Verapalooza

So I went to an open house today at the location of my Vera Bradley pusher. There was a drive to collect school supplies for local kids, there were a couple of sales going on, I had a good time talking to people, and I got to see some of the new patterns and styles coming out in the fall.

And I did manage to buy two things, but they were small. There were two other things I wanted, but one hadn't arrived yet, and one was out of stock, so I have to wait for them to get more.







This is the Hannah style in the Jave Blue pattern. (And I even got it at 50% off the regular price!) I have a couple things in the Java Blue pattern that were giveaways, and I rather like the design. I have another purse in the Hannah style, but I decided I liked this one too, and I'm trying to get myself over the notion that I can only use this kind of purse if I'm going somewhere fancy. It's a cute little purse, and it'll force me not to carry too many things around, so I'm going to try to use it on a more regular basis.







This is the new Blue Rhapsody pattern that I really like. The other purse in this pattern that I had thought about buying turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected, so I didn't get it. I was looking for a particular little purse today because of something that I'm doing this week, and I think this is going to work out really well.



I really like one of the patterns that will be coming out with the Fall collection, though I can't remember what it's called. The picture below doesn't quite properly represent how pretty the pattern is - all the pictures I took made the pattern look a lot more orange than it is and didn't really show the pinks and reds the way they really looked, but I think you'll at least get an idea.




There was one purse style I was looking at today in the Blue Rhapsody, but I decided not to buy it. I think I might get it in this new pattern come Fall.




And then after the event, I ran a couple of errands and then wandered around the Disney Character Warehouse in Fullerton to have a look. And lookie what I found there.




Sure looks like a Vera, doesn't it? But I felt the fabric, and it wasn't nearly as soft.

more purse talk

So, Vera Bradley released three new patterns and four new styles recently.





The Carnaby (middle) is a little bright for my taste, and while the Pirouette (right) almost looks like Pink Elephants at first glance, it doesn't appeal to me either.

But I really like Blue Rhapsody.

Here's a little swatch of what the color looks more like. The Blue Rhapsody purse in the first picture is at an angle.





And I'm really liking the new Saddle Up style, so I might be needing that in the new Blue Rhapsody pattern.


Isn't this cute?


That would be another nice "going out" purse to add to my collection.

times they are a-changin'

People get involved in a lot of things because of the company they keep, and sometimes, these new interests aren't necessarily for the best. What starts out as harmless fun can lead to something more severe, more involving, so that you find yourself doing things you never thought you would do. Family and friends are surprised at the change in you, and you almost become someone they don't even recognize anymore.

First, it starts with a website, and then a blog. And soon, you're on Twitter. And then, as if that's not enough, you're on Facebook. And you're not even a very social person, preferring to spend time with a small select group of people instead. And you've never really been a girlie girl. But you find yourself accepting invitations to and attending cupcake parties at retail establishments and buying Vera Bradley purses and other accessories. When will the madness end!??!?!?!?


OK, yeah, so I've lost my mind. But seriously, what the hell is up with me? It's been kind of weird being involved in some of the things I find myself involved in these days. I love Twitter, though I do keep my follow list very private since I tend to be quite uninhibited in my comments there. And yeah, I tend to tweet about my trips to Disneyland and what I'm doing during the day and whatever random thing pops into my head, so I do have a tendency to babble. At least those who know me in real life would have more of a context about most of what I tweet, but the volume could probably turn them off. But for the few people who either don't know me very well or don't know me at all, I can't imagine what my tweeting looks like to them. I must admit that I'm really surprised no one has stopped following me yet because of how much I babble. Maybe they're all just good at ignoring me. Or they like to see how the mind of an insane person operates.

As for Facebook, I still don't really get it completely, and I'll admit that a lot of its features confuse me, and there are things I'm signed up for/with that I don't entirely understand. But, it has been a way for me to re-connect with some people and connect with others, so it has proved to be valuable in some ways.

But this whole girlie stuff? No, that I don't get at all.

A friend owns a store called CharmingShoppe that sells various retail items, including some collectibles that I'm interested in, so I've been in the store before. And the store carries Vera Bradley handbags, and I've never really been a purse person. I'm really into practical purses, not stylish ones or even cute ones, and I've been used to spending $20 at Mervyn's every couple years when I need a new purse. (Yeah, no more shopping at Mervyn's, I know.) Then, for my birthday last year, a friend bought me a Coach purse. Name brand and expensive. She was very generous, and it took a bit of convincing from various people for me to actually use the purse on a daily basis. But then I got used to it, and I really liked it.

And then I kept going to the retail store, and I'd glance at the purses. The store owner and the manager of the store both love Veras. And another friend is a Vera lover as well. And then last December, I succumbed and bought my first Vera items. And then I saw the telecast of the Rose Parade, in which Vera Bradley had a float that included a few new designs, and a couple looked cute to me. And then, about a month ago, I got notification from and an invitation to a cupcake party being held by CharmingShoppe to introduce the new Spring line, which were the patterns on the float. At first, I totally didn't get the cupcake connection until it dawned on me that two of the new patterns are Cupcakes Pink and Cupcakes Green. Yeah, ok, sometimes, I'm a little dense. And I figured, what could it hurt to go? I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes (the confection), but that's ok. Maybe I'd find something that wasn't too expensive, and I knew other people going, so I'd have a chance to chat with some people. Sounds like fun.

Well, I bought a few purses - three to be exact.



I had originally thought that one of the new Spring designs was red based on the float depiction, but I was told that the coloring on the broadcast was wrong, and that it was actually pink. The pink was too much for me, so I was disappointed, because the idea of red sounded good. And then I found the Frankly Scarlet pattern, which I really like, and I picked out the Libby style, which is practical and has lots of sections. This purse is good for regular use, but it's also nice enough to use for an evening out. Pretty and practical. Hmmm.



I liked the deep tones of the Mediterranean Blue pattern, and I thought that it went really well on the Hannah design. It's a cute little purse that looks very dressy, so I can use it for evenings out, and the pattern will go with the kind of colors I often wear for evenings out.



And from the new Spring line, I really liked Purple Punch, and in the Amy style, it was another cute little bag that I can use for evenings out, perhaps a little more practical with the shoulder strap since it leaves my hands free, unlike with the Hannah. I actually used the Purple Punch Amy when we went out for dinner on Valentine's Day because it went very nicely with the outfit I wore.


I bought a couple of other small accessories, including a purse hook - the good kind that folds up nicely around itself so it's compact and comes with a velvet pouch to carry it in. (I'd first heard of the ones that just hang down, but then after seeing these, those other ones make no sense to me - they take up too much room in storage!) I already have a purse hook, but I wanted a couple more so that I'd have different styles, and I liked this one. I'm hoping they release more styles in the future.


So in addition to having a mini-cupcake and chatting with friends and browsing at the billions of different Vera things in the store [In case you were wondering, no, the husband didn't come. He dropped me off, went to occupy himself elsewhere, and then came back to pick me up when I told him I was done. I liked having a chaffeur. ;) ], there was also a little game held periodically where you could win a prize. And on the second round, I won a prize. It was a Vera item filled with some lotion goodies and other stuff. I think I've figured out that the pattern is Java Blue, but I can't tell what style the item is. On another round, I ended up winning again, but since I didn't really need two of the same thing, I gave my second prize to a friend to give to someone else who would like it. On a subsequent round, I decided not to play anymore, but I did end up seeing the item needed to win a prize, so I pointed it out to someone else so that they could win the prize. That was fun.


So I made my purchases and discovered that the store was offering a few gift with purchase items, which was really nice, and they even had some thank-you gifts for those who had RSVPed for the event, which was even nicer, and it was especially good that many of the extras were in the Purple Punch pattern that I like. I was quite happy about that.


When the husband came to pick me up, I said goodbye to the people I knew who were still there and walked out with my pretty new purchases and other goodies (and yes, I've been using my Kensington Bucket Tote so had brought that with me).


And then Monday night, I had dinner with the husband and a friend at one of our favorite restaurants in Downtown Disney. Afterward, the husband went a different way than us because he'd parked in one place whereas she and I had ended up parking in another place. She wanted to stop by Illuminations since the store was closing soon and they were having a sale, so I stopped with her. I like candles (though burning them doesn't really work ever since we've gotten Orkid, because she's so curious that she's likely to scorch her whiskers or worse on an open flame), but I'm not much into scented candles because the scents tend to be too strong for my taste, and they can be so overpowering that I can't even go in the store. Heck, with Yankee Candle Company, I have enough of a problem walking by their open storefront and generally have to hold my breath to do so. But Illuminations hasn't been quite as bad, and they didn't have their full inventory because of their impending close, so I didn't have a problem wandering around in there.

I followed her as she looked at various things, and then I found myself looking around as well.

She was looking at the Napa Valley Harvest, which is a scent she really likes, and I joked with her that I didn't know what I expected that to smell like. It was actually pretty nice, though I can't begin to know how to describe it.

I smelled the Almond Biscotti, which was nice but would probably be too powerful in the long run. And then I smelled the Pumpkin Chai, which was really nice, not quite as sweet as just regular pumpkin. And I decided to get it in the mini jar candle. And then I also smelled the Japanese Plum Blossom, which is inexplicably nowhere to be found on their site. It has a fresh smell, very light, and I really liked it, so I got that in a mini jar candle as well. I like the mini jars because they're small and they have lids, so the scent is only released if you take the lid off, and the small size would be less fragrant.

I thought the Pineapple Cilantro was actually kind of nice with the scent of the pineapple, but given how much the husband dislikes cilantro, I figured he wouldn't appreciate it. And having it at work isn't an option either because one of my co-workers hates cilantro even more than the husband, so I wouldn't subject him to the smell every time he came into my office. And I didn't bother to smell the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie since I figured that would be my idea of hell, given how much I hate oatmeal and raisins and oatmeal raisin cookies.

I did already own one scented candle, a boysenberry scent from Knott's Berry Farm. It sits on my desk at work, and I don't light it partly because we're not allowed to have lit candles at work and partly because lighting a scented candle would make too much of the scent permeate the room. Just having the lid off lets some of the scent out so I get a whiff of it periodically. I plan to do the same with the two new ones I have. I think I'll put the Japanese Plum Blossom one in my car and see how that works, but the small confined space might make me rethink that shortly. With the Pumpkin Chai, I may have that at work as well and just alternate scents as I like, or I may keep that one at home.

I'm blogging about pretty patterned purses and scented candles.

Who the hell am I, and what the hell have I done with me?

Do you Vera?

There are people I know that talk about Vera Bradley on a regular basis, and I also visit a particular store (owned by one of those people) that happens to carry Vera, so I've seen the purses and such. And they're not really my style as they're very flowery and colorful, and I've never really had purses like that. Not to mention the fact that I'm not really a purse person. Oh, yeah, I've always had purses, but I usually have very basic ones, not ones to match every outfit, and I've never really been one to spend any significant amount of money on purses - I usually buy ones that cost about $20 from Mervyns.

But a couple of months ago, I saw a new line of Veras called microfibre that I kind of liked because they were more basic. The manager of the store I mentioned refers to them as training purses or the "my first Vera" line. And they weren't terribly expensive. Hmmm.

I thought about stopping by the store this week on one of the days I'd taken off to finish my Christmas shopping, but the husband and I ended up being in the area on Sunday for another matter that turned out to be a bust, and which I will be blogging about on a later date. As we were leaving the other place, we happened to drive past the store, and I noticed they were open. Ummm, they're not open on Sundays. OK, so I didn't think about it being right before Christmas and so that might account for them being open on a Sunday. Since we were there anyway, I decided to stop in so I wouldn't have to make a second trip a few days later.

So, I'm browsing the Veras, and the store owner came out to say hi and mentioned that the purses were actually on sale. Oh.

I had looked online at the microfiber line (I liked the black better than the brown) and seen two styles that I kind of liked, but the store didn't have either of them in stock, though I'll admit that while I do remember one style being the Lil' Hipster, I can't remember what the other style was. And then I saw Lil' Hipster ones in other styles, and it didn't turn out to be quite what I expected. It was too flat for my uses - I always have stuff in my purse that's not flat. And in looking at the microfiber in person again, they looked a bit dull. So I browsed the other styles that were available. And found some I liked.

I really liked the Kensington print, and I ended up getting the bucket tote. (And because I'm weird like that, it helped that I have a particular affection for the name since it reminds me of Kensington Palace.) I liked the tote as well, especially the clasp, but it didn't have an outside pocket, which I wanted, so I went with the bucket tote.





I also really liked the Yellow Bird print, and I ended up getting the Sherry. Nice name, huh? ;) It's really cute, and it's smaller, so while it's not an everyday purse for me, I think it will work really well for evenings out to the theatre. I have other dress purses that I've been using, but while they're cute, they're really not very practical because they're so small that I don't have enough room to carry my essentials *and* my celphone.





I also saw some celphone holders and tried to find one in either the Kensington or the Yellow Bird, but there weren't any of those in stock. I found one in the Pink Elephants line, and for some reason, I just thought it was really cute, so I bought that. I don't think it clashes with either the Kensington or Yellow Bird, but it's also convenient because you can clip it so it's easy to find.





In looking around at the various items in the store, I did wonder why Vera made a case to hold a Twinkie in. ;)



OK, so I now own three Vera items. And for my birthday this year, a very good friend very generously gave me a Coach purse, which is the purse I'm using everyday currently. I realized earlier this year that I also have a Liz Claiborne purse from some time ago, before I knew that was any kind of name brand. I don't recall buying it, so it must have been a gift. I didn't pay attention to the name - I just liked the purse. I don't use it very often because it's a "hang on the arm" purse whereas I generally prefer "over the shoulder" purses, especially when I'm shopping and want to have my hands free.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I might actually have some semblance of a girlie gene after all! ;)

Bath & Body Works

I haven't been in a Bath & Body Works in a really long time. I used to like to go in periodically to pick up random things either for myself or other people. I went into a store today, and everything looks so different and changed around. The small sample sizes of lotions and gels and such used to be in a bunch of baskets around a pole that you could spin around. Now, they're all just in bins. There were also lots of new scents that I don't remember seeing before.

I was in the store to get some more of the Coconut Lime Verbena shower gel because I'm running out. I originally found the scent when we were in a Reno hotel last year, and I really love it. I like the whole Coconut Lime Verbena line, but I only bought the gel since I still have the lotion in that flavor that a friend gave to me. But, they were having a "buy one, get one 50% off" sale, so that worked out.

There are a couple of other flavors that I like from the store, which I have lotions for. I had first discovered Mango Mandarin - I love the smell of mangoes. I also picked up Plumeria a few years ago - that's a great smell too. I don't tend to like very strong-smelling or perfumy lotions, so I think that's why the fruit and light flowery smells work for me. I also have liked the Sun-Ripened Raspberry, which I still have a little bit of lotion of, but the husband *hates* raspberries, and he's complained that the scent of that lotion is too strong for him, so I don't use that lotion unless he's out of town. But I like their lotions because they're smooth and easy to put on without being too oily or leaving too much residue. And they smell nice!

I also have a little travel bag for toiletries, but I've been finding for a while now that it's actually too small, and I'm having to cram my stuff into it and then putting whatever doesn't fit into the husband's bag if we're travelling together. I found this nice bag at the store, so I picked it up, but it wasn't on sale at the store. Oh well.

I was walking around the mall with a Bath & Body Works bag, and because I had to do some gift shopping at Nordstrom, I had one of their bags as well. I was so pretending to be a girlie today! Yeah, I know, so not me. ;)