1 Week until the Loves Me Tote Raffle

I will be raffling off the Loves Me Tote in a week! Please make a donation if you can. Every little bit helps! So far Linda, Amber and Diana have make donations. Thanks ladies!

I thought that I would share the letter I sent out to my family and friends about why I walk.

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes, I'm doing it again - I signed up for the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure! I had such an incredible experience doing the Komen 3-Day for the Cure last year that I'm going back for more. I'm so excited about this event, everyone that participates in the walk is so positive and it is really inspirational to see so many people working together for the same cause.

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days that raises funds for breast cancer research and community programs. I was inspired to walk last year because of my friend Sheri Wallace. Sheri battled breast cancer for 10 years and decided to make a stand and join the 3-day walk along with her sisters, nieces and friends. Our team of 18 people raised almost $50,000 (each participant has to raise at least $2,300). It was an amazing accomplishment and I met so many wonderful friends along the way.

This year, again, Sheri inspired me to walk, but for another reason entirely. In May Sheri lost her battle with breast cancer. We are gathering a team of people who loved her and are walking in her memory. As I struggle with the sadness of losing Sheri, I'm drawing hope from knowing that the funds we raise this year will prevent another person this same heartbreak.

I hope that you will be able to make a donation to help me reach my fundraising goal. Additionally, if you are interested in signing up to participate in the walk please let me know, we would love for you to join us! The Breast Cancer 3 Day is truly an inspirational event to be a part of! Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it!

Sincerely, Alison

Click here to go to the raffle page.

De-cluttering

My sister sent me an article about simplifying life. There are four areas that they suggest, but the two that stood out to me were Pare Down your Library and Simplify your Closet. So I have been working on de-cluttering my house all week. I went through all of my books and got rid of some that I will probably never read again and some randoms. I have decided to break my closet into parts. So far I have only gone through my sweaters, but I found some that I would never wear again and added them to the garage sale pile that is starting to take over my parent's dining room. (We have been planning a garage sale to raise money for the 3 Day walk, but cant find a Saturday morning to do it!)

Now on to the good stuff. I decided that if I was serious about de-cluttering my place that it should probably include my Vera bags! I didnt think that I could do it alone, so I packed up most of my Vera in my suitcase and some of my accessories in my Super Tote. When I got to my parents house I spread it out over their living room and then got to work. I separated it all into piles and then decided what I had too much of and what I hadnt used in a long time and added it to a pile of bags that I would sell. My mom went through it with me the first time and then when my sister got there she went through it. I almost got rid of my Chanticleer Petite Villager because it is so small, but Erin convinced me that I really should keep it. Erin's favorite part of sorting through the bags was when I was trying to decide if I should keep my Reversible Tote in Symphony in Hue. I dont think that it has enough pockets and kind of ends up like a black hole, but I said, "It has so many colors, it is like a neutral." Erin thought that was hysterical. What I should have said is that it has so many colors it goes with everything!

So, I gave two things to my sister and I have 11 that I am going to sell. A couple of my friends told me last time that I sold stuff on ebay that I have to let them know before I sell stuff so that they can have first dibs. So once I run stuff by them I will probably try to sell them on facebook. I will let you know.

Sunday Sale

10% off sale items and free shipping on orders over $100, on verabradley.com only. Happy Shopping!

Vera Sighting

Cupcakes Pink Betsy on the Jersey Shore
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Pictures from Vacation

I'm wishing I was still on vacation, so I thought that I would share a few pictures from last weeks trip that have Vera Bradley bags in them :)

Me and Mom at AT&T Park. She has her Picadilly Plum Backpack

and I have my Loves Me Hipser.

Inside the ballpark.

Me and my sister at Alcatraz.

Deal on Saddle Up!

Saddle Ups are only $29 online today! I have a Saddle Up an I love it. They hold a lot of stuff and I love that I can wear it across my body. It makes it easy to be out and about doing things.

Click here to see a picture of me and my Saddle Up at the San Diego Fair.

Happy Shopping!


Please check out my raffle to raise money for Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk!
http://www.ohmyvera.com/p/raffle-loves-me-tote.html

Vera Sighting!

Green Leaf Mimi Backpack! What a great sighting!

Totally Turq for Mom's Birthday

Last week while we were on our road trip we celebrated my Mom's birthday! My sister thought it would be fun to get my mom an apron in Totally Turq since turquoise is her favorite color. I was surprised because Erin only kind of likes Vera Bradley. Well, she loved it! So good choice Erin!

