An Arklu LOTTIE Doll, Mini American Girl Addy, and a trip to the AG store!

So, today I came home with this little cutie:

This is English Country Garden Lottie, by Arklu.  She is adorable, right?  This purchase was completely unplanned.

I was out of the house today on a super rainy afternoon (it is currently flooding in many parts of our area--we received a record 2.75" of rain yesterday!).  And there were gusty winds.  But out of the house we went, my youngest and myself, braving the storm to do this:

Picture with Santa!

I don't know how many more years she'll appease me with a photo of a figure she no longer believes in (sniff sniff), but she's still good-natured about it so I'll take what I can get!  Plus, it was a chance for her to wear her new Christmas dress for the first time. 

Anyway, the store where we visited Santa just happened to be in a little strip mall which also houses a wonderful, local toy shop.  So of course, we had to pop in and check out what's new.  And that's where I found Lottie.

The back of her box.  Apparently, there's a little picnic accessory pack that can be purchased separately, but the toy shop didn't carry it.

She cost $19.99 at the toy shop.  I later went online to Amazon to check her out there, but she wasn't any cheaper.  Besides, I try to support this local toy shop and buy from them whenever I can.  I think it's important to give these small stores our business.

The box was easy to open at the top and the inside cardboard just slid right out.  There was only one plastic tie around her neck and a couple around her feet holding her in so I had her free in no time at all.

Free at last!  She is about 7" tall and can stand on her own.

Her clothing is nicely made and has lots of detail.  It fastens with Velcro.  Her hair is long and silky and nicely rooted.

I especially like how she can sit without her legs splaying wide open to the side.

Here she is with my mini American Girl Addy.  She's a wee bit taller and a little more slender than Addy, but I think that Lottie could probably wear the mini AG clothing.

And speaking of Addy, she is also a newer purchase!  An American Girl pop-up store opened near us for the holidays.  I begged my husband to take me, and he was kind enough to drop off my daughter and myself to check it out while he circled around in downtown traffic.  Because it's just a pop-up (temporary) store, it was rather small.  They did display all the dolls, but not much else.  There was maybe one accessory or outfit available to purchase at the store...anything else would have had to be ordered.

The Truly Me display

My daughter really liked the new historical, MaryEllen Larkin.  She's cute, and I love her strawberry blond hair.  No plans to add her to our family anytime soon, though.

We took our Rebecca along with us (on the left), and here she is, posing with the AG store's Rebecca.  She is one of my favorite AGs.  I just love her time period.

A new Bitty Baby with red hair!  This one may come home to our family eventually as I love red hair.  I have become very partial to this hair color ever since my red-headed daughter-in-law joined the family!  She and my son have my first grandchild, and I am holding my breath to see if his blond hair eventually turns red.  Apparently, my daughter-in-law was blond as a baby as well before it turned red, so I am crossing my fingers.

The minis display.  This is where I picked up Addy.  I have many other minis in my collection, but this is my first mini with the all-vinyl body.

I love everything about her!  I wasn't sure if I'd like the all vinyl body as compared to the cloth ones they used to have, but it really didn't matter to me at all.  She still feels like a really nice quality doll.

Her dress is so pretty.

And that hairstyle!  I simply adore it.

She has darling little bloomers underneath, and cute boots that Velcro in back.

The only thing I didn't care for about this doll was the mini book that accompanies her.  It is cheap and flimsy compared to the darling little hardcover books that the minis used to come with.  And there are NO pictures, either!  Just super-tiny text that I can barely read, even with my glasses on.  I think it's really sad that American Girl has cut corners in this area.  But I guess it happens. 

Mini Addy cost $24.95 at the AG store.  You can purchase her cheaper on Amazon (currently $20.03), but I really wanted to purchase something while I was at the store.  The helpful sale's lady told me that a permanent AG store might end up in our area, depending on how well the pop-up store does during the holiday season.  Hopefully, my purchase helps them make the decision to stay!

I love miniature things, especially dolls.  I have many of the AG minis, as well as the Target minis.  Stay tuned for a post on those soon!