Creepy, Creepier, Cute, Adorable

On my way home from having lunch with my grandparents last week (Have you ever tried the fire-roasted artichoke from The Cheesecake Factory? You really should.), I stopped at the Sandy Antique Mall for a quick browse.

I know I'm not the only person who finds old dolls creepy and would never EVER want to go to sleep with one in my bedroom, eyes open, watching me sleep, all night long. But on this visit, I spotted some winners.

Creepy

Have nightmares for life for the bargain price of $195! Something about this doll reminds me of my grandma Hill, but in a creepy way. My grandma was not at all creepy, so I can't pinpoint what it is that reminds me of her. Maybe she had a doll like this somewhere in her house (the attic of which was most definitely very creepy).

Creepier

Insert blood-curdling scream here. I'm sure I'm missing some historical significance here, but why has this doll just ripped the head off of a toy soldier? And why is she looking so smug about it? (Oh, and what about that creepy angel that's photo bombing my creepy doll picture? I feel like it’s staring directly into my soul.)

Cute

I wisely left the other two dolls on the shelf, but this one I took home with me for the bargain price of $10. She would probably be creepy, too, if not for the fact that she's Little Orphan Annie, and she's wearing real fabric socks. I bought her for Keira, who has lately been obsessed with the Annie from my childhood (with Carol Burnett as Mrs. Hannigan). Never mind that Keira recently pointed at a woman at Costco and yelled at the top of her lungs: "Mrs. Hannigan! Mrs. Hannigan!" I can only hope that the woman was without a television for most of the 1980s and that the reference eluded her.

ADORABLE

You can bet your bottom two dollars that she loves this movie. How cute is that little voice? She’s just now starting to venture into movie musicals, mostly of the Disney Princess variety. She first fell in love with Rapunzel (she can belt “and at last I see the light” with the best of them), and then Merida (a name she pronounces in a Scottish accent, like "Medidah," and she WILL correct you if you pronounce it like a dumb American), and now Mulan (unfortunately, “let’s get down to business” is THE WORST earworm of all time…it will now be playing in my brain for at least 2 months, just because I typed the title in this blog post).