One of my all time favorite outfits is Emily’s Snowsuit. I have looked at it ever since it came out and just love the shade of yellow in the jacket. When I saw it go on sale again the week after Christmas I just had to get it .. and I’m glad I did as it is not showing up on the American Girl website right now.

The mailman brought me a package today and when I opened it up I just couldn’t help but to sigh. The beautiful butter yellow and blue jacket for Emily was pretty up close than I expected.

It didn’t take me long to get Emily from my daughter’s room and dress her in weather appropriate gear – it’s cold, you know!! The outfit consists of blue bib overalls, the yellow and blue coat, brown boots and mittens – complete with the connector string so you don’t lose just one.

And for a girl who HATES winter, I do LOVE the dolls in their snowy winter gear. From left to right – Maplelea Taryn in her snow gear, Kanani in the Sporty Winter Outfit, Emily in her snowsuit, Maplelea Saila in her meet outfit, and Gwen wearing Chrissa’s snowsuit.

Doesn’t Emily just look AMAZING in this outfit?

Ever since the Canadian doll company, Maplelea, introduced us to their latest addition, Saila, I have had my eye on her! Pronounced “sigh-la,”  – Saila is from Iqaluit – the capital of the Nunavat Territory in the northern part of Canada. She speaks English and her native language of Inuktitut. Well, I couldn’t help myself any longer and just had to order her a few weeks ago. She arrived yesterday and let’s just say that the catalog pictures do not do her justice! She is so authentic looking – as in she really looks like an Inuit girl. I think it is so neat that Maplelea embraced this important part of Canadian culture in making Saila.

American Girl Kanani and Maplelea Girl Taryn were ready to meet their new friend in the snow. After all, Kanani loves the Sporty Winter outfit and Chrissa was kind enough to loan Taryn her snowsuit until Taryn’s snowsuit arrives (long story!).

Saila arrived in her meet outfit which consists of a pink t-shirt, fleece vest, glitter jeans and boots. She was very happy to see the other girls.

Saila and Taryn comparing notes about being Canadian dolls in a house of American Girl dolls. Taryn says not to worry – all the girls here are very nice and love their friends from all over the world.

Here is a close up of Saila’s cutie face.

A view of Saila’s long black hair with a slight wave and layers.

And the girls have decided that I need company each day and have taken over the shelf in my desk that is right above my computer monitor. All I have to do is look up and I can enjoy this fun winter scene. Once Taryn’s snowsuit arrives from my Canadian friend Karen, Chrissa can have her snowsuit back and join in the fun.

Saila is available directly from the Maplelea website and costs $99. She is 18″ tall, has a soft body and pose-able limbs.

Note: I bought Saila on my own and received no direct compensation for this review (although Maplelea is a Doll Diaries advertiser all year). She is a beautiful doll and I just had to share this with you!!

So, what do you think of our new doll friend? Have you started getting your Holiday scenes ready for your dolls? We have another Holiday Parade coming up … get your photos ready!

CONGRATULATIONS Saila and the entire Maplelea team!!

Each year, more than 1,000 Canadian children test toys on behalf of the Canadian Toy Testing Council. The CTTC CHILDREN’S CHOICE AWARD is given out to only ten toys that are proven to be fun, innovative and the absolute best in their area of play. Saila, the newest Maplelea Girl won this prestigious title!!

How very exciting as Saila is such a unique doll. Her realistic features and important cultural accuracy makes Saila a true Canadian gem.

If any of our readers have a Saila of their own, we would love to see some photos! Please email them to us at share@dolldiaries.com.

This just in! Each one of the Canadian Maplelea Girls has a new outfit for Fall!

• Brianne – Manitoba Wildflowers – $26
• Leonie – Cirque du Monde – $26
• Taryn – Close Knit – $26
• Saila – Katajjaq Giggles – $27
• Alexi – Urban Orange – $30
• Jenna – Maritime Morning – $28

Which one is your favorite? Personally, I love Saila and think her new outfit is adorable. I also like Leonie’s Cirque du Monde and Taryn’s Close Knit outfits. Each outfit comes on a hanger and with additional journal pages for the girls’ journals.

I am so incredibly excited that the Maplelea company has let us be part of the build up to the release of their newest doll!! I am even more excited that they sent us the photo of the new doll before it goes live on the Maplelea website – especially for you!

Let’s meet Saila. That is pronounced “sigh-la,” in case you were wondering. Saila is from Iqaluit – the capital of the Nunavat Territory in the northern part of Canada. Saila speaks English and her native language of Inuktitut.

