Hello and welcome to my humble little doll journal. :3

I can't really remember how or when I got involved in dolls again...as a kid, I always loved playing with Barbies and creating stories for them (and then acting out those stories X3). I suppose it was around late 2004, early 2005 when I was first introduced to Pullips and ball-joint dolls, and I bought my very first Pullip from the Closet Child store in Takashitadori when I went to Japan in September 2006. She is a Greggia who I bought second-hand for roughly $45.

My family isn't very big - there's Greggia and her friend Shade (a Taeyang of the same name), and joining them is my very first BJD, an Abio Angel Ling named Antonio Rose, and his big sister, Violet (she's an Angel of Dream Sara) - but I'm certainly going to be expanding the members over the course of time. ^^ I'm currently looking at a SoulDoll Bling Doll, Winy, for my first MSD. :3

That being said, you will find in this journal pictures and stories concerning Greggia, Shade, and Antonio. Have fun and enjoy my little corner of the doll world!

♥Jyoshiki

Violet's Secret Santa this year was DoA member Gothic_hydran126; the box arrived some time early on in December, and it's been taunting us for weeks. Finally (and because I have next-to-no time to do it otherwise, thanks to my stupid retail job ¬¬), we broke down and opened the box Sunday night.

The Sister's kids, Alice, Sho, and Alexis, as well as Violet's brother Antonio, all decided to join us and see just what all the hullabaloo was all about. Also, sorry about the kind-of grainy quality; my camera just does not like to take pictures with artificial lighting in them. ><;

26 images!

~.Starring.~
Jyoshiki
Antonio
Violet
Alice
Sho
Alexis

( Merry Christmas, Violet!! )

Eeeeep!! Well, a few days ago, the package from Violet's SS arrived...it's freaking HUGE. o______o; We know who the person who sent it is, but because the box is so huge, Violet's really been itching to get it open...


Ohohoho...what have we here? ♥ This thing is practically begging for me to open it...
Well, tough cookies; we're not allowed to open it until the week of Christmas.


WHAAAT?! Are you f***ing serious?! You expect me to wait that long?!
You don't really have a choice in the matter, Vi; just tough it out, okay? It's only a few more weeks...

Even though I told her that, I still really wanna know, too... ¬w¬;

Also, I've been checking up on the Secret Santa thread over at DoA every day, and it seems that my recipient is happy with her tide-me-overs~ This makes for a very happy Jyoshiki; I can't wait to see her reaction come Christmastime. ♥

Oof! So, after much shopping and waiting, I finally got everything that I needed to get together for my Secret Santa recipient. =D I shipped out the package yesterday with 2-day shipping, and according to the website, it left Swedesboro, so hopefully it'll reach its destination by tomorrow or Monday! What's great about track and confirm is that I get to see where the package is headed, too, so I'll know when it gets there. |3

I really hope my recipient likes what I got...I think they will, though. I did some good shopping, I think. |3 Man, now I can't wait for Christmas...I wanna see their reaction! X3 But I did stick some little tide-me-overs in the box for them, too, so they'll at least get to enjoy those!

My Secret Santa also sent her package out the other day, so I should be getting that one soon, too. But I won't be able to touch it until the week of Christmas! ;A; It's gonna be hard to resist temptation. X3;

Well, I'm now about 75% done with my recipient's gift! I bought most of the stuff for them, but I'm also adding a few personal touches into the mix as well. ;3 Everything that I had wanted to buy was bought earlier this evening, though, so now I only have a small amount left! Then I can send it out~ I am so excited!! I think my giftee is going to be very pleased with what I bought for them...I hope so, anyway! >w<;

Tomorrow-- *looks at clock* ...er...later today! XD; Later today, I'm going to head over to work and buy some gift bags and a card, maybe some other little small items. One person said that she was going to include a "tide-me-over" package that their recipient could open immediately in addition to the main Secret Santa gift (remember, we're not allowed to open our packages until the week of Christmas X3; ), so I think I might do the same.

