My First Blog Giveaway - Win $80 Gift Certificate to CSNStores.com

Exciting stuff!

I'm doing my first giveaway on A Life Fulfilled — I'm giving away a $80 gift certificate to CSNstores.com!

CSN is a network of 200+ retailers that offers a wide variety of items. Looking for a coffee table? Nifty cooking gadgets? Fitness and workout gear? Luggage? Other furniture and interior decor accessories? CSN covers all these areas and more. Seriously - they have tons of stuff. They also pride themselves on competitive prices (you guys know how much I appreciate a deal).

This is a simple giveaway*. Simply comment on this post with a link or explanation of something you would buy from CSNstores.com if you won the gift certificate. Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. I will draw a winner at random on Sunday, September 26 at 9pm.

Here are some things I would buy if I won (and at these prices, I could buy more than one thing).

5-piece Ginsu knife set (the steak knives we registered for are awful and I would love to get some different/better ones). These have great reviews. $14.99.

Shoes... need I say more? These Diba snakeskin material boots would be killer to wear under or over jeans this fall and winter. $68.

Who can say no to a sassy apron? And if you're as clumsy as I am, you'll appreciate this shielding your clothes from renegade spaghetti sauce. $29.99.

If you read my other blog, you know I have been globe/map crazy lately. I'm ga-gah over this one for $49.50.

You can't go wrong with stemless wine glasses. (Harder to break, easy to wash in the dishwasher.) Set of 8 for $34.99.

Good luck! You could keep the winnings for yourself (I would!) or use 'em toward Christmas (not a bad idea either!).

(*Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian readers only. If you're a Canadian reader, international shipping rates may apply to your purchase).

Not Batman's Cape

I've read in more than one place that capes are supposed to be all the rage this fall season.

So I'm even more excited than average to pull out the vintage, wool plaid cape I found a few years ago!

Mmmm. Fall. Can't wait for it to get a little chilly so I can wear capes (and jeans, and boots and sweaters, oh my!), drink pumpkin spice lattes, cheer on my fave NFL and college football teams and be cozy.

Glamourai Inspired Sleeveless Coat

I've had a blog crush on The Glamourai since my friend Mb recommended her blog to me two months ago. She's glamorous (duh!), edgy and on-trend while still beating to her own drum beat.

When I saw her rock a neutral/light sleeveless trench over a dress, I thought, "Hey, I bet I could do that, and for relatively cheap."

The Glamourai (Kelly Frammel).

See more photos from her sleeveless trench coat post here.

So I set out to find a trench that I could have the sleeves cut off of. Like Kelly's, I wanted it to be neutral and simple. I visited Atlanta's Last Chance (Decatur location) and the Tucker, Dunwoody and Buford Highway Goodwills before I found something I thought would work.

Enter the $4 tweed 3/4 sleeve coat. While it had a simple neckline versus the trench look I was hoping, the fabric did have the versatility and neutrality I was looking for.

It was also important that I find a neutral dress. The thought of wearing pants with a sleeveless coat felt very 1990s power suit to me — or Hilary Clinton campaigning in the summertime. I got lucky and found a khaki linen-ish dress at Ross on clearance for $8.

This outfit:

• Coat (no label): $4 plus $10 alterations (to remove sleeves) — via Dunwoody, Georgia, Goodwill
• Dress: $8 (no one noteworthy) plus $4 to have the sleeves removed — via Dunwoody Ross Dress for Less
• Shoes: Steve Madden nude leather heels $4 — via Dunwoody Goodwill
• Necklace: $12 from Decatur antique vintage mega awesome store Kudzu (it's rose quartz, wood and faux gold)
• Ring: $10 (quartz and copper) — from Art Walk (walking street vendor market) in Santa Barbara, California
• Total: $52 (so freaking close to $50 or less)
• 
  

Also, take a good hard look at my straight hair — since it takes a while to straighten, I don't do it often. :)

Martha's Colors (and for $50 or less!)

Miz Martha Stewart (along with Miz Heather over at "We Met in a Bar") has been very fond of pairing grey with yellow.

I used to shy away from wearing yellow (thought it clashed with my hair), but lately I've been gravitating toward bright, cheerful hues like yellow a lot myself.