On Sunday I went with my sister and Dad to meet up with our cousin and her family to go shooting. It was our first time shooting a shot gun. We had a great time! My shoulder is a little sore though. Well when we got back to our parents house my mom was making us dinner! So we took a picture of her in her new apron! She made swiss steak and it was delicious! My parents are great cooks, it almost makes me want to move back home.

Thanks to Linda S.K. and Amber F. for making a donation yesterday and entering my raffle! If you want to enter check out this page: http://www.ohmyvera.com/p/raffle-loves-me-tote.html

Raffle to Raise Money for the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk

Most of you have probably seen in my side bar that I am walking in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. Last year was my first year participating in the walk and I had such an amazing experience that I decided to walk again this year! Each walker has to raise at least $2,300 to be able to participate. So far I have raised $1,348, so only $952 to go!

I was brainstorming some ideas to raise money and I thought it would be a lot of fun to have a raffle here on my blog! The wonderful people at Vera Bradley were kind enough to donate a Tote in Loves Me! Just another reason they are one of my favorite companies!

Tote in Loves Me!

Vera Bradley’s breast cancer awareness patterns all raise funds for breast cancer research. Loves Me is their current breast cancer awareness pattern and it is one of my favorites! 10% of Vera Bradley's net proceeds from the sale of products in Loves Me … will be donated to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer and other breast cancer projects and services.

There is a great amount of information on the Foundation’s website: verabradley.org.
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/verabradleyfoundation?ref=ts
Twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/followheidi
Blog: http://verabradleyfoundation.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verabradleyfoundation/

So here is how the raffle is going to work, raffle “tickets” are $5 for 1 or $25 for 6 and just incase someone is feeling extra generous…$100 for 30. You can make your donation directly to Susan G. Komen on my fundraising website. Once you make a donation the website sends me an email telling me you have made a donation, so I will be able to track of who has entered the raffle. Every morning I will post the first names and last initial of everyone who has entered so far so that you will know that I got your entries. I will put everyone’s name in a spreadsheet for the amount of entries they have and then will do it old school style and print and cut them, so that I can pull a winner out of a hat (a Vera Bradley hat of course!) I will pull a winner on Tuesday, September 7th! That gives you two weeks to make a donation…I wanted to give everyone enough time since I know a lot of people are coming back from vacations and school is starting.

You can make a donation online by going to www.the3day.org/goto/alison On the top left hand side there is a pink button that says “Click to donate to Alison in 2010” Click on that and it will take you to the donation page. If you cant make a donation online send me an email at ohmyvera@gmail.com and we can work something out.


I am super excited about this raffle and I hope that you are too! Please share it with anyone you know how would be interested in winning the tote bag or who would just be interested in supporting the fight against breast cancer. I really appreciate everyone’s support!

I'm back from vacation

Hi Everyone! I am finally back from vacation! I had a great time last week with my Mom and sister. We spent a couple of days in San Francisco and then spent the rest of the week in Sacramento. I was able to go to TWO Vera Bradley stores on my vacation! My mom and I went to the Vera Bradley store in San Francisco and I picked up a new pair of sunglasses! I haven't taken a picture of them yet, so maybe later this week I will post a picture. I returned the Emma that I purchased last time. It was just too small for me, so at least that helped pay for my sun glasses.

We went to Roseville to visit my Mom's friend for lunch and we were right across the street from the Vera Bradley store, so of course we went over to check it out! Plus it was the day that Crossroads and Wildwood Park were released! I love Wildwood Park, but just wasn't ready to spend that much. I would love to get the Frame Handbag!

Which one did I end up getting? See photo at bottom to find out!

Vera Vera and Hello Dahlia!

Night and Day Luggage! I love it!

Vera Vera and Very Berry Paisley

Wildwood Park and Slate Blooms

My Mom and her friend Erin

My Aunt Kathie, Me and my Mom.
I got the Zippidy Tote in Very Berry Paisley! I love it!

Vera Sighting

Mod Floral Pink Hipster
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Vera Sighting - TV

Yellow bird backpack on the real world. Thanks Amber!

Vera Sighting!

Blue Rhapsody Bucket Tote
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Sale!

Extra 20% off special collections! Starry Night, Patchwork, Palm Beach Gardens, Meet Me in Paris, Sun & Sand and Flower Mesh! 5 days only, offer ends Sunday, August 22.

Happy Shopping!

And I just found out, we might have time to go to the Roseville Vera Bradley store tomorrow!!! Yay! Two Vera Bradley stores in one week?! Lucky me!

Vera Sighting!

Back at the wharf, Very Berry Paisley Backpack!
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Imposter Alert!

