Mall of America- American Girls!!!

Jake & Maddie's wedding took us to Minneapolis area -- and I immediately started planning a trip to the American Girl store at the MOA -- knowing this could likely be a once-in-a-lifetime event while the girls are young enough to fully immerse in the fun of American Girls!  They each have their own doll -- so we made plans of what outfits to have along (big girls and dolls) to wear at the store.  This isn't just a "store" -- it's more like a mini-disney land -- especially if you have followed AG for a while, and know the stories of each girl/character -- read the books -- watched the movies -- read the catalogs -- and play on the websites.  

Step One:  The Salon  We arrived at AG just as the store opened... and took a few moments to peruse the store, but made our way to the Salon early in hopes of getting the dolls hair done before our lunch reservations (yes, in the AG cafe). Liv chose the "fancy up-do" (thinking it might match her own hair a bit the next day for the wedding:)  And Anika chose the side braid.  It took about 20 minutes the the dolls looked practically new with their beautiful hair-do!!  

These photos were on the mail floor in the "Girls of the Year" area -- a "photo op" with Saige.

Our favorite areas were the historical characters/dolls -- and Liv even found a case with the doll Emily (from the 1940's era story of Molly) -- who had the very same dress Liv had chosen for her doll to wear that day :)

Liv's new outfit choice

The girls had saved money to be able to each purchase a new outfit or item for their dolls.  Let me tell you what -- it was HARD to choose!  Between the bitty baby area, historical dolls, "just like me" dolls and tons of accessories....  Anika chose the holiday dress in cream and golds -- not coincidentally just the same as the dress Anika has for Christmas herself.   Liv chose a black and grey "cheetah" print dress.

anika's new outfit choice

 Next came lunch in the cafe.  I couldn't help but take a TON of pictures during lunch... partially because we could finally sit still and have our hands free (not as easy when you are actively shopping!!) -- but also because the cafe area was SO adorable!  If you are not a fan of pink... the whole store would probably put you on edge.  Thankfully, we are all "pink" girls... so it seemed exactly perfect to us!

The chandelier above our banquet was AMAZING!!  a huge pink flower with dangling lights!!  :)  Bethany was able to join us for lunch... so it was a perfect "girls luncheon."

Not that most people will even wonder -- but Dirk, Thor, Lars and Chris were in the building with us -- but just not in the AG store/cafe.  They had headed out to the Nickelodian Universe quite quickly after we arrived ... and spent some time in the Lego World area as well.  Thor has some great pics of that -- so I will share them in another blog post later.  :)  

The lunch menu was a "one price for all" with each diner getting to chose a "starter" and a "main entree"  -- which added up to quite a MEAL!  We were all pretty hungry, and the options were all very appealing... we just tried to all pick something different so we could pick and share a bit as the meal went on. :)  The food was very good (my expectations were not very high) in both quality and taste... I should have known... and for what we got, we all felt the price was totally reasonable ($15/per).  The service was exceptional -- but not exactly speedy -- perhaps on purpose -- so we took plenty of time sipping our tea, and chatting... even using the "discussion box" on our table for some "girly chat time questions."

 We ended the meal with the "warm cookies and milk" front he dessert menu -- and split each plate.  I LOVED the serving pieces and wanted to take a set of each home to keep!!

After 3 hours of shopping and "tea/luncheon" it was finally time to say goodbye -- slightly bittersweet -- but honestly, we were all completely pleased with our AG adventure!  Absolutely worth every moment!! :)