roserouge lane

Got back on Sunday, then promptly got sick the next day. The chills and aches are gone but still recovering from a sore throat. I guess I won’t be attending the local BJD meet this weekend after all. Ah well. My boy’s still in pieces and I need to do more sanding…

Anyway, it was a wonderful trip overall. I LOVED San Fran; the amazing architecture, the scenery, the food. Though I would not ever want to drive there! Parking spots were scarce, and going up and down the steep hills had my heart thumping each time. I had a blast at Disneyland, which I hadn’t expected to. It’s not just for kids, but adults too. I haven’t laughed/screamed so much in ages and I daresay my mom and the “seniors” had more fun than us young ‘uns! Rides were awesome..if it weren’t for the loooong line ups, I’d have gone back to the Pirates of the Carribean a second time. That was my fave, plus the fireworks too, which were the most breathtaking I’ve seen in my life. The $53 admission fee may make a budget-minded traveler squirm, but the 14 hours of fun was totally worth it in the end.

Ah, I miss sunny Cali!! Once we returned north into Oregon, the weather abruptly became cold, wet and windy. Not much different from home. A few pics (taken with Canon Powershot A85):

Oregon coast:

San Francisco:

1) A steep street (near Coit Tower)
2) Dismembered hands and eyes (antique shop)
3) Sea lions at Pier 39. Noisy sunbathers they were.
4) Warden’s house (Alcatraz Island)
5) Statue (Palace of Fine Arts)

San Jose:
Door to Nowhere (Winchester Mystery House)

Vegas entry coming later. Time to hit the sack~~

Doll-wise, that is. Hehe, i’s easier than I thought, but mostly due to the fact that there aren’t any tempting purchases at this time. Also, am staying away from forums like DoA so I won’t wander in the marketplace and go…oops!

As for projects, I’m working on the last of my commissions. Finished rooting a head..it’s one of those ultra-hard vinyl Volks heads..talk about masochism on the hands. *lol* Just have one more head to paint and some outfits to finish. Hopefully it will all be done before my road trip to the U.S. next week. ^^;;

We will be hitting Portland, San Francisco, Disneyland, Las Vegas and L.A. if time allows. Half of these places will be spent visiting relatives…yay for family reunions. ;D Right now we’re not sure whether to take the I5 down or the coastal highway. Heard the coast is supposed to be really pretty. Ooooh, I’ve never been any further south than Seattle..am really excited! Gotta brush up on my knowledge of imperial measurements though..and converting fahrenheit to celcius..yadayada. ;P Hope there is more to see in Vegas than just casinos. Am not a gambling person but if anyone has good tips to offer…;D *cha-chiiiiing*

Above are some of the dolly stuff purchased during the trip. Hurrah for tourist-y gift shops! Pretty much all of these finds are for my BJD. When it came to accessories, it was much easier shopping for them than for 1/6th!

This is Dollheart’s shop window in Hong Kong that I visited last Tuesday. We arrived at around 1pm and found Causeway Place to be conveniently across from the Causeway Bay MTR station (Exit E). Locating shop #269 proved to be a little more tricky as this building is not designed like a typical mall. We wandered the sinuous passages for several minutes, surely feeling as if this was a maze of some kind before stumbling upon another shop of interest: #231. According to the info I garnered off the net, this is supposed to be Basic Creation, or the Custom House Ai showroom (there was no signage). Alas, like the majority of the mall’s businesses, this one was closed and devoid of light. In the window was a BJD that I couldn’t identify and some smaller scaled furniture on display, plus a Re-ment(?) food set or two. There was a sign posted in Chinese inside the glass door. From what I could understand, there was a (lunar) new year sale and something about 30% off Azone stuff. Maaaaaaan, how disappointing to have missed that!

Seeing that they weren’t likely to open any time soon, we continued on with the search. After a few twists and turns, we found Dollheart’s store (just across from the food court. Next time, follow the smell of food. ). The shop wasn’t open but at least the lights were on, suggesting that the attendant probably was out for lunch. Seeing a photo op, I managed to snap a quick but crummy pic when the attendant came briskly walking back and said something about not allowing photos. Ah well. I put the camera away and followed her into the shop. It was meticuously decorated with gorgeous details (e.g. roses and ribbons) and warmly lit, though welcoming, I felt as if I had entered a sacred place. No was else was there aside from me, my aunt and the attendant…it was so quiet. I didn’t have much time to absorb all the details and to get over the feeling of awe… And there, I saw a SD13 for the first time in person. I think she was one of the sisters…Kira or Sara? She was so tall and elegant. There was a SD13-type boy too. The models were beautifully dressed and Dollheart’s outfits were even more exquisite in person..the drape and fit..wow! (If they had them in people-size, I would happily kill for an outfit too.) They also had SD wigs, glass eyes, shoes and a few musical instruments on display. At this point I was getting rather envious of cool things available for the larger BJDs. *sobsob* In addition there was smaller section dedicated to Blythe-size clothing and 1/6th shoes. The latter appeared comparable to Azone’s in quality and price range.

They didn’t have MSD wigs at the shop then. I asked when they’d be released and the lady said to check DH’s website as new products are available online first rather than the shop. But they had some items in stock that were sold out online. There were also some MSD shoes. I didn’t need another pair of boots, so grabbed a pair of girl shoes instead. I know..I don’t have a girl doll…yet. They fit Mr. J anyways…*rubs hands* I was able to spend only 5 minutes in the shop (eh, relatives…)…although I wished I had more time to linger, a brief visit was better than nothing. ^_^;