Jill’s Weekend in New England

Traveling always brings good inspiration. Check out Jill’s weekend in New England.

One of the perks of having a husband who travels is occasionally he will ask, “do you want to come with me?”  Well, that depends; Vegas in the summer “NO thank you!”, Alaska in the winter “have you lost your mind?”, New England in the fall “yup! i’m in!”  So a few weeks ago we headed off to the northeast.

Lots of travel

We spent 15 years vacationing in Cape Cod while the kids were growing up, so we headed to Massachusetts to have a little stroll down memory lane and to visit a few of my favorite thrift stores.

Shopping on the go

Needless to say, when we travel, I shop.  We have a little understanding that goes, if he doesn’t have to touch it, I can buy it and haul it home.  The general problem is usually the airline.  So on this trip (since I had flown into Boston) I was going to be limited to what I could fit into my carry-on and check as luggage (frequent traveler bonus: no luggage charge!)

Give a girl a challenge like that, and trust me, I am the master at getting things home.  I once shopped in Chicago on the Magnificent Mile and bought a vintage table from Ralph Lauren that they had been using as a prop in the store window, I could not pass up.  I boldly put it right in the overhead bin and flew home to California!

Getting it home

I also purchased a large pot rack made from a vintage ladder in Idaho once while visiting my sister and was appalled at the rates UPS wanted when I tried to ship it home.  So I took it to the airport with me, finagled a deal and checked it in luggage on the next leg of my trip to Washington to meet my husband for the weekend (you should have seen his face when he picked me up at the airport) and then back on the plane a few days later for it’s ride home to Michigan!

Sadly, I sometimes come across stuff that makes me want to cry, because I know that unless I am changing plans and renting a huge van to get home, I am leaving stuff behind.

Weekend in New England

After the spin through the Cape (where I picked up many cool things to sell at the store) we headed to Newport, Rhode Island to do some mansion tours and then on up to Maine to our destination.  We stayed at this adorable bed and breakfast in Hallowell, Maine where hubby was having meetings so I would get a few days to treasure hunt by myself.

Antiquing

My first day out, I stayed somewhat local and found some cool things that were breakable and quickly filling my carry-on.  The second day, I ventured out with no real itinerary but with the hope of fabulous discovery.  I stopped at a few random places that were quickly making me sad.

It’s torture to find cool things, with CHEAP prices and have to walk away.  I realize there are truly horrible things in life like world hunger and cancer, but leaving amazing treasures behind simply because the airline wouldn’t dig me trying to check them as luggage is just sad and wrong.

As the day progressed, I was finding the coolest stuff at the scariest of places.

Junking

I love the feeling of adrenalin and fear as you creep through an old building that is creaking and swaying as you walk (obviously NOT up to current building code) and wondering if you might get attacked (by creepy people, bats or rodents) in a field of junk in the middle of nowhere.

This is why I don’t white water raft or hang glide, I have enough adventure in my life!  I did find many treasures that made their way back to Bungalow 47 and wait til you see what I bought in New York the following weekend.  I’m sure it raised some eyebrows going through the luggage x-ray.  

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Be happy, Jill

P.S.  For those of you who are ‘fanilows’ like me, don’t you love the title?  Leave a comment if you know what that means!