Vineyard Vines Tervis- Beuller

I fell in love with these adorable Tervis Tumblers on the Vineyard Vines site.

As soon as I saw the set, I knew I had to have the pink whale one. I don't want any of the other ones in the set. They don't do anything for me quite like the whale one does. He makes me happy.

I don't want to order the whole set of four. If anyone out there is ordering the set and doesn't mind parting with the whale one, please let me know. I will gladly pay you for it.

Calling all ASAs

When I first found out that Vineyard Vines does custom tote bags, I immediately knew that I simply had to have an Alpha Sigma Alpha one. I contacted them about a year or so ago about creating a custom one for us, but it turned out to be too much of a hassle for me. I was disappointed but knew that one day I would own a tote.

My preppy sorority girl dreams were answered today when I logged onto facebook and saw this:

A member of our Theta Gamma chapter at Christopher Newport University is now my personal hero. I mean how perfect is this? I literally squealed with excitement. And immediately told TLS that I would be needing $60. Yes, that's right- this beauty is priced at $35 less than the Vineyard Vines Classic Totes go for on their website. Heaven.

I cannot wait until the day when this wonder arrives in my mailbox.

I figured I cannot possibly be the only one of us out there who has been wishing and hoping for such a tote, so I am posting on here to see if any one else wants a tote as well. Email me and I will let you know about how to order from the girls.

ALAM!

It's Time for the Return of Favorite Things Friday

Hello hello bloggers. I have finally been able to reinstate Favorite Things Fridays. KMH, you can breathe a big sigh of relief now. This week's favorite things is devoted to one of my favorite brands of all time, Vineyard Vines.

It's no secret that I have a huge soft spot in my heart for the Vineyard Vines whale. While this shirt is technically from the mens section, I don't care, I have to have it anyway.

TLS hates this shirt for all the reasons that I love it. It would look awesome with a white polo underneath it. Long Sleeve VV Sleeve T Shirt, $32.

The shirt I hope to be sporting come 4th of July, Whale Flag Turtle Bay Tee, $38.

Are you tired of looking at whales yet?
Preppy Whale Turtle Bay Tee, $42

I love Vineyard Vines flip flops and these two need to call my closet their home.
Little Palm Patchwork Flip Flops, $39.50.

New York Yankee Flip Flops, $39.50.

Once again, these are from the mens section, but again, I don't really care. This combines two of my favorite things and would be perfect for a game!

Love this Schooner dress, $125. It would be perfect for a warm summer day or to wear out to dinner.

How great is this Halsey Shirt, $98.50? I absolutely love the sleeves and the relaxed, dressy without trying too hard feel of it.

Ok ladies, that's all for this week. Don't forget to sign up for my swap if you haven't already!

April Showers bring May Flowers

I absolutely hate inclement weather. I define inclement weather as anything below 73 degrees with anything falling out of the sky at all. (Yes, I hate rain with an undying passion. This is why I spend so much time in England.) The month of April is usually not a favorite one for me or my hair. I have written on here before that I firmly believe in using brightly colored, fun rain accessories to counteract the gloom and doom of a rainy day. For my April giveaway, it seems only fitting that I do an umbrella giveaway.

The winner of this giveaway will receive a beautiful Vineyard Vines patchwork umbrella.



To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite item from the Vineyard Vines site is for one entry. (Entries that don't have this will be deleted.) Follow my blog for a second entry. Post this giveaway on your blog for a third entry. Add my button to your blog for a fourth entry. Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway (@whaleflipflops) for a fifth entry. You can also receive one entry for every person who enters and says that you referred him/her. When possible, please leave all entries in one comment instead of on separate comments. This giveaway will run until Saturday, April 10th, at midnight, EST with the winner being posted sometime during my Chicago trip.

Rabbit Rabbit!

Many thanks to Elizabeth at Vineyard Vines for sponsoring this giveaway.

to help with your holiday shopping

Some more discount codes.

