just call me the "bag lady"

I have a slight obsession with bags, but not just any bags, I am obsessed with Vera Bradley bags. I have  many various sizes, shapes and patterns from almost every collection she's created over the past couple years. I only buy Vera Bradley bags too (yeah..I'm a bag snob).

So, when Stella & Dot announced they were launching a bag line as part of their Summer collection I was excited to see what they would come up with. I was also a little conflicted about the quality of the bag, because I'm a Vera Bradley snob and Vera rocks!

Today, I'm trying out the Getaway-Multistripe. So far--very impressed!

#1: the bag comes with a strap so I can use it for school, extreme shopping excursions, traveling, meetings..etc.

#2: this quarter of school is completely miserable and requires me to be on my computer close to the entire day...challenge #1: Fit my laptop and charger in the bag comfortably= mission accomplished.

#3: besides the laptop I needed to fit the following items: water bottle, planner, shoes, folder, and pencil bag (yes, I am 23 and use a pencil bag)...challenge #2: Fit all those items and be able to zip the bag= mission accomplished.

The bag is much larger than I thought, it's also a very deep bag. It is lacking internal pockets, but there is an external pouch perfect for fitting keys, phone, wallet..etc.

Coming from a snobby bag junkie- this bag was a great purchase!
You can purchase your Getaway-Multistripe at www.stelladot.com/EricaNAnderson

Inside

Outside

Summer Line Fav's

The Summer Line launched TODAY!!
I wish I could personally tell you my fav's, but I accidentally shipped it to my old address...and I'm waiting to hear if it came in yet.

But so far...here are my fav's:

Pouf- Elephant

Getaway-Multistripe

Shine Bracelet
Part of the Autism Awareness Collection

Juniper Statement Necklace

Wanderlust Triple Wrap
Comes in many colors 

The Classic

Check out the entire collection at www.stelladot.com/EricaNAnderson

P.S: Book your Summer Line debut trunk show today and earn free jewelry! 

Wear Blue Day

Today is wear blue day in support of Autism Awareness during the entire month of April.
Autism (as well as other "spectrum" disorders) has a special place in my heart.
No, I'm not Autistic. No one in my family has autism.

1 in 88 kids are Autistic today, and with Autism comes other related disorders such as ADHD, ADD, etc...

My brother has ADHD. He is the funniest person I know, is the most accepting non-judgemental person I have ever met, yet has a heart of gold. But he has struggled. Struggled since second grade when he was labeled as ADHD. That label followed him all the way through school. The power of the label of ADHD consumed him through school. Very few of his teachers expected him to succeed in the  classroom because he was "ADHD." Therefore he thought he was dumb, inferior, stupid. In reality he's so smart, but never realized it because of his label.

You may ask.."What does ADHD and Autism have to do with each other?"
The point of the story is the fact that spectrum disorder kids are labelled from the time that they are diagnosed to the rest of their lives. They are looked at differently, treated differently, and talked to differently. When in reality, they are just ordinary kids with special talents.

Randi at Our Modern Day Fairytale has a son named Shaun who is Autistic. She blogs about day to day life, as well as the struggles and milestones that Shaun has. She wrote such a beautiful post about being a mom with an Autistic son- so go check it out~

Also...she is doing a Stella & Dot giveaway (sponsored by me!) for the Support Autism Awareness month. The giveaway is for the Shine Bracelet--it's a really awesome bracelet! Head on over to Stella & Dot to check out the entire Support Autism Awareness collection!

20% of the proceeds from each of these items bought will go to the HollyRod Foundation