Remember the clues we got?

• She has a pet with four legs – you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to meet her furry friend.
• Some of her clothing reflects her family’s proud heritage – like her kamik (boots).
• She lives on an island in Canada  – Baffin Island that is part of the Nunavat Territory.
• She speaks two languages—English and a language that begins with the letter “I” – that’s Inuktitut.
• There are no subways, railways or highways on her island.
• She likes to go jigging – a form of fishing through the ice.

So, visit the Maplelea website and meet Saila, her furry friend and learn more about her likes, culture and best of all – see all her fun clothes and accessories! You should definitely read the article they wrote about the making of Saila Qilavvaq of Nunavut, our newest Maplelea Girl – it is very interesting and goes to show how much research went into the making of Saila.

What do you think? Honestly, I think she is more original than any doll released recently. She has a look that is authentic, adorable and easy to relate to. I absolutely love her and can’t wait to see the rest of her collection.

This just in!! No one has guessed correctly yet based on the first set of clues we posted about the new Maplelea Girl doll who comes out September 20. So, Maplelea sent us some more clues…

• She speaks two languages—English and a language that begins with the letter “I”.
• There are no subways, railways or highways on her island.
• She likes to go jigging.

This just in… Here is a piece of a visual cue.

Any new guesses? What do you think she will look like? Where do you think she is from?

Something tells me, Doll Diaries readers will be the first to know what she looks like!

A few weeks ago we heard the announcement that Maplelea Girls – the dolls Canada – have a new doll coming out September 20, 2011. Since we have quite a few Maplelea Girl collectors and doll owners on Doll Diaries I decided to go to the source and see what kind of scoop I could get! Now these hints will be released via email sometime this week, but we have been given permission to share them with the Doll Diaries readers first!

What we know about the new Maplelea Girl:

• She has a pet with four legs.
• Some of her clothing reflects her family’s proud heritage.
• She lives on an island (in Canada, of course).

Any guesses??

I can’t wait to meet the newest Maplelea Girl and learn more about her heritage and her Canadian life! She will be available for pre-order at Maplelea.com on September 20, 2011 and will ship as early as September 30.

The next Maplelea Dolls photo contest starts May 15th, 2011.  Each person may submit up to five photos. Winning photos will be printed in the 2011 fall catalogue, and may be used for other promotional and publicity purposes for the Maplelea Girls. A $50 Gift Certificate will be sent to each entrant who has a photo selected as a winner.

Go visit the Maplelea Girls website for complete photo contest details and some great photography tips, too!

Oh my goodness!! This just came through my inbox and it is just too cute not to share! Maplelea Dolls has the most adorable Pizza Party Kit for sale that is perfect for all 18″ dolls.

The Pizza Party set includes everything your dolls need to have a fabulous night in – Chef’s hat and apron, six slices of pizza, pizza pan, pizza cutter, pizza server, six cloth napkins and a napkin holder.

The Maplelea Pizza Party set is $24 and my guess is that it will be an extremely popular gift this holiday season!

It doesn’t matter where you live, one thing seems to always ring true – girls love to play with dolls and dolls that represent their heritage, hobbies, and personalities are the most popular. Maplelea Girls are those dolls for the girls of Canada. The collection of five dolls representing the girls from the various Canadian regions are high quality, 18′ vinyl play dolls.

Taryn, Brianne, Alexi, Jenna and Léonie are the Maplelea Girls. Today we received our very own Maplelea doll to review – Taryn. Like her American Girl friends, Taryn is a soft-bodied doll with vinyl, poseable limbs. She has bright eyes with long eyelashes and her eyes close when she is lying down. Her long brown hair is easy to brush and she comes dressed in a turtleneck, skirt, tights and cute blue boots.

The box the Maplelea Girls dolls come in is very high quality and is meant to be kept as a storage box for the doll and her gear. Additionally, it comes with a 64-page journal with the doll’s story and lots of question and answer pages for your daughter to document her own story.

One of the most common questions we get when it comes to the various doll lines is “how tall is the doll compared to an American Girl doll or can they wear the same clothes?” The Maplelea Girls are the same height as the American Girl dolls (Taryn looks taller in this picture, but its the shoes) and they are a bit slimmer as well.

Here you can see Taryn vs. Chrissa. As will all dolls that come into our house, Taryn has been introduced around and is making friends with all her new American Girl pals.

The Maplelea Girls dolls are $99 (Canadian) each and are available only from the Maplelea website. The dolls also have a full line of outfits, accessories, furniture and pets.