Bloomingdales Friends and Family Sale- 20% off through Sunday with code THANKS
Vineyard Vines Friends and Family Sale- 25% off your purchase through Monday with code GIFT
L.L. Bean- receive a $10 gift card with every purchase of $25 or more between now and 12/24/09.

Favorite Things Friday

This week's favorite things comes to you courtesy of my hair. Let me explain- I have more hair issues than any one I've ever met. I describe my hair as looking like a black sheep that's been left out in the rain for too long. Seriously folks. It's that curly and that attractive. I get Japanese straightening done on my hair to make it look nice and be more manageable. The problem with Japanese straightening (aside from the borderline astronomical cost) is that you can only get it done every 4-6 months to allow your roots to grow in. I was supposed to get mine done on Memorial Day weekend, but TLS was in town, and then one thing led to another, and somehow, I was never free for 6 hours in one day to get it done. I finally decided to wait until right before my trip to England so that my hair can look perfect for it and I don't have to spend time straightening my hair then. (TLS says he'll obviously wait for me to get ready, but being that he's a guy who gets mandated haircuts every two weeks, I don't think he understands just how long it takes for me to do my hair.)

Since the bottom part of my hair looks fine, and it's just the top part that I don't like, I have been wearing a lot of baseball caps and headbands lately. So this week's favorite things post is all about headbands.

A cute polka dotted one from Tucker Blair, on sale for $25.

A hair sash from Vineyard Vines in one of my favorite colors, $24.50.
This time a headband from Vineyard Vines, also in one of my favorite color combinations, $30.A cute sporty one from A. Tierney, $18.Another one from A. Tierney as well, this one is for girls, not women, but I have a small head, and it's so cute that I would hope it could work for me, $18.

A cute colorful one from Baekgaard, $20.

The following two headbands are too thin to actually do anything but my monstrous hair (I realize I may be exxagerating a little, but not by much), but are still too cute to not post.


From crewcuts, a thin one with delicate flowers, perfect for evening, $16.50.
From Fornash, another fun thin one for evening, $38. (Like I was not going to post something that has a ladybug on it...)That's all for this week folks. Enjoy your weekends, have fun, and I will hopefully survive the bridal shower on Sunday and will provide you with a recap on Monday.

Favorite Things Friday

I apologize for the lack of a Favorite Things post again last week. Professionally, this is a very crazy time for me and work has just been so hectic. This week's Favorite Things post is a bit different. Instead of showing you things that I like online, I am going to show you my favorite items from the Vineyard Vines Fall 2009 line that I got to preview on Wednesday. Some of these items will start to appear on the website as early as in a week and a half!

As soon as I walked in and saw this tunic, it just screamed me and I knew I had to have it. It will be perfect in the early fall by itself or with just a cami underneath. When it gets colder, you can layer it by wearing a thin long sleeve t underneath it.

It is also available in blue (you can see a bit of the blue one behind it).

This jacket is a bit more outdoorsy than my usual wardrobe, but I still really like it. I keep on debating between getting it in navy and pink.

I am someone who gets cold in anything below 73 degrees (the second anything comes out of the sky, I start getting depressed), so I have grown to love cardigans. I love the whale button detail on this one. Will be great with just a plain white cami and some dark jeans and a pair of flats. Looking at the picture, I now realize that it wasn't the greatest one I've ever taken. If you can't see, that's two whale cutouts on the metal buttons.

A great sweater

This will be perfect for rainy England.

A shirt that's somewhat of a cross between a polo and a traditional Oxford (also available in navy).

In pursuit of the Great Pink Whale

I have been a huge fan of Vineyard Vines since I first bought a pair of whale flip flops (shocking, I know) a couple of years ago and those pretty much became all I wore. The blog URL actually comes from that because with my friends those became known as my signature of sorts.

When Vineyard Vines invited me to their Blogger Day, I was ecstatic and felt so lucky that a company that I love so much was interested in my opinion. The fact that it was on my birthday just made it seem like fate. The day was absolutely perfect in my opinion and now I am an even bigger lover of all things pink whale-related than I was before yesterday, if that was possible.

