Austin bjd con report (no photos yet)
We got back from Austin in one piece. The rest of the babble under the cut.
First things first:
The Haul:
I did really well - everything is in a tiny bag.
1. an MSD-sized con teeshirt, probably for Chikara
2. Cheerydoll Unoa green and black striped socks for either Chikara or Shindo
3. one pair each of pink & blue camo pants for OD So size, for the Chibs & Bodkin
4. a tiny black and white kitten for my mother's doll
That's it!
rat went all out for Tifa. She got a green velvet chair (pin cushion), a pair of navy blue slip-on tennies, a pair of navy blue lace-up tennies, an MSD-sized con teeshirt (to be a sleepshirt for her), a powder pink Stetson hat, and finally a black 'leather' and white satin Barbie outfit with blouse, long skirt, large labeled and long duster, tights and shoes.
I knew he would break down and get more clothes for her. Hee hee!
The Basics:
We had a great time, even though I wish it could have lasted a little longer at the con proper. We got there before 10:30am and our group was hungry by 1pm. I was in 'con mode', which means my hunger turns off until I start feeling light-headed and even then, I don't feel hungry. While I would have liked to have stayed a little longer and taken doll photos in the hallways, everyone else was chewing on the furniture in the lobby so it was time to go. *shrug*
Some of the vendors were already wrapping up their tables by 1pm anyway, some because they had sold out of stuff!
The Group:
We picked up L and H and started out. We were running just a little behind the time but it all worked out. We stopped in Hillsborough for some McDonald's breakfast and met up with nereusthebeaded, C, K and N at the Wallmart to start up the caravan. rat led the way since he drives faster. *laughs*
When we got there:
We got there and the door guys looked at us once and pointed us in the right direction. I guess they had seen a lot of resin for the last three days. *laughs* No one at the Dealer's Room door asked us for the coupons we had so diligently printed off for everyone. We just walked in and started oogling.
Some folks were surprised we had driven down from Dallas for the day. I explained that a three and a half to four hour drive one-way for an event then driving back on the same day for a Texan is really considered nothing. It's a day trip. Although I wasn't born here, I am acclimated to driving like that, too.
Who we met there:
The dealer's room was tiny, so almost immediately after being awed by some of the dolls in their outfits right inside the door, we saw Alice-chan with her sister and mom. It was good to see they made it after all. If we had known about it, we could have gotten a bigger car and taken everyone.
As planned, we saw keeley_keena and I finally met sdink, who was carrying the incredible Job (modded Hound). Shortly thereafter, I went upstairs with them to meet the amazing Heat (Sabik), Haylee (Unoa Sist) and Audi (Unoa B-El), who came with sdink, and keeley_keena's beautiful new Volks Masha, Bridget, and her Tensiya SA Saint, Tearlaidh. So much incredibly beautiful resin in one room!
I ended up walking around by myself most of the time and talking to different vendors. I had a great time. Sometimes I walked with someone I knew but usually I was by myself.
Saw Wicked Wigs again, met Wicked Stitchery, and had a great chat. I gave their newest boy one of Eiri's cigarettes, since he was holding a faux one. They dropped a blond wig on him and made him another Eiri - what a hoot!
I met the seller MiniOrient and thanked her for letting me purchase the Kelly kimono for my tinies. She makes Hound-sized kimono now - yay! sdink got one and I am looking forward to seeing her Dollshe guys in it.
I met MaryLee from DOA and talked to her about tinies a bit. She had a lot of darling little goodies for little ones. I got some little pants from her.
I chatted with BJDollarama for a little while and got a little tiny kitty from them. They were the ones tempting me with a little elf tiny but I resisted.
Yes, sakushamishou, I saw a pinky white Mano! He was body-blushed, too. Later, I went back over to the booth and saw he was gone. The seller told me he was in a time-out because people kept trying to touch him and one person got angry when she told the person to stop. The person said he should have a don't touch sign on him. Hello! Most doll people know better without a sign, idiot! The seller told me a horror story about one person who likes to grab dolls by the front of the head, palm against the faceup and turn the head aggressively. I completely agreed with the seller about putting the Mano away. Geeze!
