'Slip Into Summer' Special Feature - 3 winners will win their choice of Oka B shoes

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Oka B! We look forward to working with you again! The winners have been notified and upon confirmation, follower names will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!

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Ascending Butterfly Special Feature sponsored by:

Do your shoes love you? And better still, do you love your shoes? When it comes to shoes I'm super hard to please, picky and not very easily impressed. Although I think it's safe to say when a person is having a 'bad-shoe-day', not only do they become cranky, but in many cases down-right snarky!

I'm not an easy fit foot wise, my feet are flat with minimum help from what appears to be my non-existent arches coupled with a high instep. I hope that you CAN'T relate to my feet!

Even with the age old advice of trying shoes on in the late afternoon to ensure a more accurate fit when your feet are at their worst, I have often bought shoes that felt comfortable in the store, and then put them on a few days later only to find out much to my dismay they no longer fit!

For this reason, I don't often solicit footwear companies, and I definitely read other blogger reviews and customer ratings on shoes for those rare occasions I order online. I usually have to do brick & mortar and actually try my shoes on.

And I have also been known to stop and buy a new pair of shoes if the ones I am wearing begin to hurt. I just can't function if my feet hurt!

I also prefer flats to heels, I agree with many women that high heels were designed by men for men, and not once did someone put thought to our comfort! If any high heel companies out there wan't to prove me wrong, feel free to try me, I'm open to new experiences, but I'm a foot skeptic when it comes to those torture devices known as stilettos, spikes, (and I am sure there are a bunch of other synonyms I can insert here).

Slip into Summer is finally presenting you with it's first Sandal! We started with an athletic shoe and I figured with record high temperatures in New York City this week it was time we switched gears and tried out a sandal, oh the things I do for you! :-) (remind me to get a cute smiley graphic to insert, for future smiley needs!)

Being that I'm a New York City gal, Oka B sent me a review shoe they describe as 'a stunning design for sophisticated shoppers', her name, (why I'm glad you asked) is Lucy! Lucy is embellished with a Large Natural Wood Beaded Chysanthemum, Tres Sex & The City!

I'm not exactly the 'Carrie' Type personality, when she brought the big flower phase into popularity I didn't exactly jump on that band or is it 'flower' wagon. I love real flowers, but I don't like oversized flower pins stuck on my shirts, jackets, sweaters, or handbags, so not my style at all. So when I took Lucy out of the box, I was a bit perplexed by her. I thought hmmmm.....she's a frou frou gal isn't she?

I will say I love everything about Oka B. What's not to love about:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – American Made Shoes and Sandals (in this economy we need jobs kept HERE!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Two-year guarantee (A shoe with a guarantee, cool right?)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Durable one-piece construction (these shoes are definitely durable!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Antimicrobial and waterproof for clean, fresh feet (OK, I know this is going to sound weird, but they arrived with a smell that is vaguely reminiscent of chocolate!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Built-in massage beads based on principles of reflexology (it's kind of like a spa on your feet that comforts you each step of the way)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Wipe clean - (And my public transportation commuters will empathize with just how valuable this feature really is, doesn't it seem like EVERYONE steps on your foot when you are wearing light colored shoes?)

While I do have high praise for Oka B there are some warnings about my personal experience with 'Lucy' I feel I need to share, she felt a bit 'narrow' on my foot, so if you are wide width, I would highly suggest sizing up with this particular pair. (you'll see why I say that later). I am not normally prone to advising anyone to size up if I didn't feel it was necessary. Those with a normally 'medium' or 'narrow' foot will find these comfortable. I am also not a lover of the 'thong' shoe. I always feel that pressure between the toe of the thong itself, and these were no different, I did feel the thong, ideally you shouldn't be so aware of them. And like some other reviews I've seen, Lucy is 'Slippery When Wet' (ok so I admit I'm a Bon Jovi fan and was secretly hoping I'd find a way to work one of his songs into my reviews, LOL). If you are wearing 'Lucy' pool or beach side, or just out of the shower, make sure your feet are totally dry, and while I know this is true of most footwear, this is especially true with 'Lucy', not to mention that in summer even with open shoes or sandals if your feet sweat, be careful walking in this shoe, they get very slippery. For now, me and Lucy are still feeling each other out.

