Halloween!

Since Halloween is on Sunday this year, I will guess that most of you are going to be celebrating Halloween all weekend! This year at work is the first year in my 5 years of working here that we are doing nothing, zero, nada for Halloween! I am kind of bummed, but I will get over it. I really wanted to wear my costume to work today!!! Oh well, it will just have to wait until tonight. I can't wait to let you know what I am going to be...but I picture is better than describing it, so you are just going to have to wait. If you are lucky I will upload a picture from my phone tonight, otherwise you might just have to wait for it sometime this weekend.

Click here to check out these fun pictures on facebook of the Vera Bradley staff dressed up for Halloween. Each department has a different theme and they all turned out great!

What are you going to be for Halloween??

Have a fun and safe Halloween!!! Trick or Treat!

Vera Sighting - YouTube "Cheer Up America"

My cousin Heather spotted a Vera Bradley bag in this video, so I just had to share it with you all. Plus it is just a feel good, make you smile kind of video. It starts off with "I love the floral print on your bag!" Haha, must have been a Vera, but there wasnt a shot of it. Keep an eye out for the Raspberry Fizz Backpack and the Yellow Bird Curvy Tote.

60% off Puccini, Mediterranean Blue & White and Night Owl

Vera Bradley has 4 classic colors now on sale for 60% off through Sunday, October 31st! Choose from Puccini, Mediterranean Blue, Mediterranean White and Night Owl. I have never liked the first 3 very much. But I really like Night Owl. I have a Miller, Wristlet and Sunglass case in that color. I love the little owls, plus I really like polka dots and this is probably the closest it come to a polka dot print. Click here to check out the colors that are on sale.

Happy Shopping!

Vera Bradley Winter Parties

My friend Alissa went to the Vera Bradley store in Roseville to use her birthday coupon! (Happy Birthday Alissa!!! on Halloween) She picked up a Tech Case in Baroque. The more I see that color the more I like it. I dont know if it would go with anything that I wear, but I really dont worry about that too much anways.

Alissa and Tiffany also were given invitations to the Vera Bradley party in November! The invites are cute and they are also in Baroque. I must be doing a great job of not buying any Vera because I didnt get an invite this time around. It is the first time I havent received an invite and I was a little bummed, but I can never go anways, so I dont know why I even cared. I wil be in Sacramento on November 10th though, so if I was getting to town early enough, I could go to the open party that day, but alas, I have to fly out after work and I wont make it in time. Amber got an invite to that party.

Here is a run down of the special offers for the Nov 10th party:

10am to Noon, Free coin purse with any purchase

Noon to 3pm, 3 Wallets for $15 each: One for the Money, Euro and Mini Zip

3pm t0 6pm, 20% off any tech item

6pm to close, Buy one get one 50% off

I do get in town in time to go for the last offer, but I really, really dont NEED anything, I just want things :) So I think that I will wait until November when hopefully I get my birthday coupon to purchase something.

Reader Pictures

So last night I posted a picture that Dawn sent in from a father, son and daughter hunting trip, which inspired Brittany to send in a picture of her VB Cupcakes Pleated Tote and her coordinating pink digital camo P22. I guess this proves that Vera works for just about any occasion. Thanks Brittany!Which inspired me to post a picture of my with my Dad and sister when we went shooting for the first time back in August.

Yeah, I know there is no Vera in this picture, but I can assure you that there was Vera in the car :) We went to Lake Henshaw and shot at clay targets. From Vera Bradley bags and scrapbooking to riffles and camo hats...I guess I am just diverse like that :)

Vera Sighting - TV

Mod Floral Blue bag on Undercover Boss (The NASCAR episode)
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Reader Photos

Check out this great pic that OhMyVera! reader Dawn sent me of the back of a big van as a bunch of dads took their kids on their our annual father/daughter/son hunting trip. No hunting trip is complete without hunting dogs and Vera Bradley duffel bags.


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Thanks Dawn!

Vera Bradley Crossroads and City Sport Collections

Today you can find the new Crossroads and City Sport Collections online, they are both in stores as well. Click here to see the collections online. I wish that the City Sport collection would have been online earlier. I still wonder why they released it in stores, but not online until now. Here is the link to the Mulberry collection that I was comparing to the City Sport collection.

