Within the next week, we should have our giveaway ready, so be on the lookout for a new post soon! :)

~Tess