We were picked up at the Stamford train station in an adorable navy van with pink whales and Vineyard Vines logos all over it and driven to the VV showroom. We had a lovely breakfast and were given some of the most amazing and generous goodie bags I have ever seen. Sadly, I am still not able to upload pictures, but here is what was inside: 2 polo shirts, a pair of flips (more whales!), a tote bag, a wristlet/camera case, a sash, a floppy sun hat, a keyfob, a leather belt from their new fall line, some adorable note pads, and some bumper stickers.

We were shown the Fall 2009 collection and got to preview Spring 2010. Because Spring 2010 is still in production and changes are being made, we were not allowed to photograph it. What I will say is that I am very much looking forward to this one. There are a lot of cute casual dresses and a lot of things in the acqua/turquoise/Tiffany blue color pallette which I adore. The fall 2009 collection does not disappoint and might be one of their best to date. There are so many items that are now on my NEED, not WANT list for my England trip that I may just order them when they go on sale, take out the box, dump it out into my suitcase, throw in some shoes and makeup, and call it a day. Here are my notes on the upcoming Fall 2009 collection:
1) The theme of the Fall 2009 collection is "wooden boats." All of the clothes are inspired by either the lifestyles of the people who sail on the different types of boats, the boat hardware, and the rope/knot details.
2) The men's collection seems to be a lot more technical oriented while the women's collection is more fashion oriented. A lot of the men's clothes that we were shown are made out of ripstop (the same material that sails are made out of), and are meant to be used while fishing, skiing, or sailing. What I really loved in the men's collection was that the blazers were lined in a beautiful navy blue silk with old charts of the area on it. I really wish that Vineyard Vines would consider doing a skirt or dress for women in this print. I would snap it right up.
3) This year, you can really see that the company is branching out with its accessories line. They have always had a few accessories, but the supply was limited. In the fall, they are introducing several different styles of totes in addition to their classic tote with the silk border, they have some fun skinny bangles, and a sterling silver whale charm bracelet. There are also great leather belts with silver whale cutout buckles. We received these in our goodie bags and I am in love. In their Resort/Holiday collection, they have a gorgeous silk cosmetic case with a shell print that is available in both a baby pink and a pale Tiffany blue. It will be interesting to see how this sells, while I love the case, it does not appear to be very practical, it looks like the kind of item that would get ruined after the first time you used it.
4) One of my favorite ties from the men's collection was a "pool shark" tie. It quite literally is a shark playing pool. I love things that are quirky and a little tongue in cheek, so this brought a smile to my face. I hope that there is a tote or other item available for women in this print.
5) "Buy it now, wear it now" is an important aspect of this fall collection. Instead of introducing the heavy sweaters and bulky items up front that you can't wear for a few months, Vineyard Vines is rolling out lighter items now in the first production, and is rolling out the heavier and more seasonal items a bit later. Some of the tunics and shirts in the very first rollout would be perfect for an evening to wear even now.
6) One item which I did not like very much was from the Spring 2010 collection. It is a pink, white, and green tunic dress with white embroidered trim. Sound familiar? I felt that if you switched the label on it, you would not recognize it as a VV dress and it could easily pass for a Lilly. Since the line is still being worked on and tweaked, we were told that changes would be made to it, and I really hope that it is changed enough to make it stand out more in a sea of Lilly.
7) Since I can't upload pictures, here are my descriptions of the items which I just have to have:
a) A v-neck cardigan with large metal buttons with 2 whale cutouts on the buttons.
b) A navy blue sweater peacoat. Instead of having regular peacoat buttons, it has buttons like nautical knots.
c) A beautiful cotton tunic. It is a little Tory-esque and going back to the boat theme, has a pattern that is meant to look like a sale with VV on it. As soon as I saw it, I could not stop raving about it for the rest of the day.
d) A jacket, I believe it is the Nor'easter jacket, that was usually only available for men is now being made available in the women's line. I absolutely love it in both the pink and the navy colors (navy would be more practical, but pink is so much fun!) and it would be great for my trip since it's waterproof.
e) A black, white, and gold shift dress with a diamond rope and not pattern. Would be a perfect piece for work with a turtleneck and some flats.
f) A belt that is actually from the men's line. It is a brown leather belt with a brass buckle in the shape of a fishing hook. As soon as I saw that, it just cried out "MRM buy me pretty please and love me," and as soon as it comes out, I will be more than happy to oblige.

