I just bought a Blythe!

I've gotten into the habit, recently, of browsing eBay. Not with the intention to buy, at least not immediately, just as a way to see what's out there. To see if anything will jump out at me. Over the months, a few things have:

Exhibit 1 - Rovam

Pros:

• She's a pirate (girl after my own heart).
• Those Pullip eyes are adorable.
• I love her hair.
• Also, she's a bloody pirate!

Cons:

• I can't seem to find her for sale anywhere anymore. At least, not anywhere that takes PayPal and isn't selling her for way out of my price range.

Exhibit 2 - Greggia

Pros:

• This girl knits!
• She has a pet/toy lamb.
• Those Pullip eyes again.

Cons:

• I really, really don't like her clothes.
• The bright pink lipstick's a bit too much.
• She's kind of pricey - her US $ price is about what I want to pay in Cdn $.

Exhibit 3 - V-Smash



Pros:

• Red hair and freckles.
• I like the versatility of no bangs.
• She's really darn cute.

Cons:

• Come on. Tennis?
• I'd have to do something about those clothes.
• Again, she a little bit on the pricey side.

All three of these girls are great, but for one reason or another none of them have been quite right.

That ended this morning. This morning, I stumbled upon a listing for a little Piccadilly number and everything changed.


This girl is all 'pros'. She's got the hair. The clothes. The saucy attitude. She called to me. A call I couldn't resist. I tried to distract myself by running some errands, but she was in the back of my mind the entire time.

When I got home, I went straight to the computer. Normally I like to give myself at least 24 hours to think these things over, but I knew that it wouldn't make a difference. This was the Blythe I've been waiting for.

It took me no time at all to find a reputable seller offering what I wanted at a price that fit into my imaginary budget. After a quick calculation to make sure I had the funds in my account, I clicked the Buy Now button. (Why bid when you can buy?)

And then I paused. This was it. The moment. With one more button click I would, my browser admonished me, be entering into a legally binding contract. I would be agreeing to spend more on what is essentially a toy, for myself, than I did on any of my family's Christmas presents this year.

It's not like this was an impulse buy. This has been a long time coming... but then, when you're going to spend more than $100 on a doll, it had better be something you're good and sure about, right? I'm definitely good and sure about it. I've been feeding money into my PayPal account, little by little, for the better part of a year-and-a-half. I've been dumping my coins into the old scooter fund jar since getting back from Hong Kong, and I have more than enough money in there now to offset the cost. So there's really no logical reason for me to feel the way I do.

I feel conflicted. On one hand, I'm excited - practically giddy. On the other hand, I feel like I've just been caught doing something wrong. I feel like spending that much money on something so frivolous is breaking some sort of rule. I feel like my mom's going to come over and explain to me, very patiently, why this is not the sort of thing a responsible adult does.

Well, at the risk of sounding like a rebellious child, maybe I don't want to be a responsible adult. Maybe I want to reward myself for finally cleaning out my office. Sorting through my yarn stash. Getting my bookshelves in order. (A task, by the way, which involved getting rid of more than seventy-five of my books, most of them novels. Some of you will understand my pain.) Maybe I need to ignore the voices in my head that insist I feel guilty ever time I do something fun for myself. Because it's too late to back out now. I clicked that second button. The money has been transferred. And sometime in the next couple of weeks, I'll finally have a Blythe of my very own.