Introducing . . . the Carters!

A while back, I showed you all a picture of my Society Hound Barbie who has been renamed Penelope Elizabeth Winthrop Carter. I teased a little of what her story would be about - some mystery, some tragedy. I am still working on the dios for the first story, but I thought I would introduce her family and give you all a little background so as to set up the first episode of her story! Here she is with her children:

From L to R: Eldest son Charles Herbert Carter (25), Penelope Elizabeth Winthrop Carter, Callum Michael Carter (21), Danielle Theresa Carter (23)

Penelope is the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Anne Winthrop and Herbert Michael Winthrop who are a very wealthy and prestigious family in Hanaly Corners. They were the principals of a large conglomerate of companies dealing in commercial real estate, manufacturing and financial services. Their company, Winthrop Enterprises was a major employer in Hanaly Corners. They also have another daughter and son. The Winthrops are pictured below:

Front Row, L to R: Herbert Michael Winthrop, Elizabeth Anne Winthrop
Back Row, L to R: Penelope (48), Roger Herbert Winthrop (40), Annabelle Josephine Winthop Bloom (45)

The Carters were another very wealthy family in Hanaly Corners. They were the principals of a large firm that specialized in Engineering, Architectural Design and Technology. Carter Design & Technology Corporation was also a very large employer in Hanaly Corners.

The Carters have 2 sons and 2 daughters:

Seated L to R: Samuel Elliot Carter II, Helena Boatwright Carter
Standing L to R: Charlotte Mary Carter (40), Samuel Elliot Carter III (53), Phillip Coleman Carter (50), Felicity Georgia Carter (35) (Note: this photo was taken 2 years ago, but I am showing their current ages)

In 1984, Mr. Carter and Mr. Winthrop, who were friends, started talking about a merger that would combine their companies into the single largest employer in Hanaly Corners and set the stage for expansion along both national and international lines. As part of the merger discussions, the two men had decided that having their two eldest children married would seal the deal. They set about "introducing" Penelope and Sam Jr. Throughout their courtship, they were strongly urged by their parents that their marriage would be in the best interest of both families. Two years later, Sam and Penelope "sealed the deal" and were married in an extravagant affair that all of the high society members of Hanaly Corners attended. The companies merged and became Carter-Winthrop Enterprises, Inc.

Penelope and Sam had become very good friends during their courtship. While they knew that their marriage had been arranged by their parents, they made the best of things and knew that they would be expected to produce heirs. Penelope became pregnant within the first year, however, she miscarried the child. What she discovered during this time was that Sam was a very caring and attentive man. He grieved the loss of the child with her and this drew them closer together. He did everything he could to comfort her and to make her feel wanted. Soon, she realized that she really was in love with him and he saw her as his fragile, precious princess and knew that he was hopelessly in love with her. In time, she was again pregnant and during this pregnancy, he watched her closely and they were blessed with their first child. They were so happy and excited that there first born was a son! Charles Herbert Carter. 2 years later, Danielle Theresa Carter was born and 2 years after that, they gave birth to another son, Callum Michael Carter. 10 years ago, both the senior Samuel Carter and Herbert Winthrop retired leaving Samuel Elliot Carter III as the President and CEO of the company as he had been groomed to be. Many of the family members are also executives in the company and both Charles and Danielle hold positions with the company. 

Two year ago, Sam took off on a private jet with his Director of Manufacturing to look at a site in Mexico. There was a terrible storm and the flight never arrived at its destination. It fell off of the radar and to date, there has been no trace found of this ill-fated flight or its passengers.

I hope you are intrigued by this introduction! We will pick up this story with a family meeting to discuss matters of Sam's disappearance! Stay tuned.

A New Year, A New Dryer!

2014 ended with a bang! Well, actually a fire. On New Year's Eve, my oldest daughter was home while my youngest and I were out getting last minute things for our family gathering which was to take place at our house on January 2nd. She had to work on New Year's Day in the morning, so she was washing her uniform. She put it in the dryer (of course) and shortly after it started, she heard a clunking noise. She ran down to the laundry room only to discover that the dryer had caught on fire! She called me frantically (we had just arrived at the store). She told me that flames were coming out of the back! I told her to call the fire department and get the heck out of the house! I then jumping back in my car and we raced home! She was worried that she would lose her uniform for work, so she had pulled out the dryer, and took her clothes out. Since she turned it off, the flame also stopped. She did call the fire department, and of course, they told her the same thing I did - - - get out of the house. By the time we arrived home, she was totally freaked out and crying. The fireman arrived shortly after I did. The flame was out, but they could see that the fire was not caused by lint, but by the bearing in the motor. They assured her that she absolutely did the right thing and that her quick thinking saved our home. The firemen removed the dryer from the house in case it was still smoldering. Since it was a holiday, we did contact the insurance company, but they did not come out until the Tuesday January 6 only to tell use that because of my daughter's quick thinking, there wasn't enough damage to cover my deductible. So all we had to do was get a new dryer! It arrived yesterday. Because of New Year's sales, we were able to get a nicer one than the old one. Here it is:

I love it! It is a new Whirlpool Duet steam dryer. Because we were without a dryer for the last week and a half, we were unable to do laundry, so I have been doing laundry yesterday and today. It is so much nicer than my old unit that I now wish we could have also gotten the companion washer. Oh well, maybe later! 

