Best Vera Bradley Bags for Traveling

Now that I have three kids, I don't fly as much as I used to. The first year my son was born, we flew all over the country for my husband's then new job. However, now that we live the middle of nowhere and have to drive at least two hours reach a “city,” we drive a lot! Not to mention how much we drive for our annual pilgrimmage to visit Indiana once a year.That trip takes 2-3 days to get there, driving five hours between families, and 2-3 days to get back. Needless to say, we've put some miles on the mini van! I stuff our van with lots of travel necessities packed in my Vera Bradley bags. Here's a list of what I like to travel with:

1. Market Totes $8 – I take at least two with me. I'm so glad they make them bigger now! I can fit a lot of snacks and drinks for the kids in these, and not have to worry about getting them dirty because they are easily wipeable. I have really packed these and they hold up no matter how much weight is inside.

2. Cooler Tote $78 – Two of my kids drink milk and water only. Thankfully they don't care for soda (my oldest one is another story!). However, keeping milk cold isn't an easy task. I usually buy smaller containers of milk along the way and store them in the insulated Cooler Tote until they are ready for more. We also keep medications that need to be refridgerated in the Cooler Tote, until we can get them in a fridge at whatever hotel we are staying at (for a family of five, we stick to suite hotels like Homewood Suites)

3. Drawstring Family Tote $58 – This one is new and I can't wait to try it in a couple of weeks! It's lined with almost like a rubber (not sure what it is), so it seems really durable. People have complained about a smell with it, but I didn't notice it and I've had it for almost a month. The fabric is the Lighten Up, so it's waterproof. It has a drawstring closure, but also has mesh material at the top so you can fit even more in it. The mesh is to help sift out sand if you use this as beach bag, which would have been so helpful when we lived in California!

4. Ditty Bags $28 – I like to take a few with me more for accidents, just in case. You never know when you'll have wet clothes and on our trips there are no bathrooms for miles and miles. The Ditty Bag is lined, so it will keep the fabric and whatever is touching the Ditty Bag dry. I used to use these at the beach when I couldn't throw a swim diaper away. I just throw them in the wash and they do great!

5. Lighten Up Baby Backpack $108 – Although my youngest just turned two, he's still very muc h in diapers. As I mentioned, we travel through remote areas where there are no bathrooms within miles. It's great to zip down and lay him on it to change in the van when pulled over on a dirt road. It's handy to keep all his diaper stuff in one place, and the material is waterproof.

6. Vera $86 – I don't use this bag as much for road trips, but it saw a lot of action when I used to fly with my oldest son. I would fill it with toys, books, snacks, you name it. My trusty Java Blue Vera never ripped and was stuffed under so many airline seats! I don't use it much for road trips because I need bags like in points 1, 2, and 3 to have wipeable bottoms from being on the van floor.

7. Get Carried Away $92 – Like the Vera, I don't use this much for road trips anymore. I did use it a lot for trips to the beach and times I didn't need worry about not having a closure. I'd stuff it with extra clothes, diapers, toys, snacks... I'm pretty sure there's still sand in the bottom of it!

8. Cargo Sling $62 – Such an easy bag to travel with! I can fit all of my toiletries in it, including my hair dryer. It's crossbody, so I took it along lots of flights before I had kids. I like traveling with my toiletries and extra underwear with me, instead of stowing them away. It's a perfect size to keep on you, and flight attendants have yet to tell me to put it in the overhead bins.

9. Luggage – Price Varies – My oldest LOVES his A to Z rolling luggage! It's small, and fits his clothes perfectly. The random letters spell out “Vera Bradley,” but until recently he was convinced they spelled his name. He's played with it a lot, and traveled with it a lot. It's easy to pick up and we've not had a single issue with it. I have larger pieces in older patterns like Java Blue, Mocha Rouge, and Boysenberry, too. Vera Bradley luggage is high quality.

10. Fleece Travel Blanket $38 – I know this isn't a bag, but it's GREAT to travel with! I bought each of my kids one for our road trips. They can easily fold up into a pillow or be used as a blanket. They are just as super soft as the regular throws and wash well. It may not be as folded as nicely as in the pictures, but you can fold them back into a pillow while in the car. They are large enough to cover one person.

“A Colorful Way of Living” Book Review by Stacy DeRose

Being an avid Vera Bradley fan, I couldn't wait to read Barbara Bradley Baekgaard's new book, “A Colorful Way of Living.” The book exceeded my expectations. I was surprised to learn fun facts, such as her unconventional manner of hiring people based on if she would dine with them and giving the scarf off her neck to a flight attendant who admired the way she tied it. Overall, it's an easy, inspirational read.

Don't cheat yourself and buy the Kindle version. If you love Vera Bradley, you will love the color in this book! It pops! Both interior and exterior patterns are featured, and some with different color schemes. I know hard copies seem to be the way of the past, but there is no way you can capture Barb's true love of color with an electronic copy. The book is definitely worth the space on your bookshelf and not filed away in your e-reader!

Barb's quote, “There's room for everyone,” is my new mantra. I've recently started a YouTube channel and it's quite intimidating to jump into a site where 72 hours of content are already being loaded every minute. Taking from her experience of reaching out to those within her niche, instead of not watching others within my niche to deny them views, I now watch and learn from them. Now I see them as complimentary to me, not as competitors. There's room for everyone. I thank Barb for that.

I admit it, while living in Fort Wayne, I was mildly jealous of Barb. My husband's uncle worked for her first husband and actually carried bolts of fabric in his business for Barb and Pat in the beginning. I knew the nice neighborhood where she met Pat. I knew she had always been from money. She isn't a rags to riches tale, she's a comfortable to riches tale. I thought she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and she was, comparing her to my and my husband's families. To her credit, she doesn't deny that in her book. Since reading this, I've learned more not to judge a book by its cover, pun intended. She's had her fair share of tragedy. Money doesn't take away life's cruelties. She's went through a divorce, lost friends to breast cancer, and lost the love of her life to a terrible disease. I admit it, I cried when I read this last part. She is a real person with an amazing and refreshing look on life, learning from both success and tragedy.

Reading about her colorful life, you see the master plan. It all fell into place through a spark of an idea in an airport, fueled by chance meetings and lucky misunderstandings. You'll learn as you read this book that she opened herself up to people, and if there was doubt, she carried on anyway. I love her “ready, fire, aim” attitude, and I can relate to that! I jump in with two feet and then figure out the rest.

She speaks on almost every page about her family, whether it's memories while growing up or moments with her grand children. If you're familiar with Vera Bradley, you'll see familiar names that the company has used in their lines. How many other multi-million dollar businesses use the names of the co-founders' children, grandchildren, and friends in their products? What a unique and genuine touch! Doesn't make you want to run out and buy a Vera Bradley bag? Not to mention, work for Barb. I've had a few former coworkers be hired by Vera Bradley, so I know Barb's stories about making employees family are true.

I'm so glad she wrote “A Colorful Way of Living.” Now the previously unknown stories of what shaped a successful business are shared with the public. Learning about the background of the pattern Tavern on the Green and laughing about the magnetic mishap with a prototype are events that aren't necessarily world-changing, but add richness to life. These are stories that I will forever think about. I rarely reread books. This one I will be reading over and over. For inspiration, for confidence, for assurance that if Barb can “ready, aim, fire,” I can too.