Sale at Hollister 大拍賣!

The last few days have been cold and damp in Los Angeles. My daughter needs a jacket she can wear to school (without worrying about loosing it). I bought her a ski/snowboard Burton jacket a while back, but I think it's too fancy for school. So today, I went to the mall to look for a jacket she can wear to school. I started at Gymboree, then to Crazy 8, Children's Place, and GAP. I don't think these stores stock jacket for cold weather in Los Angeles, so I didn't find anything that was thick enough for my daughter to wear on cold days like today. My daughter's favorite clothing brand is Abercombie and Fitch, but the mall I went to didn't have A&F, so I went to the Hollister store (www.hollisterco.com)instead. A&F actually owns the Hollister brand. There are so many similarities between the 2 brands that I think they are interchangeable, aside from the logo.

To my surprise, a lot of stuff at Hollister was marked down. Moreover, there was a sale on whereby everything that was marked down already is reduced further by 50%. I found several wintery jackets for $25 (regular price $125-$149). Hollister hoodies were going for $20 each. I was surprised at the size of the inventory. I guess people haven't been to the mall lately because of the recent downpours. I quickly grabbed 6 items and lined up. I waited 1/2 hour before I got to the cashier. They didn't have bags big enough to fit all 6 items. They were going to bag it one item per one small bag. I told them not to bother, I easily draped 4 jackets over my arm and carried the other 2 in bags.

Unfortunately, my daughter did not like any of the 6 jackets I brought home. I think stylistically, Hollister is still a bit old for my daughter. Once the weather clears up, I would have to return all 6 items. It's too bad that I have to return those jackets because they were really good deals. But I guess my fashion sense isn't on the same wavelength as my 10-year old daughter. She said she still likes A&F better!

UPDATE: I returned all the items I bought for my daughter. Luckily my friend gave me some of her daughters' hand-me-down jackets a few days after my shopping trip at Hollister. My daughter loves her semi-new jackets!

如果您家裏有 13歲 至 18歲的小孩, 趕快去 Hollister 買衣服 (www.hollisterco.com)。 Hollister 是美國青少年喜愛的名牌。 平常它的服飾價位訂得很高, 但是只要有減價就很划得來。 Hollister 現在正在打折。 折價後的產品再打五折!!! 一些原價要 $125至$149 的冬天外套只要 $25。 本來幫女兒買了六件不同樣式、顏色的外套, 只可惜她沒有一件喜歡。 再過幾天等到天氣轉晴後,再去店裏辦退貨。 真是麻煩! 女兒說她還是比較喜歡 Abercombie & Fitch 的衣服。 Abercombie & Fitch 是一家服飾上市公司(NYSE: ANF)。 其實 Hollister 的東家就是 Abercombie & Fitch。 這兩家店賣的服飾還非常類似,只是品牌標識不一樣而已。

說真的,我覺得只要衣服的品質好、價錢公道, 買名牌服飾給小孩穿是 OK 的。 最主要還是希望小朋友能融入美國人的社會。 在美國長大的小女生很辛苦、壓力也大, 就連穿的衣服也不能太奇怪! 在女兒的五年級班上, Abercombie & Fitch 的服飾就好像是女孩們的制服喔! 當我發現這學生潮流時,我就先告知女兒 Abercombie & Fitch 牌的衣服我一定會買給她的,只是不會馬上買。我會等減價再買給她。我給女兒訂的原則是上衣、褲子、裙子不能超過十元,外套、洋裝不能超過二十元。 這樣就保證不會給小孩子買到太昂貴的名牌服飾了。
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白忙一場! 搞半天我女兒一件 Hollister 的夾克也不喜歡! 好在我的一位住在附近的老朋友在一星期後送了一大包她女兒穿不下的衣服給我。 其中有一伴夾克大衣我女兒好喜歡! 剛好派上用場!

Target Christmas 90% Off Clearance 聖誕節後大減價!

If you can't be at Target when it opens at 8AM the day when they markdown seasonal items to 90% off, basically, you will miss out on all the good deals. I had a feeling the 90% off markdown happened yesterday and because of my car trouble, I had blocked Target out of my mind. Since I don't have to work today, I did 3 loads of laundry, got gas, returned some stuff at Sam's Club, and then I decided to go to Target anyway knowing full well that there may not be any Christmas clearance stuff left, at 90% off.

