Woman Builds Real Life Barbie Dream House

My childhood was filled with so many awesome toys. Remember toys? Not electronic 'toys,' but actual toys?  Those were they days, weren't they?

I'll never forget the day I got home from school to discover someone had picked up a 1970s Barbie townhouse at a garage sale for me. It didn't matter to me that the house was taller than I was and that I couldn't reach the top floor without a chair, or that it was covered in 1970s floral decor. I had my very own Barbie house and I can't even tell you how many hours I spent playing with that thing- even when the cardboard walls started to give out.

I never had a Barbie Dream House, but my friends did and when we weren't playing with my retro Barbie townhouse, we were playing with their Barbie Dream House. But, somewhere along the way, we grew up and the houses were either put in storage, sold at a garage sale, or passed on to a younger sibling.

Unlike me and my friends, 34-year-old Azusa Sakamoto never outgrew her Barbie Dream House. In fact, she has spent more than $70,000 to turn her home into a Barbie shrine. She’s got Barbie furniture, kitchen appliances, utensils, shoes, handbags, makeup, even Barbie underpants. Oh, and hundreds of dolls, of course.

Sakamoto told the Daily Mail, "My whole house is covered in Barbie including my bedding, rugs, wall art, and if something isn't Barbie then I'll brand it myself with stickers and accessories."

Oh, but there's more. Sakamoto isn't even remotely done. "As soon as I get my next pay check I go online and buy even more," she said.

So is there a "Ken" in Sakamoto's life? Sure is, but Barbie comes first. “If I was asked to choose between a man and my Barbie stuff I'd pick Barbie," she said.

[via Daily Mail]