The past week has been pretty awesome for me. Valentines Day was last Saturday, and then my birthday was on the 16th. My boyfriend, Jay, knows I've gotten very into MLP. He watches Friendship is Magic with me. (We're actually watching the series together and don't watch ahead of each other. Since I only discovered it in January, and he works, we're still only half way through season 2.) Anyway... We decided to get each other a variety of gifts for Valentines, so of course my gift box had a few pony items in it.
Birthday / Valentines From My Boyfriend:visitors can't see pics , please
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loginTwilight Sparkle may not be my favorite character, but we definitely share a few quirks. Jay got me the Friendship is MAgic Official Guidebook since I collect books on pretty much any subject that interests me. I quite like this one. It has some interesting interviews, lots of good artwork, song lyrics and is well made.
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loginThe next things that I received were the Cutie Mark Crusader Doodle Book and a 96 pack of crayola Crayons. I love coloring and activity books. I like to use them as a way to untangle my thoughts when I am working on plotting or revising my novels. So when I saw this I knew I had to have it, and it's better in every way than I could have expected. I haven't started it yet--I'm trying to decide whether crayon is the medium I want to use--but I can't wait to get going.
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loginThe only pony Jay and I agree on is Fluttershy. She is our favorite overall. (Talking strictly FiM main characters here.) So when I saw this adorable Styling Strands version and put it on my birthday list, I was fairly sure it would be among the things I got. I was right.
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loginAnd then there is Rarity, who is dead last for Jay and nearly tied with Fluttershy for me. I had listed the Rarity Styling Strands but figured he would not get two of them. (They're $22 on Amazon.ca). But when the box with Fluttershy came it was massive and that's because Rarity was in there two. Jay said he "Didn't want Fluttershy to make the journey alone."
I also got some non-pony things from Jay: The Book of Life on BluRay, Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light for DS (I missed it's original release and he found it for me), and a Giant Microbe plush (I'll leave which one to your imaginations.
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Birthday Shopping Trip:Today I got to spend the day shopping in the city (Kingston) and had lunch with my parents. I saved up money (some my own, some birthday funds) and went a little pony-crazy.
There were several stores that I wanted to go to originally: Claire's, Spencer's, Target, Neat Things, Toys R Us, and WalMart. (Plus Penningtons for clothes, but that's not what we're here for. I *did* get a beautiful leather jacket, a nice green and white shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans with neat designs on them there, though.) Moving along...
I decided that the first stop I would make in the mall was Claire's and that turned out to be a good idea:
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loginThis bag actually managed to surprise me twice. I was initally drawn to it because it was glittery and MLP. Then I found out that it was 50% off, securing it's purchase. Because of the rainbow colors, I automatically assumed the bag had Rainbow Dash on it. Imagine my shock when I pulled it out at home and realized that Rarity was on the front!!
That made me even happier that I'd bought it.
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loginClaire's also had three plushies in stock: Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. I decided to get Rarity and Fluttershy since I want to collect various things that have them on it. I got another amazing deal: I only paid $6 for Fluttershy! I don't know why Rarity wasn't on sale, but considering I saved $12 on the bag and $6 on Fluttershy I didn't feel too guilty about splurging on her.
Over at Target, all the MLP stuff was on sale for 20% off since they are pulling outta Canada. This is where the bulk of my spending took place. To put it in perspective: I didn't go anywhere outside the mall. The only other place I bought pony stuff after this was over at Neat Things, and we'll get to that.
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loginFrom what I've been told, if you're going to collect G4 you have to accept that you're going to have a lot of Pinkie Pies. Well, I didn't have one yet and this set came with two ponies so it seemed like a pretty good deal to me. I would far rather have found a brushable Celestia or Luna, but I suppose Princess Gold Lily will do for now.
