Spa day for Catra

Since I should be mucking out my domestic squalor, I've instead been repainting Catra and boil-washing her hair.

With wet hair and a slowly curing coat of Testor's "wood," she doesn't dare move and wonders if her teleportation abilities include the power to suspend herself in air. (The smudges will come off with nail polish remover and did eventually get removed. Everything was a bit damp and sticky at the time of the photo.)

The goal is an aesthetic that's less 1980s glam-punk and more country-western. I already have several possible calicos for her skirt. (She's also being labeled as 1:12 for the nonce, based on being a 6-inch figure where any sane person would put her with 1:12 furniture instead of having her be Amazonian at 1:18.)

Meanwhile, I'm reading the She-Ra Toy Guide, where it is revealed that Catra originally came with a big furry skirt.

Spider-Man goes to ICON Arizona

Spidey went to ICON, the first-it-is-to-be-hoped-annual toy convention in Glendale, mostly to pick up women. He also had some interest in entering the cosplay contest, which is why he borrowed Cleo de Nile's swimsuit.

Meet Catra, who left the Evil Horde in order to go to law school. Having passed the bar exam, she is now an associate at a firm specializing in intellectual property litigation. Qualities of being calculating, ambitious, and ruthless have served her well in her first years there, though being able to transform into a panther mostly serves to enliven the corporate holiday party. She expects to make partner on schedule and is laying the groundwork for a career in politics.

The Goth Bunny also made a new friend. Meet Vincent (who was a mere $2, with accessories including extra head!). Vincent's arrival raises the question of why he and Bunny, both 5-1/2" tall, live the 1:12 lifestyle, while Spidey (same height) and Catra (slightly taller) live the 1:18 lifestyle.

Katie and Hayden get bath fixtures

There's still a long punch list that includes better cabinet handles, a toilet flush handle, flooring, wall tile (and, it would seem, washing my real-life refrigerator, which has picked up the Arizona Perpetual Dust Smudges)... but it's always the last ten percent of the job that drags on. Spidey is ready to declare victory and deliver the bath fixtures.

In their original form, these fixtures were somewhat more pink.

Gloria was a brand recommended on the One Sixth Warriors forum, where it was also promised that the sets take painting well, since G.I. Joe's battlefield latrine would be lipstick pink only if he were engaging in trench warfare inside a Justice store.

Swinging in with "swinging sixties" furniture

The Moose is bemused with delight when Spidey shows up with a haul of Mid-Century Modern furniture bought at auction.

This is Blue Box furniture, the Heywood Wakefield of the half-scale crowd. The chest of drawers and the stool also resemble Triang's Spot on furniture in 1:18, but the dressing table doesn't.

Spider-Man is almost ready to serve martinis

Spidey is proud of his rehabbed 1930s liquor cabinet.

It's a busy Sunday morning for Spider-Man

Spidey works on replating Katie and Hayden's bathroom faucets. He's not sure what metal would have been bright pink, but he suspects it's kryptonite to one of his pals.

Spider-Man does salvage

Spidey tries to figure out how to fit his salvaged bath fixtures into one gable of his Victorian rowhouse. Webbing is also useful when diving into tips to rescue vintage 1930s toilets.

He'll have to kneel to use the sink, but that's a small price to pay for vintage charm. His haul also included a grandfather clock, a damaged dresser, and...

...a place to lounge in the foyer. His plan to help pay the mortgage is that the bottom floor will be a Ziferblat pay-by-the-minute café, while his apartment will be on the upper floors.

Spider-Man seeks a new career

Spider-Man  shows Grandpa progress on the rehab of his fireplace. After two coats of Testor's gloss red, it has achieved the color and stickiness of a candied apple, but Spidey is sure that curing time plus one more coat should do it.

With the rise of Instagram and Vine, Spidey has found that being a freelance photographer is no longer a viable superhero cover story, much less a way to make a living. Reinventing himself as a contractor and home restoration expert gives him lucrative excuses to be everywhere.

And that's three of six, which may be enough for one day.

Hayden poses with Alexis and Cleo to demonstrate that their dresses, while similar, are not identical. Today does seem to have been Neutral Day, though.

Alexis is first on the block to have... something...

Alexis wanted something less cocktail-party than her brocade wrap dress -- a cool, comfortable dress she could wear to church and brunch, like she did as a child in Alabama. She also has something new and different for the Liv girls.

