Oakley Prescription Glasses

During my Oakley Women Ambassador Retreat in Napa Valley, California in June one of the coolest parts of the weekend was getting to go through the Rolling O Lab.

Now, I know what you’re all thinking. What in the world is the Rolling O Lab? Well, it’s a test lab set up to show the science and technology that goes into the Oakley glasses. Lenses and Frames. Designed to show you exactly why Oakley is the best glasses designer on the market.

First thing we learned was about the High Definition Optics (HDO) and boy did they put this to the test for us. HDO is the technology Oakley uses to give clearer and sharper images without any corruption. What does that mean? No headaches! Typically people blame headaches from glasses on the tightness of the frame, when in reality it usually comes from your line of vision created from the lenses in your glasses… The lenses tend to shift everything over. With HDO you see everything exactly where it is, NOT shifted…

This is when the really cool test happened. *pushes up nerd glasses* The laser prism test! A laser is fired through each lense in a frame and in theory, the dots should come together in the center to focus on a single image. So each eye sees the same thing. See, what we see isn’t actually where they are in most glasses. The typical lense will bend light…. Our brain is wasting energy trying to put these images together… Have you ever put on a pair of glasses and felt like the ground was closer to you than it actually was? That’s what causes that feeling. Hence the headaches!

Not with HDO! HDO pretty much eliminates any distortion. What we see, where we see it, is where it’s actually at.

After the HDO tests he did a series of impact tests. As the leading brand in the athletic field for eyewear, you never know what could happen. You could take a spill on your face. Get hit in the eye with a ball. Have a rock shoot up and smack you in the forehead. Athletes are constantly taking risks and sometimes things go wrong. The last thing we want to destroy is our eyes! So Oakley puts all of their lenses to the test to make sure they can uphold the worst of the worst.

The Metal Spike test compared the Oakley Dart lenses with the lenses of the leading competitor, where a metal spike weighing more than 1 pound dropped from over 4 feet up, directly onto the lenses. The Oakley lenses scratched a wee bit, but there was no cracking, no shattering of the lenses. The Competitor? Well, it shattered… Which could lead to some pretty nasty eye problems…

Needless to say, I decided then and there if I was going to be wearing glasses on my face all day everyday, they would be Oakley glasses for sure. Then I discovered that Oakley has some of the cutest Prescription glasses on the market. It was like I won the jack pot!

I was beyond thrilled to get my hands on a pair of Rx glasses from Oakley. In fact, I hadn’t even realized they made them! I mean, it makes sense… I just never looked into it before! Boy oh BOY am I glad they filled me in on that bit of information!

I had such a hard time picking out which ones to get. Literally every pair of frames are adorable! But finally with the help of Zack I narrowed it down and ordered a pair of cute little pair of wire frames! Meet the Oakley Noteworthy.

These adorable frames are super lightweight! I forget they are on my face just about every time I wear them! haha. (Other than the whole being able to see thing… ;) ) However have no fear! If these aren’t your style; there are a variety to choose from!

Women:

Men:

(DISCLAIMER: as an Oakley Women Ambassador I was provided a pair of prescription glasses by Oakley. However all opinions are my own)

Do you wear prescription glasses? If so, check out Oakley.com and click on the prescription link under the STORE tab!

Oakley Women – Perform Beautifully

One afternoon in May I was busy at work at the Chang’s when my phone started buzzing. A Los Angeles phone number came up on my caller ID… Could it be?! Nooo… I brushed it off, silenced my phone and carried about my business at work. Then I felt the buzz in my pocket indicating I had a voicemail. I was dying of curiosity, so I snuck into the back office and listened to it. To my surprise it WAS in fact the wonderful gal who has become the Ambassador mama of sorts (uh… coolest mom EVA, by the way ;) ) informing me that I had earned a spot on the 2012 Oakley Women Ambassador team. I literally squealed. That’s actually putting it mildly. I SCREAMED! Loud. I jumped up and down like someone had just told me I won a million dollars a week for life.

Being a member of a group of such gorgeous, inspirational, hilarious, bad ass women (who sure do know how to have a great time!) has been absolutely life changing. These women have shown me time and time again that we should NEVER be afraid to tackle our dreams. No matter how big or small, we have dreams for a reason. They are meant to be lived.