• Blouse: Banana Republic Outlet ($12 on sale)
• Wool vest: $4 at one of my local Goodwills (Tucker, I think)
• Skirt: Isaac Mizrahi for Target ($5 at Goodwill or Salvation Army)
• Shoes: Nine West via Ross ($25)
• Necklace: gifted by stepmother
  
• Ring: $2 at a thrift store in Santa Barbara
• Shoulder bag: $16 at Tucker Goodwill (and it's leather!)
  
• (Okay, it's only $50 or less when you don't count the purse...)
  
  

This necklace has really grown on me. When I opened it up circa Christmas 2008, I wasn't sure what to think. I thought it was too feminine or too busy or something. But I find myself wearing it all the time now. It's subtle with light colored tops -- and bold and interesting with colors like navy and black.




Happy Friday!

Cheap Shades and Rx Glasses

I've been pondering ordering a pair of eyes from Zenni Optical* for about 8 months.

Zenni offers prescription glasses and sunglasses for $10 to $40. They have fashion-forward frames, traditional frames, funky frames — no lie. Considering I paid about $300 for my prescription glasses at a major eyeglass retailer, I've been damn curious about their offerings.

My glasses have been great — but since I need my glasses especially for distance and driving — a pair of sunnies have been in order.

I have no idea why, but I put it off and put it off...

I finally bit the bullet about a month ago, anticipating a trip to sunny Santa Barbara, California. I ordered a pair of glasses for $9.00 plus shipping (totaling around $20).

Well, dum dum me forgot to check the box for "80% tint - amber" to make them sunglasses — so instead of a pair of retro funky sunnies, I ended up with some geek chic (okay, maybe that's stretching it...) googles. Whoops!

I feel a little Kanye West up in this piece...

And for reference, my regular Donna Karan glasses:

If you're wondering how to read your prescription, see below. Lucky for me, my mother-in-law used to work for Lens Crafters and was able to translate for me.

My RX:

OD -0.25 -0.25 x100 -- Right eye

OS plano -o.75 x80 -- Left eye

pd or pupillary distance is 59 -- this is the distance between my pupils and is needed for glasses

(Click to enlarge my prescription write-up)

Considering the prescription was write-on, I recently RE-ordered the glasses and remembered to fill in the lenses tent field so I can get sunglasses this next time. :)

But what's the verdict on this pair?

- So nerdy they're cool

- So nerdy you should throw them away

- Meh

*Hat tips to my girls Megan and Olivia for recommending this site.

Love Maegan Inspired Shoes

Gals, you must read Love Maegan. She's a fabulous, stylish, glamorous blogger from LA with a great mixed modern and vintage sensibility. Thanks to a tip from Mb, Love Maegan has been a

daily read for the past two-ish years.

Anyway, Maegan has most excellent taste in shoes. Not only are her shoe picks mega-stylish, I can tell she picks durable shoes to fill her closet. Did I mention I would love to raid that closet?

Being the thrifty gal I am, I occasionally crawl the offerings of eBay for the shoe brands I see on Maegan's blog. Some of her faves are:

• Miu Mui
• Pour la Victoire
• Boutique 9
• Calvin Klein
• Guess
• L.A.M.B.

I know a nice shoe can be a good investment — but as almost a rule — I will spend about $50 max on a pair of shoes.

A few weeks ago, I scored the jackpot!

Two pairs of Boutique 9 shoes (new) for $20.99 each plus $10 shipping:

Boutique 9 "Dalia" wedges (blue suede with a suede heel). Original retail: $148 ($20.99 plus $10 shipping from eBay vendor edubbsthename007. I think I'm in love!

Boutique 9 Pippa Sandals ($20.99 plus $10 shipping from eBay vendor shoe-discount-warehouse).

Score!

Lil Tip: Taming that Excess Beltage

Do you have regular belts you sometimes wear at the waist?

Too long/big belts worn at the waist leave you with some extra flappage (that pesky belt tail hanging out).

Here's a 'lil tip: use a clear pony tail band from a cheap $3 pack of Goody's Ouchless pony tail holders — and tame that sucker down!

Voila! Almost invisible!