Indeed, the 90% markdown of the Christmas items happened yesterday because by the time I got to Target at 1PM, only 1 endcap worth of Christmas items were left. Things go fast when it's only 10% of the original price. I had wanted to buy some Christmas t-shirts for my son, Christmas cards, and ribbons, but they were all gone. Here are what I ended up buying:

1. A clear plastic oval serving plate ($0.39)
2. 2 infant boys (sizes 12M & 18M) short-sleeved PJ set ($0.89). I would prefer it to be 100% cotton, but it's 100% polyester. Apparently, it's law that children's PJ cannot be 100% cotton anymore because it's a fire-hazard.
3. 1 roll of green ribbon ($0.19)
4. 1 adult-size (size XS) Christmas t-shirt ($0.99) Perfect for my daughter to wear next year.
5. $5 black legging. It's on sale (reg. $6.99), but not on clearance. It flares out at the end so it's perfect as my daughter's jazz pants. Most jazz pants in dance store would cost $20+.

Although my total Christmas clearance purchase was insignificant this year, I still managed to get $3.35 worth of Christmas clearance items. I just had to get that clearance bug out of me.

每年一月初(通常是一月三、四或五日), Target 會把聖誕節的產品減到一折。 其實聖誕節一過, Target 就會從減半價開始, 慢慢的減到一折(五折、二五折、然後一折)。 重點是我們一定要在八點開門之前趕到搶“頭香”, 要不然可能八點半以後,一折的東西就被搶購得差不多, 東西也所無己了! 昨天因為車子出點問題,而且還要送爸媽去機場, 我沒有心情去 Target 搶買聖誕節的產品。 今天剛好不用上班, 就忍不住得跑去 Target 看了一下。 一折的聖誕節產品只剩下三個小架子那麼多。 我還是找到東西可以買。 一折後的清單如下:

1. 一卷包裝用的綠色緞帶 ($0.19)
2. 二套小男孩(12M & 18M)的睡衣 ($0.89)
3. 大人(小號)聖誕圖型的T卹 ($0.99)
4. 橢圓形的透明塑膠盤 ($0.39)

我又順便買了一條黑色的 legging 褲子給女兒,做她跳爵士舞時穿的褲子(100% 綿褲)。 因為這星期特價才賣五塊錢 (平常價格是 $6.99)。 如果是到舞蹈專賣店去買爵士舞褲子, 那一條褲子最少也要賣美金二十元以上。

我對我今年 Target 聖誕節後大減價的收穫還算滿意!

新年快樂!!! Happy New Year!!!

I haven't blogged much lately. My new year's resolution is to blog more. But my real wish is to de-clutter my house and really make it nice.

I thought the stores are not open today, so I stayed home. Well, Target is open, but I can't go there everyday. I am waiting for it to markdown its Christmas merchandise to 90% off. I have a feeling the markdown will happen tomorrow morning. Hopefully, someone on the Mycoupons forum will post something about it.

January 1 has been a quiet day for me. The winter holiday is winding down to this weekend. All the visiting relatives will be gone and the kids will be back to school. Everything will be back to normal until the next holiday.

Happy New Year everyone!

今年的新年新希望是....把自己的房子整理好。 我想把囤積在家裏的東西都處理掉! 可是真的是很難割捨自己買的東西。 我曾經看過一篇教導主婦如何整理房子的指南。 基本上,任何東面只要在妳購買後兩年之內都沒有被用過,妳就應該把那東西扔了。 要我把好好的東西丟掉真的是好難喔! 以前的新年新希望都是圍繞著減肥計劃。 我也不知道什麼時候變得比較實際。 不管是減肥計劃還是整頓房子,對我來講,一樣都是高難度的願望。

今天是一月一日, 我本來以為商店都沒開, 結果發現只有我常光顧的 Trader Joe's, Costco, 及 Sam's Club 沒有開。 我本來想去 Target 逛逛, 可是想想再過一、兩天 Target 的聖誕節產品就要被減價到一折了, 到那時候再去逛 Target。

我會再向大家報告到 Target 血拼的結果。

祝福大家新年快樂!

好康逗相報...蛋篇 Great eggs!

Our family has a history of cholesterol problem, so when I eat my eggs, I always just eat the egg white and throw out the egg yolk. Unfortunately, my kids see how I eat my eggs and they imitate me, to my chagrin! My son loves hard-boiled eggs, so we always have hard-boiled eggs in our fridge (easier for him to snack on). One day, we ran out of eggs and my husband happened to be at Trader Joe's, so I asked him to pick up some. He came home with these Sunshine Farm Grade A Jumbo eggs. I was mad at him. I said these are more expensive than the ones I normally buy. Why spend more money for something that's not going to make a difference?! My husband told me those eggs were the cheapest ones left on the shelves. Well, we did need eggs, so I let it go. It was really a $0.30 difference per dozen eggs!

