Swap Meet

i am having so much trouble dressing up my little girl for school today. she was crying, and doesn't want to be touched. but of course, i don't want her to be "the boss". she can't afford to be absent (for the nth time) in school. it's thursday! between crying and refusing, i won the battle. she was continuously sobbing while sitting on her stroller when we got out. there was a flea market or swap meet nearby our house. to end my agony in making peace with my rebel girl, i bought her this cute pig formed lollipop made of jelly and marshmallows. i don't worry about sweets in the morning. she doesn't eat oftenly sweet foods & maybe she regards this stuff as a toy.

she brought it like a flag: hands-up! so, i just smiled. kids are oftentimes corruptible. my ears are noise-free, at last. then, we headed to her school swiftly.

i returned to the flea market after bringing my daughter to school. just like every thursdays, i always give my self the luxury to roam and look around, alone. no kids telling me "i want to go home." i'm not fond of so much crowd, but i can't help looking for new/used/old stuffs for sale.

Flea markets had been a part of Milan's culture. from the less charming stuffs to the nice vintage and rare stuffs, you can find it here. i would say, there are more chinese vendors these year than the past. who can beat the chinese' low prices? but, of course, italian stuffs got the better quality.

my plan is to look for a scarf (it's getting cold). i can't find my scarves (or maybe i gave them away?). every booth scarf, i sinked in: 3euro...nah...too colorful. 5euro...too much designs...10 euro...too much price. in the end i didn't buy any scarf. turning to some new stuffs, i saw this cute designed bottle. 2.50euro! yeah ok, i'm an iced tea freak so it would be useful. since i discovered a powdered italian tea (green, peach, lemon, etc) for only 0.40eurocents a sachet (to dilute in 1.5 liters of water). in all my years here, i think the global crisis made italians think of "tingi-tingi na rin. you can't see sachets back then. it's helpful for the budget. like, for a bottled tea, it would costs 1.20euro a liter. ok, i have talent to calculate once in a while. hahaha! ooops! the vendor handed me a perfumed oil: orchid scent! you can't get this freebies at the supermarket.

i continue to look around. i saw some used stuffs in one side. lot of women are trying their best shots to pull stuffs from a mountainous piles of clothes. that's the thing i hate. the heck, the sign says: "6euro: try it first, no exchange, no return". actually, they are not really "used", but, mostly they were unwanted gifts, wrong size or had some damages, so a lot of times they still got their tags intact. i cowardly dive in and saw a nice brown jacket. could have been perfect, if it fits me. sigh, it's too big! any costume party won't allow me wearing that. hahaha. i get tired of swimming around and i looked up. whew! nicer stuffs are hanging! why didn't i see that first? hahaha. without a blink, i told the men-vendor, "i want to have that one!" pointing up at that cute burgundy leather jacket. "sana magkasya sa akin!" i'm wishing silently. i fitted it up. perfect! there goes my 6euro! i didn't even notice there's still a tag inside the jacket. lucky me!

Now, should i do a Sarah Palin wave too? almost same jackets right?

the last thing i bought is fish. one tip for fish seekers: buy a fish before 12 noon, the fish vendors will actually sell all the fishes for 5euro! they will not hide it and sell it again the next day. so, i got some fish called Sauri (like that of galunggong)! i believe they weigh 3 kilos! "swerte ko". normally it's 7euro per kilo.

i spent 2.50 + 6.00 + 5.00 = 13.50euro today!

expect my husband to say tonight, "o, ano na namang nabili mo sa mercato?" =)