I really love the Crossroads Collection too. I bought a Zippity Tote last time and I really love it!

Happy shopping!

Vera Bradley Lucille Sunglasses

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday, lets just say it has been one of those weeks.

I realised that I never posted about my sunglasses that I purchased back in August. After I lost my sunglasses in Mission Bay, I bought a pair on a road trip that I took to San Francisco. I bought a pair of Lucille sunglasses and they have Totally Turq on the inside. I love these sunglasses! They have a white enamel on the outside and I have never had white sunglasses before. They go with everything just like black, but they aren't so dark on my face.

I do have one comment about the case or now non-case that they give you with them. With my pair that I lost in Mission Bay, I got a nylon covered back hard case which was great. (You can see both cases in the pictures) They protected my sunglasses and it was a clam shell so it was fast and easy to open. Now they give you a little cloth cover and that is it. They make sure to tell you that you can use it as a cleaning cloth and that it will be enough to protect your glasses. Well I should have just gone with my gut and used my old black nylon one (or my pinwheel pink or night owl zip around sunglass case) to protect them. While on my last trip to Sacramento a couple weeks ago my glasses got bend! I was so bummed. I put them on and it felt like they were resting on my right cheek, so I looked over at my mom and friend and asked if they looked lopsided and they both started laughing and said yes. My mom said not to worry about it, that we could get it fixed. We had to run to Walmart to pick something up and she said that their eye glasses department would be able to fix them. So we went to the eye glasses doctor at the front of the store and asked if he would be able to fix them. He said they were pretty bad and he would really need to bend them and that there was a possibility that they would break. I told him to just go for it, because I couldn't wear them the way they were because I would look like a crazy person. So he fixed them for me. When I asked him how much I owed him, he told me not to worry about it. That was awesome!

So when I got back home I pulled out the black nylon case and I have been using it ever since. I really think that Vera Bradley needs to go back to giving out a hard case with their sunglasses. I used to just purchase sunglasses at Ross or Marshalls so that I didn't have to pay too much, so if I am going to spend a little extra to get Vera Bradley sunglasses, I don't think that a hard case to protect them is too much to ask.

Halloween

I am going to a friend's Halloween party and I need a costume. You can't go to the party unless you are dressed up. I was trying to think of something that I could be and she said, "you know what you should be?" I asked what? "A Vera Bradley bag!" Hmm...I never thought of that. It does sound like a lot of fun though, so today I am running to the fabric store at lunch to see if I can find any material that I think would work. I was going to try to find a material that matches a VB print, but then I realised that none of my friends would know the difference. If it is pink and bright and printed they will be able to guess that I am a Vera Bradley bag. My mom even said that she would make me a dress out of it. So wish me luck in finding fabric! This could be a really cute Halloween costume!

Weekend Road Trip

When I go on weekend trips I always take my Vera Bradley bags. Sometimes I wonder how I got by without all of my Vera Bradley bags. They all are so handy. Here is a list of what I used this weekend, not counting what was in my Pleated Tote that I was using as a purse.

XL Duffel, Pink Pansy

Ditty Bag, Loves Me

Medium Bow Cosmetic, Pink Elephants

Large Cosmetic, Raspberry Fizz

Clear Lotion Bag, Cupcakes Pink

Super Tote, Pinwheel Pink

Pleated Tote, Cupcakes Pink

I went to Big Bear to spend the weekend scrapbooking, one of my favorite hobbies. I took Friday off of work and headed up there. The weather in southern California has been cloudy, drizzle, rain, yuck...so it was nice to head up the mountain and have blue skies with puffy clouds. It was beautiful, even if I spent most of the weekend inside. We stay at a bed and breakfast that was a conference room that they rent out to scrapbooking groups. I have been up there at least half a dozen times. It is so nice to throw all of my stuff in my Vera bags and take off for the weekend. Plus I am glad that I get to use so many of them, I would feel bad if they all just sat in my closet all of the time. I can justify having them if I actually use them :)

City Sport vs. Mulberry

I was reading one of the Vera Bradley discussion boards on facebook (not the official VB discussion board) and Rachel pointed out that Target was going to be carrying a Mulberry line in October and that one of the bags looked simular to the City Sport bags. I happened to be a Target this week and I saw the bags in person! They just released this week. They have a navy blue bag, just like the City Sport collection, but the blue on the main part of the bag is more of a denim than a canvas or nylon. They both have pattent leather on them. I think that they are pretty cute and at half the price they might be a good substitute for someone who was intereted in City Sport but not willing to sepnd the $$$.

You can check out the Target Mulberry Collection here. The City Sport collection still isnt on vb.com. I havent been to a store since it was released, so I dont have any pictures for you to compair it to.

Check out the purse at the bottom (sorry, my pink cell phone cover kind of got in the way).

Purple Punch Dress

One of my readers, Jessica, sent me this picture of a super cute dress that looks really similar to Purple Punch! Isn't it adorable!? I can't believe how close it is to Purple Punch. The dress is reversible (the reverse side is a lime green plaid) so there was no tags.

Has anyone else ever found any other clothing that reminded of you of a Vera Bradley print?

Thanks for emailing me the picture Jessica!

Another Great Sale Online at verabradley.com

Vera Bradley is offering another great sale. You can get an extra 30% off of retiring colors like Mesa Red, Riviera Blue, Mediterranean Blue, Mediterranean White and Puccini to name a few. All together it is 16 different prints! You can also get free shipping if you spend $100 or more. This deal is available now through Sunday, Oct 17th.

There have been a lot of good deals lately, but I still haven't been tempted to buy anything. I haven't purchased any Vera Bradley items (except the $5 hipster from craigslist) in two months! I think that is pretty good!

It is finally here, FREE SHIPPING + Enter to win contest

Vera Bradley hit 300,000 fans on their facebook page and as a thank you they are offering free ground shipping on orders placed online from 9am to 9pm eastern - today only. Everyone always asks for unconditional free shipping and now we have it! Yay! Enter the promo code: LIKES. If you are going to be shopping online you might consider signing up for ebates. You will get 3% back on purchases made at verabradley.com.

Enter to win! Vera Bradley currently has an enter to win promotion going on. You could win a $500 or $100 gift card to use in a Vera Bradley store or online. Check out the link for more information. You have until October 30th to sign up.

Vera Bradley Baby Bag

Sorry that I didnt get a chance to blog yesterday. My Mom and I flew back from Sacramento and we were supposed to land in San Diego at 9:30pm, but there was too much fog in San Diego so we were diverted to Ontario, where we sat on the plane waiting to the fog to clear. After midnight they decided to put us on busses to get us back to San Diego. We got home around 2:30 in the morning and then had to take a cab home. It was a long night, so I slept in until 10am yesterday and went to bed by 8pm. At least we got home safe!

I had a great time in Sacramento, we had so much going on. I went to my cousin's wedding on Saturday and on Sunday I went to my friend Sophia's baby shower. My friend Amber and I went in together to get Sophia a Vera Bradley Baby Bag! We originally purchased a Sittin' in a Tree Baby Bag because Sophia's favorite color is green, but when Baroque was released we knew she would love it, so we exchanged it.

Sophia opening her her new bag! We are so glad that she likes it!

I was in charge of folding up gift bags and packing up all of the gifts for Sophia to take home. When she started to open our present I pretty much leaped in front of her so that I could take a photo.

Flying Home

Mom and I are flying home from Sacramento and I just realised that we both have our Pleated Totes, I will let you guess which one belongs to each of us. We had a great trip to Sacramento for the weekend and had a great time seeing all of our family and friends. I can't wait to come back soon!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Vera and the TSA

Last night I flew to Sacramento because this weekend I am going to my cousin Russell's wedding and my friend Sophia's baby shower. My suitcase was really full. I had my Super Tote packed so I could take stuff to the shower (I am in charge of games and prizes). So I decided to use my Super Tote as a carry on and throw a couple of bags in it and my shoes.

TSA ran my tote through their x ray machine and asked who the bag belonged to because it looked like there was a knife or shank in it. I was thinking no way! Just shoes and bags. So they ran it through again and still said the same thing, so they were going to have to look through it.

She asked me if there was anything sharp in my bag and I told her no. She started looking through the main part of my bag, no problem. Then she was going to look in one of the ten pockets that the Super Tote and the light bulb went off! I remembered that I did have a knife in my bag! Oops!

Last week I was helping out at Tri Deltas recruitment and we bought 6ft sandwiched for the girls. I threw a knife (my pink breast cancer awareness one from Pampered Chef!) in my tote in case we needed it. We never ended up using it and it was at the bottom of one of the pockets so I forgot to take it out of the tote.

The woman at TSA was really nice about it. She asked me if I wanted to go back and check it. I had a bag with a zipper in my Super Tote so I threw the knife in there and my shoes so I wouldn't have to carry them and she escorted me out of security so I could go back to the check in counter. Thank goodness Southwest doesn't charge for your first two bags! I love Southwest! I checked my knife and I was on my way!
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Vera Bradley Canyon and City Sport Collections Debut Today!

The Canyon and City Sport Collections are being released today!

You can shop the Canyon collection by clinking here.

I can't find the City Sport Collection on verabradley.com. Not sure why. The winter catalog lists today as their release day. They have a landing page and link to the Canyon Collection, but no signs of the City Sport. Guess you will have to make your way to a store if you want to see those bags.

Canyon & City Sport Releases Oct 7th

Tomorrow is the day! The Canyon and City Sport collections get released tomorrow. The Canyon collection comes in red corduroy and plaid. The City Sport collection from what I hear comes in navy and grey and in a nylon collection.

I really like navy so I am pretty excited about the City Sport collection. These purses and travel bags range from $55 to $140, so they are a little more expensive than the signature cotton bags.

If you want to check out pictures of them today you can look in the online catalog posted here: http://www.verabradley.com/catalog/shop_catalogs.jsp

October 9th - Vera Bradley Foundation Day

Saturday, October 9th is Foundation Day!

From verabradley.com: On one very special day during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you can shop to stop this terrible disease and lend a hand in finding a cure. On Saturday, October 9, 25% of all net proceeds from purchases made in Vera Bradley Stores and verabradley.com will be donated to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer. When you spend in the name of a cause, we all get to keep the change.

While you're at it, purchase a Foundation Shopper Tote for $12 and $3 will automatically go to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

We weren't the only ones who wanted to give a little extra October 9. Contact your local Vera Bradley retailer to find out if they are participating in Foundation Day and enjoy some goodwill shopping!

What a great opportunity to support the Vera Bradley Foundation! I haven't purchased anything in almost 2 months, but this might be a good opportunity to pick up something new.

Vera Bradley Morgan - $19

Vera Bradley Morgan bags are on sale for only $19 for two days only! Monday and Tuesday you can get this deal online or at the outlet stores. If you are shopping online remember to check out ebates to get cash back on all of your purchases!

My first purchase from a Vera Bradley signature store was a Raspberry Fizz Morgan! I love that purse. The pockets in the front are amazing. It is one of those bags that doesnt look huge, but holds a ton of stuff!

Side note: I have a reader who is looking for a Paprika Turnlock Wallet. If anyone has one that they are selling please email me at ohmyvera@gmail.com. Thanks!

Vera Sighting

Night Owl Tall Tote
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Vera Sighting

Vera Sighting from Mandy: In a Vera Bradley store in Santana Row. New addition: Ties from Vera Bradley

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

New Beast Cancer Pattern Twirly Birds Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know I have said this a million times, but this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I am so lucky that the company I love also supports breast cancer research.

Have you checked out Twirly Birds Pink yet? 10% of Vera Bradley's net proceeds from the sales of products in Twirly Bird Pink and Loves Me...will be donated to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer and other breast cancer projects and services. You can visit verabradley.org for more information.

So in support of breast cancer awareness month I switched up my bag today to my Loves Me Hipster. I have a couple friends coming into town and we are headed to the Zoo today, so it will be perfect for today! Got to run to pick them up from the airport!

Which Vera Bradley breast cancer awareness pattern is your favorite?