I only discovered the animated Web series Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse last year, but I love it! LITD uses CGI animation and can be seen on YouTube and on Barbie.com. According to Wikipedia, it started on May 11, 2012, and season six premiered on Valentine’s Day of this year. The writing is very clever and self-referential, with Barbie and friends being aware of and making fun of their status as dolls and mixing their own dollhouse props with human objects. One particular running joke that caught traction among the show’s fanbase is the renaming of Barbie’s car muffler as a “schlond poofa” (sounds very Ikea-esque, doesn’t it?) and its tendency to pop up at random. While Barbie is just as perky and sweet as you’d expect, her sisters (tech-obsessed Skipper, athletic Stacie, and animal lover Chelsea) are wonderfully snarky and her friends (perfect boyfriend/absentminded inventor Ken, chatty/mildly ditzy Teresa, outspoken fashion blogger Nikki [she shares my name but not my appearance or personality], quirky time traveler Midge, and hypercompetitive athlete Summer) feel like people I knew in high school. My favorite character is Raquelle, Barbie’s frenemy and a rich, spoiled diva who always tries (and fails) to outdo Barbie and steal Ken. I don’t have a whole lot of LITD merchandise, but I do have last year’s Raquelle doll and Toys ‘R Us exclusive 6-fashion pack. Raquelle plans to take over the blog soon, so see you then!
UPDATE: I wasn’t aware of this when I posted Tuesday, but as of now, McDonald’s is offering eight LITD toys (children’s accessories and mini dolls of Barbie, Teresa, Nikki and Raquelle) and eight new Hot Wheels. If you have any of the four dolls mentioned above and either you or they want their mini counterpart, most McDonald’s locations sell the toys on their own for around $1-3, depending on the area you live in.
UPDATE, 9-13-14: I went to every McDonald’s in my area multiple times while they had the LITD toys last month and ended up with two of the mini dolls: Teresa and my fave, Raquelle! Mini Raquelle will feature when her normal-sized counterpart takes over, and I’m also considering doing a post focusing on the two mini dolls.
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daytondolls 
I have everyone from last year’s lineup except for Barbie and Ken. And I don’t like this particular Barbie doll, so I got another one to take her place. I am planning on getting a Ken eventually, but I wish they had released a Ryan! Also, kudos to you for getting that fashion pack. It’s so expensive, but I love the outfits in there. Teresa’s outfit is my favorite, though. Those polka-dot shorts are adorable. I hope your Raquelle takes over soon, because I want to see pictures! š
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Lucky! I might see about putting Midge, Teresa, Summer, and/or Ken on my birthday list later this year. I only recently saw Ken in person-he’s been hard to find in my area. He’s cute, but I agree-they should’ve had a Ryan too! Yeah, I’m happy to have the fashion pack. My advice would be to keep checking your nearest TRU to see if they eventually clearance it out for cheap-I’d also check Amazon or eBay; however, no one seems to be selling it there right now. I’d say Raquelle and Teresa have the best outfits in the pack. My Raquelle is exercising her typical diva behavior and refusing to take over my blog until I attempt to get her the mini version of herself from the new LITD McDonald’s toy set-thank God they sell the toys separately!
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They have mini dolls at McDonald’s?! I want Raquelle, Teresa, and Nikki! I’ll have to do a review on them.
Ken is adorable. He’s very common in my area, and he’s actually on “clearance”. (Actually, he’s only $13) This particular Ken has knee joints (Yay! My Ryan has no knee joints) and reminds of somebody I know, so I want to get him. And Raquelle wants to steal his jacket, so he’s definitely coming home.
I’ve actually seen the fashion pack on Amazon a few times, and some of the individual outfits being sold on eBay. I agree with your opinion on the best made outfits. but I do love the colors in Summer’s outfit, even though it’s a half print.
Well, my Raquelle is telling me to work on the review so she can pop off her sister’s head sooner, so I’ve got to go! š
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The LITD videos are such fun to watch. The self-referential nature is part of the draw. The episode where a collector wanted to buy all of Barbie’s clothes, but then didn’t want them after she took them out of the packaging to “try them on one last time” was hilarious! (I’m a deboxer.) After reading some blogs about LITD, it’s been interesting to learn that so many people’s favorite is Raquelle. I thought I was alone in that regard!
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BTW, if you need any LITD dolls, be sure to check out the Barbie Collector website because they are on sale. (http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/browse/dreamhouse_dolls)
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Thanks for the sale reminder! I’ll have to see if my budget can stand a doll purchase beyond the mini Raquelle from McDonald’s at the moment-if not, there’s always Amazon!
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Thanks for stopping by, Troy! I agree about the allure of self-reference. As a fellow deboxer (in most cases), I loved that episode too. Of course a lot of people love Raquelle-who doesn’t love (or at least love to hate) a diva?
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