A Trip to Binder Park Zoo

You may have noticed that M and I love zoos.We love to see a variety animals up close and learn more about them. We're lucky to have a local zoo that we enjoy visiting, but we also like to take day trips to other zoos in the area. It's nice to be able to see some different animals in some new scenery.

One of our favorite zoos to visit is in Battle Creek, Michigan. Binder Park Zoo is a bit of drive just to visit a zoo, but it's worth it for us. We try to make a trip up there every summer. M first took me there when we were dating and it won him major points.

Last summer, we took our friends T and R with us when we made our yearly trip. They had never been there before and we had a great time showing them around.

One of my favorite things about zoos is taking pictures of the animals. It's a great way to practice my very limited skills. Unfortunately on this trip I was either have so much fun with friends to take many pictures or, as I suspect, many just didn't turn out well.



Doesn't this goat looks like he's smiling? He definitely had some interesting dental health!

Binder Park Zoo has a great petting zoo area. They have everything from rabbits to goats to pigs and even llamas.


This isn't great picture of the prairie dogs, but I wanted to share it because of the story that goes along with it. The prairie dog habitat is quite large with plenty of room for guests to stand on three different sides and watch the prairie dogs. Every side has a large sign explaining that these are prairie dogs and tells about their natural habitat and diet.

As we were standing there watching the prairie dogs being cute, a woman walked up with a small child. She then proceeded to loudly tell the child to look at the meerkats. Over and over again, despite the signs saying otherwise, she kept calling the prairie dogs meerkats. T and I could not stop laughing about that lady. Now, whenever M and I see prairie dogs, we call them meerkats.

Let me show you the reason that we love Binder Park Zoo. It's the reason a trip to the zoo won M major points when we were dating.



Yes, an extreme close-up of a giraffe.

At Binder Park Zoo, you can feed the giraffes. You just hold out the giraffe biscuit and they take it right from you hand, sometimes licking you as they do. It's great fun if your a giraffe lover like me.





The great thing about the giraffes getting so close to feed them is that they are also close enough to pet them. I love being able to pet their necks and and heads. They are very gentle and sweet animals, of course that might because you are feeding them!

Notice the baby girl in the above photo? She was dressed in giraffe prints and oh so cute. Her father held her up so she could get a better look at the giraffe. That is so going to my child someday!



Giraffes have insanely thick and long eyelashes!



Binder Park Zoo is also home to one of other favorite animals, the red panda. I could just watch these guys all day long. This little guy was very active trotting around his habitat. They are so cute and cuddly, I just want to take one home with me!

We had a great day with our friends and enjoyed visiting the animals. If you ever in the Battle Creek area, you should check out Binder Park Zoo. Feed the giraffes and tell them I sent you!

Doctor Who's Day - Favorite Season

Today's Doctor Who's Day topic is favorite season. I've never really thought about having a favorite season. I have a favorite Doctor, a favorite companion, favorite aliens, favorite moments and favorite quotes, but I've never really had a favorite season.

If I had to chose though, I'd say it's a tie between season 5 and season 6. Yes, those are both Eleventh Doctor seasons and as such are both Amy Pond seasons. What can I say? I really like those two.

Source: doctorwho.bbcamerica.com via Robert on Pinterest

I also really liked the themes of those seasons. Season 5 had the crack and why couldn't Amy remember things she should remember. Season 6 had who killed the Doctor and how is he going to survive? Both seasons had great episodes and plenty of twists that left me yelling at the TV. I can't count how many times I shook my fist and yelled, "Moffat!"

Another thing I like about these 2 seasons is that we've learned a lot more about one of my other favorite characters, River Song. We finally learned more about where she came from and just how she fits into the Doctor's life. I won't say anymore because, "Spoilers!"

Source: gallery.doctorwhomedia.co.uk via K on Pinterest

I'm looking forward to the new season, whenever it airs, even though it means the end of Eleven and Amy's partnership. I think the new companion will be interesting.

Which season of Doctor Who is your favorite?

Pinterest Sunday

Time for my weekly Pinterest roundup! Every Sunday, I share with you a few of my top finds from the previous week.

