Is it finally a Barbie World?

Marcia Frost
4 min readAug 5, 2023

It seemed like the perfect week for a little getaway. I took my service dog, Teddy, and a friend, to Chicago.

The last month has been rough. Despite feeling my health was starting to improve, I received notice my custom power wheelchair was going to be delivered.

Getting a new wheelchair might sound like a good thing, but this is my first and there’s a certain loss that comes with it. I’ve been using a scooter for years for distance. In my mind, I’m still working on getting my body better. I’m not thinking about spending all my days in that chair. Definitely not yet.

I don’t know what I expected when I rode the scooter into the Barbie Café, but I was greeted with “Hello, Barbie!”

We stayed at a great hotel on the Riverwalk (Sheraton Grand) and had a relaxing dinner outside along the water. Chicago Burger Company even had a Pup Menu for Teddy and the Riverwalk was very accessible.

The next day, we headed to the Malibu Barbie Café. This pop-up will be open until mid-October and I thought it would be a great story for one of the television segments I do.

Like the majority of other girls, I had a Barbie as a child. I can’t say I was obsessed with it or collected every accessory. It was just a toy. As I got older and had a daughter of my own, I got her a Barbie because…

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Marcia Frost

A lifestyle journalist forced to slow down sports, travel, health, music & food coverage when chronic illness changed her life & career. Linktr.ee/MarciaFrost