Cali Girl So Excellent Earrings - New Friend and New Boyfriend!

     In 2004, the unthinkable happened. After 43 years together, Barbie and Ken broke up! Cali Girl reflected this break up by introducing a new boyfriend for Barbie, Blaine from Australia, along with his sister, Summer. Barbie's friend, Christie, rounded out the dolls in this line. 
    The dolls in this line had the larger heads which Mattel started using on the dolls. Some people didn't like them, but I thought they weren't bad at all. In fact, the Barbie in this line is one of the most beautiful dolls I've seen, in my opinion. 
     The girls all had three ear holes and came with enough earrings for 66 earring combinations! They also came with a device to "pierce" their ears as well as a stool, cotton balls and "cleaning solution" so you can pierce their ears over and over, changing the combinations as you go. 
      The dolls also came with a magazine called "Cali Girlzine: A state of cool." Inside, it gave information about the dolls, such as name, birthday, sign, birthplace, favorite food, hobbies, pet and favorite color. It had puzzles, quizzes, fashion tips and more! It was definitely cute and reminded me of the booklets which came with the Generation Girl dolls.
      Two fashion packs were included in this line as well as a Chevy SSR vehicle which also came with a CD player and a CD! 
       Barbie is said to be wild for pink, loves to laugh and is always looking to try something new. Her birthday is March 9 and her sign is Pisces. She was born in Willows, WI. Her favorite food is fish tacos. Her hobbies are surfing, shopping and walking on the beach. Her pet is a Golden Lab and her favorite color is pink (of course!). She loves parties, road trips and volleyball on the beach. 

     

So Excellent Earrings Barbie 

     Christie is the adventurer and is a total people person. She believes in fate, if only she could discover hers! Her birthday is November 1 and her sign is Scorpio. She was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Her favorite foods are French fries and fruit smoothies. Her hobbies are rock climbing, shopping, skiing and movies. Her pet is tropical fish. Her favorite color is lavender. She loves adventure and is always up for a new challenge.

So Excellent Earrings Christie - she also has a hat matching her scarf, but I seem to have lost it

     Summer is the new girl in town. A bohemian beauty with natural grace, she's as refreshing as her name. Her birthday is August 30 and her sign is Virgo. She was born in Sydney, Australia. Her favorite food is sushi. Her hobbies are art, reading, shopping and surfing. Her pet is a Persian cat. Her favorite color is green. She loves collecting seashells and reading on the beach. 

So Excellent Earrings Summer - the new girl in town

     Blaine is the most amazingly hot new guy in town. The brother of Summer, he has lots of charisma and attitude. His birthday is May 3 and his sign is Taurus. He was born in Sydney, Australia. His favorite food is Mexican. His hobbies are extreme sports, surfing, snowboarding, skydiving. As for his pet, "No time for pets, dude." His favorite color is black. He's a risk taker who loves to rip the waves on his boogie board. 

The liner of the girls' boxes

Blaine's accessories

Blaine - Summer's brother

Blaine's surfing outfit

The So Excellent Earrings Group

     The two fashion packs each consisted of two outfits for the girls and one for Blaine. The back of the packaging showed the dolls wearing the fashions. 

The back of the package showed Barbie wearing the top and skirt. The other two fashions weren't shown on the dolls. 

The second fashion pack. Christie's outfit didn't come with shoes.

The car - yes I got it for $19.99 at Tuesday Morning! The plastic has been opened to get out the CD.

The back of the box showing the entire collection. 

The CD which came with the car,

    I think I like the So Excellent Earring line just a little more than the others. I think the dolls are adorable. I love the "magazine" giving bios on the characters. The fashions are cute. But that's not all in this line! Until next time!

Cali Girl, So-Cal Style!

      After the initial release of the line, Mattel released two individual dolls, Barbie and Teresa, with mix and match clothing and accessories. Just as was the first line, these two dolls were gorgeous! 
      Each girl came with enough clothing pieces to make at least four outfits, two pairs of shoes, woven beach bags and items for water sports. The package states the dolls come with 26+ pieces. Also each doll came with a postcard with a "choose your own" story on the back. Fun!
       Barbie came with a surfboard and red snorkeling gear, which was strange since her main colors were pink and blue. Maybe it reflected back to the original doll since she was in red and yellow. Teresa had a boogie board and light blue snorkeling gear. 
      In my opinion, this Teresa is one of the most beautiful I've seen. I love the way her hair is styled and her face is so cute! 

So Cal Style Barbie - picture is not mine

Barbie

Hanging out on the beach on her woven mat

Cute skirt and top

Add a sweater for those chilly nights

Casual top and jeans

Barbie's accessories

Teresa

Hanging out on the beach on her woven mat

Add a jacket for those chilly evenings

Cute top and pants

Top and denim skirt

Teresa's accessories

The post card which came with Barbie

The post card which came with Teresa

The story on the back

      These dolls have just added to the pleasure of the Cali Girl line. They've expanded the line even more than previously. Next installment, there is a twist! Be on the lookout for it!

Cali Girl, the Beach Line Which Became More

     In 2003, Mattel released a beach line which would become one of my all time favorite lines, Cali Girl Barbie. The line continued for three years until it ended as it began, as a beach line. But what a ride it was! This line produced, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful playline dolls I'd seen. 
      The line started out like any other beach line. The dolls, which consist of Barbie, Teresa, Christie, Lea, Ken and Stephen, are dressed for the beach, though Ken and Stephen are wearing the same outfit. But these beach outfits aren't just bathing suits. Oh no! They come dressed like they are ready for a casual day, then will hit the beach later. They wear shorts, vests, shirts and even bandanas over their hair. These dolls are hip, fresh and funky! The dolls even had wrist tags with their names on them!
       There were even two sets of extra clothes put out for this line as well as a surf shop, a pool and a yellow car! It almost reminded me of the California Dream line from the 80s (more on that in another post). 
       The boxes also had wonderful pictures illustrating the dolls and their adventures, as well as a story about how they spent their day. It almost reminds me of the back of the Generation Girl boxes. 
       

