What is a Crossover Mini Hipster?!

It sounds like some sort of riddle, doesn't it? What is a crossover mini hipster?  One of those vehicles that is a cross between an SUV and a car? No. What is a hipster? A trendy and unconventional young person? No. Or slacks that hang low on your hips?  Nope. None of the above. The riddle is solved. What is black and white and cool all over? My adorable Crossover Mini Hipster bag by Vera Bradley.

Why I Ordered a Mini Hipster Bag

I just received my mini hipster bag and I love it. Since I hate purses, it seems strange to be so excited about this little bag.  But I am excited and I love it so much that I have to tell you about it right away.

I hate purses. I always have.  As an adult, I have carried my driver's license, bank card, and a few dollars in a small ID case.  I carry that case in one pocket and my cell phone in another pocket. As years go by, my cell phones have gotten larger and I find it difficult to carry them in my pocket. 

Recently, I always feel as though I am always juggling; keys, cell phone, and wallet. To solve this problem, I decided to purchase a small bag.  Because I have been so pleased with my tote bags over the years, I browsed the Vera Bradley site first. 

Vera Bradley Crossover Mini Hipster Review

This Vera Bradley Crossover Mini Hipster is made with that same high quality workmanship as their other bags. All of their bags come in an astonishing large variety of colors. I chose the Baroque pattern for my hipster.

My mini hipster has the solid color interior and a snap closure for the flap. The other compartments close with zippers. Please note that some of the mini hipsters have velcro closures rather than snaps. I believe these are the older versions of the mini hipster - perhaps the discontinued colors. 

Crossover denotes the long length of the shoulder strap, so that the bag can be hung across the body, in a hands-free manner.  I am not the biggest fan of crossovers for daily use. Fortunately, this strap is adjustable. I carry it as a small shoulder bag.

I wanted an extremely small bag. While this bag is very small, it is large enough to carry my keys, my ID and bank cards, a few small personal items, and my Samsung 7 inch tablet.  

I have an older version Kindle (the paperwhite) with a lighted leather case. The Kindle fits into the bag, but not completely. The zipper just wouldn't quite close.

If you are looking for a small, convenient, high quality bag for your small items, take a look at the Crossover Mini Hipster by Vera Bradley. You may ending up loving it as much as I love mine.

Crossover Mini Hipster in Classic Navy

Related Links:

Vera Bradley demonstrates the mini hipster bag in rosewood color - a variety of photographs and a short video in the crossover bag category on their company website. The video shows the inside pockets and gives a good look at how much space there is (and isn't) in this mini bag.

For new releases, current sales, and other Vera Bradley news, check out their Facebook page.  It is an easy way to stay up-to-date with the new prints and to have access to exclusive online sales.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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4 Country Songs to Celebrate Mom

Mom Loves You No Matter What, but She May Love You A Little Extra If You Dedicate Just the Right Country Song to Her...

Whether you want to thank Mom, honor Mom or just express how she inspires you, there's a country song for that. Below are four popular songs with descriptions about the story regarding Mom.
Where we're unable to express just how we feel about mom, a song can step in and describe, in just the right way, what's in our heart.

Don't Forget to Remember Me, by Carrie Underwood

This is such a pretty song; it really does bring you back to a time in your life. It was written by Morgane Hayes, Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley and made it's release in March of 2006. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Country Charts and number 49 on the Hot 100. Carrie Underwood's mother is in the video as well.

This song is gut wrenching. For all of us who recall the anticipation and heartache we felt the day we moved out of our parent's home, the lyrics in this song tell the story of this marker in our life. 

Personally I've never forgotten my own moving day, way back in 1979....heading into my first apartment in the city; just mom and I cleaning the place together and setting up what would become my new home for several years.

I'll never forget the feelings I had the day she had to leave to go back home...I was a bit afraid, a little bit anxious to begin my new life, but mostly it just hurt for a while - The song says it well :

'Eighteen years had come and gone, For Momma they flew by, But for me they drug on and on, We were loadin' up that Chevy, Both tryin' not to cry, Momma kept on talkin', puttin' off goodbye, Then she took my hand and said, Baby don't forget to remember me'

As a daughter I can say this particular lyric in the song hits home the most; "I called Mama up last night, And even when it's not, I tell her everything's all right". Doesn't matter how old we get, we always want to spare mom unnecessary worry.

