Vera's birthday: all-day event

The woman of the hour: happy birthday, Vera!

The party for Vera's birthday continued after Tuesday night's VIP event for Wednesday's all-day event. With mini cupcakes, an adorable gift with purchase, and great offers throughout the day, it was one of the best birthday celebrations I have been to! And as always, the Vera Bradley fans were highlights also: I loved working with the amazing Kenwood team, chatting with sweet guests, and I even had a few friends from Indiana come for the occasion!

An outline of the day's festivities!

10am to noon = All in One Wristlet mania!

The first offer of the day was a great discount on the All in One Wristlet--normally $32, but during those 2 hours, it was $20! Before the doors even opened, fans were waiting outside so they could have the first picks. The reasons for the All in One Wristlet mania were pretty varied: bridal party presents, back to campus, Christmas present, and just for every day!

One of the many Vera facts signs around the store--this one is talking about the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer's pledge of $10 million (and plans for another $10 million!)

And speaking of facts, my older brother Andy impressed me with his knowledge about Vera Bradley! His comment on the post about the VIP birthday event:

He is right: Vera Bradley's real name-- Veronica Bradley, and birthday-- August 9, 1909. Someone has been doing his homework!

"For the frill of it"!

On Saturday I headed to the Vera Bradley Store in Kenwood Town Center for the Frill photo shoot. The shoot was for girls 13-18, and they posed with their favorite bag from the Frill collection while our photographer Jeff snapped their pictures.

Jeff and a model--in action!

The shoot was so much fun! I think we had the cutest girls in the tri-state area come and strike their best poses--many were naturals in front of the camera! Emily, a member of the photo team, set up a computer screen so everyone could see each picture as it happened.

Emily, working behind the scenes.

Adoring fans/managers/paparazzi of the models!

I think everyone had a blast! Any nerves that were there quickly disappeared under Jeff's expert guidance. I loved listening to the proud moms, friends, and sisters who were standing on the sidelines and watching the girls pose!

One girl definitely won the "Most Enthusiastic" Award--she was jumping in the air and lying on the ground to get the best shot. I think she took a few cues from Tyra's "America's Next Top Model" before coming!

Part of the Kenwood team, working it with their Frill!

In addition to the photo shoot, the store also had a spot where guests could enter to win Frill prizes, a contest for the favorite Frill color (Very Berry Paisley was in the lead the last time I looked!), and a refreshment stand with Frill cookies from a Fort Wayne institution, the Cookie Cottage. I also had a few special guests come: my grandma, aunts, and cousin! Jeff snapped a few Frill family portraits of us :)

The shoot was a success and I can't wait to check out the pictures on the Vera Bradley Facebook page. Next up: back to the store for Vera's Birthday festivities! Stop by on Wednesday!

Intern dinner + celebration + O-H-I-O

Intern Dinner: Wednesday marked the grand finale of the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce's Live, Learn, Intern series this summer. It was a very nice reception at Sycamore Hills (the same site as the Classic dinners), complete with excellent food, special speakers, and door prizes (the VB interns cleaned up: I won a gift card to JK O'Donnell's, and Allegra and Megan each won a Starbucks gift card!).

Sycamore Hills Clubhouse--the venue for the final Live, Learn, Intern event.

I'm not biased or anything, but I think we had the best table! Alicia and Jill, our intern coordinators, entertained us with funny stories of their kids and gave us some inside scoop on Vera Bradley.

Alicia and Jill, human resources extraordinaires!

Celebration: Today marks Heidi Floyd's five year cancer free anniversary. The lovely folks at Production road (shout-out to Foundation intern, Karen!) organized a breakfast to celebrate. Special surprises: a visit from Heidi's adorable family and a new pair of pink shoes!

Congrats, Heidi--mom, survivor, blogger, Twitterer, and ambassador!

The celebration breakfast at Production--all decked out in Loves Me..., of course!

O-H-I-O: This weekend I will be hanging out in the buckeye state for the Frill Fashion Photo Shoot at the Vera Bradley store in Kenwood Town Center. Stop by and strike a pose!

There's nothing like a good book

I'll admit it--I am a bookworm. I like to read, and would rather flip through magazine or book pages than turn on the TV...which I don't even have this summer!

