Alyrenee's Copious Spare Time

Woot.  I got nominated for a Wilde Award in Costume Design for Cymbeline .  And also a honorable mention for She Stoops to Conquer .  Nice.  These are the awards for professional theatre in Michigan.

So here I am at the six month point.  Baby Joe is a suspiciously good baby...so good we think he must be planning something.  But even parents of super magical low maintenance babies still need help.  There have been a couple of stand out items that have really assisted us in the last sixth months....some off our registry and some things bought along the way. From the first three months: A bassinet/pack n play: being able to just sit up and grab the kid out of the bassinet next to the bed to nurse was swell...especially in those first couple of weeks when it is three in the morning and you can barely get yourself out of bed. We got ours from a friend and we plan to pass this one along.  Seems like an easy thing to acquire from other parents or buy gently used. Or you could use a pack n play instead...and bonus if you opted for the fancy version that has the changing table attachment. It is also nice to have a changing area in your bedroom as well...seriously it ...

I have been waiting for these since the webinar!  W Club members were able to order these babies yesterday.  I believe the FR pack sold out within an hour and it is no wonder.  LOOK AT THOSE TORTOISE SHELL PLATFORM SANDALS!!!!  I mean seriously, those are amazing.  I am sewing an outfit JUST to go with those shoes.  (I will likely make a couple extra to sell...so stay tuned).  The Poppy set is also adorbs.  I luckily remembered to order these right around the time the links went live.  I would have been exceptionally bummed had I missed them.  I think the Poppy set is still available... Item # 91351 Fashion Royalty 2014 (Designed to Fit the FR 2013 / FR2 type of body) Add-On Shoe Pack Limited Edition of 500 Sets Only Available to W Club Members starting on August 13th, 2014 at Approx. Noon Eastern Suggested Retail Price: $30.00 US Per Set (plus shipping and applicable taxes) Item # PP062 The Girl From I.N.T.E....

Yikes...I have been on a tear lately.  It has been raining dolls over here. Between pre-orders coming in, club upgrade dolls, a lottery, and a few ebay moments of weakness...I have an embarrassment of riches and almost no time to deal with them. So pictures will some soon. So the Integrity W Club Upgrade dolls came.  There were some grumblings over Fashion Explorer Vanessa and her forehead.  I don't get it.  Mine is GORGEOUS.  Now granted I am late to the FR collecting game so I have no loyalty to the previous Vanessa incarnations.  I like this one quite a bit.  I love the deep minky brown/black hair in the pony with the side sweep bangs.  I think both her hair and face paint will lend itself nicely to redressing in both casual and evening wear.  The boots and bag are great.  The sunglasses are slightly less exciting.  The skirt is actually blue...which surprised me as I, like most, had thought it was khaki.  I like it thoug...

She has been up there for a crazy long amount of time today without selling out.  I am really surprised.  They MUST HAVE upped the edition size this year...or she was wildly unpopular.  Whatever the case, you can get her here: http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/jem-rock-and-romance-2014-exclusive-doll?BR=1046&ID=33694 Though the ebay prices for her have been the same or sometimes even less!  My own purchase off ebay ended up being only $3 more than I would have paid on Hasbro.  Many collectors are using ebay in order to get pictures of the dolls ahead of time as well.  There has been a mold problem with some of these dolls and some box ding damage on some...so seeing pictures ahead of time might be worth paying a little extra.  Her face looks really pretty and sweet in the photos that I have seen from other collectors.  Her hair seems a little thinner than the other versions as well.  I was going to skip her...but the Jem completist in m...