After our previews, we got lunch at the Crab Shell, I don't eat shellfish so I had an absolutely delicious tuna. We then got to ride on their speedboats. This was so much fun and the weather was absolutely perfect for it. We got to meet the founders, Shep and Ian at lunch and rode on the boats with them and it was great to just talk to them and see how interested they were in our input. All in all, it was an absolutely perfect day and I am now on a complete Vineyard Vines high and am singing their praises.

a very big and belated Thank You

About a week ago, I made this post proclaiming my undying love for the Vineyard Vines whale and my desperate and at that point, futile attempts at acquiring a whale pint glass. The lovely Lindsey from Vineyard Vines, who has now earned herself a place on my holiday card list, found my post and told me to contact her. Two days later, the UPS guy showed up at my house with a big box. Inside it were 6 (!!!!) of my beloved pink whale pint glasses, a Nalgene bottle, a baseball cap, and a sweet note. I arranged all of the glasses on top of the bar, and am thinking of ordering this monogram from The Monogram Merchant to hang above it and complement all of the pink, white and blue. I wanted to post pictures of all of this to fully thank Lindsay and to show everyone my new whale bar, but unfortunately, my camera has decided that it just doesn't feel like communicating with the computer so alas, no pictures. I wanted to publicly thank Lindsey for her kindness and have to say that I am so excited about my whale bar and as soon as Passover ends, I will be enjoying a nice cold one with my whales!

favorite things

It's time for my weekly favorite things post. Since I am still window shopping for my perfect spring wardrobe and super-excited about the fact that I will have whale pint glasses thanks to my beloved Vineyard Vines, this post will be dedicated to things I want off the Vineyard Vines website.

The first item is this Kimberely Keyhole Top ($59.50). I love the fun keyhole accent and it is conservative yet dressy enough to go from work to an after-work date, should J decide that he wants to keep up this business of flirting with me. I won't mind.

This would look great with slacks or a skirt for work or dark jeans and Jack Rogers for play.

Since I live near the beach, I love the lightness and fun print of this Pineapple Smoothie Samantha Skirt ($85).


Printed Seersucker Classic Shorts ($69.50)

So cute and in my favorite color, too. The lobsters are such a fun idea. Being a Jew, I can't eat any shellfish, but I can certainly think it's cute. (This justification was given to me by a Jewish friend's mother who collects pigs.)

Another fun top that would be great for work and then after work drinks or a date is this Rowayton Ruffle Shirt ($89.50)

I really, really want this shirt, but unfortunately, I am rather endowed and think that this shirt would not work well with my chest. (To quote Jill from Real Housewives' Season 1- when you're born with them, you want to hide them, when you buy them, you want to show them off.)

Keeping up with the theme of shirts that MRM wants but that won't work with her chest, is this lovely Shiretown shirt ($49.50).

I really love the bright color of this one and it's a great price and so I'm going to just brave it, order it, and hope that it isn't very low-cut, or that it can be worn with a camisole underneath and still look cute. Fingers crossed ladies!

The bangle that I got at A. Tierney earlier this year proved to me that my small wrists actually can pull off a bangle, so of course, now I'm looking for more. I absolutely love this Patchwork Puzzle Whale Bangle ($85).


Proof that I really will buy just about anything with that little whale on it- The Pinwhale Classic Headband ($30).

This is going to be great for covering my roots in the months that I can't get my hair done. (I have naturally very curly, very Jewish, hair that I like to describe as looking like a black sheep that's been left out in the rain for too long. Dead sexy. I get it Japanese straightened, but there is always that lovely period when your roots grow in but are still too short to be straightened.)