Because….
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”

If I’m being completely honest, I knew nothing about Oakley when I became an Ambassador. Don’t get me wrong, I THOUGHT I did. I thought I knew a lot about Oakley. Shoot, I’ve been wearing their ski goggles since I was a little girl falling on my face at Winter Park in Colorado the first time I ever attempted to shred. I’ve owned several pair of their sunnies… But, the company, products, and mission go so much deeper than I would have ever imagined.

Every single day I learn more about this incredible company family. Every single person in this huge, fabulous family — from employees, to ambassadors, to athletes; focus on living the happiest, boldest, healthiest life they can lead. Not only that, but the Oakley Women line was designed FOR women BY women. Not only by women, but by women who are ATHLETES… Who were straight up tired of getting the run around. I’m sure most of you by now have heard the phrase “shrinking and pinking”… Taking men’s active gear and shrinking it/dying it pink so they can sell them to women. Oakley had enough of that, they wanted top quality gear designed specifically for women. Lets face it, us women DO want to look feminine, and fashion forward… But while being active we also want to maintain high quality, functionality, and technical performance. We want to PERFORM BEAUTIFULLY. Oakley does just that for us!! (and more)

But, what exactly does “Perform Beautifully” Mean? To me…. Performing beautifully is a state of mind. Anyone can perform beautifully, and it’s amazing to me that a company believes so strongly in empowering women!

Performing beautifully to me is looking your fears straight in the eye and defeating them. It’s living a healthy, happy, BOLD lifestyle from the inside out. Not being afraid to be 100% true to yourself and letting everyone know exactly who that person is. Strong & Beautiful

You dont know strength until strength is the only choice you have
A lesson I have learned many times in my life. Especially this year… I thank Oakley for reminding me day in and day out of that strength. Reminding me to Perform Beautifully.

 

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend scooting over to Oakley’s new online community OakleyPBC.com (Oakley Perform Beautifully Collective) where you can connect with other fitness lovers/professionals and find everything from product reviews, top 10 tips, quotes of the day, Ambassador Picks, Athlete Profiles… You name it, if it has anything to do with the active world & Oakley… It’s there! Signing up is free and painless!

Oakley Women Take Over Napa DAY TWO – Wine n Top Knots

For Day one of the Oakley Women Perform Beautifully event in Napa, CA recap scoot on over here!

I had the worst time sleeping Friday night. I was just SO excited about the weekend ahead of us. I was also slightly terrified that if I went to sleep I would wake up back in Baltimore only to realize it was all just a dream. Thankfully that was not the case ;)

Saturday AM we were up n at ‘em for an action packed day of adventures through Napa Valley. The hardest part of the entire day was deciding which outfit I was going to rock out in all day long. The winner was:

Spring 2013 is all about bright colors for both Oakley Women AND Asics (Be sure to check out the Gel-Lyte 33s, Asics fans!)

After a delicious fresh-fruit breakfast we all piled into our various Toyota vehicles (specifically designed for those with an active lifestyle in mind!) and were off to Trefethen Family Vineyards to run a 5k with ASICS.

Before the race began we got to experience something way too cool for a nerd like me! We got a quick tour of the Rolling O lab, where we learned a ton of the science that goes in to making Oakley glasses. They literally proved, before our eyes that Oakley is top notch (TOP KNOT! ;) ) in the industry. They took various big name brands and put them to the same tests & Oakley came out on top after each & every one. I was seriously in science nerdy heaven.

After we piled out of the Rolling O truck we skipped over to the Garmin Clinic where we learned all about our fancy new GPS watch/heart rate monitor! After setting up our profiles, and a great stretch session lead by Deena Kastor (HI I LOVE YOU) we were off through the vineyards for the most gorgeous (and also hottest) 5k of my entire life!

We literally ran THROUGH the vineyards, y’all!! It was so beautiful that I was paying absolutely no attention to the time on my Garmin. I was just soaking it all in and enjoying the scenery as well as the company I had. I ran a really good portion of the race with the gorgeous and talented Karena and Katrina from Tone It Up. They are such dolls!! Seriously, they are the perfect balance of health, fitness, and knowing how to let loose and have a great time. I was so happy to learn that they are so outgoing and kind in person.

IT WAS SO HOT Y’ALL!! Oh my goodness. There were quite a few times I thought to myself “oh my gosh I’m never running a trail race” That stuff is no joke. But I guess the fact that it was practically 11am by the time the race started had a lot to do with it. It was in the upper 80s and there was little to no shade on the course. But I was handed a glass of wine practically right after crossing the finish line, so it was well worth it ;)

After the race we were treated to a tour of the winery before we headed back to get fitted for our Trek Bikes & Helmets. As Katrina said so gracefully, when drinking and biking, you need protection ;)

If I had to name Saturday, it would be the day of wine and top knots. However, the latter is getting a bit head of myself.

