Suddenly Very Vera

I remember the very first time I ever heard of Vera Bradley. It was 2004, and my first college roommate was showing off her graduation present. The bags were evidently very popular in the big university town where she grew up, but they hadn't made it down to little ol'e Abingdon just yet. She did not understand my lack of excitement.

Fast forward a couple years, and our campus bookstore starts stocking the stuff. I thought they were pretty, but of course they were everywhere, and I longed for the day when I could go outside without seeing twenty girls carrying the same handbag.

Only recently did I come into my first Vera Bradley item, and it was a near-total accident. I noticed my sister had a VB wallet, and I considered getting her something to match for Christmas (Sorry, Amanda. Now I have other plans...). After locating a retailer online, I went to the store and shopped around and asked the owner a ton of questions. He said he admired my consumerism and offered me a small VB coin purse (free to other customers through some promotion) for being product-conscious (and probably to ensure a return visit on my part). Score!

Complete and total hopeless nerd that I am, I went home that evening and did some research on the history of the company. It was founded in the early 80's by two women who wanted unique and feminine-looking luggage. They expanded and expanded, and in 1994, they began raising money for breast cancer research and have since donated millions to the cause.  Both are very cool things, in my book. 

That's enough for now, but I'm sure I'll post more in a later entry about how a mere purse convinced a not-into-labels girl that this product is worth at least a great deal of its hype...

WTF Wednesday: Thanksgiving

This week's WTF Wednesday is my own.

For those who don't already know, my family is weird. Specifically, we had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday. This was also to celebrate everyone who was born in November (Mom, Grandma, Poppy and Justin). It was a lovely time, full of my loud aunt's antics and both of my grandmothers fussing at me to stop taking pictures of them. Ah, my family!

Better still, when Actual Thanksgiving finally does roll around, we'll likely celebrate with a taco buffet or make-your-own-pizza night. And board games.

Now, I'm typically not in favor of holiday celebrations that steal the thunder of other holidays, but when I think of all the years I've eaten four Thanksgiving dinners in one day due to family, friends, boyfriends and grandparents, I get quite comfortable with the idea of spreading this one out and varying it a bit. Bring on the queso!

No one else really gets this, though. So there's your WTF moment.
Happy Non-Holidays!

WTF Wednesdays

Blogging, in theory, helps keep me accountable for things. Usually these things aren't all that important in the grand scheme, but they are things nonetheless.

Weird stuff happens all around me. It is rare that a day passes when I don't think, "wtf?!"

When you connect these two ideas, you get what is to become a weekly blog entry about some recent happening that made me ask myself, "wtf?!"

I introduce to you, tender reader, WTF Wednesday. Now, let the madness begin!

I'm a nursing student. As such, I come into contact with many actual nurses. I find that these nurses fit into one of two categories:
1) people who are so intelligent that I feel as though I am good for not much more than the occasional snarky blog entry and
2) people who are so much on another planet that I'll be too embarrassed to show my face anywhere ever if I don't make it through this program.

Also as a nursing student, I am bound by several privacy laws. I can't get very specific about anything. The following conversation may or may not have taken place between someone who may have happened to be a patient and someone who may have happened to be a nurse:

Person one: I don't like yogurt. Why do I need to eat it?
Person two: It helps replace the natural flora and fauna that you've lost from your digestive tract.

1) No. It doesn't (Okay, it does replace flora. And that's cool.).
2) Unless you drink water from the Amazon, you probably don't have fauna (technically parasites are fauna, but personally, I like to imagine elk or other such majestic animalia.) in your digestive business.
3) Why would you want to replace parasites?!
4) Now I really want to watch The Addams Family. And like I really have time for that.

It Is NOT Time For Christmas Yet

...but it is time to start thinking about Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) cards!

I still get almost as excited about Christmas as I did when I was in elementary school, but I'll be the first person to admit that going to stores to buy discounted day-after-Halloween candy and seeing rows upon rows of Christmas trees is not only a bit much--it's downright inappropriate. I mean, how is Thanksgiving supposed to feel?

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What is totally and completely appropriate at this point in the year, though, is Christmas card shopping. In fact, with only 46 days until Christmas, it's high time to get cracking. If you're like me, you've become super impressed by your friends' and family's customized christmas cards, and this year, you're ready to make the change. Well, here comes some good news.