I have read my fair share of classics (hello AP English!) so I don't feel so guilty when I turn to my favorite genre: chick lit. I read Shopaholic, The Devil Wears Prada, and In Her Shoes before they ever turned up on the big screen. I am not alone--the girls of Direct Sales have created a nice shelf of chick lit for sharing in the Inspiration Room!

One of the my first (non-work) tasks this summer was to find the nearest library. I had been library deprived in Spain (it would have taken me the whole semester to finish a chapter book!) and was happy to find an Allen County branch minutes from my apartment.

The newly renovated main branch

This weekend, I decided to check out the main branch in downtown Fort Wayne. I was a bit nervous to navigate the "One Way" maze of downtown, but the prospect of a few good reads convinced me to go for it.

What a beautiful library! It is huge--the size blows my local branch out of the water! There is a cafe, bookstore, auditorium, art gallery, computer center, and a parking garage. I definitely plan on heading back before the summer is over.

A room full of magazines... heaven!

***
Check out this happy Vera Bradley fan and blogger who received a surprise gift from blog fan and Vera Bradley employee Jennifer: http://therubyturtlehippie.blogspot.com/

Her thank you post includes a video of "I think I love you..."--super cute!

Weekend R&R

I could get used to this very quickly!

While my family was trekking in Gatlinburg (I've heard many bruises have been spotted...), I was hanging at Shannon's (my East Coast travel buddy) house for a little weekend fun. I'll take sunning, lounging, and floating over hard-core hiking any day!

Spotted pond-side: a colorful assortment of Vera Bradley towels and flip flops. Seeing Shannon's adorable kids wrapped up in their towels was a great advertisement...we began putting the towels on our wish lists!

Hope Garden Flip Flop and Poppy Fields + Sittin' in a Tree towels

All of the essentials of a summer Saturday were present: a pond, dock, noodles (of the floating variety), hot dogs, watermelon, and guacamole. I headed back to Fort Wayne happy and a little sunburnt... a sign of a great afternoon!

Lions and tigers and bees--oh my!

My weekend: pulling a giant bee balloon through downtown Fort Wayne and hanging with the orangutans and a baby giraffe. It's not a typical scene in Indiana, but Fort Wayne definitely delivered in the adventure department this weekend!

Colors hits the Three Rivers Festival parade!

On Saturday, I was part of the "bee" colorful Vera Bradley group for the Three Rivers Festival parade. We had quite a lineup: a girls' dance team, people passing out Vera Bradley goodies, the Queen Bee balloon, Majic 95.1 FM, and the fabulous folks from the Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.

Interns Tiffany, Megan, and Karen with Foundation Events Coordinator Lynda and her daughter, Tori.

The Queen Bee is in flight!
(For a full picture of the bee, check out this picture from a previous parade year--I couldn't get a good shot since I was always under it!)

Tethering was a lot harder than I thought it would be! We practiced our "elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist" wave beforehand, but once someone pulled out the gloves for those tethering, I knew my hopes of dazzling waves were gone. Downtown Fort Wayne has a lot of low wires and traffic lights that require special attention when maneuvering a giant balloon! The crowd was great--they warned us of our obstacles and cheered when we made it through.

Our bit of trouble, a tangle in a traffic light, left the crowd on the edge of their lawn chairs. Foundation intern Karen and I ended up getting our lines chopped and thought we were going to get to use our waves until we quickly had to re-grab our lines! Of course, we planned it all for the dramatic effect :)

Karen and Megan, already tethered on the balloon.

On Sunday, I left behind the urban jungle of Fort Wayne and entered the real jungle with my aunt and cousins. They drove up from Zionsville, Indiana, and were excited to check out the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo... and visit me!

Caroline and I are animals at heart!

I can't remember the last time I have been to any zoo, so it was definitely time for a visit. We packed a lunch and were able to catch an otter feeding and an animal show--featuring a goat with a craving for my cousin Michael's zoo map!

One of my favorites, the giraffes.

Bill the lion: taking a catnap in one of the few shaded areas in the African Journey.

It was a great visit and didn't start getting too hot until we hit the African area--which was Fort Wayne's answer to the Sahara Desert! It was the perfect setting for the zebras, wildebeasts, and leopards, but not for four sweaty visitors.

We decided to hightail it to some air conditioning and headed to Jefferson Pointe. My cousin Caroline is a huge fan and she couldn't wait to see the Vera Bradley store. I'm not one to pass up a trip to the Jefferson Pointe store so I was happy to lead the way! (it may or may not have been my 3rd visit to the store in 4 days...)