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loginI'm so glad Jay didn't send these. They were $15 each on Amazon.ca and I got them for $10. i really love the designs on the legs of the Cutie Mark Magic ponies, so when I had a choice between this Fluttershy or the Friendship Charm Wings one. I had a lot of ponies I wanted, so i picked my favorite. (I like her normal wings better, especially with the design work--kinda reminds me of Ringlet.) Plus, the Breezies are cute and I now have a Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy done in this style.
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loginSpeaking of Rainbow Dash, here she is.
I wish they'd had more of the regular CMM ponies. It would have been much kinder on my wallet, even with the 20% off sale on all of this stuff. I'm just starting, so there are a LOT of characters i want or need. Anyway, I think the CMM designs look great on Rainbow Dash, especially since the designers don't really go for full show accuracy with her anyway. (Which is fine, imo: pony lovers like to style hair. I'll get my accuracy fix by getting her Funko Vinyl.)
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loginHoney Rays isn't learning how to shave. I promise!
How the heck did that slip by me when I was taking pictures?! Anyway, I got her this way since this is the way she comes. I'll be able to see if I like the way these wings work if I decide to ppen her package up. (More likey -when-. I buy my ponies to be enjoyed outta the box. That Rarity bag is to hold any little pony accessories, actually.)
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loginI went out today figuring that I would likely find Water Cutie Rarity, and I did. I went out hoping I would find Diamond Mint. (I was actually hoping I'd find a couple: I know people are looking for her.) She was on a different shelf but I somehow spotted her and it was quite a juggling act making sure I did not set her down again.
At first I wasn't going to get Pinkie since I was getting her with Gold Lily. But as I went through all the ponies and chose what I was getting, that one lone Pinkie Pie Water Cutie kept staring at me. I was taking the other two and for whatever reason I could not leave her there by herself.
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loginThis one is not MLP, but I did get her at Target (I paid $14 Canadian!! Wow!) I love Elissabat's colors. She reminds me of my World of Warcraft character for some reason. Monster High has expanded far to much for me to keep up with it, so I don't collect it nearly as aggressively as I first planned to. But I love getting the occasional doll, and I think Elissabat will make a nice addition to my doll shelf.
And now, at least, we come to my Neat Things purchases. Here they are:
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loginThe can of Cherry Fizz Rainbow Dash pop was obscenely expensive at $5 + tax, but it has a story attached to it. I had gone to the back and found the Applejack plush ($10) and decided I would get her since I hadn't found anything else Applejack related and the price seemed fair. When I got to the counter, the cashier had his little brother with him and as it turned out he was into FiM. So I stood there talking to the two of them since the store wasn't busy. The little guy pointed out the drink and was all excited about it. Since the kid was only 7 or 8, I wasn't going to just walk outta there and not get it. $5 to make him feel he "helped" was money well spent.
For anyone curious, the drink reminds me of Mountain Dew Code Red, which I love. (And can't find up here for some reason.) It's too pricey to be a substitute for that, but was fun to buy once.
And now, at last, we get to the elephant (err, Rarity...) in the room.
I saw her when I bought Applejack and my drink, but I'd just spent nearly $100 at Target. I had lunch (Taco Bell) and then decided I would rather buy her than go to TRU since I'd already spent a good chunk of change on MLP stuff today. And she is every bit as massive and amazing as she appears.
They had her and Applejack in this size, but since it's Rarity and Fluttershy I collect, the choice wasn't too difficult.
Anyway, that sums up my totally awesome Valentines and Birthday gifts, and my amazing day of shopping.
What did I "learn"? (I can't resist.
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1. I'm a sucker ponies "pleading looks" from the toy shelf. I absolutely couldn't bring myself to abandon that Pinkie Pie. I'll have to be aware of this in the future.
2. I'm not as crazy about the POP ponies as I thought I would be. I still want their playsets since (if I understand right) they'll work with 3" ponies, but it's brushables I want as my actual "play" ponies.
3. I love plushies. Oh wait, I knew that already.
Thanks so much for checking out my thread. Have a great day!