THERE WAS SO MUCH WINE. Every place we went they were literally pouring it like it was water.

With 8+ miles of hilly cycling, upper 80 degree weather, and what was easily a bottle of wine to each of our faces — I am so proud of everyone for A) Not throwing up B) Not passing out C) Not falling off our bikes. Especially during the last stretch. The stretch between the second winery and the third was the longest and hilliest. Not to mention we had the most amount of alcohol in us at that point…. But it was ALL SO WORTH IT once we arrived at the gorgeous Cliff Lede Vineyards where we were finishing off the evening with more wine & an incredible dinner set up.

How awesome are these OAKLEY champagne flutes?! (yes we got to keep them!)

I was not even remotely prepared for the incredible dinner situation that was about to take place… Even as we exited the main house to walk up through the vineyards to the distillery, I was STILL not prepared for the epic evening that was awaiting us.

That beautifully distillery is where we ate dinner, and drank our faces off through the night.

This is where the the group of Ambassadors made our way from new friends, to family. Throughout the course of dinner we talked about everything from our careers, to our goals, to traveling, to how much we love wine, alllll the way to top knots (PAUL MITCHELL WHO?! ITS ALL ABOUT THE PAGE WILLIAMS!)

Photo Credit: Abbey (Our Ambassador mommy)

The meal was amazing. Between the reds, blushes, and white wines — Kale salad, herb rubbed chicken, pasta dish that made me drool and topped allll off (with more wine) and the most deilciously moist raspberry chocolate cupcake that I considered stuffing down my shirt to bring a bunch back to my hotel room for late night drunk snacking ;)

Then… this happened.

Single Girl Problems ;)

TOP KNOT

I LOVE MY NEW FAMILY Y’ALL!!!
(I may or may not be holding back tears writing this)

& this my friends is where I bid you goodnight.
Come back tomorrow to see our final day in Napa (WAHHHH)

Oakley Women Take Over Napa – DAY ONE – The Journey Begins

The truth is I’ve been sitting here trying to put any part of this past weekend into words for about an hour now… It’s nearly impossible. I’m still trying to let it all soak in, and bask in every moment, every friendship made, and every memory engraved in me forever.

To say that this past weekend in Napa with Oakley Women changed me for the rest of my life, would be a gross understatement. My entire perspective on life, my dreams, goals, and desires have taken a 180 degree turn. I am more motivated than ever before to march confidently in the direction of my dreams.

The weekend kicked off bright n early Friday morning with a rude thunder storm. I knew my long day of travel ahead was off to a rocky start. Thankfully while getting ready the storm settled down.

I made it to Chicago without a hitch. Success. There was only a 3 hour layover, and 4 hour flight between me, and the greatest weekend of my life.

This is where day one fell apart. I sat there charging my phone next to my gate and watched as the clouds started rolling in “please just pass. please just pass. please just pass” I was basically chanting in my head. But, I knew in my gut that my flight was going to be delayed… What I wasn’t expecting, was that it would be delayed over 3 hours…. The incoming flight wasn’t able to land due to the lightening, so they had to divert to Milwaukee and wait for the storm to pass. There was no chance I was making it to the cocktail party and meet n greet. I was just crossing my fingers that I’d make it in time for the opening ceremonies/welcome dinner.

A few stressful hours later & we were on our way to Oakland, finally. I landed at OAK with just enough time to grab my suitcase from baggage claim, boogie our way up to Napa just in time for dinner. *PHEW*

Welcome to Paradise

I checked in, then had the fun task of trying to locate my room through the mazes going along this giant, gorgeous resort and golf course. Finally I found my room, and much to my surprise we all had our own condo to ourselves. I didn’t have time to take it all in, I WAS LATE! I got ready the fastest I have in my entire life, I’m pretty sure & sprinted in my flip flops back up to the main mansion for dinner.

My timing could not have been more perfect, they had just sat down for dinner after the cocktail party. Literally moments after I sat down & started sipping my glass of wine, the  fun began. We were introduced to the brand and what this whole weekend was about.

I don’t know about everyone else, but during the course of the presentation, the speeches, and the fashion show – I realized just how big this event was going to be. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I tried looking up the 2011 blog posts as much as I could – but I still had no idea how HUGE this was going to be. I’m talking professional athletes like Jenny Fletcher (professional triathlete), Deena Kastor (A HUGE RUNNING IDOL OF MINE <3 ) Erica Hosseini (Pro surfer) as well as the hugely loved trainers from Tone It Up, Karena and Katrina, writers and editors from Self Magazine, Fitness Magazine… Reps from Garmin, Toyota, Trek Bikes

It became very apparent that what was in store for us, was going to be epic – and a truly once in a lifetime weekend.

2012 Oakley Ambassadors
Page, Carly, Myself, Maria, AJ, Cari, Fitz, Christine, Natalia, and Eva

We all clicked instantly. The people behind the scenes of the Perform Beautifully competition did an amazing job. All 10 of us women came from different walks of life. We don’t all have the hugest blog following, we’re not all pros, but we all had a few things in common: an infectious love for both life and fitness. We all hit it off instantly. I’ve been saying it since we left Monday — We arrived as strangers, and parted as family. (There’s no good-byes, ladies… Just see ya later! (and hopefully soon))

As much as we were all eating up each other’s company and stories — we were all DYING to get back to our room to check out the gear we got to test out over the weekend.

Spoiler Alert: I SQUEALED OUTLOUD BECAUSE IT WAS SO AMAZINGLY UNREAL!

WHAAAAAAT?!

(A lot of you probably remember a few weeks ago when I nearly bought a Garmin Forerunner 210… Glad I decided to wait)

It was time to get some beauty sleep… I knew it was the only night over the weekend I had any shot of getting to bed at a reasonable hour…. Not to mention it was rounding in on 3am back home in Maryland.

Stay tuned tomorrow for DAY 2!

& in the mean time, check out this AMAZING video recap the amazing photographer & videographer put together. A huge hug and thank you to them for doing some serious work & pumping that baby out by the time we got to dinner Sunday evening.

Maybe Happily Ever After CAN Exist?

There are so many exciting things happening over in my little corner of the world, recently! I had full intentions of doing a Project Wedding update with all of the exciting progress we’ve made in that department, but instead I have SO MUCH MORE to share with you all.

It all began yesterday morning with an out of state phone call that I didn’t recognize. “ORANGE COUNTY” it read under the number, and a light bulb went off! Could it be? No no no. It can’t. It’s just a coincidence. I let it roll to voicemail. As soon as my phone vibrated I snatched it off the table and listened eagerly!

It was.
(CLICK ME) ;)

During the months of March and April Oakley put on a contest called “Perform Beautifully” 10 women would win a spot on the Oakley Women’s Ambassador team, as well as a trip to Napa Valley, California in June to attend a Women’s Fitness Retreat. I WON A SPOT. Me. Charlotte. The no name girl who grew up in Jamestown. JAMESTOWN! Me. I was selected out of over 650 applicants. Incredible, inspirational, tear-inducing bios from all over the country, and they chose ME!

I am honored. I am in shock. I am so flipping excited I can hardly think straight. Oakley is a brand that I truly believe in! From their ski goggles, to their sunglasses and jackets – they have never let me down. Skiing, running, swimming, just hanging out in the sun, I have been able to rely on Oakley multiple times throughout my life. I am so honored to be a part of their family this year! The anticipation might just kill me ;)

In OTHER news, we have made some actual, legitimate progress in our wedding planning. We realized that Chautauqua County is well, TINY. Good talent is hard to come by and will get snatched up that much sooner. We decided that all of the dates the planning books said, we want to be several months/weeks ahead of the recommendations. Boy am I glad we made that decision!!!

My sister pointed out to me the other day that our old band teacher (yeah, I was a band geek. ;) ) left the teaching world and opened a photography studio. I was immediately intrigued, & was immediately certain he was the photographer we wanted as soon as Z & I went to his website. His work was gorgeous. So artistic, so personal. I could feel the story of these weddings while looking through his portfolio. So we contacted him. I was all “i know its so far away but blablabla” and he responded that our wedding date was actually the only saturday in July of 2013 he had left. WOAH. (insert slight panic that I’m going to end up with crappy vendors because everything is booked here)

So we jumped on it! We filled out the contract and sent it off in the mail. Now I just have to cross my fingers, toes, and pray to the universe that the date remains open until the mail gets from Maryland to New York (OMG PLEASE!).

On top of that we chose the important songs of our wedding! We decided on our processional song, our recessional, as well as our first dance. But – I won’t be giving away THAT surprise. I want people in attendance to be surprised by SOMETHING at our wedding since I seem to be blabbing about so much of it. oops ;)

We also discovered both of our passports are expired. Which means that if we did decide on Ireland for our honeymoon, we would have to worry about updating those ($$$$) and with our big move coming shortly after our wedding, we just don’t know if that’s something we should spend the money on. Nothing is ruled out yet, but we are considering a multi-Island adventure honeymoon package in Hawaii instead. We didn’t want to lounge on a beach on our entire honeymoon. We are adventure seeking, culture exploring people – but Hawaii would definitely be the best of both worlds. Beach, Scenery, Exploring, Adventures galore….

Next week when we’re in Texas visiting my family I’ll be showing my dad, step mom, and sister my wedding dress AND PURCHASING IT!

It’s crazy. It is so crazy how happy I feel every time we cross something off the planning list. It fills my stomach with butterflies and my heart with warmth. We are that much closer to being husband and wife <3

I am living on a rainbow right now and I can’t think straight. haha.
ALL I know right now, is that it’s all thanks to my will to DREAM. I DARED TO DREAM. I dreamed big, I reached for it, I achieved it. & this is life showing me that everything pays off. Maybe Happily Ever After CAN exist after all? Maybe it’s not just for the Disney Movies….

You can accomplish anything you set your dreams to.
SO DREAM AS BIG AS YOU CAN 

Oakley Overtime Polarized Sunglasses

At the Fitness Magazine Meet & Tweet event last week, in NYC (#FitBlogNYC) one of the many booths was Oakley! I, happen to be in love with Oakley!!!! I have been since I started skiing as a kid so I was super giddy when I saw that I would be able to talk the nerdy science behind the lenses with some of the peeps from Oakley! It couldn’t be better timing. With the weather warming up quickly & the sun shining longer, we’re all squeezing in as much outdoor fun as we can! We should never forget the importance of protecting our eyes!

Photo Credit: Steven Meyer #FitBlogNYC

They were promoting their Perform Beautifully™ campaign. The idea is to look great, feel great, perform great! Who is to say we can’t kick ass in style? Crossing high fashion with functionality bringing us exactly what we’ve wanted all these years. To look damn good breaking a sweat ;)

With them they had some deliciously good-looking sunglasses for their new Spring 2012 line!

Photo Credit: Steven Meyer #FitBlogNYC

I was immediately drawn to how sleek and gorgeous they are. SO not typical of a pair of activewear sunglasses. I tried them on and jumped up and down like a buffoon and they felt as good as they looked! We had the option to choose which pair we wanted to take home with us. I was over joyed! I also instantly knew I wanted the Overtime!

I loved them immediately for two reasons. A) They looked high fashion. As soon as I walked over to the table I noticed they were there, and they were Oakley. They didn’t look like anything I’d seen Oakley make before. I’ve owned Dior sunglasses that look something like this before. B) They were insanely light weight when I tried them on. It really didn’t feel like I was wearing anything on my face at all.

It was love at first wear, and I have to say that love has only grown deeper and into obsession. I wear these things ALL. THE. TIME. They are basically permanently glued to my face.

I have a serious issue with wearing things on my head. Hats, sunglasses, headbands, headphones… After being there for more than about 20-30 minutes my head starts ACHING. I have chalked this up to the fact that I must have an abnormally large head…. ;) But, these babies DO NOT pinch or squeeze. They are virtually weightless on my face and are “stress free”

But it doesn’t end there! The Oakley Overtime features polarized lenses. What does that mean? Well – basically it protects against 100% of UVA / UVB / UVC & harmful blue light up to 400nm - and it reduces glare! (like we need more reason to look at our smart phones… ;) ) Looking out of these lenses you can easily forget you’re wearing glasses. It doesn’t tint the world orange, or blue, or tan – it just simply blocks out the bright sun. It’s kind of incredible.

I really have to say, after several runs with these new loves of my life, I can HONESTLY tell you that they are worth every penny! They even come in other colors besides the Crystal Raspberry that I received!! They also come in Polished Black, Tortoise, White, and Chocolate Sin. (Varying lens options depending on color)

Protect your eyes while looking fabulous this summer with a pair of sunglasses that will stay on through the most active of lifestyles! ;)

What are YOUR favorite sunglasses?

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Oakley Overtime Polarized sunglasses as a gift for attending the FITNESS Magazine Meet & Tweet. However I was not endorsed by Oakley or asked to write this review. I only review products that I feel will benefit my readers. My opinions are 100% my own.