Somebody's Hero, by Jamie O'Neal

This song is so moving that I dedicated a full page review about it.

If your a grown woman and Mom is on in her years, then you'll appreciate this song and the incredible message of a lifetime of gratitude between mother and daughter.

The video is equally moving. It expresses the lyrics by telling the story of a young girl who grows with the love of her mother, and how that relationship goes full circle from a Mom caring for her daughter to a daughter caring for her mother.

When you hear and watch the last verse in the video, especially if your mom is a senior citizen, be ready to shed a tear:

'She's somebody's hero, A hero to her mother in a rockin' chair, She runs a brush through her silver hair, The envy of the nursing home, She drops by every afternoon, Feeds her mama with a spoon, And that smile lets her know, Her mother's smile lets her know, She's somebody's hero'

The song was written by Jamie O'Neal, Shaye Smith and Ed Hill. It was released as the second single from her Album 'Brave'. On the Hot Country Charts it reached number 3 and thus provided Ms. O'Neal with her sixth top 40 country hit and her third top ten.

The Baby, by Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton was quite young when he recorded this song.

Get ready to cry, you won't be able to hold back the tears on this song, especially if you're the youngest child or Mom.

I can personally relate to the theme of this song - I'm a mom of four sons, and my 4th boy arrived quite unexpectedly when I was 40 years old. So to hear Blake Shelton sing the lyrics about the youngest always being referred to as the baby touches me deeply.

In fact my youngest, who at the time of me writing this page, is soon to be 16 years old and yes, is still referred to as 'my baby'. Although he gets mad when I say it now, so I can only say it to his father when I'm talking about him - I love that! Now I call him 'my angel' in french until he grows back into me calling him his baby again...and he will.

This song, in perfect country style, tells the story of the youngest son growing up as 'the baby' all the way to the time when mom is on her deathbed where he's rushing to be by her side.

Honestly, it's hard to listen to; from the perspective of mom, just thinking about any of my sons hurting when it's my time to leave bothers me; just never want to see them hurt (no matter how unrealistic that is, us mommies feel that way).

Written by Michael White and Harley Allen, this song was included on Blake Shelton's album 'The Dreamer' and was released as the first single for it in 2002. It reached and stayed at number for three weeks.

Angels, By Randy Travis

Narrated as a Story to Remind Men Who've Forgotten Where They Can Find an Angel

The beauty of this song, along with the lyrics, is the way the story of where to find an angel is narrated by Randy Travis. The video shows a group of men gathered for a night of relaxation and conversation talking about many subjects in life when the talk of 'Angels' comes up. Most of them say they've never seen a real angel, or wouldn't know one if they did. That's when Randy Travis points out that to see an angel they only need to look in their mother's eyes.

"Are you telling me you've never seen an angel,  never felt the presence of one standing by, No robe of white, no halo in site, Well you missed the most obvious thing, Man, are you blind? Just look in your mothers eyes" 

The song goes on to ask the men... who has been there for them from birth and through life, who stands by their side no matter what, and who came running every time they cried out, taught you wrong from right, waited up at night and prayed that you'd be alright.

If you'de like to add one of the above songs to your playlist, you can find them here, along with several other country songs for Mom.

Note: 'OMG Mom Was Right Pillow Can be Found Here, along with several other Pillows and Throw Blankets to Honor Mom.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Backyard Garden Birds: Springtime Review

Backyard Bird World

With the arrival of Spring, many of us see charming birds return to our backyard gardens. So, it's time to review what these birds need to encourage them. Besides Robins, which nearly everyone of us sees as heralding Spring, there are many regional birds. Like the Eastern Bluebird. OK, that's one of my personal favorites. And I found an article on Easy Backyard Gardening that highlights these delightful little birds.

Great Photo Opportunities

The author of Best Wooden Birdhouses shares photos of the Eastern Bluebirds that occupy her own backyard garden. She has a wooden birdhouse for them that blends well with her wooden fence. A nice security features for the birds themselves.

Anytime you add bird-friendly features to your own backyard gardens you get great photo opportunities. I can attest to that. I have been able to get photos of baby Swifts in the nest, brilliant Northern Cardinals on my window feeder and Yellow Finches hanging out in my Cedar trees.

