Sunday Lunch with a Friend

Salut mes amis,

On January 5th, I got to visit the American Girl store in the Washington, DC area! I hadn't been able to visit a store since my August 2012 visit to Natick, so I was pretty excited to see all of the new clothes and accessories that had been released recently. I also met Isabelle Palmer, Girl of the Year 2014. She's a ballet student from Washington, DC, and her story reminded me a lot of my twin sister's. I know she and Juliette would get along!

Isabelle and I chatted for a while, and when I started to get bored with all of the dance talk, I started playing with her cat, Tutu (seriously, who names their cat "Tutu"?!).  Isabelle also showed me all of the fun things in her design studio; I was particularly impressed with her sketchbook full of costume designs.

I said goodbye to Isabelle and wandered around the store for a bit. I decided to pose with the Isabelle photo op:

When the Isabelle area in the store became too crowded for me, I wandered elsewhere. I met Marie-Grace's sweet dog, Argos. He wanted to come home with me!

Finally, it was time to meet up with the real reason I came to the store: Inky! Inky and I have been trying and trying to meet up again since my visit to NYC, but our plans always fell through. I was SO EXCITED that I was able to meet up with her today. We decided to have a late lunch in the café. We had a lot to catch up on! She'd just gotten back from a trip to London, so - of course - I had to ask all about that.

After lunch, we decided to explore Isabelle's design studio together. Inky wanted to check it out for her friend Coral who also dances. When our guardians were out of earshot, we started whispering ways to sneak me back to NYC. Unfortunately, my guardian caught me before I was able to get into Inky's car, but hey, it was worth a shot!

It was SO good to be able to reconnect with Inky, even for such a short time. I wish I could see her more often!

Do you have friends who live faraway? How often do you get to see them?

Ton amie,
Sophie 

{Video} American Girl Natick Visit

Salut mes amis,

I made a video using photos that I took of my visit to the American Girl store in Natick (Boston area) this past August. If you'd like to see the video, here it is :



 ~Sophie

Day 3: American Girl Natick!

Salut mes amis, 

On August 8th, I got to visit American Girl Natick (the Boston area Boutique & Bistro) again! While I'd been before, I was super excited to be able to meet up with some dear friends from YouTube. We were going to have lunch together! (I'm also told that there was shopping involved, but that's another story!). 

Once we made it into the store, I zoomed (no pun intended!) over to try out Julie's new Volkswagen Beetle! Since Julie was already seated in the passenger seat, I found a seat in the rear, put my hands up, and squealed with delight. Julie said that her mom would be out in any minute to give us a spin in the car, but it took her long enough! I bet Ivy could've driven us . . . 

Once my friends arrived, we headed up to the second floor to get seated for lunch. While our table was being prepped for us, I took a photo with the McKenna photo-op that was available:

Soon I was seated at the table in my very own cushy pink chair! The waitress took our orders and left us to it. 

 These are my friends! Maya is on the far left, while Katherine is seated next to me. We got to know each other better by playing the conversation starters ("Table Talkers") while we waited for our food to arrive.

 Maya:

Katherine:

 As my starter, I ordered this leafy green salad:

Then I ordered this dish of gluten-free pasta, complete with broccoli and chicken. Yum!

Finally, as a birthday surprise (since my 14th birthday was the next day, on August 9th!), Maya and Katherine surprised me with ice cream for dessert! They'd told the waitresses to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me, and boy, was that embarrassing to be the center of attention throughout the whole of the restaurant (but in a good way)! Still, it was a sweet thing for them to do, and I'm very grateful that I got the chance to spend time with them! 

After lunch, the grown-ups did some shopping, but I wasn't allowed to see what they bought. I think some of what they bought were birthday presents for me, hehe! However, Maya and Katherine brought a new friend named Phoebe home, and I got to meet her briefly, too.

That was quite the day! I loved meeting up with friends at an American Girl store! Celebrating my birthday there was extra fun, too.

Have any of you ever celebrated a birthday at an American Girl store? What was it like?

~Sophie

Window shopping in American Girl VA

Salut, mes amis! 

