A Very Vera Christmas!

Trying to finalize your Christmas list? Or decide what to get your Vera Bradley obsessed loved one? As one of many that loves Vera (and definitely has some items on her own list), I’m going to offer up some Vera Bradley gift ideas that I think will make your loved one (or you own) Christmas merry and bright!

Some of these gifts are definitely on my Christmas list, while others are ones that I already have and love! No matter what, Vera Bradley gifts are always some of my favorite gifts to recieve. 

Birthday Haul

 

So the Thursday before last was my birthday and it was probably one of the best of all time. I have an amazing family, friends, and sorority sisters, that's for sure! I wrapped up most of the celebrating this past weekend with my family.



On my birthday I was awoken with a delivery from my secret sis, who spoiled me with a venti caramel pumpkin spice latte and a blueberry muffin. I'm so lucky!

And I was also surprised with a flower delievery from my parents! I absolutely love the fall colors in this arrangment! It makes me so happy just looking at it!

 

Then on Saturday, I celebrated my birthday with my family, and it was definitely a fun time! I got a lot of awesome things, that I'll share with you guys! I'm super excited about everything that I got.

 

 

So here is everything I got. A lot, right? My family definitely spoiled me this year.

 

One of the first things you probably noticed in the full haul picture was my new Vera Bradley laptop backpack in Provencal! I absolutely love it! This print might not be for everyone, but it makes me so happy just looking at it, with it's bright mustard yellow! To go with it, I got a matching pencil case! Perfect for fall, right? Then I got some perfume that I've been dying for.

 



 

Then I got some perfume that I've been dying for. Sephora has an online special for Marc Jacob's Daisy, where you get a 3.4 oz of the Daisy perfume that is so popular, a rollerball of the same scent, plus one of the Eau So Fresh scent, and a lotion of the original scent. All for $88 plus free shipping, which is a steal. Just saying.

 



Continuing the fragrance trend, I got my all-time favorite, Country Chic from Bath and Body Works perfume. Which, I actually got for Christmas last year, but upon moving out of my dorm last May, was broken in a tragic moving accident by my dad. So I've lived the last five months without, and it was very sad. But now I have a replacement and I'm really happy.

 

 Another present was this Tub O' Scissors. You know, that cool craft scissors that cut cute little edges on paper? Love them! A must for any crafter or scrapbooker or sorority girl.

 A couple more gifts I recieved were these adorable scarves from Target. I used to be obsessed with scraves in high school, but in college, I always thought that they kind of got in the way. However, now I'm retrying them out, and so far so good! Plus I think they are so cute, that it's worth it.

I also got a one inch curling wand, which I was beyond excited for. See, my hair refuses to curl. Ever. But in the two times I've used this since recieving it, I've had curls. That have lasted more than 12 hours. With minimal amounts of hairspray.

A much anticipated gift I recieved was Sigma's Mr. Bunny makeup brush travel kit. Yep, I finally decided it was time for a brush set. And that it wouldn't be MAC. Kind of earth shattering, right? I'll do a full review soon, but let's just say it's positive so far!

 

This Vera Bradley napkin in Island Blooms might seem completely random, but this is going to turn into a sorority block letter shirt soon! I love this print so much, and it only makes sense that I should have Vera blocks since I'm so obsessed.

 

My mom decided that I needed some yummy little snacks up at school, so she picked me up this Peanut M&M snack mix (which is like trailmix) that has little shortbread cookies, pretzels, peanut M&Ms, and almonds in it. I've been enjoying that as I watch Gilmore Girls to relax!

Knowing how insanely obssessed I am with Bath and Body Works and their fall scents, did you really think that I wouldn't ask for something from there for my birthday? Well, I did. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to their White Barn Fall Festival (I was so excited for it too!) because of sorority recruitment, but I did hint to my mom that she could pick up some birthday presents that day during the certain times, and get the free Pumpkin Carving candle (which I DEMAND as a full line next fall).

Anyway, in order to get said free candle, my mom bought for me some fall Wallflowers: Marshmellow Fireside, Pumpkin Cupcake, Pumpkin Caramel Latte, and White Barn's No. 1 (Nutmeg and Spice). All so yummy and cozy!! Thanks Mom!!! I think she enjoyed the fall festival, just saying.

 

My mom also surprised me with this absolutely adorable sweater from American Eagle. I know, my iPhone picture doesn't do it justice. It's the lovliest lavender color, with a high/low front and back that's so in right now. I got five compliements on it this past week. So cute and comfy!

