Yesterday Paige and I went down to LA to visit the American Girl store. It was her friend, Natalie's, 9th birthday. Natalie invited both Paige and Ella to come along in lieu of having a birthday party. Each of the girls had a bit of Christmas cash and some piggy bank money that they had saved. Neither Ella or Natalie have been to the store before (but they each have a doll), and Paige was SO excited to be going again.
We window shopped for an hour or so once we got there, took a 'thinking' break and had lunch out in the Farmer's Market (at the Grove) and then came back to shop and make final purchases. Here the girls are after our lunch break, each with a bag, ready to do some damage.
The girls loved the new McKenna set (the Girl of the Year doll is different each year and can only be purchased during that specific year). The bed and accessories kit were really cute.
Cecile and Mary Grace are the newest in the historical series. These girls are from New Orleans and their books are set in the 1850's. Paige got the book series for Christmas and was super excited to see them in person.
One of the things that I love about the American Girl store is that for Paige it's almost like a museum. Each of the historical doll's room has a bit of ephemera from that time period (all from the book as well). Paige practically narrates it...She stops to read each little bit..the signs, the plaques, etc.
This picture was taken just as we walked in the door...Paige literally gasped and put her hand over her mouth. It cracked me up to see just how excited the girls were...
The girls with their purchases from the day. Alexis (in the back with the black sweater is Natalie's older sister. She didn't buy anything, but is holding a GIANT bag for Ally. Ally sent us with her Christmas money from Papa with specific instructions to buy the BIG chestnut horse.
Ella with the life-sized McKenna...
Just like our last two trips Paige gravitates towards Josephina. She ended up purchasing the dress that's featured in the case behind her.
Paying for her purchases with her own money (this trip only cost me lunch, ha!) She got a dress for Josephina (her feast outfit), Josephina's heirlooms, Josephina's accessories, and three books (one of Kanani's and two McKenna books). She was so pleased with her purchases. Like the last visit, I really enjoyed watching each girl select their items, do the mental math, weigh the options and then make a final decision.
Heading back to the car after a bit more window shopping in the Grove.
....and now for our celebrity-ish sighting (term used totally lightly). At one point, I was standing next to a case when I saw a lady come in with two cute little girls, one brunette and one blond, they looked familiar, but when I heard them talking I knew for sure that it was Sophia Grace and Rosie Brownlee (Nobody else in my group had any idea who these two little girls are).... I chatted with them for a minute and then went on my way. The girls were just adorable and so polite.
(this picture is a screen shot of their twitter page...this is the fountain outside of the store in the Grove, with their look alike American Girl dolls.)
For those of you that don't watch Ellen (I rarely do, but actually saw these girls on my yahoo home page on a story a few months back). These cuties are from the UK. Rosie's Mom had taken a video with her cell phone of her daughter and niece signing a Nicki Minaj song, that they then uploaded to youtube. It went viral and somehow Ellen Degeneres saw it and invited them to her show.
On their first visit Ellen had her sing the song (October) and on theirsecond visit she surprised the girls by having Nicki Minaj come out. Then, Ellen sent them out to do interviews on the red carpet for the AMA's back in November.They were on Ellen's show again this past week singing a new song, and tonight they are back on the red carpet doing interviews at the Grammy's.. I'm sure Ellen will have clips of this on tomorrow's show.
The girls, especially Rosie, are totally hysterical. Here's a few of their clips...
on the red carpet at the AMA's
and this week's show...
