quest for the perfect pair of specs

In case anyone is interested...

I saw an old acquaintance at a friend's kids birthday party with an AWESOME pair of glasses on.  Cat Eye glasses.  Very bold.  They were perfect for her.  Everyone was asking her where she got them... and she let us in on the ClearlyContacts.ca secret (they were giving away 10,000 pairs of glasses FREE - and they did three rounds of that!). 

I used more than half of our insurance coverage to buy prescription sunglasses last year, and couldn't afford a new pair of everyday glasses.  Hearing about this new company got me really interested, especially when I saw the frames are all 50-70% off, and learned that the lenses and coatings are included for free, plus free shipping, plus free return shipping! 

This was one pair I thought I'd like.  Its got green on the inside, though, which makes me look sick.

I found three pairs I liked, and couldn't decide.  Luckily insurance would cover all three combined, if I chose to keep them all.  So I ordered all three, hoping that trying them on would help me pick a favorite.  Unfortunately (the downside of online shopping), none of them look great on me at all.  I'll be returning them shortly.  I'm currently shopping for another couple to try on.  (Seems not so environmentally friendly to me - to waste all those custom made lenses, plus shipping back and forth... but I really do want a new pair of glasses, so I'm letting the wastefulness slide this time). 

Now, there is a serious problem with their website, which I really hope they'll realize and fix at some point.  You cannot open up the detailed page of a particular pair of frames in a new 'tab.'  And that means that I can't click open all the ones I want to see, and then compare between tabs to see which one I like best.  I have to click into one, then go back to the main search page, wait for the search parameters to narrow down again, and then find my next pair to click on.  Clearly a pain. 

I've devised a not-so-clever way to keep track of which frames I like most, without having to do all that clicking around to find them each time.  Here's what I do.  I use Pinterest (it's really cool, check it out) to save all my favorite frames, and then when I want to, I can go there and open each of the frames in its own window with a direct link, to compare them.  Here are my favorite frames.  I basically use Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool (as opposed to the artistic way others use it, which is so much cooler).  Here are braided hair-dos I want to try out, clothing I wish I could buy, and sewing patterns I might like to try.

So, while this post started off about Clearly Contacts... I think its diverted off track in order to showcase Pinterest.  And while I really want this blog to have some serious substance, and write about delicate or meaningful topics... so far I haven't found it in myself to write that way.  So, some more fluff for you.

If anyone wants to try Pinterest out, its membership is limited... but apparently because I'm already a member, I can send out invites to anyone I want.  So if you want to sign up, contact me and I'll send an invite over to you (after I figure out how, of course).