I don’t know if I will always remember you. Truth be told, you were relatively uneventful. (That is, except for the sweet handbags that accompanied you.)

I suppose that if I ever become a famous blogger, I will remember you for being the year I started blogging. You might also be remembered as the year I decided to go back to school [but then sort of wussed out temporarily].

Don’t feel bad, 2009, for if I ever do remember you, I’ll only have wonderful things to say.

In 2009…

Kenobi turned 1.

Eric and I turned 2, 23 and 27!

The Social Chameleon- early summer

My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary which brought the Diaz side of the family together for an intimate and absolutely lovely celebration.

Eric and I discovered our favorite restaurant The Social Chameleon.

Animal Kingdom- November '09

Arts and Crafts '09

I improved my culinary skills by making more unique dishes than I’ve ever made in an entire year.

I reunited with one of the most amazing friends I have, her husband and her beautiful baby girl. (Who is growing up way too fast, if I may add!)

I crafted and crafted and crafted! I made scrapbooks and headbands and apartment gardens.

We saw Authority Zero, Streetlight Manifesto, MC Chris, Gogol Bordello, and 311. (Side note: I saw the Rockettes with Grandma!)

I took out my nose ring and vowed to stop getting piercings. (I am clearly getting too old for this!)

I learned my lesson about handbag prices that are too good to be true. (Thanks JoJolie!)

Thank you for all the great times, 2009. And I’m sure you’re very sorry for the less pleasant moments!

Hopefully 2010 brings a more exciting farewell letter!

Love,

L

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clkg/ / CC BY 2.0

I mentioned in my ‘Tis the Season for Sweet Deals post that I would provide a strategy for participating in JoJolie auctions. I don’t have a strategy for you, but I do have a review and it’s not pretty!

Everyone is looking for a great deal. Times are rough for everyone and looking fabulous requires a lot of creativity. My recent experience with JoJolie goes to show that some things are too good to be true. Do your research ladies!

You receive 5 free bids when you sign up for JoJolie and then you have to purchase the rest of your bids in packages. For details on how this works check out  How to Shop at JoJolie.

If you’re seriously bidding to win, forget about getting by with your 5 free bids. You have to be serious. You have to buy bids and you have to buy a lot of them. Don’t let the $3 price tag on JoJolie’s homepage fool you. The bids can cost you nearly $1 each depending on how many you purchase.

Let’s do the math.

If you check out the JoJolie website you’ll see that the Coach Nubuck Brooke Bag sold for $6.55.

Bidding starts at $1 and it goes up a penny for each bid. So it took 555 bids to get the price up to $6.55. Let’s say each one of those bids cost 75 cents (which requires you to buy a bid package of 25 bids that costs you $18.75…wait a minute $18.75 + $6.55 is $25.30, which is NOT $6.55, even if it is a good deal. And chances are you won’t win a bag with just 25 bids, but I digress.)

It took 555 bids to get to $6.55 cents meaning that at 75 cents a bid (which is generous, because some people may have paid more for their bids depending on many (or few) they bought) the price of that purse was more like $416.25. That cost is shared amongst all the bidders, which is great if you win. But if you lose (which, by the way, is most likely in a game of chance), you just paid for some stranger’s Coach bag.

Sounds a lot like gambling, doesn’t it? Maybe you win, maybe you lose, either way they’ve got your money.

It was a frustrating–and expensive!–experience that I do not wish to repeat.

My online Recessionista Party, however, is not a game of chance. You’re not gambling! You’re getting awesome deals and free shipping!

For my sanity, I adopted a one for them, one for me gift-purchasing philosophy. It’s even more stressful on my wallet– but hey, you can’t put a price on your sanity.

This season I set out to find the sweetest deals and boy did I hit the jackpot!
“A Recessionista is one who, despite an economic downturn, evokes the creative power and continues to look like a million bucks while only spending a few.”

Not only does Recessionista have incredible accessories and shoes at parties in Utah and Idaho, but now you can purchase earrings, hats, scarves and more on the Recessionista Blog using paypal.

Visit the blog regularly and you’ll find incredibly giveaways like this coach handbag!

My other sweet deal secret is Jojolie– an auction site where you can bid on designer bags for just a few dollars! Purchase “bids” in bulk for around 75 cents and then formulate a strategy on how you’re going to win. I still haven’t formulated my strategy, but I’ll let you know when I do.

Happy Shopping!