I finally have a moment (at 11:40 pm, but a moment nonetheless) to tell you all about my trip to AGPLA! [img]smile.gif[/img] The album is in my signature and features a few pictures of AGPLA and lots of pictures of my three new girls' welcome to our home and dollie family.

I went Tuesday evening, which was one of the few times I could get a dinner reservation at the cafe and get there from work/home on time. I took Kirsten and Josefina and my aunt Jackie. We arrived shortly before dinner (5:30) and browsed around, but I waiting for the shopping spree until after dinner (didn't want to juggle piles of stuff at dinner). The cafe was really cute and I loved the little treat seats- Josefina and Kirsten very much appreciated the ease of eating with us rather than staying in the tote bag. Both my aunt and I chose the Citrus-Thyme Roasted Chicken. They also had a salmon dish and a pasta vegetable dish that looked and sounded delicious- something to try for next time! The entree was really yummy and plenty of food, at least for us. My husband would have wanted an extra helping of chicken. The appetizers were good- I really liked the ranch dressing, but the spinach artichoke dip was a little watery and lacking enough cheese. (Though I almost always feel everything could use more cheese. [img]wink.gif[/img] ) I would have liked more raw veggies and less artichoke dip. The cinnamon buns and dessert was very good- loved the little mousse cups! So cute! Overall, I thought dinner was a good deal at $22- included lemonade, tea, cocoa, etc. Not bad at all. It was really cute- several birthday parties were going on and everyone had dolls. One dad was there alone with his daughter and they were so cute- dad, daughter, and two dolls. He was really into it and supportive too- I caught him later in Kit's section toting around his daughter's two dolls and exclaiming how they HAD to get Grace and the Scooter- "Look how Grace's head pops out of the window!"

While shopping, I noticed lots of cute kids and parents- and a very surprising number of men, both working there and as shoppers. In fact, I noticed quite a few couples after about 8 pm with no kids, just browsing. It must spark curiousity in passers-by.

The shopping experience was excellent overall. The personal shoppers were very enthusiastic from the moment I walked in the door. They were very excited about my white-bodied Kirsten and my first edition Josefina. They called over the manager, who also seemed very interested in the dolls and how different they look from the current versions. I spent a lot of time meeting personal shoppers and discussing my collecting, my 20-year love affair with the dolls, etc. Several shoppers asked if I played with my dolls, which I said yes and explained about adult fans and photo albums and fun things to do with dolls. They were all very supportive and seemed excited for me. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

They remembered Shiela and Jeanette- in fact, they asked me if I knew who they were! [img]tongue.gif[/img] Y'all must have made a big impression! LOL It was so funny to meet strangers who asked me if I knew so-and-so, and I know you all from an online fans board! All a bit surreal...

Shopping was great- the store, as everyone has so far said, is very well laid-out and spacious. I LOVE that each historical has a room- it goes a long way for the ambience of the place. It was something between a museum and a store to me, and I really liked that feel to it. My only complaints are that many PS's, though very nice, are not terribly helpful yet because they don't know much about the product lines and such yet. They also were very interested in the history of the company and the doll lines when we talked because they seemed to have not had a ton of training in this area. They have great attitudes and are very sweet, though, and they'll get better with more time on the job! [img]smile.gif[/img] My only other complaint is that they need carts and to stock more stuff. They had run out of Kit's desk and I had to order it online after all- for an extra $15 in shipping. Guess they underestimated its sales. It's nearly irresistable once you see it in person. But as I said, they need carts for people like me. Luckily, I had my aunt to hang out on a bench and stand watch over my pile of stuff, but I can't really imagine any way to schlep around three dolls and three wire baskets of accessories. [img]redface.gif[/img]

The souvenirs were great- I got many of them, but not the hot pink stuff. I'm just not very into pink. Loved the hoodie best and the accessory set was great! Pictures of that stuff is in the album.

I loved everything I got- it was so nice to pick it out in person. Some things I had thought I wanted were not very impressive in person, and some stuff I never gave much thought to are so cute in person they are now high on my priority list. I determined Kaya's collection is absolutely stunning- the catalogs don't do her or her stuff justice at all. I plan to buy all of it one day after I saw it. Ditto for Kit's collection. Her table and chairs never appealed to me that much but in person- WOW! I love them!

I loved being able to pick out my dolls in person, since there are many variations in hair, face paint, etc. Kaya, for example, was generally kind of blah with the face paint but I found a couple of "rosy" Kaya's and got one of those. My Kaya looks like she was out galloping Steps High- she has high color and I thought it made her extra special and gorgeous. A heads up on Jess- I noticed that many dolls had their hair such that a bit of the wig cap showed in front, which I didn't like. I guess I'm picky. So I was happy to pick out a Jess that didn't have that oddity. It was nice to pick out Coconut and #21 in person too, and to check out all my accessory sets for breakage or anything to avoid returns. I think the sales tax is worth getting to shop at the store and pick things out in person. I don't like a lot of things about So Cal, but it is nice to have AGPLA within a two-hour drive!

Overall- a very, very fun day. I'll definitely be back. Regularly.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures and I'll post reviews of stuff I got tomorrow!

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ April 28, 2006 10:21 AM: Message edited by: horsemom ]</font>