Cleo is compelled to dress like a lady

Katie and Sophie took Cleo aside and explained firmly that her clubbing dress would not work for job-hunting in Phoenix. It was imperative that she acquire a more suitable outfit, preferably one that would also keep her cool and shaded in the merciless summer sun.

Move to Phoenix, get dresses!

Sophie wanted her dress to be an homage to the prevailing Mid-Century Flintstones architecture of CenPho, but the results may be a bit more sauvage than she'd intended.

The same skirt that looked appealingly pouffy in person turns very Pebbles Flintstone-auditions-for-Survivor on camera. This dress is from the no-sew circle method, same as Draculaura's, but this time, I put a slit at the back of the neck to help it over the head. The fabric is from my favorite thrift-store skirt of 2013, which I wore until the fabric gave way at the seams -- and it lives on! The patterned top layer -- yes, this is lined, same as the skirt was -- is slippery and deceptive. You think you've cut a straight line, but no, whoops! there's a notch missing.

There's also the difficulty that this dress causes Sophie to fade into the upholstery. Not her favorite look, unless the fashion design is just a cover for a career with the FBI or CIA.

Sophie is more satisfied with Alexis' dress for networking cocktail events. The restrained menswear pattern says business, while the dramatic neckline says glamor.

This is from the same no-sew pattern as Katie, Hayden's, and Cleo's dresses. The fabric is a scrap from Nasco. Alexis and Sophie were, of course, wearing perfectly nice Barbie clothes, but apparently the rule is: move to Phoenix, get dresses!

The tight skirt isn't the best for sprawling on a bed, but it's a relief to have a talk with Katie away from the young 'uns.

Draculaura goes for vintage chic

After her first latte, Draculaura started hinting that now she was out of high school, she was ready to move on from short, pleated skirts to a more vintage look. Twenty minutes at Antique Sugar, and she was properly fitted out, though she'll want to shop for a less ironic sash.

This dress follows the no-sew circle dress method from My Froggy Stuff. This fabric isn't knit, which means once the head hole was large enough for Draculaura's head, the dress required careful adjusting to not be outright indecent.

She now seems much more content, while Sophie, satisfied with the day's fashion progress, puts her feet up.

Cleo packed only club wear

When asked if she might like to change out of that dental-floss swimsuit before dinner, Cleo announces that the only other thing she packed was her clubbing dress.

In person, the dress is shiny teal satin, not bright blue. So it doesn't actually clash with her shoes. Not that it wouldn't be a Look if it did.

The dress is made by the same no-sew wrap dress method as Katie and Hayden's dresses.

With a latte in her lap, Cleo now feels herself to be a model of lady-like deportment.

Katie and Hayden get permanent house guests

Katie is thrilled to see her friend Alexis and is showing her where in the kitchen to find the herb tea.

Career opportunities looked better for Katie and Hayden's best friends, Alexis and Sophie, here in the big city than in my parents' smaller town. Alexis is going to get her real estate license. Sophie is excited about Phoenix's burgeoning fashion scene.

Here, Hayden is attempting to persuade Sophie to take off those high heels. Sophie looks a bit frazzled from her first encounter with Phoenix's summer heat.

But wait... what...

Also joining the household are Draculaura and Cleo De Nile, recently graduated from Monster High and seeking summer jobs before starting their freshman year at Arizona State University. Both girls are a little overwhelmed with their new surroundings, especially after Hayden hinted that, even in Phoenix's casual environment, they might be somewhat casually dressed for job hunting. Draculaura figures she'll get a job with tips at Nami or Green, while Cleo hasn't thought beyond the party scene.

Having sworn up and down that there would be no more houses until at least 2016, I have figured out how to add two bedrooms to Katie and Hayden's abode by moving the smaller houses around the existing shelves. The six of them will have to use the single bathroom in shifts.

More, more, more!

• There are other people who have Liv World dolls!
• Monster High is so complicated, it has a wiki.

Katie and Hayden get a bed

Both girls are looking a bit frazzled from getting the bed into the room.

Spider-Man wants chic painted furniture

Spidey rightly points out that nobody except Katie and Hayden have gotten any home improvements in almost a month.

The end tables were $1 each due to poor condition, so painting them banana yellow does not destroy valuable antiques.

It's stressful work, though, which is why Spidey and Needlenose are splitting a magnum of sparkling rosé.

Haul time!

Spiderman must have gotten a deal on end tables.

In a fit of irresponsibility, to further postpone re-gluing Katie and Hayden's ceiling molding, I made the trek to Chandler and Mesa for antique stores and other curiosities.