But to my surprise, these jumbo eggs had the greatest amount of egg white and the smallest egg yolk I have ever seen in an egg. Since we only eat egg whites, these eggs proved to be a better deal for us. For $0.30 more per dozen eggs, I'm sold.

I took some photos of these Grade A Jumbo eggs from Trader Joe's. That's a roll of quarters ($10) next to the single egg, so you can see the actual size of each egg. These eggs are a great deal at $1.79 per dozen!

我們家 (老公除外) 吃蛋時都只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。 小孩子長久以來都看我只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。 有樣學樣,他們也養成這“不良”習慣 (我老公很不能認同)。 可是我娘家有高膽固醇的基因存在, 所以有高膽固醇的食物能不吃我就不要吃。不愛吃肉的兒子喜歡吃水煮蛋, 所以我就時常放水煮蛋在冰箱裏給兒子當點心吃。

有天老公正好在 Trader Joe's 時, 他打電話來問說要順便買些什麼東西回家。 我說蛋, 家裏沒蛋了。 結果老公回家後,我發現他買錯蛋了。 他沒買最便宜的蛋。 正要問他時,他說我要買的蛋已經賣完了,所以他只好買貴一點的蛋。 沒辦法了,也只好這樣了。 結果沒想到, 陰錯陽差老公卻買對了。 這打Sunshine Farm 的 Grade A Jumbo 的蛋只有小小的蛋黃, 蛋白卻很多。 讓我這個只吃蛋白的人吃得很過癮。 其實這些蛋只比我平常買的蛋多 US$0.30, 一打蛋才 $1.79, 真的是物超所值! 好康逗相報!

膳魔師保溫瓶 Thermos Funtainer Bottle

I have been looking to buy another Thermos Funtainer bottle (http://www.thermos.com) for my daughter. She has only one and I bought that 2 years ago. I missed the Toys R Us sale last week when it was selling for $11.24. I think Target sells it for $15.99 this year. If memory serves me correctly, the cheapest Target ever sold it for was $13. So when my friend told me that Big Lots is selling them for $9 this week, I rushed over! They only had the Flower pattern left. Another friend went to a different Big Lots and they had more varieties for both the boys and the girls. The price tags on the bottles said $10, but the Big Lots flyer said $9, so they honored the $9 advertising and charged me $9 per bottle.

This $9 Funtainer bottle is the old model (with a thin, rectangular lid opener), but it includes an extra set of spout and straw which the newer Funtainers do not have.

If you have any kids in school, this is the perfect companion for lunch or snacks. It keeps drinks really cold! So run to your nearest Big Lots as soon as you can.

昨天我妹告訴我說她想要買罐 Thermos Funtainer Bottle 膳魔師兒童保溫瓶(http://www.thermos.com) 給她的女兒。我就罵她不早說, 因為上上星期玩具翻斗城 (Toys R Us) 有減價, 才 $11.24。當初我有去看,可是店裏只有賣男孩子的樣式,女兒不喜歡我就沒買。我妹說她女兒男孩子樣式的保溫瓶她也能接受, 所以我一早就趕到 Toys R Us 。結果店裏恢復原價, 又是 $14.99 了。 我知道 Target 的價錢是 $15.99 , 所以我決定打電話問一個朋友看她在 Toys R Us 減價時有沒有多買。 她說沒有多買可是 Big Lots 在減價,一個才賣 $9! 天大的好消息, 我馬上趕到 Big Lots 買了店裏剩下的三個兒童保溫瓶。這個膳魔師兒童保溫瓶是二、三年前的樣型, 打開蓋子的按紐是長方形,平平的。 新的樣型的開蓋按紐是圓形的。 舊型的保溫瓶內有多送一套吸管, 新型的保溫瓶內就沒有多給一套吸管了。

比較奇怪的是, 在 Big Lots店裏, 這商品的標價是 $10, 電腦也掃描到 $10,不過我告訴店員說妳們的報紙廣告寫的價錢是$9, 所以她只好收我 $9。 我買了三罐, 花了$29.63 (含稅)。女兒高興,我妹也高興!

大雪拼/大血拼! Stefan Kaelin 75% off sale!

