Nestled in Ontario’s expansive green fields, just 40 minutes west of Toronto, lies the garage sale of your dreams. With everything from art and antiques, to gems and jewelry, to dishes and doorknobs, you could spend hours combing the aisles of the 100+ vendors’ wares…and oh, did I ever. Last weekend, I packed up a considerable snack pack and piled in the car with some girlfriends for a perfectly sunny summer Sunday spent in ‘the country’. Or, as my sister-in-law put it, we went “shopping for new old things.”

Many of the vendors at Aberfoyle Antique Market have permanent stalls and have worked the market since its inception in the 1960s. Each of their ‘storefronts’ were just brimming with treasures and I recognized more than a few of the items from childhood weekends spent at my grandmother’s house; green tinted juice cups, cut glass ash trays, and brown printed tea sets (what was with all the brown back in those days?) Fuelled with coffee and armed with cash, we took a methodical approach to ensure we hit every inch of the sprawling market.

With a writer, an artist and an interior designer in our mix, naturally we all fell in love with more than a few items along the way. I DIED for this glam gold tea set (only $25!!) but rationalized to myself that now was not the time to take on more housewares in my life as I prepare for a cross-country move. Big mistake. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

We spent time digging through old movie and album posters to find the exact right combination and marvelled over the pop-culture influence of the 50s and 60s (was there nothing they didn’t put the Coca-Cola logo on!?) We finished up the day pouring over boxes upon boxes of old jewelry that had all the potential to sparkle like new with a little vinegar and the right outfit.

We were all successful with one small purchase a piece (and, ok, maybe a few regrets for items left unclaimed), but we declared our little road trip a spectacular success! It was only right to cheers to the day with a wine spritzer in the yard…just like they would have done back in the day.

xo Ali