Let the wild rumpus begin! Vacation! Yay!!!

I left Friday afternoon to drive to North Myrtle Beach for my first vacation in a couple years. What should have taken 7 hours took 11 hours, especially since we spent two hours going 6 miles in northern Virginia.

As I crossed the national harbor (drawbridge-scary!), I saw the Washington Monument and the Capitol dome for the first time, amid sunshine and cherry blossoms and sparkling blue water (cue the frogmen- some people will understand that!)

Then I was thrust into what is called The Mixing Bowl for my first time ever. I don't even want to explain it; I am still traumatized from the traffic. But at 15 minutes until midnight I arrived at my stress-lowering destination, along with Molly, Daisy, Abby and Alice.

Molly called shotgun and got to ride outside of their carrier. As you can see, she is a big fan of my driving. She did get a little bored once though.

Abby looks sweet here with her new pink/yellow eye chips, but her sleep string hasn't worked right since I got her, and it broke here so now we are stuck with those eyes until I get home or go buy a tiny screwdriver.

Alice hasn't been photographed much nor Abby, both because I don't want to get sand in their hair. Daisy is the only one who got to go on the beach, since I had just given her a Pure Neemo flexion body. How great that is! I am still figuring out what all I can do with it. Posted some additional pics on my Flickr.

First thing I get after giving her a new body is attitude, demonstrated above with "talk to the hand" and she doesn't even have opposable thumbs! Sure does make for fun photos, though. It took me an extra hour to get out the door for my trip because I had to pack clothes for the Blythes. Sometimes I crack myself up.

When we get back it will be time to work on a new dollhouse or Blythe Manor, and "Joey" should be home from Joey with her whole new face and self. Lilly will be pouty as usual; she never gets to go anywhere because of her earrings and beautiful hair. Don't want to mess up either one.

More vacation pics to follow.

Meet Miss Bunny Velvet

Glamour-puss? She's all that. And now she has a name: Bunny Velvet. No explanation can be found, other than the great comment by Sarah that she looks like Elizabeth Taylor in the movie National Velvet.

I tend to agree, and if the fictional character Charlotte in Sex and the City can name her dog Elizabeth Taylor, then I can name my fictional character Bunny Velvet. Done. Stay tuned. The other girls are hopping mad, especially Lilly.

Thanks again to "Aunt Maggie" for the great customization. See you in Balto or Hotlanta!

Violet London, Travel Writer

Ms. Violet here, reporting from Nautical Watch in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. So much to see and do- perfect for Blythes of all ages! The spring weather is perfect also, about 80 and sunny everyday. Sunscreen would be a good idea to protect our shiny heads! Bug spray would also be good to pack. Auntie Angela wasn't kidding about sand crabs! Or, maybe it is the famous no-see-ums Mom told me about. Maybe it is bed bugs! Whatever it is, they bite! I mean, they bite! All the kids say stuff sucks, but Mom won't let me.

Our pool is really cold since it is unheated, but who needs that when we have an unheated ocean right out the front door. Actually, we don't have a front door, just patio doors and a deck, but big people can jump off that if they want (since it is the first floor).

We went to an outside park called Warbird Park. Who knew that planes were called Warbirds? Scary. I saw a plane that looked like a cute dolphin, but I think it was supposed to kill people. That's mean.

We went for a walk on the beach one night about 7 p.m. It was really pretty and a little chilly. I saw lots of big holes in the sand. I think big monsters live in them. It can't possibly be sand dollars or crabs or anything, because we didn't find one stinkin' shell. And shells do stink sometimes, Mom says.

I was so tired after all this, I had to get right into my Hello Kitty pjs from Effiedal Shop and get to bed! More adventures tomorrow! Soon, we will be heading home through North Carolina. Mom wrote all about that here http://vintageindie.typepad.com/vintage_indie/2008/04/vintage-hot-s-1.html. You should check it out if you like neat little towns. Byeee!

Look Out Beach, Here We Come!

The waiting is over, and tomorrow marks the departure to North Myrtle Beach for half the Smith household and one-fifth of the present Blythe Manor household. So, who is going? Stay tuned for in-vacation photo posting. I will say the lucky girl was chosen on the basis of whose earrings were not going to get lost, whose hair cooperates and who is an all around sweet-demeanored girl. Oh, and it was also based on who is not claustrophobic since she will be traveling in this swell dolly carrier, custom-made for me by Becca of Sew Pixie http://sewpixie.tinfoildreams.com/blog using Vera Bradley placemats.

As you can see, Mystery Girl has her shorts and sunglasses at the ready as well as her tote bag with laptop and $35. I wonder how far that will take her shopping? It won't last long if we find any vintage Barbie or Skipper clothes or some fabulous old-school Barbie cast-off at the outlet shops.

Meanwhile, Lilly has decided she wants to become a famous photographer like Gina Garan http://www.thisisblythe.com, for all intents and purposes the "founder" of Blythe here in America, not to be confused with Blythe in America http://www.flickr.com/groups/BlytheinAmerica, the group I co-administer on Flickr. B in A is having a Blythe pajama party on April weekends, so Vi...I mean, Mystery Girl has several sets of pajamas packed for her trip, along with her beach towel, swim ring, umbrella, cooler and VW Bug for beach cruising. I wonder how many weird looks I'll get photographing that?