This post doubles as a review of the 2021 Barbie Dreamhouse, and also Chapter 7 in the Dolls of the Pacific Heights Photostory (to read previous chapters, click here).
Maddison, the most exclusive (and most fashionable) real estate agent in all of the Pacific Heights, is showing Barbie some new properties. After her breakup with Ken, she wants something new. She wants to start fresh.
“Come on in!” Maddison says. “This property was just built yesterday! It’s brand-new, out of the box and ready for a glamorous doll like you to move in!”
“Apparently this is the best house on the market,” Barbie explains to her best friend Teresa, who has come along to help her look at houses. “Let’s see if it lives up to my expectations…”
Everyone heads inside. Barbie’s little sister, Stacie, has come along as well.
“So, why are you in the market for a new property?” Maddison asks. “Don’t you live in the 2007 Totally Real house? That’s a pretty good build.”
“I do.” Barbie says. “My boyfriend cheated on me. With a MAN! Not that I mind it’s a man. I’m woke, you know. Well, I kind of do – because it means he never really loved me. Like, ever. Which is why I’m looking for a new house. There’s too many memories of us together in my old place.”
“Hey, look!” Teresa interrupts them before Barbie can go any further (it’s really for the best). “It’s us on TV!”
“And you can spin it around, too! And it becomes a dog bed. Now that’s cute.”
Barbie makes a face. “Why are there no stickers on the shelves? It looks so… empty.” For a house that is supposed to be the “best in the market,” she isn’t too impressed so far!
“And here’s the outside area. This grass fits perfectly on the top floor, or you can put it down here, too. It’s very customisable.”
“And of course, the dog and all the dog accessories are also included.”
“Here’s the kitchen. As you can see, we have a BBQ, a sink, an oven, a stove and a fridge.”
Maddison wished she lived in this house!
“And, if you’re in the mood to party, the BBQ spins around as well. The shelves on the back are great for storage.”
Barbie makes a face. Great for storage? All of the included food and drinks have little holes to press into the table, so they don’t fall off. Why didn’t they put the holes in the shelf, too? She just knows that all the food and drinks will fall out of that shelf! And what about the cutlery? The Dreamhouse included 12 tiny forks, spoons and knives, but no place to store them all.
“As you can see, there is so much food and drink included!”
But no holes in the fridge to keep everything secure… Barbie thinks to herself. With just a few adjustments, this house would have been perfect!
“Let’s go up!”
Stacie is excited to ride the elevator. “Barbie, you HAVE to buy this house! This elevator is SO COOL!”
(Quick A/N – do NOT attach the elevator if you aren’t sure you 100% want the elevator attached because I found it impossible to remove. The elevator adds an extra 20cm to width of the whole house, so for storage reasons it is way better if you don’t attach the elevator.)
“What do you think of the house so far?” Teresa asks.
“I’m not sure,” Barbie says. “It’s okay… We will have to check out the other two floors before I make a decision.”
“Now this is what I call a bathroom!” Barbie is impressed with the size of the bathroom. There is a mirror, a sink, a toilet, and a big shower. “Look at the toothbrush holder! Now that’s innovation! If only they could do that with the cutlery, too. And why is there a soap bottle with a little plug at the bottom, but no place to plug it in? Am I supposed to put the soap on the dining room table?”
So many questions. A quick fix would be to add a space to plug in the soap on the counter – the soap bottle has already fallen several times.
Barbie is really impressed with the large shower and the shampoo bottle. What a cool design!
“Hmm.. This room is very dark. And I have three sisters, not two! Someone is going to be missing a bed!”
“They call this a pillow! It’s a piece of fabric!”
She thinks back to her 2007 Totally Real House – it came with a big quilt and TWO proper pillows! Not just some piece of one-dimensional fabric.
However, Barbie likes the fluffy quilt!
Stacie, on the other hand, couldn’t be more pleased. “Look! A swing chair! Barbie, please buy this house!”
Teresa is pretty happy, too. She has made her way to the Party Room. “Oh yeah, DJ both!”