You know, I still never heard back from my Secret Valentine's recipient. =/ I hope she got what I sent her...I have a feeling, though, that the reason she never contacted me in any way might have been because she herself never gave anything to her recipient; she essentially "ran away" from DoA out of shame or embarrassment or whatever, I suppose.

HOKAY, time for bed now, I think. I'm starting to nod off now. XD;

Eeeee!! The Secret Santa over at Den of Angels has finally started! I'm so excited!

I know who I'm giving to, but I can't say who just in case this person wanders on over here! ;) I've been doing shopping for them all day~ I'm really excited about what I picked out, too; I just hope my giftee likes it! oAo;

Can't place the order now, unfortunately, so I'll have to wait until Thursday night/Friday morning. Hrm, maybe I'll do it after work tomorrow; I get home around 11:15 or so (if we don't stay late, of course), so that should be plenty of time.

It sucks a little, though, because my sister wasn't allowed to join in. The rules state that it can only be one doll per household, so we both picked a number from 1 to 10, then had my dad do the same; he picked 10, and I picked 9, so I won. X3 I chose Violet to be the Secret Santa recipient, since her brother already had gifts given to him during Valentine's Day. =P I can't wait to see who got her! We're not allowed to open the packages until the week of Christmas, though; argh, waiting is going to be so tough! XDD

Also, my friend cluequeen is getting his very first BJD ever quite soon! =D With any luck, his boy should arrive today!

Well, it was Antonio and Violet's first Halloween ever! Of course, they wanted to get in on the occasion. Plus, I work at Target now, so I got 10% discounts on their costumes. XD

Photostory behind the cut!

( Happy Halloween! )

Happy Halloween, everyone! X3

It's been a few weeks since my last update, but as always, nothing big to really report on the doll front.

Mimiwoo has a pair of 14mms that are the same as the other two pairs I bought from her, thankfully. 18mms were too big, and even the 16mms didn't make much of a difference, so I'm going to try the 14mms and hope they work out. I think when I buy the eyes, I might buy Toni those shoes I've been keeping my eye on for ages. XD We'll have to see once bills and such are all said and done.

Also, The Sis and I decided that Violet and Antonio need to cosplay as Yuuko and Watanuki from xxxHOLIC one day. XDDDD She'd make a fantastic Yuuko, and he'd make an adorable Watanuki.

I also hope to buy that MSD I've been keeping my eye on. Apparently, when you buy a full set from SoulDoll, shipping is free. =D I'm not sure what her name is yet, but I'm getting the distinct feeling that while she's not shy, she doesn't speak very often for whatever reason. I'm thinking about this wig for her, and although it's a little bit pricier because it's Volks, I do rather like it. Not sure what color eyes she'll have, but I'm leaning toward blue. I need to go on a hunt for names now. XD;

Christmas is coming, and I need to start thinking about what to get Toni and Vi. I want to get them something nice, like an outfit or something. Shall have to think on this one. *nods*

So I was fortunate enough to get to go to Otakon this year (my mother's birthday present to me ^^; ), and of course, Violet and Sho tagged along for the ride! =D Most of my pictures are from the JAM Project concert (WE HAD FRONT ROW SEATS, BABY), but here are the ones I took of the kids and the meet-up we attended.

( Oh, Otakon, we heart thee~ )

I think I'm going to have to get a pair of 14 mm eyes for Violet...even the 16 mm ones still seem a little too big for her. =/ I hope Mimiwoo has a pair in the same color.

For those unaware, there is a new (at least to me) BJD seller named Pupa Paradise; they don't have a lot of selection right now, but their clothes are incredibly cheap and well-made. My sister bought a pair of jeans for Sho from them not too long ago for only $10 (total order, including shipping - about $14 or so), and they're really nice. I was going to buy a pair for Toni today, but they're all sold out. D:

However, I went on a very limited shopping spree just now; I bought Toni a new pair of underwear, seeing as the ones he currently wears are...not that great. XD; Plus they're a little dyed from his jeans. I'll have to remember to wash these before he wears them, seeing as they're black.

