Once inside, the search may be a struggle, too. There are racks and racks of clothes and floor-to-ceiling piles of art and fashion books, boxes of shoes, belts, bracelets and hats. The owner, Frieda Hulse, said she knows where everything is but she had a hard time finding the 1930s dress she really wanted to show me. The racks are jammed, to put it mildly. "It's chaotic, but there's an order to my chaos," Hulse said.

Hulse loves to help customers find things and put them together in unusual ways. While Urban Nomad is only officially open 1-5 p.m. Saturdays, Hulse said you can call for an appointment.

Urban Nomad represents 20 years of Hulse's collecting, mainly at flea markets in New York and Paris. Her favorite decades are the 1930s, '40s and '50s, when women "dressed up."

Among the treasures spotted: a Chinese robe with faux fur collar and vintage lace, a baby crocodile bag, a 1980s Donna Karan rubber dress, a whole rack of men's 1970s polyester print shirts, English cashmere beaded sweaters, a Richard Tyler Couture cocktail dress and French berets that Hulse has embellished with buttons.

•	Urban Nomad 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays 162-B N. King St., second floor (just diamondhead of River Street) 521-2946 for directions or an appointment Also: Other places to hunt for vintage items include Bailey's, Comme Ci Comme Ca, Savers, Spark, Roy Venters Studio, 88 Tees

A word of advice: There's no changing room, so wear something like a body suit or leotard that you can pull clothing over.

There are holes in the ceiling where rain leaks through, so Urban Nomad may be moving along soon. Or it may shut down altogether. Hulse is hoping to return to New York soon, so a huge clearance sale may be in the offing, perhaps as early as August.

"It's just not happening here, so I'm running away again to New York. In Hawai'i people are reluctant to dress up. They buy beautiful clothes but they're afraid to wear them," she said with a sigh.

There's no air conditioning and it's not a smoke-free environment, so if you have allergies to smoke, beware.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5464.

Add to your stack of books, crafts

Books, books and more books! We must fill our home library with those beloved tomes of our youth! Or we just want a fun summer read but not have to pay full retail price. The 57th annual Friends of the Library of Hawai'i book sale begins today at the McKinley High School cafeteria to fill those needs and more.

Besides books, treasure hunters can find magazines, CDs, videotapes, maps, records ... you get the idea.

Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. tomorrow-July 16 and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. July 17.

Admission is free.

And while you're in the neighborhood, Thomas Square is hosting the Pacific Handcrafters Guild's Summer Festival, offering arts and crafts of all manner for perusal and purchase. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is free.

Read up before planning that memorable family reunion

Planning a family reunion this summer or next summer? Here are a few resourc-es:

In the bookstore:

• "The Family Reunion Sourcebook," by Edith Wagner (McGraw-Hill, $16.95).

• "A Family Affair: How to Plan and Direct the Best Family Reunion Ever," by Sandra MacLean Clunies (Rutledge Hill Press, $19.99).

• "Family Reunion Planning Kit for Dummies," by Cheryl Fall (For Dummies, $24.99, includes book and CD-ROM).

Learn more:
• www.family-reunion.com for tips ranging from creating a reunion budget to finding a suitable location and creating a schedule of fun.

You be the judge of nine recipes

It's finals time for the KauKau Challenge at Ala Moana Center's Mai Tai Bar. That means the creators of nine qualifying recipes will battle it out 3-6 p.m. tomorrow for more than $10,000 in prizes.

All nine dishes — from fresh 'ahi carpaccio salad to Southwest grilled pizza to strawberry lumpia — will be on the menu tomorrow, so the public can sample the recipes. The Mai Tai Bar will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Ronald McDonald House.

www.kaukauchallenge.com

'Blue Horizon' screens on Kaua'i

The surf film "Blue Horizon," which has been touring the Neighbor Islands, winds up on Kaua'i for the next few nights. Directed by Jack McCoy, the film focuses on the very different lifestyles of Andy Irons of Kaua'i and David Rastovich of New Zealand.

Here's the schedule:

• 6 and 8 tonight at Aloha Beach Resort, Kapa'a, (808) 823-6000.
•  6 and 8 p.m. tomorrow at Kilauea Theatre, (808) 828-0438.
•  6 and 8 p.m. Monday at Waimea Theatre, (808) 338-0282.

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the show.

Sunset with Ice Cube and Nicole

It's another Sunset on the Beach weekend in Waikiki, with food booths, entertainment and films on that 30-foot screen at Queen's Surf Beach.

Tonight's movie is the comedy "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," featuring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer. Tomorrow's film is "Cold Mountain," the Civil War drama starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger (who won a supporting-actress Oscar).