Cali Girl Barbie

Cali Girl Christie

Cali Girl Teresa

     

Cali Girl Lea

Cali Girl Ken

Cali Girl Stephen

     The two sets of fashions each had one for a boy, two outfits for girls and two bathing suits, though I've seen the bathing suits sold separately as mini outfits with the woven mats. The two pictures with the fashion packs are not mine, but the dolls wearing them are mine. 

The Cali Girl group wearing their extra fashions

The girls in their bikinis

The Pool Playset

The Surf Shop - yes, I got this on clearance at Target

     The only thing I don't have is the 4x4 car from this set. I did pick up a used one, but it didn't have the stickers and was missing some pieces. This picture is not mine. 

     Thus ends the first line of Cali Girl. Next up, So-Cal Style!

Amazing Nails Make For Amazing Dolls

     In 2000, Mattel introduced two new friends for Barbie, Lea and Kayla. Usually, they didn't appear in a line together. Lea might be in one line while Kayla would be in another. As far as I'm aware, they only showed up in one line together and that was the Amazing Nails line in 2001 and what a beautiful line this was!
     The set only consisted of four dolls. No extra clothing. No playsets. Just four dolls, but what gorgeous dolls they were! They were so simple, but they were stunning. Joining Barbie, Lea and Kayla was Christie. They each had the belly button body with the ballerina arms. 
      Each doll came with the same outfit and accessories, but in different colors. Surprisingly, Barbie did not wear pink. Kayla wore that color and it looked good on her. They each wore a long dress with cutouts on the sides, most likely to emphasize the belly button waist, a plastic vest, which the fake nails could be placed in, and shoes, which were a new mold. They also came with stampers to put decorations on the nails. That's it. That's all they came with, yet they were so beautiful, it didn't matter. 

Amazing Beautiful Dolls!

     As you can see Barbie is in blue, Christie is in yellow and orange, Lea is in purple and pink and Kayla is in pink and orange. The makeup on these dolls is very simple, which only adds to their beauty. 

Barbie

Christie

Kayla

Lea

     These dolls were definitely made for play and they redress beautifully. For me, these are definitely some of my favorite dolls!

Rain or Shine?

     One of the cutest dolls in my opinion, is the 2000 Rain or Sun line of dolls. I think it's the braids, but the make up looks adorable on them as well! This line consisted of three dolls, Barbie, Teresa and Christie. They came wearing a rain jacket, rain boots, floral print capri pants and tank tops. They also came with a bathing suit bottom, an umbrella, which you could make "rain" with an included squeeze bottle, a backpack which turned into a beach chair that the umbrella could be hooked onto and a "magazine". 
    In the 2000s, Barbie veered away from pink, so she actually was in light blue, while Teresa had purple and blue and Christie wore hot pink and yellow. All three dolls wore braids and they were adorable! They also had the "Belly Button" style of body, which was the smaller bust and larger hips. Their right arms were permanently bent, to hold the umbrella. 
    One of the unfortunate things about late 90s - early 2000s dolls is that their legs start to break down. They get sticky wet beads on them. When I pulled out these dolls to take their pictures, both Barbie and Christie had this. One solution I've come across (although who knows how temporary this is) is to use baby powder on the legs to help control the stickiness. So, I washed away the stickiness and used baby powder on their legs. I've had to do this with other dolls from this era as well. Such a shame.
     Anyways, on to the pictures!

Barbie in her rain gear

Barbie on the beach

Teresa in her rain gear

Teresa on the beach

Christie in her rain gear

Christie on the beach

     As you can see in the picture with Christie, she has baby powder residue on her legs. I'm hoping this will stave off any future leaking, but I have my doubts. I have a feeling this is just a temporary fix and I will either have to find another body for her or just get rid of her altogether. Only time will tell!

A Childhood Dream Realized

     So this post is going to be a little different. It's not about a line of dolls, but about a Barbie playset. Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted the Barbie A Frame Dream House. This doll house was HUGE! It divided into three parts and was just so neat! I never got one though. 
      Fast forward to a couple of years ago. My husband and I were helping out my mother-in-law with some yard work. It was a hot day and we did a lot of work. I noticed she had a Barbie Dream House in her screened in front porch, so my husband asked if we could have it. It was incomplete, pieces were broken and faded, but it was something I could redo. I'd finally have my Dream House! She said yes, so we loaded it up in the car.

You can see how dirty and faded it was as well as the broken roof. 

Another view of the dirt and roof

A final view before it went into the car

       To be honest, I thought it might be the original 1978 Dream House, which was yellow and orange. That is how bad the fading was, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the 1985 version, which is pink. I am now working on restoring it.
       So far, I've had to buy new roof pieces and a couple of floors, due to them being broken. I've also had to buy a couple of the walls and railings, the balcony and the closet. I'm also looking for the windows, doors and planters as well as the coverings for the corners.
       I'm in the process of repainting them. I've got the walls, railings and balcony painted. The floors will actually be a very light pink as I couldn't find the right color to match the original color, but I like the new color. Besides, this will make it my creation. I'll post more updates as they happen!

One of the walls being repainted

The floor prior to being repainted

        

The floors repainted a pale pink