Must be a Marie Osmond bag.
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Sherbert Villager on Alcatraz!
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Vera Sighting

My sister says this is Vera Bradley overload. Popy Fileds.
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Vera Sighting!

There are Veras everwhere! The lady at the table next to us has a Mod Floral Pink Backsack and at the table across from us there is a Botanica Betsy. I also missed a picture of a woman with a Puccini wallet with a strap and and a tote!

Here is a Hope Garden Backpack.
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Vera Sighting

Frankly Scarlet Hipster on Pier 39
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Vera Sighting!

Pier 39, SF Bali Gold Saddle Up
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Vera Bradley store!

Yay! I am at the Vera Bradley store in SF! The flash didn't work, bummer. Going to check out glasses!
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Vera Sighting

Cambridge Villager at AT&T Park
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Where's Vera?

In San Francisco at AT&T Ballpark! Go Padres!
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A Colorful Day

How have I never heard about or been to this event? It sounds amazing! And why does it have to be in October when the Padres are probably going to go to the post season this year?!

A Colorful Day is The Ultimate Vera Bradley Experience and it is taking place in Orlando, FL on October 6 & 7. The link does a much better job than I could. Check it out: http://www.verabradley.com/assets/verabradleyexperience/index.html

Road Trip!

I am heading out early Sunday morning on a road trip! I will be gone all next week, so I just wanted to give you a heads up that I won't really be posting too much. Probably just Vera Sightings and if we end up anywhere fun maybe a few Where's Vera posts.

My sister joined the Peace Corps and leaves at the end of September and is headed to the Ukraine. She will spend 2 years there teaching English. So before she leaves she is trying to visit all of her family and friends. She is in St. Louis this week visiting friends and then will meet me and my Mom in San Francisco. From there we are headed to Sacramento and Chico. I am going to fly home and then they will drive home together so that they can visit longer with everyone. It will be fun to spend the week with them!

I am hoping that I can drag both of them or even just my Mom to one of the Vera Bradley stores along the way! There is one in San Francisco and one just outside of Sacramento! I dont know if we are going to have time or not, but hopefully we get to go. Although, I really dont need to buy anything, so maybe it would be better to stay as far away as possible.

If you are a fan on facebook, you might have seen this last night. At the bottom of the email Vera Bradley sent out yesterday there was a link to a blog that one of their interns is writing. It is really fun and you should check it out: http://verabradleyintern.blogspot.com/

Also, there is free shipping on all orders over $75 on verabradley.com now through August 15th.

I got my 1st Ebates check!

So a while back I told you that I signed up for Ebates! They were giving an extra percentage back on purchases from verabradley.com. Well, I got my first check yesterday! I got $31.19! I got $5 for signing up, another $10 because two of you signed up and used ebates (a few more of you signed up but havent started using it yet) and I made a few purchases on verabradley.com, landsend.com and I think llbean.com.

I love getting paid to shop! It was too easy. All you have to do is go to ebates.com and sign up. Then each time you are shopping online go to ebates first to see if the store you are shopping at is on their website. Once you click on the store it makes a tag to track and then takes you to the website of the store you want to shop at. Last time I lucked out because I had created a tag for Vera Bradley, so even though I forgot to go directly through ebates on the day I purchased since I had created a tag I still got credit! If you make any purchases online, I highly recommend signing up!

You can click here to sign up or get more information.

Beth bought her 1st Vera!

My new wallet!

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Vera Sighting-TV

Okay, I did it, I DVRed Hoarders and fast forwarded to about half way and found the Vera Bradley bag! This is for you Rachel! I can't watch this show, I have watched it twice, but the stuff they have to sort through is too gross.
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Vera Sighting

Vera at Stein Mart in Poway, not much to pick from and not much of a discount. Not buying anything today.
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New Cardboard Bottom for my Tote

Ask and you shall receive! I called Vera Bradley customer service yesterday to see if I could get a new base for my Mod Floral Blue Tote. I bought it on ebay and it was in pretty good shape, but the cardboard Bottom was bent in two places, so it didn't stay flat. And when I took it out to wash the bag, the layers of cardboard were coming apart and I ended up with two bases. They said they would mail me a new one! It should be here in 2 to 3 weeks! I really don't think that I have ever interacted with another company with better customer service. Vera Bradley really knows how to take care of their customers!

Vera Bradley Rolling Backpack

Some of you are probably wondering whats up with the title because there is no such thing as a Vera Bradley Rolling Backpack...well this is the post I saw on craigslist last night and believe me I was excited! I knew there was no such thing as a rolling backpack and what I just found was a suitcase for $40!!!! The Vera Bradley Super Lite Carry On retails for $200! This one is listed as barely used, lots of storage. I am picking it up tonight and I hope that it is in good condition! It is only 19x13x8. So if this one is in good shape $40 for it is such an amazing deal.

I really don't need another suitcase though. I have my big red one and I have a smaller carry on Padres suitcase that I got free from work. I rarely use the carry on size suitcase...I tend to over pack. So I called my mom and she would like a small suitcase with wheels to use as a carry on, so this will be perfect. Plus she likes Java Blue and already has a purse in that color. I am not too fond of Java Blue. I think that it because I don't really care for brown.

I am picking it up tonight after work and I will add a photo of it! I love craigslist!

Vera Sighting!

Missy sent me this sighting on the Seattle space needle.

Where's Vera?

At the Toby Keith concert!!!
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Vera Sighting

Purple punch Lisa B at Toby Keith!
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Vera Sighting!

Sophia's husband sent me this and I asked if it was his and he said yes. I am sure he looks great carrying it!

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Amber's new purchases!

Amber purchased a Pink Elephant Garment Bag and Large Duffel when they were on sale last week. Garment Bags were just $55 and Large Duffels were $45, what a deal! I love the print too! I purchased my mom a Tie Tote in that pattern when that style and color were still available. Now Amber should plan a trip to San Diego to visit me!

Vera Sighting!

Vera sighting in Boston! From Beth!

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Vera Sighting

Vera sighting at Chargers Fan Fest. Also saw a Mod Floral Pink Weekender used as a baby bag and a Poppy Field Morgan!
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Where's Vera?

So I think I might start something new...Where's Vera. Like the flat Stanley but for my bags, haha. Today my Vera is at the Del Mar Race Track. This will probably come into play more when I go on a road trip in a week, but more on that later because I have money to lose! 4 races so far and not one winning bet! Good thing I don't come here often!
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Current bag for twitter

If you aren't on Twitter you should check it out! Lots of fun!

http://twitter.com/verabradley
http://twitter.com/ohmyvera

I am going to start a class in September about Social Media and I am so excited! I cant wait!

Here is the current bag I am carrying! Simply Violet Angle Tote!
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Jamaica Pictures!

My friend Sophia went to Jamaica and got back a few days ago. She took a couple of pictures of the Vera Bradley bags she saw! She told me she included the blurry ones so that I could see she really tried to take pictures! I love my friends!

I think that the bag in the 3rd and 4th pictures is probably an imposter, because I cant figure out what style or pattern it is. Looks like Java Blue was a favorite!

Have a great weekend!

Vera Bradley's Birthday Party

So much to talk about today...I probably should save something for tomorrow.
First off thank you for your comments on the blog and facebook about me losing my sunglasses. I was pretty bummed. It helped that I purchased them on sale. I put a pair of Lucille Totally Turq glasses on my wish list. I have a pair of Pinwheel Pink sunglasses to hold me over until then.

So yesterday and Tuesday were the Vera Bradley 101st birthday parties! The one on August 3rd was the VIP event. I used to get the VIP invites from San Francisco because I purchased all of my bags from them, but now I buy from all over and just get the general invite :( Oh well, I live too far away to go to a party anyways and the chances of me being it town for one of the parties is slim to none.

My friend Amber went to the party in Roseville last night to purchase a Baby Bag! My friend Sophia doesnt have any Vera Bradley, she is one of the last ones to cave in and get a Vera Bradley bag. She is letting us get her a Vera Bradley Baby Bag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. So Amber and I are splitting the bag and we got a pretty good deal on it! We got a $10 off from when we purchased purses last month when the new colors were released. So we saved it for yesterday because we knew we could get a item at 20% off after 6pm. Insert big smilie face here -> :) HAHA They even put it in a box and tied a bow around it for us! Vera Bradley has the best customer service of any company I have ever purchased from! I just can't get over how amazing they are! And to top it off, they were giving away mini coin purses and they gave Amber two of them since I couldnt be there and we were splitting the gift. Isnt that sweet?!

Amber also took a bunch of pictures, so check it out! I love the "Did you know?" signs that they had up around the store! What a fun idea!

So I couldnt wait and last night I posted about the Vera Vera bags being online! I am excited about those! I love the stitching on them! I wonder if the Wildwood Park bags will have the same pattern.

My friend Sophia...mentioned earlier...went on a trip to Jamaica! She said she saw a ton of Vera and even was able to snap a few photos...I will save those for tomorrow.