Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things about Barbie convention for me and many others is the room shopping experience.  Many sellers will set up wares in their room days before the official convention starts and many many collectors will come early just to shop the room sales.  You might think that people come for the deals to be found and the shopping.  I believe that many come for the social aspect of room shopping as well.  This is a time where you meet new fellow enthusiast friends and reconnect with the ones you have made in the past.  Generally, we Barbie collectors are a sociable and happy crowd and we LOVE to talk all things Barbie.  It is amazing to me that I have friends from all over the world and I came to know them through this fabulous hobby and these conventions.  Barbie and the love of this hobby has done that.  How cool is that?!!

So….day two of room shopping was highlighted by a OOAK ( One of A Kind ) party by Matt Sutton and Matt Trujillo.  We lined up early for this one folks…about two hours before.  I think just waiting for the show and talking with my fellow collectors was one of the best parts of my day.

And a rare thing for me….someone took my picture!  Thanks Deb!

Now….time for the show.  Matt certainly did not disappoint!  He never fails to blow our socks off.  This year, you took a number according to where you were in line and they let a few in at a time.  No mad rush to get to the dolls.  This made for a very enjoyable and wonderful selection and  buying experience.

Yes….the pink one in the center went home with me

After the fun of picking out a doll and purchasing ( some managed to snag two…yes Barb and Mary…I’m talking to you), we had our annual “ buy a Matt Sutton and go get a cocktail” meeting.

I am posting an album with these photos. ****A special note to all you pinners on Pinterest.  Please, please, please don’t grab the photos from the album and pin them.  They will link back to my skydrive and not the blog.  If you want to pin them, grab them off this page or go to flickr.***

“Buy a Matt Sutton and go get a cocktail” meeting VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I arrived in L.A. yesterday afternoon expecting to relax and settle in for a day before all the excitement began…..NOT.  One thing I have learned about Barbiecon is that once you get there, you hit the ground running.  I was very glad to see that many friends decided to arrive early so it was an afternoon and evening of hugs and quick catch-up on our lives conversations.  There was also room shopping and of course I had to take my camera along and see what the goings on were.  The Hyatt Orange County is a lovely hotel with some amazingly friendly and helpful staff.

It was time to catch up with Barbie buds…my friends Sheree and Susan

Then it was time to shop

And for all you vintage collectors out there….

It looks like my instant upload of photos is working!  I have been able to instant upload to my flickr fairly consistently so I am encouraged it will continue to work well.  I have to send out a HUGE “thank you” to my husband and in house technical support for getting this up and running for me.  It was not the easiest thing to do and we had many trial and error moments yesterday

Here is a picture of the adorable key cards convention attenders receive

The pace will be fast and furious from here on out but I will try to blog everyday and multiple times a day if I can.  If you want up to the minute photos without writeup, you should check my flickr.  Will be enjoying the sites and sounds of the Magic Kingdom today but will be back with you all for an update this evening.  More room shopping photos are available on my flickr account for those who are interested.