My brother-in-law called yesterday and said their favorite ski equipment store in Aspen, Stefan Kaelin, has a store in Newport Beach and it is having a closing sale. Everything at the store is 75% off. I was reluctant to go at first because I know my in-laws frequent high-priced boutique stores and the things sold in that store are likely out of our price range. But since my husband is eager to outfit himself and the kids for the next skiing season (and what better time to do it than the off-season?!), I figure the trip will give us an excuse to drive down to Orange County for an overdue visit to the South Coast Plaza.

We made a pit stop at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant Pho 79 (http://www.pho79.com/) in Westminster for lunch.

We got to Stefan Kaelin (http://www.stefankaelin.com/) at 3pm and proceeded to spend the next 3 hours there browsing through the entire store for bargains. At our last ski trip in April, we had bought some ski goggles for the kids already, so they don't really need any other skiing equipment. What they need are ski jackets and pants that they can grow into. I was surprised to see all the kids' ski/snowboard jackets at the store selling between $25 and $35. The store is also giving an extra 10% off if we pay cash. I found this beautiful Lavender Burton Element Jacket (Girl, size L) for $25! I figure with another 10% off for paying by cash, the jacket will be an amazing deal. I also found some Hot Chilies (thermal underwear for winter sports) for $9 (children) and $19 (adults) and ski/snowboard socks for $5. My husband bought a set of skis, poles, ski boots, and a ski bag with wheels for $250 total!!! Anyways, I ended up buying 6 ski/snowboard jackets for the kids (and my sister's kids) and 1 pair of ski pants for my daughter, as well as a pair of winter boots for myself. The total came to about $550, including my husband's loot, but the lady gave us another 25% discount as well as the 10% off for paying everything in cash. We paid a total of $480 for 8 large bags of skiing outfits and equipment. So my daughter's lavender Burton jacket came to about $18 (regular price: $120) and the matching skiing/snowboarding pants was only $16. I don't think I can find any winter outfit for that price anywhere else. I am psyched; we are ready for skiing this winter and the next winter!! For those that are interested, the Stefan Kaelin store in Newport Beach is located at the corner of Coast Highway and Tustin in downtown Newport Beach (2700 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA).

昨天我小姑的先生告訴我老公在 Newport Beach 有一家有名的滑雪專賣店正在舉辦清倉大減價! 這家店(Stefan Kaelin, http://www.stefankaelin.com/) 的本店在 Aspen, Colorado。Newport Beach 的店是分店。因為老闆要把 Newport Beach 的店關起來, 所有店內的商品將要廉價出售。 我本來也懶得開那麼遠的車子去逛一家價錢不凡的滑雪專賣店。可是想想我已經好久沒有去 Costa Mesa 的 South Coast Plaza 購物中心。我們順道去看看也無妨。

我們每次去 South Coast Plaza 購物中心時都會路過越南城,就會順便去吃碗越南麵 (Pho79, http://www.pho79.com/) 再繼續開往 Costa Mesa。 我的兒子喜歡吃的東西不多,可是他就偏偏很愛吃越南麵, 也不知道為什麼。

我們大概三點多到達 Newport Beach。 一進 Stefan Kaelin 的店, 就看到一箱一箱的滑雪用的配件放在地上。我想我得花點時間一箱一箱的找看看有沒有什麼便宜的東西可以買。結果發現真正便宜的東西是掛在衣架上一件件的滑雪衣物。小孩子穿的滑雪外套及褲子都好像沒人在買。一看標籤才發現一件外套才 US$25 (原價 $90-$120)。 太棒了, 連在 TJ Maxx 或 outlet 店也不可能找到這麼便宜的雪衣或冬天穿的外套。大小孩的服裝只分 Sizes XS, S, M, L 及 XL 。 我看到只剩下一兩件 size S 及 size M 的外套,其它都是大號的外套。這下子女兒賺到了她選了一件淺紫色的滑雪外套 (US$25, 如圖) 及同系列的滑雪褲 (US$20)。我總共拿了六件小孩外套、一件女兒穿的滑雪褲、十雙滑雪襪 (一雙US$5)、二雙靴子 (US$39) 及四件滑雪時穿的內衣( Hot Chilies)。只可惜大人的滑雪外套還是賣得太貴。我看到一件原價 US$2,000 的雪衣, 店家要賣 US$500! 大貴了, 根本下不了手, 也買不起。反正我也不滑雪, 買滑雪外套做什麼?! 我老公自己跑到樓上選了一套滑雪板及滑雪桿, 外加一雙滑雪鞋及二個裝這些滑雪裝備的袋子。他的總額是大概 US$280 左右,我選的東西加起來大概也要 US$250。結帳的時候, 老闆娘再便宜我們七五折, 然後因為我們付現, 她又算我們九折。我們連稅總供付了 US$480, 搬了九大包的東西上車。我們挑選的東西足夠我們用二、三年! 常去滑雪的朋友應該知道我們賺到了, 真的買到不少便宜的東西。