As it turns out, AoD girls use 16mm eyes, but the ones I bought from Mimiwoo are actually 18mm, so they're a bit too big for Violet. Thankfully, however, Mimiwoo has the exact same pair in 16mm.

I'm actually not too fond of the pants I bought for Violet. They don't really look right on her, and they're a little on the short side. However, the silver shirt doesn't look right with the camo skirt, so I bought this black skirt from Pupa. My total order cost only $9.36 (they charge for PayPal fees as well, but I don't mind paying the extra $.36); way cheaper than most doll clothes out there, that's for sure.

Once I get back on my feet financially (or someone gives me an eBay giftcard for my birthday XD), I'll most likely be buying the following things for the kids:

Violet, as it turns out, did in fact come with panties and a bra-thing (it's kind of like a tube top?), but the panties like to ride right up her butt for some reason. In order to avoid any more wedgies, I'm probably going to buy her these panties. These are shorter length-wise than the pink ones Vi came with, so hopefully there won't be as much riding. Then again, I honestly don't think Vi minds going commando. o_O

I absolutely adore this kimono for Violet. The pattern just kind of jumps at me as "her". And for her brother, this one would look fantastic on him. It's just his style.

These black pants are pretty good for Vi as well, but what I really want for her is a nice pair of jeans. The ones Mimiwoo has aren't that great, sadly.

However, I want this dress like life. It is so unbelievably cute, and I think Violet would have no qualms about wearing it, either.

It's too bad that this shirt is kind of expensive, because I really want it for Toni. I've only ever seen him in darker colors and red, so I'm interested to see what blue would look like on him.

Here's that winter coat in white that's kind of like the one I want from Dollmore, only much cheaper. I'd rather have it black, to be honest, but white would be okay, too, I suppose. But again, I won't have to worry about a winter coat for a while.

I'm totally convinced that this shirt was made for Toni. XDDD It's so him. And it would go great with these khaki pants.

As wonderful as Sunny's Wonderful World is, and as much as I really like these cropped jeans for Vi, they're slightly on the expensive side; I could probably find the same thing for cheaper someplace else. My sister wants them in a bigger size for herself to wear. XD

I do hope that Mimiwoo relists these pants at some point, because I really do like them for Antonio.

And that's about it for now!

What a surprise! Violet actually came home this afternoon! I wasn't expecting her until Tuesday or Wednesday, so I was very happy that she got herself home today. As a random side note, Happy House didn't send me any free stuff, but Violet came with a pair of gorgeous purple glass eyes (ironically XD) and a ridiculous amount of eye putty attached to them. XD;;; They also included a birth certificate for her as well, which I thought was pretty cool~

Semi-image-heavy - 20 images, most of which are of questionable quality. XD;

( The yakuza princess has arrived! )

~.OMAKE.~

Snickers the cat just couldn't stop her curiosity, nor her love for packing tape and boxes.


OM NOM NOM NOM!!

...well.

Violet came home today!!!! *dances*

I didn't think she would come because the rest of the mail arrived before she did. I thought they'd deliver her with the rest of the mail, but I guess not. Either way, she's finally home, she's absolutely gorgeous, and she's exactly how I'd picture her looking~ I'll post photos very shortly, I just need to finish going through them all.

So, when they initially shipped out Violet, Happy House didn't give me an EMS number, saying that a local service was used and a number couldn't be obtained; this morning when I checked my e-mail, I found that an EMS number had been sent to me. XD; This makes me feel loads better, especially since when I checked it, I saw that Violet has arrived in the States at 12:06 AM today! She's apparently stuck in customs at the JFK Airport in Florida, so I will hopefully be receiving her tomorrow or Wednesday (today would be awesome, too, but I seriously doubt that will happen XD).

Yaaaaay, she's almost here!!!

Okay, so Dollmore is officially dangerous.

