Great finds ... 168 Mall and Divisoria Trip

Our Divisoria trip last Saturday went really well and shopping was a breeze. Roads were clear, less sidewalk vendors seen along Divisoria and the place was really, really...clean! Actually, surprisingly clean! This was really "kakaiba" ha!! I saw lots of policemen around the place thus made me conclude somebody "big shot" will be arriving at Divisoria. True enough. After politely asking some by-standers, I learned that Mayor Lim will be inspecting Divisoria that day! Hahaha! Kaya pala... After hearing this, I immediately took advantage of shopping comfortably and headed to my must-see destinations.

First stop, Larry's curtains at Recto Avenue. Since MIL adores how my curtain-maker transformed her living rom into an "elegant" sanctuary , she asked him to do additional set of curtains for her upcoming party. MIL got additional rust-colored shantung cloth (P80/yard) and bought grommet rings (P50/yd) to dress up her living room. Even got more excited and bought more cloths such as shantung gold, ivory and blue. Believe me, she's unstoppable! lol.

My tita who also went with us, bought yards and yards of cloth for her living room. In preparation for the holiday season, she bought striking red cloth (P55/yd) and glass curtain (P120/yd). Really nice and christmas-y!

While me, with no plans of buying anything from Larry's ... bought red and gold plaid glass curtain cloth (P180/yd) and shantung matte gold color to be used as table top cover. I was suddenly inspired to prepare "elegant" Christmas dinner for my highschool friends. (I'll be hosting dinner party this year kaya... wish me luck!)

After spending few hours at Larry's, we went to 168 Mall. Still the place was not crowded... no street vendors around. Makes you wonder if you were really in Divisoria. Hahaha! My goal was to look for low-priced pashmina shawls for MIL's party. ( You see, I volunteered to take care of her give-aways!)

After asking from one store to another (and buying lots of hair clips for Sam) finally I found the lowest-priced shawl! I got the pashmina shawl at P58/ea. Grabe... I have to haggle from one store to another ha..from as high as P120 each to P70 ... until finally, somebody agreed (well almost and close enough) to my asking price of P50! I immediately bought 60 pieces of red, white and black shawls for my MIL. Then bought additional colored pashminas for Sam and Ico's teachers as Christmas gifts. Tipid and nice gift noh! Truly happy I completed this purchase! :)

After lunch, I still did some shopping around and found one great stall that sells really nice and affordable blouses. I love their blouse-style... it's like Dorothy Perkins or Chocolate brand-type styles. Nice prints, really classy and as if di galing Divisoria! Best of all, price very affordable at P300 each. Galing, galing! Ecstatic and excited with this great shop, I ended up buying 7 blouses ha!

Posting my great blouse finds at 168 Mall...

After the 168 trip, went to side streets and bought fruits for Mike such as seedless grapes (P120/kl) , ponkan at P10/ea (so sweet!), pears at P5/ea. and melon (P30/ea). Dami din hot castanas available at P120/kl (ata!). Thankful that Mike's tito went with us during the trip because he acts as our "runner". Everytime we buy heavy items, he will immediately bring our shopping bags to the van. Makes it easy shopping for us! :)

Last stop, the veggies place. As always, bought kilos of onions, tomatoes, garlic and potatoes as our staples. We were not able to buy other leafy veggies since no delivery that time. Could that be because of Mayor Lim's visit? lol.

So my dear mommy bloggers if you plan to visit Divisoria... just few reminders:

• Don't wear jewelry ha! I saw from the news patrol the other night one shopper was crying in pain since her earrings were ripped from her ears! Really ouch and scary!
• Haggle..haggle..haggle..haggle! move around. dami stores selling same items din.
• Buy in quantities. cheaper if you buy in 6's or dozens.
• Really helpful if you bring relatives or friends with you. Makes shopping easier. They can help you bring your stuff to your car or help carry your shopping bags.
• Please..don't bring your kids! Kawawa kids especially dami tao!
• Be alert always!

Hope was able to help.... HAPPY BARGAIN SHOPPING!