That's awesome!!!! I'm soooo happy for you!!! Sorry about your friends, and your size 12's, though. I can't wait until I start noticing that size difference on myself, so when I hear that others are fitting into smaller clothing, I feel extra excited for them.
By the way, I totally do the same thing, except I still have the clothes I fit in a couple of years ago (when I was a size 7/8). Right now, I'm a 14, so I have a pair of shorts that are a size 12 that I'm working towards!
My advice: Go to Goodwill, TJMaxx or Ross for your clothing as you're losing weight. This way it's cheap, and you won't feel as upset when you shrink some more!