This post is sponsored by MyEyeDr. Join me at their launch event this Wednesday in Evanston!
MyEyeDr. has been around for 15 years and is in over 300 communities east of the Mississippi, but they’ve just launched here in the Chicago area with 23 locations in the city and suburbs. Spex Optical is among those locations, including the one here in Oak Park.
I’ve been feeling like my prescription may have changed recently, so I walked over for an exam last week. My least favorite part of an eye exam has always been the air puff test, but hooray, they didn’t do that! I don’t know why I get so nervous about a little puff of air, but they used a new device that felt like they were gently touching my lashes. That, I can handle. The optometrist ran several tests and confirmed that my eyes are healthy, but my prescription has indeed changed (as I had expected). Time for new glasses.
I tried on a bunch of styles that day, but I haven’t made a decision yet because I’ll be at the ‘Relax & Shop’ event in Evanston (2000 Central St.) on Wednesday from 10:30-noon, and I’ll check out some more frames then. You should come! There will be treats, chair massages, gift bags for the first 50 people, and a chance to win a $300 gift certificate.
So, these glasses. What do you think? Like a highlighter for your face!
OK, maybe those are a pass. These are in the running though.
And I’ll try more on Wednesday. MyEyeDr. will have image consultants and product specialists on hand to help people select frames. Will I see you there?
Jacki
October 3, 2016 at 1:41 pmTo be honest, your sponsored posts have gotten to be too much. I don’t understand how this post fits into your blog at all. Might be time for me to stop reading…
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:02 pmI do hope you’ll stay, but in this case, I’ve worn glasses for more than two decades and I write about them pretty regularly here.
Jill
October 3, 2016 at 1:45 pmI noticed the new sign out in front of the place by me and was curious about the name change. Wish I didn’t have to work on Wednesday so I could come out! Picking out glasses is like my favorite thing to do, haha.
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:01 pmMine too.
Karla
October 3, 2016 at 2:02 pmWhenever I see a sponsored post of yours, I always come back to a few hours later for the commenters that threaten to leave. It always seems to be the same old line/threat. I say, you do you. If a sponsored post here and there means you can fully focus even more on the content you provide with the added bonus of providing for your family then cheers to you. Petty comments with light-hearted threats are so predictable (although are the source of 10 seconds of entertainment for me), although they are free to state their opinion obviously (however trite and predictable that may be). Next time you paint some more wood moulding I may make some popcorn. Keep on keeping on. :)
Pikaeva
October 4, 2016 at 3:44 amIn contrast, ‘you do you’ is not trite and predictable AT ALL. Please.
Karla
October 4, 2016 at 9:36 amHmm, maybe I’ll go for the cheddar cheese flavored popcorn instead of my regular extra butter popcorn. You know…treat myself.
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:00 pmThank you for the laugh! (And the support, but a chuckle is always appreciated too.)
Jess
October 4, 2016 at 8:42 amBut it really does seem like this is a bizarre sponsored post. Eye shop on a home blog? It’s quite a stretch. Normally, I feel like bloggers can sponsor away and it doesn’t bother me. This isn’t something that would make me not read this blog, but it does kind of make me wonder how she chooses partnerships. This one doesn’t really make that much sense. Perhaps if the blog shifted more into just stuff about her life and less about home decor then a post like this would make more sense.
Karla
October 4, 2016 at 9:46 amTotally hear you. YoungHouseLove did an interesting podcast about it (which Nicole participated in) and really discussed the different view points and helped me understand what all really goes into putting together blogposts and maintaining a large blog with regular content. I’m not a blogger but I get how difficult it must be to balance staying true to the original roots of your blog but also trying to keep up with the demand (both time and financial demands) so the majority of the content speaks to her regular audience. I get what you’re saying though! I just believe there has to be some give and take
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:07 pmI include a pair of glasses in almost every style post I write. I was due for an exam, so when the opportunity to work on this came along, the timing was perfect! I get to try a service I needed anyway, draw attention to a brand that’s new to the area, and invite people to a fun event that I’ll be at.
Change of Art (@changeofart)
October 3, 2016 at 2:31 pmI’m with you on those ‘air puff’ tests — I’d rather have an armful of shots! Last checkup, I remember already working up a sweat by the time they told me the test had been replaced.
Re. glasses: They both look cute on you, but I’d vote for something in between the bright and dark. I’ll be looking for a new pair soon, too — I’ll be interested to see how your experience goes. Finding glasses that are comfortable and reasonably flattering is a challenge for me. I’d almost rather shop for a swimsuit. Almost.
: )
Mary Ann
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:08 pmOh, I love shopping for new glasses! I’ll take that over a swimsuit for sure. But those air puff tests — so glad they’re being phased out. Glad to know I’m not alone in my dislike of them.
alfa1924
October 3, 2016 at 3:50 pmA new low…
judy
October 3, 2016 at 4:19 pmThey obviously haven’t been with you since before Elinor since as a wearer of glasses and necessarily thick glasses I have always been aware of your interest in interesting and attractive frames. I had double cataract surgery several years ago (76 yrs old) And the replacement of the lens has given me very good vision without glasses so one of the few perks of getting old. Your blog is bright and smart and always well informed so I love it. and who cares if you bring products to the attention of your readers? You aren’t holding us down and making us buy the stuff or even pay attention to the ads.
Oh well…….Have a lovely day with your lovely home and your lovable family cause as somebody once opined. The best revenge is living well.