One very happy girl!

The weekend ended with a delicious trip to Zesto ice cream and a walk around the University of Saint Francis. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend: fun, family, and fro-yo!

Michael giving a thumbs up for candy--and color!

A very colorful weekend: Southlake, Texas

This weekend, Nissa and I packed our bags and headed to Southlake, Texas for a be colorful event. Vera Bradley was one of the sponsors for the Stars & Stripes event in Southlake Town Square and had a tent full of random acts of color for the crowd!

When Nissa and I arrived, the weather was taking on a color we didn't quite want to see.... dark gray. Locals told us that the weather had been pretty volatile for the last couple of days, and we were probably going to be getting a bit wet!

Unfortunately, clouds were also coming to Southlake!

And then the rain came....

When the crazy weather started, Connie, the assistant store manager at the Vera Bradley store in Southlake, welcomed us to Texas!

Nissa and I frantically moved our boxes of goodies out of the rain--a hard task when you have more boxes than space and everything is WET!

Fortunately, the rain finally stopped. And not only did the rain stop, but the weather turned beautiful! The rain cooled the air temperature (good thing because it was HOT!) and the sun started shining. As the crowds of people started streaming in, we were finally able to set up our tent.

Southlake Town Square: rain or shine!

In addition to Connie, store team members, their friends and family, and friends of other employees volunteered to spread "Random Acts of Color" to the crowds. They were giving colorful lollipops with an offer of saving $10 off a purchase of $50 or more in the Southlake store in July--just in time for the new fall colors coming on Thursday, July 8th! In the tent we had mini bottles of water in Vera Bradley colors and new fall catalogs to get people excited about Vera Bradley.

Colorful ladies in our colorful tent!

Happy street team members (wearing Barcelona--new for fall!)

Spreading "Random Acts of Color" (wearing new fall colors Very Berry Paisley, left, and Hello Dahlia on right)

Despite the bad weather conditions earlier in the evening, tons of people still came to walk around and check out the tents. There were so many things to see, eat, and do: food booths (Chik-fil-A, Dippin' Dots, funnel cakes, and more!), inflatable games for the kids, and face-painting! There was also a live band that kept the tunes coming after the sun went down.

Live music--with dark clouds!

Vera Bradley loves Southlake! We thought we would try to recreate the teaser video... complete with lots of color!

My very tall friend! (with new fall color, Slate Blooms)

Nissa and I...being colorful!

It was really fun getting to talk to everyone who stopped by our booth. We met a woman who was visiting her family but is from Fort Wayne too--and works for Vera Bradley at the Adams Center Road location! I love listening to everyone's connections with Vera Bradley: favorite patterns, recent purchases, and future purchases. We had quite a few husbands and dads that came up to grab a catalog because they knew their mothers/wives/daughters were fans!

Nissa even gave the Chik-fil-A cow a random act of color!

Very cute color recipients

And now, for the main event.... fireworks!

We ended the day with a late dinner and many sighs of relief that the rain didn't ruin our plans! The next morning, we went back to the Vera Bradley store to say bye to Connie and do a little shopping. My purchases: a Ditty Bag in Calypso and Pocket Folders in Carnaby :)

The Vera Bradley store at Southlake Town Square

Then it was back to the airport to fly home to Fort Wayne. By the end of our trip, we had been through four flights in 48 hours, the Texan heat, a downpour in the midst of setting up our tent... and a fun event! Our random acts of color made a lot of people happy--kids got a sweet treat, moms got a sweet deal, and we got to hang out in Texas! It was a definite success for everyone!

Color is coming: Texas bound!

This weekend Vera Bradley web designer Nissa and I will be traveling to be with the be colorful team in Southlake, Texas! I won't spill any of the details, but I am looking forward to a crazy mix of Texas + Vera Bradley + 4th of July fun--talk about an unbeatable combination!

Now on to packing.... will it be too hot for cowboy boots?

Take me out to the ball game...

It was a pretty packed crowd for a Thursday night!

As a visitor to Fort Wayne, I am often at a loss of what to see or do in this neck of the woods. Luckily, I have some local intern friends who can act as my tour guide! Last night's trip to the TinCaps game against the Dayton Dragons was Megan's idea, a Vera Bradley intern and Fort Wayne native.