Shutterfly has all kinds of unique Christmas cards that wow even the most difficult-to-impress design snobs (...I should know!). What I like most of all is that it's so easy to order from them. Their website guides you through the entire process, step by step, until you have created your very own masterpiece of Christmas joy. The hardest part is picking your favorite design. Here are a few of mine (all images from this point on are from Shutterfly's website)...

My personal favorite (I think...for now, anyway) is this story card:

More informative than a traditional card, story cards give you a chance to fill your loved ones in on details they may have missed or to recap the year as you celebrate the holidays. What a great idea! 

Oh, the choices! But don't just think of Shutterfly for Christmas. They have great gift items like calendars and photo books that would make perfect Christmas presents--or anytime presents--for just about anyone on your list. 

Something else really cool? Bloggers who write about Shutterfly's 2010 holiday collection can receive a voucher for 50 free cards! To get in on this deal, simply click here and follow the directions. Couldn't be any easier, especially since I was probably going to blog about this anyway.

Those Veterans and Their Shenanigans

I ran out of the house, this morning, to do some errands. While driving, I heard sirens. I looked around and saw nothing but decided to proceed with caution anyway as the sound wasn't fading. As I approached one of the only big intersections in this little city, I got caught in a red light, and saw a bunch of police cars. A policeman got out of one of the cars. He put cones across the road.

It was then that I noticed a huge American flag being suspended above the street by two crains as well as a TON of people gathered downtown. By the time I realized what was going on, I was already quite blocked by other cars. There was no escape; I was going to watch the Veteran's Day parade.

At first I was really ticked. I had stuff to do, and I'd told sleepy boyfriend that I'd be right back.

It dawned on me, though, that if I'd been voluntarily or involuntarily shipped off to somewhere random with the overarching theme of "kill or be killed," and actually made it back, you'd better believe I'd be really into the idea of cruising down State Street in my T-Bird (Shout out to my grandfather who I didn't know would be there!) or doing doughnuts in my little shriner go-cart at the main intersection in Bristol. Yeah, watching a parade is kind of the very least I can do for veterans.

Suddenly I wasn't so ticked anymore, and I smiled to myself as I realized that the reason I sometimes get so frustrated with the elderly population is that I'm jealous that I haven't earned their little perks yet (...though I did just get the memo that comfortable shoes can change your life even though they won't have heels or bows, so maybe I'm on my way!).

So rock on, veterans. You have contributed more than most of us will ever know. Don't pay attention to us cranky whippersnappers.

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I originally left this entry picture-free, but Justin recommended this painting. I hadn't seen it before, but I think it's a very beautiful (though obviously heartbreaking) idea.

Butterducks

I love wine.
Wine. Wine. Wine.
If ever you are compelled to give me something and are unsure what I would like, few things would make me happier than a sweetish wine.

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It's nine in the morning, so don't get the wrong idea--this isn't a drink-and-post situation. I simply wanted to take the opportunity to reminiss about one of the latest wines I tried.

Not long after we got together, Justin and I took a trip to several places in Georgia. We did loads of other things and went many other places, but there's this super duper classy place in Savannah called Liquor Depot where we looked for area-specific wines and hard-to-find-in-Abingdon beers. That's where I picked up a bottle of Super Sweet Fuzzy Berry from the nearby family owned Butterducks Winery.

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And, oh, this wine! It's basically just what the name says (except that you need to know that "fuzzy" simply means that it's peach flavored...not actually fuzzy). I cannot say it enough--delightful! Even my practically prohibitionist mother was persuaded to have a very small glass. I intend to buy it again (in great quantities!) upon returning to south Georgia, and I highly recommend it to lovers of sweet wines with one word of caution: don't smell it before you drink it.

As I raised the first glass to my lips I sniffed, as I am wont to do before a new wine, and it nearly ended the experience right then and there. I have read, since then, that very sweet wines can tend to have a bit of a funky smell, especially if they're from small operations, so I'm assuming it was just the sweetness that gave me pause. I'm glad I pressed on, because the taste was spectacular.

The lesson here? Learn about your wines before you drink them. If you don't, you might miss out on some great ones.