I updated my Wish List with tons of crap (mostly for Violet, lol), which I will buy one day when I have a real job and can afford all these things (HA!):

~*For Antonio*~
This jacket screams Antonio so much, it's not even funny. Thankfully, the cooler months aren't for a while, so I won't have to worry about jackets and the like till much later.

And of course, this would be his winter coat. Hoshit, he would look so awesome in it~ ♥ I love coats like these.

So I've learned that not only is Toni extremely narcissistic, he also looks damn sexy in dress clothes. Ahmigod, this suit would look so hot on him. ;A;


~*For Violet*~
Violet would enjoy this little punkish number quite a bit, I think. She already has the boots for it, at any rate. XD

They say this shirt is originally for boys, but they now have an SD girl option as well; Antonio wouldn't be caught dead in that shirt, I imagine, but Vi would like it. Nice and roomy.

This kind of outfit would be perfect for cosplaying at cons, although I could see her wanting to wear that top more often as well. ^^;

Violet is a woman of many colors. That is, she'll wear whatever colors she wants to; as far as I know, she doesn't really have a favorite or least favorite. That's why she wouldn't mind wearing this shirt or other shirts like it. Personally, I love that shirt.

These jeans are love. Vi needs a pair of jeans eventually anyway; as of now, all she has bottoms-wise are that camo skirt and the smooth black puffy pants. I'd like to get her a nice pair of jeans at one point, too.

I really love this shirt; it's so cute. It would look good with a black skirt or a pair of jeans. Heck, it might even go with the puffy pants.

These pants are also love. I really do like stripes a whole lot. XD;

An incredibly cute and well-priced summer dress. This kind of thing is good for photo shoots.

I'm not too sure about this shirt, but I suppose it would look all right on her.

This jacket may look like the one I chose for Toni, but I find it to be more feminine than his. It would be perfect for Violet for the fall.

And finally, even more fall goodness. I'm not too sure how that particular color would do with her hair color, though; they have a lime green one and a tan one, too. Might have to go with the tan one, even though neutral fall colors like that are more her brother's style.

God damn you, Dollmore! God damn you and your awesome clothes!! *shakes fist again*

Wow. HappyHouse must be omniscient or something, because I just got the following e-mail in my inbox about a half-hour ago:

The order has been shipped!

Dear customer：
Thanks for ordered products, your order has been shipped!；
Order NO.：20080606110001

You might receive them in 7~15 days.
Total: 1 Item(s)

1. Sara *1 Normal skin,America,Canada,Europ x1,make-up x1

HappyHouse

I love the "you might receive them" bit. =P I'm pretty sure they meant to say "you will receive them in 7~15 days", but yanno.

Ooooooh, YAY!! I am just so excited!! =D And so is Antonio - he's been in a funk for the past couple of days, but as soon as he learned his sister was on her way, he did a complete 180.

Speaking of, I think I need to put some Mr. Superclear on Antonio's face. I noticed that he's been looking shiny/greasy as of late. The Sis thinks it might be that the Superclear rubbed off; she has some, so I might hit her up for it. XD

Think I'll give him a bath, too. Maybe I'll wash his wig while I'm at it.

Yeah. I DON'T recommend ordering dolls from HappyHouse if you're eager to get a doll in a relatively short amount of time.

I was curious to see how long it would take the doll to get to my house after she shipped, so I asked HappyHouse. Their response?

"It will take 2 to 3 weeks for the doll to ship, and then it will take 7 to 14 days for the doll to get to your house."

What. The. FRECK. ><

Seriously! And I thought Abio Angel was bad! The 2 to 3 weeks initial shipping I can understand - they probably need time to do the face up properly and such. Maybe they even send it out to be done someplace else. But the 7 to 14 days is what I have a problem with. They must seriously be sending her by air mail (and let me tell you, it sure as shit better be registered air mail; I don't want to take any chances) rather than EMS, because shit, that's an uber-long wait time. EMS is usually very fast and things usually arrive within a few days after they ship, but it's air mail that takes forever. So I might not even get Violet until after my birthday. >A< If she really does ship on the 26th, that means it'll take at least a whole extra week to two weeks before she even shows up. That means I'll have been waiting for 5 weeks for this doll; I don't think I even had to wait that long for Antonio, dammit.