Megan, Allegra, and I carpooled to the stadium and also met up with Mike and Bret, two other interns. I have to admit that we didn't watch too much of the game... we were too into our conversation to focus on the action on the field!

Bret left his Vera Bradley at home, but luckily we had a wallet he could borrow! Maybe a Vera Bradley tie would be more his style?

But we did turn our attention to the field when the fireworks started! I am not sure if the fireworks were because of a TinCaps win (yay!) or just because it was a nice night. Either way, they were impressive!

Very good--and very loud!

So long Midwest... hello East Coast!

This past weekend, my mentor Shannon and I headed to the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area to visit a few stores and help with the opening festivities. It was a big weekend for Vera Bradley--a Vera Bradley store opened in Providence, Rhode Island and an outlet store opened in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

I had never been the northeastern part of the country before, so I was very excited! We flew into Boston and were able to walk around before heading to Providence for the main event, the store opening.

Swans in a row, all lined up and ready to go!

For the Providence store opening, we arrived early to meet the store team and check out the store. The store team was hard at work completing the final details (Loves Me... cupcakes, anyone?) so Shannon and I were able to get the lay of the land.

What a view--the Riverwalk from the store window!

The store was beautiful! Each of the Vera Bradley stores have a similar feel, but have different elements to match the location and the people. The wallpaper, chandeliers, and furniture were absolutely perfect and made the store feel more like a home than an actual store. The store is even able to please male guests: throughout the day, I spotted many guys enjoying the couches while waiting for their shoppers!

L: The calm before the storm. R: full of Vera Bradley fans!

Our first two Twitter winners!

One of the opening activities was a giveaway on Twitter. Vera Bradley (follow on Twitter!) "tweeted" a secret code for fans to repeat at the store opening, and the first five guests who said the code won a gift card. The woman on the right waited for an hour before the doors opened just so she was sure she was one of the first five--I love her dedication!

Shannon and I took a little break from the Providence store and decided to check out a "Coming Soon" Vera Bradley store in Burlington, Massachusetts. We scoped out the mall and met with the mall marketing manager to talk about future plans. She pointed us to the food court to check out ShotCakes, an ingenious family-run company that fills cupcakes with ice cream. We had to try one (for business purposes, of course) and were not disappointed... it was delicious!

Love the Loves Me... barricade!

We got in touch with our wild side at the Rainforest Cafe. Luckily Shannon wasn't phased by whooping monkeys and blinking elephants!

On Saturday, we headed to Newport, Rhode Island on the recommendation of store and opening manager Deb. Deb is pretty awesome and said Newport was one of her favorite places, so we wanted to check it out for ourselves.

At the start of the Cliff Walk--we walked all of the way past the point in the distance!

Our mission in Newport: find the big mansions. Newport is called "America's First Resort" and has the summer "houses" of American royalty such as the Vanderbilts, the Kennedys, and the Astors. We walked the Cliff Walk, a path along the water that showed the ocean-facing backs of the mansions. It was beautiful!

A few examples of the "humble abodes" along the Cliff Walk.

After plenty of oohing and aahing, we headed back to Providence to organize the street teams. Shannon had gathered a few local girls to pass out free gifts to mall visitors and invite them to the store. We gave our gifts in style, wearing Loves Me... shirts and carried enormous Loves Me... bags! It was really fun to see people get excited about receiving a gift and the store opening. Providence has great Vera Bradley fans!

Providence was having their Waterfire celebration on Saturday night so we planned on catching the crowds that were watching the bonfires being lit on the river. Unfortunately the weather had other plans... we venture outside for about thirty minutes and ended up soaked!

We didn't let a little water ruin our fun! (I am on the far right)

Our final destination was Wrentham, Massachusetts on Sunday to visit the new outlet store. I was very happy to see some of my favorite recently retired patterns. I stocked up on Night Owl for future sorority presents (owls are one of our symbols!) and to contribute to the good of the store :) The prices were great and the apron-ed staff looked very cute!

Vera Bradley has hit Wrentham!

So much Vera Bradley!

It was such an awesome weekend! Shannon was a blast to travel with and I was really lucky to see so many "behind the scenes" steps for the stores. The amount of work and detail everyone contributed definitely paid off in beautiful stores and very successful openings!