I also met PamSD and saw a lot of her wonderful dolls, including her Unidoll modded into Anakin/Darth Vader. She had a LOT of those adorable Bambicrony elves in all the colours frolicking around her tables. I was so tempted by the wonderful cloaks she had for SDs but I just could not justify the price (a very reasonable $38) now that I am strapped for money to purchase Yuki. (Having only so much floating cash and credit lines decreased [not just me this is happening to-it's happening to lots of people all over the US] has really put a stop on ANY spending for me right now.)
K bought her first doll, an msd Angel of Dream boy (don't remember the sculpt) and some clothes for him. I helped her with his kimono while we were at the restaurant.
A while later, blakniteludlam and R arrived. R purchased two dolls while he was there. I was tempted by a few tinies I saw but I did not break down.
I took some photos of dolls in the lobby area and talked to people but then it was time to get the group some grub before they ate the furniture.
We ate:
We went to this place called Threadgill's (http://www.threadgills.com/) we had seen on 40 Dollars a Day. rat did his research and it looked promising, but it was pretty darned disappointing. I had the tortilla soup, squash, broccoli rice casserole and red beans and rice. EVERYTHING had to have salt and pepper added to it so it had some kind of flavour. Talk about bland food! I have never had tortilla soup that wasn't remotely spicy. The chicken in it was pretty good. The broccoli rice casserole was the best thing I had on my plate because the cheese had flavour and the water chestnuts added a nice crunch.
rat had the chicken-fried steak and it was okay, but not wonderful like expected.
Even N's grilled cheese was disappointing. They had put it on this rough and tough slightly burnt multi-grain bread that was hard on his young mouth.
The service was TERRIBLE. I ended up having to get some tea for C since the server disappeared for long periods of time. I got napkins, too. rat says he thinks it's an Austin thing - laid back, no-rush attitude. No, other people were getting food before we were. Being a table of only eight was not an excuse, either. rat says they had to boil everything into tasteless mush for us.
So, it was definitely home cooking - bland, boring, over-cooked, sometimes burnt and the kind of stuff your mother cooked, which means you never want to eat it again. I
rat left a message on keeley_keena's phone, saying not to bother eating there.
Roundup:
We had a great time! Yes, I took some photos and will get them out here eventually.
I am exhausted and have to get back to work on Monday for the first day of classes. Ugh.
First things first:
The Haul:
I did really well - everything is in a tiny bag.
1. an MSD-sized con teeshirt, probably for Chikara
2. Cheerydoll Unoa green and black striped socks for either Chikara or Shindo
3. one pair each of pink & blue camo pants for OD So size, for the Chibs & Bodkin
4. a tiny black and white kitten for my mother's doll
That's it!
rat went all out for Tifa. She got a green velvet chair (pin cushion), a pair of navy blue slip-on tennies, a pair of navy blue lace-up tennies, an MSD-sized con teeshirt (to be a sleepshirt for her), a powder pink Stetson hat, and finally a black 'leather' and white satin Barbie outfit with blouse, long skirt, large labeled and long duster, tights and shoes.
I knew he would break down and get more clothes for her. Hee hee!
The Basics:
We had a great time, even though I wish it could have lasted a little longer at the con proper. We got there before 10:30am and our group was hungry by 1pm. I was in 'con mode', which means my hunger turns off until I start feeling light-headed and even then, I don't feel hungry. While I would have liked to have stayed a little longer and taken doll photos in the hallways, everyone else was chewing on the furniture in the lobby so it was time to go. *shrug*
Some of the vendors were already wrapping up their tables by 1pm anyway, some because they had sold out of stuff!
The Group:
We picked up L and H and started out. We were running just a little behind the time but it all worked out. We stopped in Hillsborough for some McDonald's breakfast and met up with nereusthebeaded, C, K and N at the Wallmart to start up the caravan. rat led the way since he drives faster. *laughs*
When we got there:
We got there and the door guys looked at us once and pointed us in the right direction. I guess they had seen a lot of resin for the last three days. *laughs* No one at the Dealer's Room door asked us for the coupons we had so diligently printed off for everyone. We just walked in and started oogling.
Some folks were surprised we had driven down from Dallas for the day. I explained that a three and a half to four hour drive one-way for an event then driving back on the same day for a Texan is really considered nothing. It's a day trip. Although I wasn't born here, I am acclimated to driving like that, too.
