Many moons ago, when I was a new Blythe owner, I was a bit confused by how Blythe had an amazingly massive head in person when it didn’t seem that big in photographs. The sound of the eye mechanism was also a lot louder than I expected (the soft Kenner ‘pip’ is a lot closer to what I thought Neo Blythes would sound like), and the downcast eyes in dolls that didn’t have a gaze lift reminded me of the beginning of a surly teenager about to roll their eyes.

Sophie: The Early Years

Sophie was my first Blythe and she was also the first Blythe doll that I ever held in my hands, and I really just did not know what I was doing. I mean, she had a giant head, make a loud noise whenever I changed her eyes, and her stock wasn’t exciting to me. I had a lot of expectations wrapped up one little doll because of the many dollars I had spent on her. I’d loved seeing photos of Blythe online for years and then I finally had her and her head was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. But then I looked at her, really looked at her, and realized that she just really needed a different outfit. All the photos that I loved of Blythe was always the photos from owners where they had their dolls in non-stock outfits. That isn’t to say that I don’t love stock clothing, because I do, but sometimes stock clothing from some dolls look better on other dolls. Sophie is probably very glad that she no longer has to wear a beige dress or a giraffe print coat, because neither did very much for her colouring. That’s the great thing about Blythe, the smallest thing can make the greatest change. Now I find as much joy in Blythe herself as I do her amazing wardrobe and shoe closet (and we all know how I love the little shoes).

With my newest addition, Lydia Melbourne (Yellow Marshmallow, the Middie), I’m super pleased that she’s joined my family after getting the chance to see one in person earlier in 2014. The two-toned hair is amazing, and she’s got pretty decent bangs – which is always a plus with stock dolls. I don’t have very many Middies (I have two: Jackie Ramone and Yellow Marshmallow), which means that I also have very limited outfit choices for them, which is a shame because they are very cute. I find that I enjoy Middies quite a bit because of the adorable head tilt that they have the ability to do.

There’s just something about the Blythe (and Middie) that really hits me in the feels when it comes to having a bad day and keeping a pick-me-up, or to just have something happy to think about. And having a doll or two (or five!) around really puts a smile on my face whenever I see them. It’s like they radiate joy and it’s infectious.

What about Blythe makes you happy?

Every year, many people who make New Year Resolutions usually include something about eating healthier, exercising more, save money, or just spending less of it on things that they don’t necessarily need. Contrary to popular belief, Blythe is not a need (I know, I know), it is a want. As many of you may already know, I am a student and currently unemployed. I sadly cannot live off of sunshine and clean air, because if you know anything about British Columbia in the winter months, is that there are many days with zero sunshine.

A personal challenge to myself for the first month of 2015 is to do a No Spend month, and it sounds as fun as it is. My exceptions are: tuition, groceries, gas, regular bills, and other necessary things in life. Necessary things would be like medication, and not doll shoes. (Personally, I think that doll shoes are a necessity in leading a cute life, but somehow I don’t think that would make it a challenge if that was an exception…)

“More dresses for me? Great!” – Kitty Brighton

So in addition to my current goals for the new year, I will also be including a limit on dolly-things-spending until August. To make it fun, I want to limit myself to $15 a month (starting from February) to put towards doll things or crafting materials to make things for my dolls. It’s a high enough budget that I could definitely purchase shoes or a dress, but not so high that I’m adding to my stellar designer dolly frock collection, if you know what I mean. $15 a month is an affordable amount of frivolous spending money, for me. An affordable monthly budget for you  may be different for you, based on your own income and financial responsibilities.

August will be my ‘big’ dolly spending month because, hello BlytheCon! and I will be employed by then *knocks on wood*.

For my set limit when determining my budget, I looked at what I spent on dolls and doll things last year, divided it by 3 and then divided it by 11 months (since January is a no spend month). That way I’ll be spending less this year (overall, hopefully, despite August) on dolls and doll things. Three cheers for keeping things under control!

New year, new obstacles to over come.

What interferes with my Blythe time? School, work, friends, boyfriend, family, studying (more studying), cooking, cleaning, and the very important sleep. That and time for commuting, because that sucks up some time as well! Life outside of my winter break clearly takes up a lot of my doll time. It was a lot nicer and care-free when I didn’t have school or anything to deal with. There was a lot more time for dolls and doing doll things. A lot more time.

What interferes with your Blythe time?

One of the things that I quite like about the beginning of new years is the fact that people are very optimistic. As a person who generally tries to be optimistic about the world and the people in it, seeing people make happy goals and wishes for the new year in terms of life style changes, or activities to better themselves, it’s a happy time in the year.

As January begins, the number of days left in my winter holiday is woefully short. I start back in a new term just next week. Not only is it a new term, it is also my last term (short of disaster occurring, of course). I’m really looking forward to it because it means that it is the beginning of the end, and it’ll soon be what I will cheerfully refer to as the Rest of My Life (a.k.a. Life After Graduation). The world of post-secondary education is one that I am very familiar with since it’s where I’ve spent the last 7.5 years of my life (has it really been that long?). Student life appeals to me because I love learning, but it also appeals to me because I don’t have that many responsibilities. That clearly went out the door once I decided to start a nursing program (hello responsibilities!). The new term, also my last term, will likely also be my busiest. I have 600 clinical hours to complete, papers to write, and the NCLEX to study for.

In the mean time, I completely intend to write posts for BlytheLife, keep up with the going ons of the doll community, and conduct interviews. I may have odd sleeping hours, but luckily I can schedule posts ahead of time, and write in my free time (free time? what’s that?). It may take me a little bit longer to reply to emails, but that usually happens during the term anyways, but I will still be replying to emails and working away on BlytheCon Vancouver preparations, and just being amazingly busy.

Hello, 2015. I’ve been looking forward to you.