The simple addition of a good wooden birdhouse will give you plenty of photo opps. Just make sure to stop and see the birds.

Hummingbirds in Backyard Gardens

Most everyone can enjoy the return of the tiny hummingbird. With a few-well placed feeders (www.backyardbirdworld.com/bird-houses-feeders/care-of-hummingbird-feeders), these

Care of Hummingbird Feeders

birds will return to your backyard garden year after year. Hummingbird feeders take a little bit of care, but are definitely worth the time. Seeing the hovering little birds around your yard is a site worth enjoying.

So make sure to add feeders that will encourage hummingbirds to share your garden space with you. For those of you who enjoy planting flowers, add some bright red ones. That will also help hummingbirds be attracted to your backyard gardens. The beauty of the flowers will be enhanced by the presence of charming birds.

Get Your Backyard Garden Ready

Make sure to take a little time and get your own backyard garden ready to welcome back the springtime birds. Whether it's a new wooden birdhouse or a hummingbird feeder, the birds will appreciate it. And you will appreciate seeing the birds in your garden.





Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Clever Travel Companion Women's Leggings with Secret Pockets Reviewed

Example Contents Shown but
Pocket Zippers do Zip Closed
to Conceal Content

Security is my #1 concern when I shop, travel, hike, bike, or just walk around the block.  When we walk our dogs, I don't want my attention on anything other than taking care of our pups.  When we hike, I want to watch my footpath and the surrounding area.  I don't want to be distracted or to be encumbered with anything.  When I am taking photographs, the last thing I want to do is worry about fighting a purse or if my wallet is secure.  I stopped carrying a purse decades ago and started wearing clothes with pockets.  Even though I hated the bulge my wallet or cell phone made, I still refused to go back to dragging around a purse.

Over the years, the clothes styles have changed and I have made a few changes too, but I have not gone back to toting a purse.  I recently discovered the Clever Travel Companion Leggings with Secret Pockets and I think they are the best solution yet!

The Clever Travel Companion Leggings with Secret Pockets

 Clever Travel Companion Women's Leggings with Secret Pockets, Black, MediumI don't really have the body shape that looks fabulous in leggings.  I am short and rounded.  Hardly the long, lanky figure of a model, but I love these leggings.  Paired with a oversized shirt or tunic top, I am quite comfortable wearing them out in public.

During the winter months, or colder days, I wear them under my dress or  slacks.  I still have my hidden pockets, plus the added warmth usually associated with thermal underclothes.  

Benefits of the Clever Travel Leggings 

• Two Hidden Pockets with Zippers
• Extremely Comfortable to Wear 
• Extremely Comfortable when Walking
• Extremely Comfortable when Sitting
• Extremely Comfortable on Planes, in Cars, or even climbing around in jeeps
• Cool and breathable fabric, yet added warmth under other slacks 
• Easy Care - Machine Washable (I hang mine dry)

Security Pockets and Comfort

Clearly the security pockets with zippers were the main draw for me when I decided to test these pants.  After wearing the pants during a variety of activities, I can tell you, they are the most comfortable, best pocket pants I have ever worn.

The pockets will easily hold my drivers license, credit card, and cell phone.  I can zip the pocket over them to keep them secure from falling out or from thieves.  

Pickpockets and thieves are always a concern when traveling, but so is comfort.   These leggings have proven to be the perfect combination for travel!  

I frequently sit Indian style, with my legs criss-crossed.   That is not always a comfortable style when wearing jeans or dress slacks, but it is effortless with these leggings due to the stretchy fabric.  This is truly an added plus for me since my feet often won't touch the ground if I sit completely back in most chairs or seats. 

I love the waistband on these leggings!  The waistband is wide enough to prevent rolling, but soft and stretchy enough to be extremely comfortable on the waist when sitting, standing, walking or bending.  You never notice the waistband is there except that it is holding up your leggings.


 Heshe Fashion Leather Key Case 6 Key HolderCheck Price

Keys

Keys do require a bit more consideration.  You aren't going to want to stick a single key in the pocket of these leggings.  The key could easily injure you and would most certainly poke through the fabric.  

Clearly, this is not an issue if your car uses a key fob, but most of us still carry a house key with us when we go out.  