之後,我們又到 South Coast Plaza 邊的 Nordstrom Rack 去逛了一下。老公買了兩雙上班時可以穿的鞋子, 然後也幫女兒買了一雙夾腳拖鞋。逛完 Nordstrom Rack,小孩就喊肚子 (奇怪,我怎麼還飽得很?!), 只好放棄去 South Coast Plaza 購物中心血拼, 直接到 Nordstrom Rack 旁的 Karl Strauss (http://www.karlstrauss.com/) 啤酒釀酒公司吃晚餐。 兒童餐份量很多(US$6.25,包含飲料), 兒子根本吃不完,只好打包回家。我叫了一杯 Pin Tail Pale Ale 啤酒 (US$5), 淡淡的還有柑橘類水果的味道,還真不錯喝!

喝了點酒,就不想讓老公開車上高速公路。 我就建議先到附近的 Target 逛逛。 我想買幾個塑膠箱子回家。我想開始整理房間,把冬天的衣服收起來。這星期 Target 56-quarts 的塑膠箱子只要 US$4,還算便宜。我也順便買了些文具用品回家。

今天真的是滿載而歸!

The American Girl Store 美國女孩娃娃專賣店

My friend Kristin and her family is spending their spring break holiday in southern California. She lives in Hawaii, but her extended family still live in Taiwan. Anyways, last week, we met them at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and my kids had a great time playing with her kids. So as they are going home tomorrow, we decided to meet again. This time, we decided to meet at the Grove (http://www.thegrovela.com/). It's an outdoor mall with many one-and-only stores in Los Angeles. Since Kristin and I have daughters, we decided that the American Girl Store is a must visit. I took my daughter to the American Girl Store in New York City last summer and the impact on her then wasn't as much as this visit. It was visible that during our visit today that all three girls had a look of envy and desire on their faces because every girl at the store had a American Girl doll in their arms. Our girls were the only ones without a doll.

The American Girl enterprise (http://americangirl.com/) and the American Girl stores (http://www.americangirl.com/stores/) are a quintessential American experience for American girls. Wikipedia has a good writeup on the American Girl company [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Girl_(company)]. I think the key to the company's success is their series of American Girls books that are well-written and are based on pre-teen girl characters from various periods of American history.

Kaya, a native American girl (1764)
Felicity, a colonial girl (1774)
Josefina, a Mexican girl living in the States (1824)
Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant (1854)
Addy Walker, a fugitive slave (1864)
Samantha, an Edwardian/Victorian girl (1904)
Kit, a depression-era girl (1934)
Molly, a girl who lived through World War II (1944)

There are many more character dolls who are friends of these history-based American Girl dolls, as well as a new Julie doll for 1974. On top of the dolls from the American Girl book series, Mattel also introduced the Girl of the Year dolls and "Just Like You" dolls.

The reading levels of these books are for 8 year olds (grade 2 or grade 3). When the girls read these books, they will get a sense of what girls their age experienced at different points in time that are important in American history. When Mattel bought the American Girl franchise in 1998, it expanded it's product line and established its flagship store in Chicago. With Mattel's huge marketing machine behind the American Girl brand, the American Girl doll has become the most "desirable" doll for the well-to-do segment of our society. At $95 plus tax for each doll, the price tag is staggering!
Although we left the American Girl Store without buying anything (to the chagrin of our daughters), it hasn't stopped the other patrons from shopping and enjoying the amenities at the store. There is a theater, a dining room (for the public as well as for private birthday parties), and a hair salon for your American Girl doll. Despite our reluctance to part with our money at the store, I must say that "shopping" at the American Girl Store is a pleasant one. The store is clean, bright, spacious, and colorful.

I am sure it was hard for our daughters to walk out of the store without buying a thing. Kristin and I have daughters who don't really play with dolls, so it's hard to justify spending US$95 for a doll and US$25 for each additional outfit when they will only spend a little time playing with it. It's more a status symbol than anything else to own an American Girl doll. The key is how to say no to those cute little face without ruining their self-esteem (and that's a subject for another day)! The photo above has the Julie doll (1974) and her best friend, Ivy.

