All About the Hunt

It was the end of August and I was having major flea market withdrawal. You see, there had not been a flea market at Seaside Park in Ventura since June. It was a Friday, and I got up early, knowing there were several garage sales in my neighborhood.

Friday garage sales are few and far between, and these all happened to be near my Newbury Park home.

At the first sale, I found a darling brown rabbit for my backyard garden for only 50 cents. At the next sale, I met two very charming older ladies who were moving out of state. They were selling a great old farm table with spindle legs and several layers of chipping paint--a perfect piece of junktique chic.

The ladies gave me a reasonable price, but only if I promised to take good care of the table that had been in their family since the '60s. It now has a home on my patio as an extra table for entertaining.

I got to talking to these lovely ladies, and they found out that I collect Halloween items. They mentioned a box of Halloween decorations they couldn't get to now, but told me to come back later. I left my number, and within a couple of hours I had some vintage Halloween décor that I'll be using very soon. This brings me to a good garage sale tip: Even though you might not see the specific item you're looking for, ask for it anyway. You just might get lucky. I'll be thinking of those ladies fondly when I use my new table and decorate my house for Halloween.

On Sunday morning I woke up full of anticipation. My husband and I had decided to go to the Santa Monica Airport Outdoor Antique Collectible Market. It takes place every fourth (and fifth) Sunday of the month. It was started 16 years ago by a very nice woman named Eleanor Hedge and it's a great marketplace for finding decorator items.

You can find booths with every type of décor: Indian, Asian, Hungarian and African. Also, if you love French country or French Provincial, there are plenty of booths to choose from. We left our home in Newbury Park at 7 a.m. and it only took 45 minutes to get there (just five to 10 minutes longer than driving to Ventura).

Take the 101 Freeway south to the 405, to the 10, then exit at South Bundy. We paid the extra $2 per person to get in 15 minutes early. From 6 to 8 a.m., the fee is $7 per person and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the fee is $5.

I'd only been walking for a few minutes when I noticed a pair of antique corbels (fancy shelf brackets)--just what I was looking for! I needed something to beautify the wall above my oven.

They were worn wood with chipping white paint and a soft patina. Yay! They were a steal at only $15 for the pair. As I picked them up I realized they looked very familiar. When I got home I found they were an exact match to the ones holding up my kitchen window valance. I had purchased the other pair at the Rose Bowl flea market sometime last year. I think it may have been from the same woman.

I also picked up an old grain sack from Hungary. These have become very popular to use as pillow covers. They have a great texture to them, and this one had red stripes down the middle. After you wash and dry them, insert a body-size pillow. They look great on a sofa or a bed. The price I paid for the grain sack was about $50 less than I've seen on eBay and at an antique store.

I then paid $10 for a beautiful old French grammar book from 1927. The cover is a lovely blue with a gold fleur-de-lis. As I was flipping through the pages, I saw it had belonged to a woman taking French at night school in October of 1929. I found the original bill of sale from the bookstore where she purchased it. She paid $2, which seems like quite a lot for 1929. This made it all the more interesting to me.

My husband and I will be off to the Ventura Seaside Park Flea Market on Sun., Sept. 24. See you there!

Rosemary Olson is a self-pro- claimed flea market and decorating fanatic. She lives in Newbury Park.