2022 UFDC Convention in St. Louis, MO - Timeless Treasures: Pre-Convention, part 2

 Monday morning, Kelsey and I once again headed to the Arch.

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

After taking some photos outside, I went inside and toured the Museum at the Gateway Arch. What is neat is that the museum has completely new and different exhibits, than when it was the Museum of Western Expansion (which I visited in 2010 or 2011). Doing some research, I found out that the museum was renovated, starting in 2015 and opened in 2018.

After exploring the museum, I checked out the gift shop (of course) and then had lunch at the Arch Cafe. I was... disappointed. If I was just expecting tourist site fast food, I would have been OK with it, but the online write up about the cafe had me expecting great things. Oh well. At least I got out of the hotel... it would be my last time until the convention ended.

That afternoon I checked into the convention and got my bag and packet and worked the first shift at the UFDC Mini-Office. It was a busy shift. Lots of convention attendees signing up for events, workshops, and seminars. And lots of confused people too. Luckily, the Mini-Office was there to help them.

After an invigorating 3 hours, I met up with my roommate, and we ended up at the bar, again. This time, Kelsey got to hang out with a friend too.

Then it was time for the Pre-Convention At Your Service Ice Cream Social and Fundraiser.

We were able to see and mingle with the other attendees who had already arrived and catch up with those we haven't seen in person in quiet a while. A low-stress way to prep for the next day.

2022 UFDC Convention in St. Louis, MO - Timeless Treasures: Pre-Convention

Last week was the 2022 UFDC Convention in St. Louis, MO - Timeless Treasures! If you have following my blog for a while, you know that I Looooove convention. 

This year my travel doll was Kelsey - a Siblie by Ruby Red Galleria. Here she is sitting on my backpack at the airport as we waited for our flight to St. Louis.

After a few delays, we arrived  and headed to the hotel. I am pleased to say that we had a decent view of the Arch.

Once I dropped my bags in the room, I knew I needed to get some dinner, so I decided to check out the Arch Cafe. When I got to the Arch, I discovered that the cafe was closed for the evening. I was a bit disappointed, but took advantage of the quiet evening to snap some pics.

Kelsey and Thomas Jefferson.

Kelsey in front of the Arch.

The Arch.

Kelsey in front of The Old Courthouse.

Having decided that I had sweltered in the summer heat enough, I headed back to the hotel to eat at the hotel bar - Brewhouse Historical Sports Bar. What makes it historical? I don't know. Maybe it refers to St. Louis's history of brewing?

Being pre-con, I only had a short wait to be seated. Kelsey kept me company, since otherwise I'd be on my own. Right after my dinner was served, more doll friends joined me for the evening. The food was OK, and the portions were large.

The beer was decent and refreshing after a long hot day.

Then back to the room I went to unpack and get a good night's sleep in preparation for the next day.

Daisy Kingdom "Daisy" Doll

 After quite a few years of only having winter shows, the Eastern National Doll Show - Gaithersburg, MD, had a summer show in June.

It was great to see so many doll people in one place, talk to friends, and ooh and aah over the dolls in the dealers' booths. I even bought myself two dolls. The one I am showing in this post is a last minute find that I found while getting ready to leave.

A Daisy Kingdom "Daisy" doll from circa 1991. In the 1990s, I would see the Daisy Kingdom dolls at the fabric store and thought it was so neat that there were fabric panels to make matching child and doll outfits, as well as patterns.

In 1999 or 2000, I bought a Daisy Kingdom "Pansy" doll for my brother's girlfriend's daughter, and made matching Raggedy Ann dresses for them. I wish I had a photo of them wearing the outfits. 

When I gave the "Pansy" doll to the girl, I also gave a boy doll around the same height to her older brother. The story on that doll could be a whole other post. (So I will save that for another day.)

This Daisy doll was marked at an amazing price, and in a Daisy Kingdom outfit, so she practically jumped into my arms.

I decided to pose her for July with two other dolls in blue sailor suits - Little Darling Merry, and My Child. Each has their own style, while being variations on the same theme.

Real Littles Disney Backpack

 This week, blogger The Toy Box Philosopher blogged about a Real Littles Backpack (click on the link to go to that blog). Her blog reminded me that I had never shown the Real Littles Backpack I have on this blog. So here it is. 

Little Darling Merry is going to show off her backpack. It is a Frozen II themed backpack made of blue see-through vinyl.

The straps are a little tight on her shoulders, but otherwise it is a great fit for her.

She has attached the horse bag charm to her bag. I haven't seen Frozen II yet, so I do not know the horse's name.

Included in the backpack was a large amount of stationary.

2 postcards

Already stamped!

An envelope with two pieces of coordinating paper

A teeny, tiny stamp - featuring Olaf

An Olaf highlighter that is the only piece of stationary that is too big for the doll

A journal with lots of blank pages

A sheet of stickers, and a stack of post-it notes.

With all of these fancy supplies, Merry is ready to chronicle her Summer vacation adventures and keep in contact with her friends.

Vintage Wooden Doll Crib

This weekend, I helped friends move from one house to another. As a thank you gifts, I was given a vintage wooden doll crib.

This crib is larger than the doll crib I had as a child in the 1970s, and is all wood - no particle board in sight. The sides do not go up and down and the crib has wheels, so I am thinking this might be from the 50s. It also has a cute applique of rabbits on one end - I will see about getting a pic of it later.

Horsman Thirstee Walker looks on as some of the younger babies try out the new crib.

Vogue Ginny Baby, Ideal Rub-A-Dub Dolly,

Eugene "Not Suzy", and Kay Sam 4476.

I look forward to incorporating this fabulous crib into my doll displays.

Uta Brauser's Belinda

A doll friend gifted me this beautiful doll when she was making space in her home.

She is Belinda by Uta Brauser and marketed through Elite Dolls. (I am unsure of what year she is from, but most likely the 1990s.)

She is an impressive 20 inches tall.

Her delicate features are set off by an exquisitely beaded gown and abundance of rich, brown curls.

She would make an excellent Sofia from the book Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron.

Thank you, Sherry, for such a beautiful addition to my doll collection.

Tall Fashionistas Join the Family

 Since I recently unboxed Man-bun Fashionista Ken, I decided that today I would unbox the last two Fashionistas in the house that are still in their boxes.

Fashionista Tall - Doll 33 - Fab Fringe (2016)

and Fashionista Tall - Doll 80 (2018).

Doll 80 was a must buy for me, since she reminds me of P.J. Soles in Rock n Roll High School.

Can you see the resemblance? Uncanny, isn't it?

While I do appreciate the over-sized sweatshirt dress on her, I probably will eventually dress her as Rif Randall, P.J. Soles's character in the movie.

Fab Fringe is perfect as she is. One of the few female Fashionistas that is dressed decently.

The other Fashionistas decided a group photo was warranted.

Happy World Doll Day, I hope yours is filled with dolls.