Who we met there:
The dealer's room was tiny, so almost immediately after being awed by some of the dolls in their outfits right inside the door, we saw Alice-chan with her sister and mom. It was good to see they made it after all. If we had known about it, we could have gotten a bigger car and taken everyone.
As planned, we saw keeley_keena and I finally met sdink, who was carrying the incredible Job (modded Hound). Shortly thereafter, I went upstairs with them to meet the amazing Heat (Sabik), Haylee (Unoa Sist) and Audi (Unoa B-El), who came with sdink, and keeley_keena's beautiful new Volks Masha, Bridget, and her Tensiya SA Saint, Tearlaidh. So much incredibly beautiful resin in one room!
I ended up walking around by myself most of the time and talking to different vendors. I had a great time. Sometimes I walked with someone I knew but usually I was by myself.
Saw Wicked Wigs again, met Wicked Stitchery, and had a great chat. I gave their newest boy one of Eiri's cigarettes, since he was holding a faux one. They dropped a blond wig on him and made him another Eiri - what a hoot!
I met the seller MiniOrient and thanked her for letting me purchase the Kelly kimono for my tinies. She makes Hound-sized kimono now - yay! sdink got one and I am looking forward to seeing her Dollshe guys in it.
I met MaryLee from DOA and talked to her about tinies a bit. She had a lot of darling little goodies for little ones. I got some little pants from her.
I chatted with BJDollarama for a little while and got a little tiny kitty from them. They were the ones tempting me with a little elf tiny but I resisted.
Yes, sakushamishou, I saw a pinky white Mano! He was body-blushed, too. Later, I went back over to the booth and saw he was gone. The seller told me he was in a time-out because people kept trying to touch him and one person got angry when she told the person to stop. The person said he should have a don't touch sign on him. Hello! Most doll people know better without a sign, idiot! The seller told me a horror story about one person who likes to grab dolls by the front of the head, palm against the faceup and turn the head aggressively. I completely agreed with the seller about putting the Mano away. Geeze!
I also met PamSD and saw a lot of her wonderful dolls, including her Unidoll modded into Anakin/Darth Vader. She had a LOT of those adorable Bambicrony elves in all the colours frolicking around her tables. I was so tempted by the wonderful cloaks she had for SDs but I just could not justify the price (a very reasonable $38) now that I am strapped for money to purchase Yuki. (Having only so much floating cash and credit lines decreased [not just me this is happening to-it's happening to lots of people all over the US] has really put a stop on ANY spending for me right now.)
K bought her first doll, an msd Angel of Dream boy (don't remember the sculpt) and some clothes for him. I helped her with his kimono while we were at the restaurant.
A while later, blakniteludlam and R arrived. R purchased two dolls while he was there. I was tempted by a few tinies I saw but I did not break down.
I took some photos of dolls in the lobby area and talked to people but then it was time to get the group some grub before they ate the furniture.
We ate:
We went to this place called Threadgill's (http://www.threadgills.com/) we had seen on 40 Dollars a Day. rat did his research and it looked promising, but it was pretty darned disappointing. I had the tortilla soup, squash, broccoli rice casserole and red beans and rice. EVERYTHING had to have salt and pepper added to it so it had some kind of flavour. Talk about bland food! I have never had tortilla soup that wasn't remotely spicy. The chicken in it was pretty good. The broccoli rice casserole was the best thing I had on my plate because the cheese had flavour and the water chestnuts added a nice crunch.
rat had the chicken-fried steak and it was okay, but not wonderful like expected.
Even N's grilled cheese was disappointing. They had put it on this rough and tough slightly burnt multi-grain bread that was hard on his young mouth.
The service was TERRIBLE. I ended up having to get some tea for C since the server disappeared for long periods of time. I got napkins, too. rat says he thinks it's an Austin thing - laid back, no-rush attitude. No, other people were getting food before we were. Being a table of only eight was not an excuse, either. rat says they had to boil everything into tasteless mush for us.
So, it was definitely home cooking - bland, boring, over-cooked, sometimes burnt and the kind of stuff your mother cooked, which means you never want to eat it again. I
rat left a message on keeley_keena's phone, saying not to bother eating there.
Roundup:
We had a great time! Yes, I took some photos and will get them out here eventually.
I am exhausted and have to get back to work on Monday for the first day of classes. Ugh.