VERA BRADLEY: LANYARD AS KEY ACCESSORY PUN INTENDED

Vera Bradley lanyards needed to enter Annual Outlet Sale.

My loud and proud niece lured me into Vera Bradley bags and accessories years ago.

"Aunt Rose you should lead a trip to the Annual Vera Bradley Sale in Ft. Wayne, Indiana," she said with a sly grin knowing how to get Auntie's attention. Then she gave me a vinyl shoulder bag, which I used for years. Who cares if the vinyl wore away and if the bag had cracks in it. My precious niece gave it to me, actually because she didn't want it. I did.

That's how the trip started. Vinyl bags are ideal for me because who knows what bus, lav or trunk floor my bag will rest on, not to mention my pets pouncing on it and such.

Today, I am putting the final touches on the trip.  Double checking all kinds of facts, traffic, food, cool prizes and such.

There will be test questions for my travelers like:

• Who did Vera Bradley model for? 
• Number of outlet sales so far?
• Style of the first bag? 

Then, there will be shopping for 2.5 hours.  It's so much fun. My guests have been calling just to share their excitement with me. I make time for each call because I truly love the folks who keep me in business.  And they know it because it shows on the trip and on my smile.

Not only my peeps, but shoppers who arrive via bus at the Annual Vera Bradley sale are treated like gold.  There's no waiting. We have our own personal refreshment room and personal cashiers. Plus there's beverages and snacks along with other great free Vera Bradley items.

There are no crowds and no difficult people to deal with on the first day of the show because Vera Bradley people have the sale down to a science. They love their bus peeps. They love me. Who wouldn't. After all, I'm bringing over 110 people to the sale.  Let's say each person spends $300, which is not unreasonable, so the sale makes $33,000 give or take. Some people spend a couple of thousand. Me? I go for the Vera Bradley bargain table.  Still, $33K is a wonderful chunk of change! 

Lanyards are the only way to enter the sale, which is a huge space filled with all kinds of Vera Bradley items from Christmas ornaments to hairbands to huge bags. Color fills the arena. Once a purchase is make, often shoppers go back for more even though they just made a major buy because the items are so very reasonably priced.

I keep the lanyard til Kingdom Come and use it for my keys because I can keep them around my neck. Once, when moving the office, dealing with a difficult client, sick dog and car issue, I accidentally threw away my keys.

Vowing that would never happen again, I wear my keys around my neck as a piece of jewelry as I am running errands, stopping somewhere for a short time or just because I want to make sure I know where my keys are at all times. Besides, the keys are decorated with fun fobs. So the lanyards spice up my apparel in a most creative and unusual way.

Oh, the bag that little Blondie niece gave me? It's so precious that it can't be tossed. It's relegated to my personal museum in my basement.