 

 Nothing is better than a cute cardigan, and I love dots! It's from Target and perfect for fall!!

Being obsessed with dots, I was also so excited to see this dottie shirt also from Target when I opened up presents! So cute!

 

Sorry for the super long post, but I'm so excited about all my new birthday stuff! I'm so loved and spoiled. But it definitely made a memorable 21st birthday!!



Movin' In Tips!

So with college move-in days quickly approaching, I thought I'd share some tips with everyone about the most anticipated day for all college students: move in day!

{From PB Teen...how can they make even moving in cute?!}

It can be scary, fun, exciting, nerve-wrecking, sad, happy, and probably another million things! Having moved myself in twice before, and my brother four times before that, I feel like I have tons of experience with this day!


1. Try to stay calm and relaxed! Yes, moving in and getting used to your new home can be tremendously scary and stressful, but just take deep breaths and try to be flexible! In all six of the move in days I've seen, something always seems to go wrong. No matter what you do, something will. My brother's sophomore year, his name was the only one (out of four) that wasn't on the door! That freaked him out, he swore he was going to be homeless! That was until his RA told him that she just ran out of supplies. So just remember that everything will fall into place!


2. Pack in an organized fashion! This is huge! When you pack your boxes/plastic containers, try to use logic when placing things together. Put all of your desk, supplies, school things (as in academic stuff like books) in the same place. Repeat that with your shower and vanity supplies, and also with your clothing. That makes unpacking extremely easy, and will help keep your dorm more organized too!

{While this picture might seem crazy, the bin is holding all my jeans/bottoms}

3. Arrive early! I know! You probably want to sleep in! But if you have a long drive to your college (mine is 2 1/2 hours), you definitely want to leave even earlier. Why? Oh boy, there are a lot of reasons. First, mid to late August is hot! The earlier you get there, the more likely you will not have your flip flops melt into the pavement (happened to me my brother's freshman year). Plus, it's a lot less miserable! Second, parking. I have two cars come up to move me in. My parents, and mine. So figure that most of the other students are doing the same. In parking lots that already are too small for the number of students, this will just be crazy. You might have to park miles away. Which is not fun. Third, I like to see the room before my roommate shows up. I like having first choice for bed (I always like by the window haha). Not all dorms are created equal, let me tell you. Fourth, it gives you more time to settle in before the night activities happen. I know at my school we always had floor meetings at around 5 to 6 where we met everyone. Then we'd have dinner with our floor, go to an ice cream social, and then movie night on the hill. You don't want to miss all that fun, trust me.


4. Do the majority of your college shopping before you get there. This is important. I know we don't want to load up our cars to capacity, but waiting to buy all your things in your college town is not always the way to go. Why? Because every store in your city, is going to be like Christmas Eve/Black Friday. There will be mayhem. The odds of getting what you like/want, are extremely slim too. Take the Command 3M strips that all dorms require you to use for your walls. My entire college town sells out. Target, Walmart, and every other store sells out of these important things. So buy them at home. Same with notebooks, folders, and other school supplies. I know it seems impossible, but both Walmarts and Target in my college town sell completely out of these necessities. My roommate this past year made that mistake, so she wound up with wide ruled notebooks with puppies and kittens on them (I personally would like the puppies, but she wasn't as fond of them).

{The only things I left to buy was some posters from Hobby Lobby}

5. Before leaving home, check yourself for these things: your phone, charger, laptop (my brother did forget this one year), student ID, wallet/money, and important numbers like your social security number and your student number. You'll need them.

{Cute gift idea: give your roommate a Vera Bradley Zip ID
case for only $12. A college must for easy access to your ID!}

6. This is completely optional. But my freshman year, one of my roommates (and now a very dear friend), brought us all little move in day gifts. She gave us Starbucks grande size tumblers and mini hand lotions from Bath and Body Works, along with a little note. I seriously died when I saw that from the niceness of it all. So last year I copied her. I bought my roommate a water bottle with the school's logo on it, and some candy. I think this is such a good idea, and you definitely don't have to spend a ton of money. Even just a note is a great way to reach out to your roommate that first day.
(Some ideas I like: something representing your college, little school supplies, handwritten card, yummy little foods, a cute coffee mug with hot chocolate or tea, hand sanitizer, a lanyard, cute pens and pencils, a journal, or my favorite: the Vera Bradley Zip ID case shown above!).


So there you go! Do you have any advice to add to this list? Any concerns or worries about going to college?


Thanks for reading!