My New Glasses

So, a while back I wrote a bit about Business 2 Blogger and their great opportunities for bloggers to make a little cash-ola and/or some nice parting gifts. (Joke! I know you're not going anywhere! ...You're not going anywhere, right?)

Anyway, I was selected to participate in an opportunity provided by Glasses USA - get a free pair of glasses in exchange for a blog post. I thought, why not? They have great looking eyeglasses for a fraction of the cost that most places do. They have a lot of styles to chose from, including progressive lenses and sunglasses.Glasses USA is an international company with a US office headquartered in New Jersey, and I'm all about supporting US businesses these days.  And they "recycle" all returned glasses by donating them to charity. Their philosopy is that "Seeing properly shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a necessity".  I think that's awesome.

I have had prescription eyeglasses since I was in college when I quickly discovered that I had a hard time focusing between my note pad and the blackboard.  Over the years, as I get older (wait, what? that's a filthy lie!) I have found that my eyesight is getting progressively worse. It's not that bad, but I have trouble reading street signs and that kind of thing. On the flip side, I'm finding my close vision is not quite what it used to be either.  On the plus side, I have discovered I quite like the way I look with glasses and now have several pair so I can change them up depending on what I'm wearing.

Now, I have to admit, when I first went to Glasses USA and saw their prices, I was a little skeptical.  I mean, most of them were really inexpensive and, unfortunately, it's hard to equate "cheap" with "quality". But they had a lot of super cute frames, and really, what do I need a designer's name on my glasses for? My purse, maybe. My glasses? Not so much. So I found about 10 different frames that I liked, ranging from $18.00 (I know!) to about $67.00. And that's for the whole pair, lenses and everything (I know!) Plus they have a great FAQ section that even answers questions about your prescription and how to read it. And if you still can't figure it out, you can fax or email your prescription to them and they'll fill out the form for you.  I finally settled on a pair that I thought was really cute and was something different than anything else I owned. The ones I picked were the Maya frames.

 I had several other concerns about ordering glasses online: what if I didn't like them? What if they didn't fit right? But Glasses USA has a really great return policy - you can return your glasses for any reason, and get an exchange or a refund. So really, free glasses never sounded better. All it cost me was a little time and a blog post. Fantastic!
And the reality was that they arrived fairly quickly and they fit just fine and look great! That "quality" I was worried about? Great.  In fact, I like them better than the ones I just bought a month or so ago for over $300 at a local eyeglass boutique store. (Seriously, I'm not just saying that...) Even Secret Agent Man said they were cute. The frames are light weight, they are almost exactly the color they looked online (a great bonus-no surprises) and I didn't have to adjust them at all.

I have already shared the experience with several of my glasses-wearing friends at work. A couple of them are already picking out glasses to order.  And for you, my friends, Glasses USA has included a special code: Mommy5  to use if you order glasses from them and it’s good for 5% off your final order. It may not sound like much, but their glasses are such a good deal, you really don't need much of a discount! Or - if you go "friend" them on Facebook, I see they have other codes, coupons and promotions going on all the time.

So go check it out.
Really!

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

New Ideas, Sunday Drive and Old Lady Glasses

[First off, this picture has nothing to do with anything except I think it would be funny to see my Buster Kitten in a variety of hats...but he would claw my eyes out if I actually tried anything like this with him and then he would slink off into a corner and not speak to me for days. Well, he doesn't really talk to to me, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I've done a little series of drawings with Buster in a variety of hats. This is my Eatser Buster. He would hate this one most of all.]

So, I have decided I'm going to try getting into the glass pendant necklaces like I see on Etsy and other places online. I have noticed a lot of them are using art papers and Japanese papers, which are really lovely, but I'm hoping that I can maybe do one better by using some original art work. I've noticed florals seem to be popular. But what do you all think? What kinds of pictures/art/images do you think would be nice/fun/cute/pretty, etc (and by that I mean sell a lot)?

On a different note, the weather was great today! It was 58 degrees outside and it's hard to believe that we had 4 inches of snow last week! I am feeling much better than last week, so we took a long drive in the country. Then we came home and watched this movie, and then this movie. Phew! That was a lot of violence and action and car crashes and dead bodies (I read that "Shoot 'Em Up had a body count of 108!) and wow, what a ride! Definitely better, for that genre than the last intense action movie I watched (see this post).

Tomorrow is my 2nd day off and I am going to get the dreaded bi-focal...I already have to wear glasses most of the time, but it's gotten so that I can't use just my "regular" glasses at work because I can't see anything close. I have these in the tortoise/green and I like them ok, and I have these in dark red, but they are way too dark for my face. So hopefully I will find something I really love. We'll see!