Before you think uh-oh (or if you're a scooby doo fan RUH ROH!), the Oka B tale does have a very happy ending (hmmmm no massage parlor references intended here so please stop giggling).

Just because I am a blogger doesn't mean I don't like cool stuff just like everybody else, I happened to enter a fellow blogger giveaway for Oka B and WON! (Special thanks to Maricris @ Zensible Mama - definitely check out her blog, I love the way her personality shines through her posts, she makes me smile. Oh by the way, I was comment number 66, not sure why I felt that was significant enough to share, but there it is!). I was super stoked to find out I won the pair of my choice! And then a bit nervous since me and 'Lucy' did not quite have a love at first site thing going on.....

Lucy did serve her purpose though, when Maricris asked me to pick a pair of my choice, I poured over the site and decided to avoid a thong style, and went with a shoe named 'Gabby', when I pulled Gabby out of the box, I immediately knew she was more my style, she looks like leather croc but she's NOT, I'll have you know she is Vegan and incredibly eco friendly and super stylish. She has bamboo bead embellishments and all the great features I pointed out in the butterfly bullet points, ah those built in massage beads!

And it gets better, when I tried 'Gabby' on, it was then that I truly understood that Oka B shoes really do love you! and I don't get the difference, but Gabby is not slippery when wet like Lucy, and there is no need for wide width shoe gals to size up with this shoe. Gabby felt much more true to size, she was not as narrow and unlike Lucy was a hit comfort wise. Gabby will not require a long break in period.....Lucy however is another story. But I am incredibly grateful that I won 'Gabby' or I would have had the wrong idea about Oka B shoes altogether!

So the moral of this story, enter more blog giveaways, LOL I couldn't resist! Everyone has different feet, different posture and we all don't walk exactly the same either, some people over-pronate and we all have different foot requirements, so I can only speak to my particular experience, but I'm glad in this instance I had two shots at trying out different pairs. They are from the same company but they are as different as night and day. I even walk differently in both based on their fit.

The Skinny: I love Gabby, we can be besties, but Lucy, not so much!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ –  WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Oka B 'shoes that love you' would like to provide THREE lucky Ascending Butterfly Followers the shoes of their choice! (Winners will select a pair from the new Winter 2010 catalogue, you will be asked to provide us with your top three choices from the catalogue just in case your first choice is not in stock!) Oka B has styles for BOTH Men and Women, so gentlemen feel free to enter too!

Don't you just ♥ Oka B?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Oka B at shoesthatloveyou.com and pick the shoe that you like best (remember you cannot select 'gabby' or 'lucy' because they were featured here already and leave the LINK to the shoes in your comment entry! Let's see if you are really paying attention, if you make a separate about comment why you picked that shoe you will get an extra credit for that too, just remember to put in your required entry with the link first! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning (or in this case, the A,B,C’s of winning!) This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older. No P.O. Boxes!

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Friday, June 16, 2010 until Friday, July 30, 2010 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet This:

Ok to RT: Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - #ascendingbutterfly + @OKAb - 3 winners will #win shoes of Choice #Giveaways - http://tinyurl.com/26lby6j

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet TWICE per DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – Follow, now called ‘Like’ (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) OkaB/Shoes That Love You on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @OKAb on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Oka B Shoes That Love You on YouTube HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Oka B on Linked In HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow the Oka B Blog HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's NEW Community/Real Time Chat, Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Review this blog on Alexa HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ You can press the button below to go straight to the page where Ascending Butterfly has been nominated!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW! Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a community group page with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow A Blog Publicly Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the products are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to facilitate my review and for the giveaway. The sponsor is fulfilling directly to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of the product. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment rests with the sponsor.