I use, and would recommend, a key case.  One like the one on right works nicely.

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Review of the Clever Travel Companion Women's Leggings with Secret Pockets Written by:

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How to Store Your Passwords

Happy World Password Day! This is a holiday that everyone within the sound of my written voice can celebrate; if you're on a computer, you almost positively have at least one password. Or a hundred of them, and therein lies the problem. How do you store all those passwords? Better yet, how do you remember them? Let's review some of the best ways to store the passwords that you use online.

But first, let's talk a little bit about why there is a World Password Day. Cybercrime is huge in the news these days. Rarely a week goes by that we don't learn of another hack by some group of unknown criminals on the computer records of yet another well-known large company, bank, or perhaps worse, government agency.

It is said that there are two groups of people online, those who've been hacked and those who don't yet know they've been hacked. It's hard to imagine how much personal information, often including account numbers and passwords, is in the hands of criminals who have nothing but bad things in mind. Likely they plan to sell all the compromised information they can get their hands on to the highest bidder with no regard at all to how their illegal deeds might adversely affect the average computer user.

While there's little we as individuals can do to stop this widespread criminal behavior, the best thing we can do to keep our own online information safe is to protect access to it by using good, strong passwords and storing them properly.

Care to guess what the two most-used passwords in the world are? At the top of the list is the numeric sequence 123456 while second is the word "password." If you use either of those on any of your online accounts, I have three words for you: No! No! No! It takes mere seconds to create a strong password, one that even the worst bad guy's password-stealing robot can't easily hack. For some simple tips to follow when creating a password, both do's and don't's, visit the World Password Day website. It's a fun and informative site where you'll probably learn a thing or two.

Once you've created your new long, strong passwords, one for each and every account you use, you'll need to figure out how to safely store them. Here are three choices to consider.

1. Hire a manager. The easiest way is to store all of your passwords with the help of a password manager such as the highly-recommended Kaspersky Password Manager (available in both a free and a paid version). This program syncs your passwords across devices, which is very handy. It will also help you develop strong passwords that are hard to crack, always a good thing. Learn more then download the free version or buy the paid version (just $14.99, price subject to change) at the link.

2. Write them down. If you're old fashioned, as I tend to be, you might want to keep track of your passwords yourself by writing them down on paper. Or use a simple Rolodex. The one in the picture above is mine. The alphabetical tabs make it easy to file the cards by site name or URL and it doesn't take much room on your desk top. This is a good solution for a home office, but I wouldn't use it in a public work space where anyone who walks by could take a peek or, worse, grab it and take off with it. Also, it isn't easy to pack in my purse when I travel. That's where the next option comes in.

3.  Use a password journal. I really like this personal password logbook or journal! It's designed specifically for recording internet addresses and their passwords as well as other useful information about your computer, your software, your ISP, your email addresses, and more. The front label is removable, so the contents are stored discretely. The elastic band helps by keeping the book closed until you want to open it. I really like the cover design, too, which is just one of several available for this line of password journals or logbooks. (You'll see them at the link.) While I keep a short list of passwords with me in my purse, it's barely sufficient and not nearly as efficient as this pretty book which right now costs less than $7 (price subject to change).

A word of caution: House fires happen. I know first hand. So if you depend on a Rolodex, sticky notes, or just a simple notebook for storing passwords, make sure you have a backup somewhere (and not on an external hard drive in your home; they burn, too). The Kaspersky system is probably the best choice for storing passwords or, if you still want to do it yourself, just make sure you've set up a file in the cloud somewhere that you can retrieve from anywhere in case of emergency. The price is very reasonable and very worth it when you consider the time it takes to retrieve and/or change every password you have. Again, I know.

So, how do you store your passwords? Do they need updating? How will you celebrate World Password Day? While it officially falls on the first Thursday of May (May 4, 2017), this information is important every day of the year. I hope you'll use it to keep both your data and your passwords safe!

~ Susan
Read more of my reviews.

Posted by Susan Deppner

About the Author

Susan Deppner is a baby boomer, a cancer survivor, and a Southerner who believes in the Golden Rule. She enjoys writing about food, faith, and fitness; health, home, and holidays; people, places, pets, and patriotism, and more. Follow Susan on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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