So, let's see:

It was already June 6th over in Taiwan when I ordered Violet, so...three weeks from that is June 27th; that's the absolute latest they have to ship her out. If she ships on the 27th, she might not get here until July 11th; however, if I'm lucky, she'll arrive on the 4th, exactly one day before my birthday (it would be kind of cool if she arrived on my birthday, too X3).

UGH. SO annoying. I really wish they'd just send her EMS.

Well, I picked up the last of Vi's clothes (her boots) this afternoon from the post office; they actually arrived Monday, but The Sis and I were spending the day up at NYC, so we missed the postman. ^^; I didn't get a chance to go until today; usually they redeliver missed packages, but for whatever reason, they didn't this time, so I had to go and physically pick it up.

But man, the boots are even more kick-ass awesome in person than they are online; they are absolutely perfect for Vi. ♥ I just cannot wait until she gets here so I can put her all together; the boots are going to look fabulous with her socks, skirt and t-shirt~

I wonder what color eyes she's going to come with? I wonder if Happyhouse will send me any free gifts, too? As of today, it's been exactly six days since I placed the order for her; I hope they ship her out soon. D= I asked them if they'd send me an e-mail once she shipped, and they said that I would. Waaaah, waiting is the absolute worst!! D= I want to see her so badly!! Seriously, it's January all over again. But at least this time I won't have to worry about not being home when she gets here, since I'm pretty sure I will be. XP

Also, Toni's skin is looking a little greasy as of late, probably due to the heat we've been experiencing...my room gets pretty hot, even with the AC on. I think it's time to give him another bath soon. =/ His hair's getting a little funky, too; think I'm gonna buy some wig spray or something once I get a steady income again. I'm pretty sure mimiwoo has some up for sale.

Just finished ordering Violet!! =D

Man...Happyhouse gets you for the damn PayPal fees, so I actually wound up paying roughly $380 (because I used the in-store credit that they give you when you first sign up; I got a $6 discount). ¬¬ That's pretty annoying, though I can kind of understand why they do it, since PayPal charges processing fees. Still, they should let you know that before you get to the order screen.

Speaking of...holy shit, that was the most confusing screen I've ever seen. o_O I had no idea what the "Shipping Time" box was for...you could change the date and time, so I did - it was set to 6/26, 12:00 AM, so I changed it to 6/6 3:30 PM. XD; I hope that doesn't affect my order in a bad way or anything...I'm sure they'll e-mail me if there's a problem, though.

Yay, Violet is on her way soon (I hope, lol)!!!

Violet's wig came today, and man, is it gorgeous. Seriously, it's perfect - perfect color, perfect length, it looks great with the eyes I bought for her, everything...and it's just as good quality as Antonio's. It's a little curled from shipping (it came in a Ziplock bag XD), so I'm gonna leave it out flat for a few days. Hopefully that'll straighten it out.

Oh, man, she's gonna look so fabulous once she finally gets here. *w*

Tomorrow is the moment of truth - I get to see just how much my paycheck is going to be, and then I'm gonna place the order for Violet! I am so damn excited it's not even funny.

Man, it's certainly true, what they say: the more you want something, the harder it is to wait, and the longer the wait seems. But at least she'll have everything ready for her once she finally arrives. The boots, which are the last things I'm waiting on, should be getting here by the end of the week.

The bulk of Vi's clothes (plus Toni's shirt X3) arrived today, safe and sound. =D Everything looks great~ I love the pants - they're so silky! They're a little short on Antonio, but that's okay, because I think the AoD girls are slightly shorter than the AA boys; they'll probably fit Violet perfectly. The silver shirt looks great with the pants, too, plus it's stretchy - good thing, too, because the AoD girls have slightly large busts. Nothing too extreme, though.

Awwww, man! Now the only things I'm waiting on are the boots and the wig.

Well, I'm gonna go put Antonio's new shirt on him now. X3