Today, unbelievably, is Fantabulously Frugal’s first birthday!

Did I ever tell you how, exactly, this site came to be?  Story time…

It was March 6, 2009, and I was feeling a little panicked at the thought of grad school ending and the boredom I just knew would follow.  {Can you tell that I don’t really know how to enjoy free time?}  I laid awake that night trying to figure out exactly how I could use my degree {I’m still trying to figure that one out}, and/or just add a hobby to my life.  I started running down the list of things I could be considered good at and the list was pathetic, at best.  Since I don’t live in Hollywood I couldn’t really turn my love of gossip magazines into anything tangible.  While I love eating cupcakes, I abhor making them.  I love traveling, but had no way to fund my travels.    And then it hit me – I love two things more than anything else.  I love searching for bargains on the internet.  And I double love receiving free stuff in the mail.  And thus the idea to design a website revolving around these two passions was born.

The idea for Fantabulously Frugal came to me literally in the middle of the night and I woke up on March 7 at the horribly early hour of 6 a.m. to start putting this site together.  It officially went live on March 8.  And here it still sits.  It looks WAY different than it did back in the day, but the content is the same.

I never ever imagined that so many people would enjoy reading this site and if I could I would thank each and every one of you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you. I get so excited whenever I see a comment or an email from one of you.  You have all been so incredibly kind to me over this past year, and I thank you.

Happy birthday to this site and from me, to you, thank you.  Here’s to many more birthdays and a year that is just as good – if not better – than the one that just passed.