...should check out the "special events" that are offered at a store near you. Which are awesome! Or, you could, like Lola and I, indulge in the ultimate MasterCard adventure (#PricelessChicago) and have the entire store (before it opens to the public) to yourself with sales associate answering every question, followed by a Q&A with an American Girl Doll author and a great brunch. Which was really awesome! Actually... a dream come true.

We had the entire store to ourselves.

I, quite honestly, had no idea how extensive the American Girl book library was because we've always been super rushed while shopping at American Girl Place and on this Sunday we had the store to ourselves. For over an hour we browsed and listened to stories that the helpful associates pointed out and Lola felt like VIP, rightfully so. The store was empty!

Lola finally got to have her portrait taken with her doll, because we were the first people scheduled (I normally don't have the patience to wait for two hours #FirstWorldProblems).

But what we were most looking forward to was brunch with the author.

(Side Note: Brunch food at American Girl Place was picture perfect for my picky eater.)

Valerie Tripp, author of many American Girl Doll novels like Felicity, Josefina, Kit, & the Molly series was the featured speaker at brunch.

Not only did she speak about the importance of writing, she highlighted her writing process for young children to understand. My most favorite example was when she spoke about American Girl "Molly" living through the Great Depression and how she (Valerie Tripp) used her own personal experience of getting her hand-made Halloween costume soaked as a highlight in Molly's story.

"It's the imagination that matters. Imagination is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets to be." - Valerie Tripp. If you have a little writer in your house, save this video and share it with them.

There's going to be another event like this in December, in Chicago, but I'm not allowed to spill the beans just yet. Stay tuned. You'll be the first to know all the details. I highly recommend it. And of course, Lola and I will be there.

Disclosure: Thanks to MasterCard - Priceless Chicago for giving us tickets to the event. All opinions are my own.