Tales of the Traveling Totes, #22 and Giveaway, An American Girl Adventure

Welcome to the Tales of the Traveling Totes, where my fellow travelers and I share our latest adventures, projects, and current events. At the end of my post you will find links to visit our other members and learn about how to register for our giveaway. I'm so glad you've stopped to visit. This episode finds me sharing my very own American Girl adventure with my precious granddaughter, Beatrice Emaline and her mom, K.C. We're here for a belated birthday trip; Beatrice is such a busy little girl, this is the first time that we've had a weekend to run away to Dallas, Texas and the American Girl store. Won't you join us?

So much to see! Beatrice agreed that she would spend her first day at the American Girl store exploring everything before choosing her main birthday gift from yours truly, Mo and Pop. 

After a bit of exploring, the three of us stopped for Beatrice's own American Girl tea. It was so much fun to see Beatrice able to study and read her own menu before choosing the items she wished to order. Her "just like me" American Girl doll, Bea, had her very own booster chair for our tea party. 

Beatrice obviously was pleased with her hot chocolate, pink lemonade and the last of the mini lemon cupcakes. K.C. and I also enjoyed the tea sandwiches and savory offerings. 

After lunch, Bea had an appointment at the hair salon. Beatrice chose dog ears with bright colored bows for her doll's new hair style. The made to fit salon chairs made me smile. Little Bea also had her ears pierced. Our Miss Beatrice Emaline understands that it will be a good  number of years before she is allowed to have her own ears pierced. Whew! Carrie Ann Hall was standing by to give Little Bea a ride after her appointment. Beatrice was so busy examining all the goodies in the store that she needed Carrie Ann to babysit her doll. Oh, Little Bea was the second American Doll that Pop and Mo (that's me) gave her several Christmases ago. Prior to that we gifted her with the American Girl Bitty Baby.  

After a full afternoon of exploring the store...and a few "little" goodies, we returned to our hotel room where Beatrice was able to spend some time with her new toys while she pondered what she would choose for her big gift the next day. Evidently Little Bea broke her leg, so Beatrice had to apply a cast and put her in her new wheel chair. Beatrice turned out to be a very attentive nurse.

Everyone was pooped, and we had no problem climbing into our beds for the night shortly after the sun made its final peek appearance over Dallas before dipping below the horizon.

After a good night's sleep, Beatrice and Little Bea were up and ready for a second day at the American Girl store.

Beatrice was thrilled when her Aunt Jamiann met us at the store. Beatrice quickly became an official guide and gave Aunt Jami a complete tour of the store. 

Jamiann is a middle school vice-principal, so Beatrice made sure that this precious school desk was one stop on the tour. The accessories for the American Girl dolls are totally unbelievable! 

My wonderful daughter K.C., Beatrice Emaline, and I had to say an early goodbye to Aunt Jamiann because she had a weekend faculty meeting at her school; but not before Beatrice decided on her "big gift" for her birthday. She ended up choosing Joss, this year's Doll of the Year. Joss is a surfer and a cheerleader.

 Beatrice and the girls stopped for a pic with Carrie Ann Hall and me before we headed upstairs to the American Girl Bistro for a special birthday lunch.


There was considerable concentration needed for Princess Beatrice to narrow her decisions for her birthday lunch. When I was a little girl, I used to stick out my tongue while I was studying something important, too. I kind of like that a lot.

Beatrice was thrilled with her birthday party! Joss and Little Bea had their own chairs at the table, and they loved that they were given crowns just like Beatrice's. The place settings went home with us, too, a party favor for Beatrice from American Girl. Wow, it's been a wonderful trip for all of us.

As we left the Bistro to make the drive home, we noticed a bevy of American Girl Dolls waiting to be seated. I think that they were getting ready to hold a board of directors meeting. They are obviously very successful business women!  We thanked them for our wonderful time, and we all agreed that there would be many more trips in our future!

Thank you so much for stopping by for a while. I appreciate each and every one of your comments. You make my day each time you touch base. 


The giveaway for this episode is this darling MacKenzie-Childs Flower Market Whisk. To be entered in the drawing visit and leave a comment for our host Jenna @ The Painted Apron. I hope you're the winner! 

Click on each of the links below, and you'll find posts from each of my lovely fellow travelers. Happy traveling!

                      Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths                   

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

 Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women  

This week I'll be joining:
 Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch