Going Retirement Crazy...

So VeraObsessed let us in on some 411 that is really shocking. Apparently the folks at Vera are bringing back as well as creating new styles, because they are retiring a whole LOTTA stuff! A few things aren't shocking because they've had a long rack life, but SOME of these things are either BRAND SPANKING NEW or are STAPLES in my and other women's lives (Warning: I will rant at the bottom, and I may curse. You have been forewarned...)

Styles retiring soon:
100 Handbag
Mom's Day Out
Two Way Tote
Grand Tote (WHAT?!?!)
Double Zip Backpack
MESSENGER BAG (NOOOOOOOOOOOO)
Ereader Sleeve
Laptop Sleeve
Strap Wallet
Jewelry Folio
Square Ribbon Board
Baby Dish Set

Styles set to retire in Spring 2014:
Convertible Crossbody
All In One Wristlet
MILLER BAG (Holyf**kings**t IS YOU CRAZY?!)
Zip Around Wallet
Small Duffel (*crying*)
Garment Bag
Laura
Medium Hanging Ornament
Little Flap Hipster
Compact
Checkbook Cover
All in One Crossbody
Mirror Cosmetic

HOLY MACKEREL!

To make things even more cray cray, they are planning to retire the following prints:

Even nuttier...this morning I woke up to a freaking 70% OFF SALE ON VERABRADLEY.COM

DAAAAAAAMMMMNNN

WTF it's like they have gone nuts! They are giving shit away like it's set to self destruct in 5 minutes. I feel like they're not even giving some styles a chance! For goodness sakes Cocoa Moss, Lola, and La Neon Rose just came out this season. I know La Neon Rose was supposed to be limited, but come on! I don't even like Lola but I know people who do....this sucks for them.

Baroque, Indigo Pop, and Va Va Bloom have been around for at least a year, so I'm not so shocked, but styles that came out in as many months as I have fingers on one hand...come on guys....

It looks like they're wrapping up the baby line too, both baby prints (Lola and Lilli Bell) are retiring next year. They're keeping Tutti Frutti but are retiring Sun Valley...WTAF, if they're going to retire anything out of that whole line, retire THAT! I love Sun Valley so I'm a little shocked at this....

...but not as shocked as them retiring the freaking MILLER, GRAND TOTE, SMALL DUFFEL, and MESSENGER BAG! Why?!?! I could tell that the Miller was always a nice go-to bag. I don't own one, but my co-workers sure do and to say they were not amused was an understatement. The Grand Tote is a GREAT overnight bag, as is the Small Duffel, which is also a good gym bag. I LOVE my Messenger, it holds my life together when I'm commuting to school and running for the bus to go home. These styles are so practical that they BETTER have something to knock my damn socks off to replace them. I'm DEFINITELY buying some shit before they retire.


I don't know guys, what do you think? Are you excited for new styles (I'll talk about those later)? Are you upset about some of the items on the chopping block?

Summer 2014 Sneak Peek

*peeks in*

pssst.....guess what I've got?

SUMMER 2014 PRINTS!!!!!!

OH, how I love VeraObsessed! She has the scoop on all things Vera lightyears before any of us citizens, she's like the Anderson Cooper of VeraLand! She gave us this little gem the other day:

I've seen Flutterby before, but these other ones are new to me. Petal Paisley looks a little like one of the survey prints from a few months back, right? Same color scheme:

Just like this survey print, it's a paisley that's made out of flowers. I was never crazy about the paisley, but this makes me like it. I liked that survey print, and I have a feeling I'm going to like this one too... plus it has pink! I love pink!

Flutterby is very girly, when I look at it I think of candy for some reason. It just screams 'sweet' to me. No real comment yet on it though...

Fanfare looks very frenchie, like it should be wallpaper in this Parisian themed restaurant in Manhattan that I've eaten in. It's cute, can't wait to see it on some bags...but since it's white background I can see it getting dirty fast. It's probably a good accessory print.

Flower Shower is a little much right now. It's literally a shower of flowers, like Va Va Bloom, but it's a little excessive. I'd have to see it on something to make a final call.

Not kicking down the door for these, but I can see myself owning some new Vera prints next summer.

What do you guys think?

Online swaps and Poshmark

I have always had a shopping problem. I can hardly resist a good deal. So I don't know WHY someone told me about Poshmark and the Facebook Sell/Swap groups, but since my first Poshmark post I have bought 3 more bags...I need help!

A few weeks ago I bought again from Posher @urbanava, I got a small duffel and a Vera tote in New Hope, a print from 2004.

 @urbanava is so cute, she sent a free Limes Up shopper tote too, if you're ever looking for good Vera at a decent prices, she's your girl!

Now last week while I was in one of my grad school classes, I was looking for a nice bag for these school nights (I have 3 this semester), and I was in group on Facebook for swaps and selling of Vera, and I came across this messenger bag in Java Blue. Well you all know how much I was CRAVING to get a bag in that print! The woman who sold it to me was so nice, she bundled the tote for $20 more. Who would turn that down?!?!?!

It came today and I was ESTATIC!!!

 When I got home today, I felt the urge to take a picture of all my Vera. So here's an actual peek at my Vera closet, fellow citizens...it's only going to get bigger!

Since I went on a bit of a spree this past weekend, my Olivia Pink tote will join the ranks a few weeks down the road. I cant wait!!!

Till next time fellow citizens!

_______________________________________________________________________

So it's no secret to my friends and family that I have become addicted to the Vera Bradley brand. It's something I have grown to love, so much in fact, that I have created this lovely blog here. Through this blog I have gotten in contact with several wonderful people who share this obsession, it's our own little community and I love it! Vera-land citizens rule!

Everyone has their personal preference in all aspects of life. Everyone likes different things. As people we should be able to appreciate those facts, and respect our differences in opinion. However, with that being said, there are people out there who have no qualms about telling others how they dislike something, and not in a nice way. 

For those people who don't like this brand, that is okay with me. I'm sure there is something out there that you do like, something that suits you, and you don't have to explain to me what it is or why it's great....to you. At the same time, expect that from me as well. I don't have to explain why Vera Bradley is great. It just is to me and that's that. It's unnecessary to ask me why I would ever like this brand, and it's DOUBLY unnecessary to tell me how hideous and ugly you think the prints are.

I don't care. I don't care what you think about it, and I never will.

Respect my preferences, for I will respect yours. 

Fall Prints Part II Video

there was a video posted on the Inside Stitch today, it was alllllllll about the rest of the Fall colors, and it was just too cuteeeeee

AWWWWWWWWW

There were little girls with little purses and I die from the adorableness! Can I just mention that Olivia Pink was ALL UP IN THERE and it was fabulous! September 19th can't get here FAST ENOUGH!

Also posted on the site are the new desktop downloads...so the blog is about to be revamped to quench my Olivia Pink thirst! Stay tuned for that.

Finally, I logged on today and saw this:

In the Land of Vera has reached over 10,000 pageviews, HOLY MACARONI! It really makes me happy to see that so many people took the time to look at this blog, and share my love of all thing colorful. Thank you, fellow citizens, this means a lot to me.

Spring 2014 Preview...Oh Em Geez...

Well, the past few days have been pretty live in the Land of Vera! Why, you ask?

BECAUSE IT'S PREVIEW TIME!!!!

As of yesterday, the Spring 2014 prints will be previewed in select Vera Bradley stores. Thanks to the fabulous VeraObsessed and lisalovesverabradley, we all were able to sneak a peek...and I am confident in stating that these prints are FABULOUSSSSSS!!!!

Prepare your bodies for:

Julep Tulip

Clementine

Blue Bayou

Citron

Can I just say WOAH? Firstly, this has to be the first time that ALL the prints released for the season dazzle me. Usually each batch has one print that I'm not too crazy about, a.k.a. prints I HATE (Tutti Fruiti, Lola, etc.) but I have absolutely NO COMPLAINTS about this batch! That's not to say that no one else will have gripes (my sis thinks Citron should be called 'Kiwi-tron'...she's 12 btw) and I can totally see it, but I'm not averse to any of these.

A first. 

My absolute favorite at the moment is Clementine. How can it not be? It's totally gorge! It looks like a print I can take out on a park picnic and have a glass of lemonade with. The colors scream "Springtime", and the interior is equally beautiful. It reminds me of snakeskin, with the diamond pattern. HOWEVER...Julep Tulip is giving Clementine a run for it's money. These colors remind me of my BFF's wedding colors (that berry-like purple and the olive green)...I'm wishing this print came out LAST year, she gave us gifts that coordinated with the colors, and a cute cosmetic pouch or accessory would have gone nicely, I think.

Can you see it???

Now, this Blue Bayou for some reason reminds me of Hawaii....when I think of the word 'bayou' I think of Louisiana...and this print, to me, is more of a 'lagoon' if that makes sense. 

Bayou

 vs.

Lagoon

But word definitions aside, this print is very striking! The white flowers and leaves seem to pop out against the bold blue background. Its definitely a print I can see at the beach or on a cruise vacation...anyplace with water.

Now if I had to rank these based on the color schemes, Citron would be considered my least favorite of the 4. I like this print and would definitely consider it for a wristlet or traveling tote, but when you compare it to the other three, it definitely falls behind. With that being said, Citron has it's plus factors: it would look great against a pair of jeans, and I for sure can see it being used for a work tote; the dark grey wouldn't get dirty as fast as the others. It definitely jumps up the ranks when you're rating them for practical use. 

Each bag has an interior to die for, very complimentary and if you were so bold you could rock the bags inside out and no one would know. 

All in all I'm very pleased with the upcoming prints...Clementine is supposed to be getting an extra-special preview again in December so stay tuned, fellow citizens!

Side note: be sure to check out all the cool Citizens of Vera in my sidebar! I get a lot of info and incite from these gals *waves to vera-vera-vera*, and they know their Vera! Pop over and say hey!

Poshmark Rules!

A few months ago I joined a Vera Bradley deals group on Facebook, and the leader of the group started posting deals from an app called Poshmark. After some investigating, I found that this is the BEST THING EVER!!!!!

You can literally shop in other people's closets nationwide. And a LOT of people have some good Vera in their closets. They sell their thing for a variety of reasons; they could be moving and need to lighten their load, or they just want to make room in tier closets. 

Whatever, all that matters is they are selling their stuff and I LIKE STUFF OKAY!

So I would see some good deals here and there, but I wouldn't get the urge to just buy, you know? Until last week that is...I saw this:

Do you see $78 crossed out? That's how much this bag originally cost. 

Do you see the $18? That's how much I paid for it. 

Who won?

I did. I SO did!

The bag is a retired style called the Super Tote (I can see why they named it that), the print is a 2008 retired print called Yellow Bird. What's was really great was my underestimation of the size of this bag. I received it yesterday and it was much bigger than I expected, which is greattttt!

It's HUGE and I love it...and I paid under $20!!! I can definitely use it as a work/grad school bag (working on finishing my MLIS finally! Librarians rule!)

So I'm so in love with this bag that I'm scoping out my next purchase, another vintage Vera that I'll post if I get it. 

As the folks at Vera say... be colorful!

Suddenly Summer..

Guess who's back!!!!

So I've been super busy working instead of enjoying my summer vacation, but now things are starting to wind down and I can finally catch up on my Vera love

First thing's first: upcoming promos!

• Theres a Lunch Bag/Water Bottle for $36 promo going on until the 25th of August
• The RETIREMENT SALE of Canyon, English Rose, Dogwood, Suzani, and Island Blooms is supposed to start the 29th of August, BUT I went into my Vera Store this past weekend and the sale started for them already. I picked up a lovely Canyon tote ^_^

And for the rest of the year (so far)...

• September 19 - Fall Fashion and Baby Release: Olivia Pink (AAAHHHH), Bittersweet, Canterberry Cobalt - Colorblock, Perfectly Puffy, Double-Take,  Jewelry, Vera Vera, Paper and Gifts, and Sunglasses
• November 7 - Winter Launch: Canterberry Magenta and Venetian Paisley, plus Holiday Gifts, Shimmer, Pets, Colorblock, Perfectly Puffy, Faux Leather Trim, Double-Take, Vera Vera, and Paper and Gift styles
• And as for La Neon Rose: Apparently it's a limited release, so it's anybody's guess right now.

SPEAKING OF OLIVIA PINK........I finally got to TOUCH it this weekend, and I almost diedddddd

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't WAIT for the fall release, I plan on getting a new Vera tote, and I think we ALL know what print it's going to be in....

I'm still working on getting my Heather bedding, it's been setback central over her in Casa de Shay, so it's something that I'll keep in my dreams until I can afford it lol.

NEXT THING: THE DISNEY PRINTS OMGGGGGGG

SO we already knew about Just Mousing Around and Midnight with Mickey, I can't wait till they're available online in October, they look so darn cute!

but WAIT! Is there another print sneaking around?!?! Or dare I say....PrintS with an S ohmygoodnesssssss!

That VeraObsessed, how I LOVE HER because what IS THIS:

THIS people is a Disney Mickey/Lola HYBRID AND I'M EXCITED BECAUSE WHAT ELSE ARE THEY HIDING AT THE HOUSE OF MOUSE?! I don't like Lola, I think the colors are wrong together, but I LIKE THIS LOLA! The blues and greens work great with each other, supposedly it's to be released in December with some holiday gift promos or something, whatever I'm HYPED lol.

So that's it for now, I know I have LOADS more to catch up on but this is it for now.

Shay