On Thursday, I got to go to the American Girl store in Northern Virginia! Before you ask, I didn't go with the intention of buying anything. That would've been nice, but we don't really have the money to spend right now. Still, since I hadn't seen the store for myself, I really wanted to go. I'm always up for meeting the AGs who live in the store, as well as seeing new AG products in person.

Here are some of the photos I took in the store. I apologize in advance if they aren't the greatest quality; anyone who has ever taken photos in an American Girl store knows that they don't exactly have the best photographic lighting.

First, I wanted to meet the Girl of the Year for 2012. As everyone undoubtedly knows, her name is McKenna Brooks, and she's a gymnast from Washington State. She's also the second GotY to have a movie released about her life (McKenna Shoots for the Stars; click HERE to watch the trailer). 

McKenna and I seemed to hit it off nicely. I don't know if a girl like her will enroll at Fair Hollow, though it'd be nice if she did. She could teach me a bit about gymnastics! I'd borrow her clothes for sure. I loved seeing her fancy outfit in person (see below). She's also got the most gorgeous hair color that I've ever seen. No one who goes to school here has caramel-colored hair like hers. 

After I'd said my goodbyes to McKenna, I wandered over to Rebecca Rubin's parlor for a bit. While I relaxed on her comfortable settee, Rebecca kindly served me some tea, freshly brewed from her samovar. We chatted lightly about the movies we've starred in (she called them "moving pictures") while I finished my tea. 

I came across a girl that resembled Juliette and me! She had the same dark eyes, feathery eyebrows, and dark hair. Her facial expression was completely different from either of ours, however! (Note: She is not taller than me. She was wearing ice skates and was on a stand.) Needless to say, I didn't stay around  to chat with her. I think we were both a little taken aback by the other's presence!

Next, I exchanged pleasantries with Marie-Grace Gardner, a shy girl from New Orleans. I oohed and aahed over her lovely lace parasol, curly brown tendrils, and pale pink dress.

I was a little freaked out, however, when I came across Marie-Grace's best friend, Cécile Rey. Despite wearing a bright yellow dress, she was the clone of the American Girl doll I'd just received. It was like my doll had come to life! Imagine that! 

  

I spent some time in Kit Kittredge's attic bedroom. While she interviewed me for her latest edition of the Hard Times News, I drooled over her lovely roll-top desk. It reminded me of one I'd been fortunate to have in my dorm room last year, which I'd had to give up. Maybe I'll get my own someday! 

I took this photo for Juliette. She's always wondered what she'd look like if she had green eyes, and this girl looked just like Juliette would if she'd been given green eyes. She's pretty! Maybe she's our long-lost cousin or something? 

After all of that walking around, I was getting more than a little hungry! When I thought no one was looking, I snatched a cookie off the bakery table. Hopefully no one noticed the strawberry jam residue that the cookie left on the corners of my mouth . . .

I made sure to check out the T-shirt boutique, where you can pick out an iron-on design for your very own T-shirt. I still haven't done this yet! I really like the looks of the 'Music' and the 'Stand Tall' iron-ons. 

Here are some examples of the shirts that you can make. My only regret is that they have a limited selection of T-shirt colors to choose from. Pastels aren't my favorite colors!

I thought this girl was gorgeous! She reminded me of my friend Marina who lives in Star Valley. I loved the way she pulled her hair up into a curly ponytail.

Here is another girl whom I thought was gorgeous! The dark pink color of the Pretty Party outfit really suits her complexion.

Isn't Chocolate Chip adorable here? Seeing him in person almost made me want a dog of my very own! However, I think the name "Brownie" suits him more than his original name. 

This beautiful girl made even the Bath Wrap set look tempting. I love her dark blue eyes.

Before the long drive back to school, I made sure to pay a visit to the ladies' room. I had to take the obligatory photo in the bathroom stall, but of course! How humiliating!

Have any of you ever visited an American Girl Place or Boutique and Bistro? If you haven't, I hope you are able to do so someday.  They are really wonderful places to visit, even if you are just window shopping like me.

~Sophie