好友 Kristin 帶小孩從夏威夷到南加州來度假。 Kristin 是我在臺灣工作時認識的朋友。想當年我們都是單身貴族, 而如今我們卻是兒女成群的媽媽。難得有機會再見面,所以大家都很開心。再加上兩家的小孩子都相處得不錯, 所以我們決定這星期再見一次面。上星期天我們跑到 Costa Mesa 的 South Coast Plaza 見面。只可惜我們太早離開那個購物中心, 要不然搞不好就能看到賈靜雯一家在那裏逛街。這星期我們決定到 Beverly Hills 比佛利山莊附近的一個購物中心 The Grove (http://www.thegrovela.com/) 見面, 最主要是這個購物中心有幾家別的購物中心沒有的店, 例如 美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store)。

去年暑假我們到紐約玩時, 就曾經去過那裏的美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store)。 那時候我女兒還沒有表現出她很想要個美國女孩娃娃的樣子。這一回來到了自家附近的美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store), 她則向我告白說她很想要個美國女孩娃娃。我告訴她說她是可以買, 不過得用自己的錢買。但是因為 Kristin 阿姨不準備買美國女孩娃娃給她的兩個女兒, 女兒今天也不能買。我順便告訴女兒, Kristin 阿姨很有錢,可是她也不會亂花錢。我是要女兒瞭解花一、二百元買個大陸做的娃娃是個不明之舉。說真的, 她也沒啥時間可以玩娃娃。再加上也沒人可以陪她玩。我說家裏已經買了不少洋娃娃給她了, 其實她可以學著做漂亮的衣服給娃娃穿。這樣會比較好玩。她乖乖的聽我把話說完, 也沒表示什麼意見, 不知道她聽進去沒有。八成是沒有, 但是家長該給阻力時還是要給。到年底, 女兒如果還是堅持要用自己的錢買美國女孩娃娃的話,再說喽。

回到美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store), 店裏的裝潢非常雅致, 以紅白色係為主。 明尼蘇達州 Javabn 的部落格就有明尼蘇達分店裏的照片 (http://blog.yam.com/scoopy/article/18582245)。每家分店的內部裝飾都很類似。人在裏面就會有衝動想買個娃娃回家做紀念。要不是一個基本十八吋的娃娃要美金九十五元(稅外加), 然後一套娃娃衣服也要美金二十五元, 我真的就會買個娃娃回家做傳家之寶。店裏賣的東西實在是太貴了。

我們在店裏看到許多小女孩到那裏開派對。派對的最低消費一人要 US$32 (稅和小費外加) 至 US$65不等。不要在那裏開派對, 也可以在那裏用餐 (一人費用: 中餐 US$22 、下午茶 US$20 、晚餐 US$24, 外加稅和小費)。真的是高檔消費! 除了在店裏買東西、開生日派對及用餐之外, 小女孩也可以在店裏拍照,然後就可以擁有一本由自己做封面女孩的 American Girl Magazine。女兒七歲生日時, 她姑姑特別訂了兩年的 American Girl Magazine 給她做生日禮物。女兒很喜歡。她其實會很想上 American Girl Magazine 的封面。說真的, 我也不知道怎樣才能讓她有機會上 American Girl Magazine 的封面。至少要等她的牙齒都矯正完畢吧! 小女孩的明星夢真的是久無止盡的! 這店裏最好玩的部門是娃娃美容院。如果小女孩的美國女孩娃娃有一頭亂髮, 她可以送娃娃去娃娃美容院做頭髮。做一種髮型要 US$10 至 US$20 。娃娃如果要穿耳洞, 要花 US$14 (包括三副耳環)。這一切都是虛擬的娃娃世界,可是好逼真喔!

其實美國女孩娃娃的產品包括一係列的叢書。美國女孩娃娃的書都有歷史背景。
Kaya (1764) 印地安女孩
Felicity (1774) 美國革命/美國殖民時代
Josefina (1824) 墨西哥人在德州
Kirsten (1854) 十九世紀移民潮
Addy Walker (1864) 奴隸制度時代
Samantha (1904) 英王愛德華時代
Kit (1934) 1929 年開始於美國的大蕭條
Molly (1944) 第二次世界大戰
Julie (1974) 越戰

每一位美國女孩娃娃都有基本的六本書:

Meet the [美國女孩娃娃的名字] “認識她”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字] Learns the Lesson “從經驗中獲取教訓”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字]'s Surprise “她的驚奇”
Happy Birthday, [美國女孩娃娃的名字]! “生日快樂!”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字] Saves the Day “最後關頭取得勝利[成功]”
Changes for [美國女孩娃娃的名字] “變化”