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:10 pmThank you. Glad to hear that your vision has improved — a perk of old age is a nice way to think of it!
Tanya from Dans le Lakehouse
October 4, 2016 at 12:35 pmI desperately need new glasses too! I spent my last health plan allotment on prescription sunglasses (a first for me!) and so even though I need a new prescription, I couldn’t upgrade my lenses or everyday frames yet. In January I can start frame shopping but the choices where I live aren’t the best. When I lived in a much larger city, the last time I bought glasses, there was an incredible shop with really unusual brands, most of them from Europe, and that’s where I found my frames so I might just have to make up an excuse to go back, haha.
I wasn’t even going to say anything until I read the comments, but I think this sponsored post was on brand for you. You’ve done countless style posts in the past with eye glass frames often featured as a central accessory, plus you’ve been a glasses gal forever and I even recall really a old post where you showed us different frames you were thinking about buying. I’m talking a good five, six years ago…unless I’m making this up.
This collaboration felt really natural to me! Wish I could have seen more frames, though, because I’m nowhere close to Chicago and it would have been fun just to see some different styles on you! Maybe even just more frames on display so I could have pined for them from here.
Good luck glasses shopping! Hope you find a perfect pair :)
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:13 pmYep, I’ve worn and promoted glasses forever. I usually include them in my style posts, and I checked my tags out of curiosity — there are a bunch tagged “glasses” there too.
Staci
October 4, 2016 at 2:20 pmLove that camera? Mind sharing what brand/model?
Making it Lovely
October 4, 2016 at 4:17 pmSure! It’s the Fuji x100S, a great little camera. There’s a newer model now, the Fuji x100T. I bought it after asking for advice here a couple of years ago, which reminds me… perhaps I should do a follow-up.
Kate
October 4, 2016 at 10:16 pmI have mixed opinions on the application of the sponsored post here. On the one hand, I like glasses (I wear them almost every day) and I do think they fit with your cool style! Style posts are certainly part of this blog. On the other hand, there are now two sponsored posts within the past week or so, along with another post that invites us to a West Elm event (sort of sponsored post?). And I do wish this post showed us a few more options – it felt more like a commercial than a blog post.
But I love your design posts and your voice – thank you!
Dulcie
October 5, 2016 at 12:23 pmSponsored posts are here to stay. I’m not sure how readers expect to get free content from blogs, but will gladly pay for content elsewhere. For example, if you buy or subscribe to a magazine, you still have ads.
This seems to be more on brand than Glade or Dunkin Donuts. Those do strain credulity and come across as more intrusive and less appropriate.
In this case, I will probably check out Spex. I’m in the western suburbs and desperately need new glasses. I just wish Luxottica didn’t have a stranglehold on the frame market.
(BTW, I also have a picture of myself holding a vintage camera. It had belonged to Vivian Maier. I don’t know if you’ve checked out her work around town or seen the film.)
Sarah
October 5, 2016 at 11:29 pmAs a rule I rarely leave comments on blogs. I read a lot of blogs. (Why, again? Oh yeah, they’re free.) This will be the second (second, I say!) comment I have posted on Making It Lovely. Not a big deal for you, but as it interrupts my margarita-drinking, huge for me. Nicole, your glasses are part of who you are. Anyone who has read more than three of your posts knows that. This is one of the most natural sponsored posts ever. I wear glasses myself so maybe I’m biased…whatever. And for you gals who have hubs that actually bring in the bacon instead of just eating it, kudos to you. Go ahead and turn down the income. (Note:that last bit was self-referential, so don’t get all rabid. I just wish I married up.) Good thing I rarely comment.
Karen
October 6, 2016 at 10:51 amI read a lot of blogs, and many of them have sponsored posts. I usually don’t mind a sponsored blog when it’s written in an upfront, natural way with the writer’s life. Some writers have trouble with it, and it comes off awkwardly. In my opinion, Nicole, your post was completely well done and not off putting at all. I don’t really understand why people get so mean about ways writers add money to their budget so they can show us more cool life choices. It seems to me the outcome benefits all of us. In the end, though, Nicole and other bloggers don’t owe me anything, and I choose to read their blogs.
judy
October 7, 2016 at 6:16 pmAnother thought from me re” sponsored posts. Imagine walking up to an Author and haranguing them about their latest Novel. I don’t like the plot and it was boring and I…. yada yada yada. Meanwhile the Author knows that the Novel sold a million copies …so? The critical person would have paid BIG bucks for a book-your content is free!
If they are displeased-don’t read-but why post pointless puzzling posits that are hurtful to the blogger and mean nothing to her fans except they seem mean small and petty. IMHO
Mo Kilgallon
October 12, 2016 at 3:25 pmLast comment, spot on. I wear glasses, have since I was about 18 months old, I am over the moon when a blogger writes about/reviews specs. Seriously. I grew up in the 80s when a bespectacled girl was social doom, let us girls sing with four eyed pride now.
I am loving your sweater, any chance of passing on the details?
Emily
October 21, 2016 at 1:03 amAt 38, I got my first pairs of glasses a week and a half ago. They did the air puff test too and it took me a while to figure out what it was (no explanation or warning!). My prescription is very weak and only for reading. I’ve been reading a lot for work on the screen and my eyes have been getting very tired. I’m secretly pleased to be wearing glasses and getting a new ‘look’, although they are taking a bit of getting used to. What glasses did you decide? Don’t let the naysayers put you off sharing.