Feeding a friend's addiction

My dear friend Jane is a bag-a-holic. Her brand of choice is Kooba (she's as into Kooba as we are into Mayle). This week, Kooba had a sample sale in midtown, ending today, so I went over there this afternoon for her and spent about 90 minutes in there, alternately digging in sample boxes and looking at the regularly discounted stock all while balancing my phone, laptop and bag full of coffee, shampoo and other basics I'd picked up earlier.

It was surprisingly un-crowded but it was also odd to be at a sale surrounded by fans of the brand when I know so little about it. I have a Kooba bag that I love, thanks to Jane picking one up for me at Saks' huge sale back in November, but I am not a fan. Around me people knew the names, histories of each item, etc. I just saw bags, some nicer than others.

But we made out like bandits. Jane wanted one bag that was $150 (down from $695) which I picked up for her, but the rest of her finds came from the sample room. Shortly before I left, a woman dumped a huge pile of bags marked with a purple ribbon--which meant they were $40. Many were perfect, even though they were samples or returns. I grabbed four--two for Jane, and the two that she didn't want, I kept. It turned out they were mismarked--they should have been $120 each. So, I spent $90 on two leather shoulder bags, one brown, one black, and another $285 on bags for Jane, which she'll pick up when she visits me in May. Each of the $40 dollar bags were over 90% off--the brand averages around $695 for most bags.

So, if I see a Billie bag, I will get one, but I can't say I need any bags now. I have my Agnes, Billie Doux and three Kooba bags. That seems good for now.

Meanwhile, Jane would probably laugh that I feel that's enough. It's an interesting reversal here--it's like someone being on the other side of my Mayle obsession who might think I have as much as I need and may not be able to tell the difference between Melia and Mirabelle...

But it was fun, got me out of my moping, and when I came home, I still hadn't received anything about healthcare or the job, which means I can relax tonight and catch up on 90210 and Gossip Girl. Evan is out at a John Leguizamo concert and I just wasn't into him enough to go (Leguizamo that is, not Evan). So the kitties and I will keep each other company tonight--they are flanking me as I write, one on either side of me on the couch. I love them, even if Blue got in one of Jane's bags full of Kooba bags.