Perfect for brunch or even a summer evening, depending on how it's accessorized, the Eyelet Margo Dress ($195).

For anyone who is looking for a white dress, this also comes in white.

A cute, casual outfit:
The Strolin Stripe Turtleback Tank ($49.50)

paired with the Wharf Skirt ($59.50)


This item isn't actually available for sale on the website, but I just had to include it because I think it's fun and have a passionate love of taking pictures in funny hats.

The pink whale hat. It is given out for photo ops at events and I will now have to stalk the pink whale to get myself one. I can do it folks. I am that determined.

And finally, saving the best for last, what prompted my obsession with this company as well as the title for this blog: my beloved Whale Flip Flops ($39.50). ::drool::

desperately seeking whale

A couple of years ago, Vineyard Vines had these adorable pint glasses on their website. They were clear with the pink and blue whale logo on them on one side, and the Vineyard Vines name written out on the other. At the time, I thought they were just cute but I didn't have any use for them. Well, my (relatively) new apartment came with a built-in bar and I am decorating it with random glasses. I have decided that I absolutely need to have that pint glass for my collection. Of course, as Murphy and his stupid law would have it, the glass is no longer available for purchase online, and there are none on ebay. I have sent two emails to Vineyard Vines customer service asking if they have just one glass left that I can buy, and have not heard back. At this point, I am getting desperate and determined. Do any of you ladies have a whale pint glass that you would be willing to part with? Do you know someone who does? Pretty please with a sugared cherry on top.

favorite things

Well ladies, it is time for my weekly favorite things post. In honor of my two keyfob giveaways this week, I will dedicate this week's post to various keyfobs and keychains.

I will start this off with a keychain that is very near and dear to my heart.


YES! That is a whale flip flop keychain from the company that makes my beloved whale flip flops! I nearly squealed when I saw that (ok, I did squeal, a little) and have to say that I absolutely NEED this and it will be mine. ($45 at Vineyard Vines)

Another great one from them is this Bloody Mary Fabric Printed Keyfob for $15.


Alcoholic beverages not your thing? How about an adorable laydbug key fob from New York's own A. Tierney ($10)? It does come in other motifs as well, but I am slightly ladybug-crazy so this is the one that makes me go "aaaaaaawwwwwwwwww."


Here is a cute and preppy one from Whitney Caroline Designs ($5)


If you are looking for an Easter gift for a lucky girl, I'm partial to this Bunny keyring from Coach ($38). As a side note, does anyone else really dislike Coach's new site layout?


I think that the cotton tail on the bunny's, um, tuchus as my Nana would say, is so cute and fun but I would probably get it dirty in, oh, 2.5 seconds.

I love the colors and simple elegance of this double flower keyfob from Kate Spade ($55).


Another fun summer one from Kate Spade is this boat steering wheel keyfob ($281).


I included it for two reasons, one because it is cute, and two, because can we just talk about the fact that it is actually $281?! Yes, that price is in U.S. Dollars...

In the market for something that you can actually afford? Shocking, I know. I love this Watch Hill Riff Tide ($22.50) from Kiel James Patrick. That Tiffany blue-esque background is seriously my favorite color.


A really cute one that I am in love with and am seriously debating is this Crab one Miss Priss ($16). My zodiac sign is Cancer the Crab, and while I never really paid attention to the zodiac at all, I have always found crabs to be adorable and have held a certain fondness for them.


Another fun crab one is this Crabs and Beer Bottles from Tucker Blair.


The idea of the alcoholic crabs just makes me smile. If you want to try to win a keyfob, you can enter here.

Since ~miller ribbons~ custom makes all of their key fobs, I do not have a picture of the one I want, but I have already decided that I will be ordering one that has a Tiffany Blue ribbon with white polka dots on it and my initials on it in red. I am also giving away 5 of these on my blog.

Finally, my last two keyrings on this week's post come from the one, the only, Tiffany.

First is this sterling silver palm tree key ring ($130)


and second is this Elsa Peretti initial keyring ($145)


I cannot ever justify spending that much money on a keychain, but looking is fun!