“At three floors high, this Dreamhouse has the very best views of the Pacific Heights! And of course, it also has-“
“A POOL!”
Stacie jumps in eagerly. There’s no water in it yet. “A rooftop pool! You’re buying it, right, Barbie?”
Barbie isn’t sure. “I like it, Maddison, I just don’t LOVE it. Are there any other new builds we can see? I’m not sure if this is the one.”
“Hey, Maddison, sorry I’m early!”
It’s Ken, Barbie’s ex! He is also here for a tour of the Dreamhouse.
“The door was unlocked, so I went straight in. This place looks awesome! It’s perfect for Ryan and I.”
“Well, that works out perfectly!” Maddison smiles. “Sorry, Barbie, this is Ken, my next client. Barbie was just saying that she doesn’t want to buy this house, so it looks like it will be you and Ryan’s new home!”
Barbie rolls her eyes. Of course KEN wants this house! It’s so girly and pink. She can’t believe she ever fooled herself into thinking that man was straight!
“Actually, Maddison,” Barbie interrupts. “I think I WILL buy this house after all. Five million, cash? I have it in my purse. I’ll take it today. Right now.”
“Come ON, Barbie, seriously!” Ken can’t help but feel frustrated. He finally found the perfect house for him and Ryan! “You literally already HAVE a house! You love the Totally Real house! Think of the washing machine! This one doesn’t have a washing machine!”
Barbie shrugs. “Maybe I want two houses. Just like you wanted two relationships!”
Here is the house in full. Originally I was going to buy a shelf, and put the house on one of the shelves, and have dolls on the other shelves, but then I realised the house is WAY TOO BIG for that, so I just put it on this table.
The thing that’s kind of funny is that this table is directly in front of my door – so if any of my housemates open my door, they’ll just be faced with a giant Barbie Dreamhouse staring at them. Oh well. That’s what they get for going in my room. Maybe I will move it to the floor because it is very big and bright.
Anyway, I haven’t been blogging for a little bit – you might remember that a few years ago I posted this entry, where I talked about how I was a neurotic perfectionist workaholic and I got (illegally) fired for something ridiculously small and realised the importance of having “anti-hustle culture” hobbies like collecting Barbies. (slowing down and doing something just for fun without monetary gain). I also talked about how I got re-hired into a new department and I was going into life with “a new attitude” where I wasn’t going to work as hard.
Yep, well, old habits die hard and I got sucked right back up into the same thinking style. Except now, I am constantly worried that I am going to get fired AGAIN! I worked through a really bad case of Covid, a really bad flu where I couldn’t talk for days and just generally pushed myself completely to breaking point. (As in, working a 17-hour shift when I only get paid for 8 hours, going for hours without eating or having a break and just generally working my body and mind to exhaustion). It is hard for me to “know when to stop” because I really, really love my job and I really, really want to excel (and also, I’m really, really scared of getting fired again).
I ended up developing severe anxiety, to the point where I couldn’t function anymore. I still loved my job, but I felt like I completely hit a wall. I told my manager I was thinking of resigning because of it, and I ended up with a trip to the doctor, a week of rest and an anxiety and depression diagnosis. It feels weird to me because I always thought, I just need to work harder, I’m so lazy, I need to push myself more, why am I tired all the time, why can’t I enjoy anything anymore? But now it’s like, oh, I was clinically depressed and anxious this whole time.
So right now I’m still on sick leave. I go back to work in a few days and the mere thought of it makes me start crying. I bought this Barbie Dreamhouse because everyone tells me I “need a hobby” and “your job should not be your identity,” but I have had a lot of trouble with that because I don’t really enjoy anything anymore. But I guess collecting Barbie is a good of a hobby than any, and even though it did take me TWO DAYS to set up this house and photograph this story (and mind you I’m on sick leave so it’s not like I am doing anything else), it’s a start.
AND if my housemates do walk into my room and see my Barbie Dreamhouse, I can just tell them I’m depressed and if playing with Barbie gives me the will to live then I’m damn well going to play with Barbies.
Barbie Girl's Dreamhouse 