We had a great holiday with my family. It was nice to see everyone, but I was also glad when everything settled down. With all of the excitement, I did not get much of a chance for any doll related stuff, but I did get some other new dolls after Christmas which I will share in my next post.

I am just happy that the fire was minor, no one was hurt and the firemen were really cute! 

We did have a lovely Christmas. My daughters got me a serger for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised. I hope to work on some new doll clothes very soon. I am looking forward to working on doll related things this year and have started working on rooms for my new story involving my Society Hound Barbie who is now Penelope Elizabeth Winthrop Carter. Her husband disappeared 2 years ago. She had 3 adult children, one brother and one sister. Their family owns a major hi tech company which employs a lot of the people in Hanaly Corners. I am working on sets for the first installment of their story. I hope you will all enjoy it!

I am looking forward to 2015 and all the new dolly related things I have planned. Here is hoping that 2015 brings all of you good health and happiness and more dollies of course!

Dolls, Dolls and More Dolls! (Part 3)

This is part 3 of my buying frenzy! When you document it like this, it does make you realize that you may have gone a little overboard. At least I still paid all my bills! So next in my photo reveal is some new guys. Never can have enough of those, at least that is what my girls have been telling me (my dolly girls, not my daughters!).

OK, yes I know, I already introduced Tenzin. He is here for height comparison (and cuz he is so darn handsome!). Next I ordered a Paul Walker head sculpt from eBay. I also found a COOMODEL taller body on eBay. It is a really nice body. It almost makes him as tall as FR hommes!. I have been wanting the Pop Life Ken for quite a while now, however, I could not justify what people were asking for him on eBay and Amazon. Then I found this guy, nude for under $100. He is new, just undressed. I think I found some nice looking clothes for him and he looks pretty dapper! Last but not least, I also ordered a custom Jay Chou head. I had order 2 of the COOMODEL tall bodies, but they send me one regular body instead. I was going to return it, but they refunded half the price of what I paid for it, so I kept it for Jay. All in all, I think this body suits him.

I also got a few new ladies!

I got 3 J-dolls, the Herve Leger Barbie and 2 Twilight dolls. I have shown you the red headed Barbie Red Carpet doll before, but I got a new outfit for her from a Barbie Style 2-dolls pack from Costco, and I wanted you to see the new threads!

The J-Dolls actually arrived in September, but since I haven't shown them before, I am including them. From L to R: Galeries St. Hubert, Marche Jun Planning and Friedrichstrasse.

Herve Leger Barbie is next. I rebodied her on the Blond Pop-Life Barbie body. I think this doll is just beautiful and I love the clothes she came with. She was on sale, plus I used my December Barbie Collector coupon! She will definitely be in the upper class or model class of Hanaly Corners.

Twilight Bella (pre-vampire), and Victoria.  They came together. I rebodied Bella on a 2013 Barbie Glam Style body and Victoria is on a Dynamite girl pale body.

Pop Life Ken has been teamed up with the redheaded Barbie Red Carpet doll and the Marche Jun Planning J-Doll to make up a family. I am still working on their back story.

Paul Walker has been teamed up with the Costco Summer from the doll package (she is rebodied) and Joshua from "Lovely Little Babies" on eBay to make the Walker family.

Baby Joshua is made by the same lady that made Phoenix in Miranda Z's One Sixth Avenue blog. She does a wonderful job! I don't think he will be my last baby from her.

So far, Jay Chou is unattached, but he is thinking about asking Victoria out.

He then spots this J-doll and thinks she is also a very pretty girl. I guess he kinda likes redheads! Hmm, Jay, you better put a suit on if you are gonna ask her out!

I almost forgot about these 2 gals. Society Hound Barbie (she is rebodied on an Elvis Barbie body) and Dynamite Girls London Calling Dani. These 2 are mother and daughter.

Society Hound Barbie loves her dog! Especially since the disappearance of her husband. I am sure there is an interesting story to tell about that. I will let you know when I come up with a storyline for them!

Jay did a double take when he saw Dani in the room -- "Oh, another lady for me to ask out. I think I am gonna like it here in Hanaly Corners!"

Hope you all enjoyed this! I look forward to your comments. Thanks for stopping by.