Today I'm sharing some things I've pinned that show off my newest obsession, polka dots! I'm still a huge argyle fan, but I've noticed that polka dots are popular this season and I can't resist.

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Jenn on Pinterest

How cute are these polka dot planters? I love the stacking too. I wonder if I'm crafty enough to attempt this for our front porch?

Source: etsy.com via Jenn on Pinterest

This is a vintage blouse, but I'd love to find one like it. I love the polka dots and the ruffles. I actually have a top similar in style to this that is black and white pinstripe and it's one of my favorite tops to wear.

Source: madewell.com via Jenn on Pinterest

And of course, I can't resist a polka dot cardigan!



If you're on Pinterest, leave a link in the comments and I'll check out your boards.

My Experience at the 2012 Vera Bradley Outlet Sale

Yesterday was my day to shop at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale. Now I'm sad that I have to wait another year for the fun.

A few notes about my experience...

Due to circumstances out of my control, we left later than I had planned and then face some more delays because of construction. As a result, we arrived about 20 minutes before our session started and we were directed to what we were told was line 3.



I really don't like how the lines worked this year. Last year, we arrived about 10 minutes earlier and we were in one big line. We got into the sale not long after it started. The year, I did not enter the sale until 11:40. That's very frustrating when my tickets says 11:00.

I'm  not sure how to improve the situation, but something should be done. Perhaps tickets could be scanned as people enter the line? And have more than 3 people to scan tickets? How about wristbands handed out after scanning the ticket? I really did not like that I lost 40 minutes of shopping time. And the only action Vera Bradley took was to give us an extra 15 minutes to shop. So I lost 25 minutes of shopping time.

25 minutes may not seem like much, but due to the lack of information, it was much harder to shop this year. In previous years, we've received a price list that lists most of the styles, their price, and their exact location in the sale. This year we got a map that only listed categories, not specific styles. I had to spend at least 10 minutes at the beginning trying to find the Stephanie purses because that's the one I wanted.

It felt much more crowded this year as well. And despite what I said, I saw many strollers and young children. People, I should not be tripping over your children when I'm trying to shop. I'm having a hard enough time avoiding the adults in the crowd without your children underfoot.



There was certainly a lot of inventory and I did see many of the patterns I predicted earlier. I even saw a few things in the winter colors. I did not get anything in Island Blooms, but I do love that pattern now that I've seen it in person.

My biggest disappointment was the Turn Lock Wallets. It's my favorite wallet and I was hoping to get a new one that went with the new purse I'd be picking up at the sale. Unfortunately, there was only one pattern available, for some reason. It was Loves Me, which I do not like, so I passed. I did consider an Opera Wallet, but I didn't like it as much as the Turn Lock. I guess I'll be checking out the Vera Bradley website and eBay.

So, what did I buy? Here, let me show you...



Stephanie (of course) in Makes Me Blush
Mini Notebook in Night Owl (Is it just me or has this pattern been around forever? Good thing I love owls!)
Flip Flops in Folkloric
Middleton Collection Flap Satchel

I just couldn't resist that Middleton bag. I think it'll be great for dressier situations or when I just don't want to carry my patterned purses. And with a name like Middleton, you know I was hooked!

There were a few other things I eyed and I'm considering going back this weekend. I'd like to see what is still available and how the prices get marked down. If anything was marked down at my session, I didn't hear about it.

After we'd checked out and had lunch, we headed over to the Vera Bradly store at Jefferson Pointe. I wanted to see the preview of the new fall colors. This fall, Vera Bradley will release six new colors in two separate releases.

The first release will be Indigo Pop, Paisley Meets Plaid, and Va Va Bloom. The second release will be Canyon, Provincial, and Portobello Road.



Paisley Meets Plaid, Indigo Pop, and Canyon



Portobello Road, Provincial, and Va Va Bloom.

I'm so glad I got a chance to see these colors in person. I love Indigo Pop! The colors are great and the pattern is pretty. I like the colors of Paisley Meets Plaid and the plaid background, but I don't like paisley. The other colors didn't really thrill me.



Have any questions about the Outlet Sale or Vera Bradley? Feel free to ask them in the comments or over on the Argyle Love Facebook page.

What did you get at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale?