Those of you who follow us on and know that last week we decided to take a road trip about one hour and forty-five minutes north of Newport to the seaside town of Newburyport just north of Boston. We just can’t help but be lured by coastal towns even though we live in one. This quaint town offers rows of brick buildings, cobblestone streets, wide open squares, and lots of great shopping for everything from antiques to clothing to trending housewares. My partners in crime were Pamela, Maaike (who you may remember for her Bulbs in a Crate Hostess Gift), and Kim (who taught us all how to style bookshelves).

Our first stop was at . It’s hard to describe exactly what this store has to offer as it is very eclectic, but the best description I can give is that it’s a mix of antiques and fabulous finds for all your home needs from furniture to entertaining to skincare. Antique Doors

Antique Fresco Ceiling and Chandelier

Divine Bedding

Perhaps what makes this shop so unique is its kitchen section. An amazing collection of gourmet pastas, sauces, dips, chocolates, and so much more…

including fresh hot bread and sandwiches.

Then we headed next door to Wish Basket’s sister store, . This store had me at the door with this outdoor display of antique windows. We headed inside to find another amazing collection of antiques mixed with new items as well as some lovely clothing. This store is highly reminiscent of Anthropologie but still has that small boutique feel because it isn’t a chain.

Does this linen nailhead table remind you of any previous posts?

And perhaps the piece de resistance at Red Bird Trading was this wooden vault that we were told was from an Italian church. We thought it would make an amazing party closet or perhaps a playhouse for the kids, but needless to say with a price tag of $18,000 and the fact that we didn’t bring a big enough car, we just had to leave it behind (that’s not to say we went home open handed).

Next up we hit Flukes & Finds & Friends, an antique store that with careful searching offered many treasures. Here we picked up a set of vintage opera binoculars and a great white pitcher that will be perfect for hydrangeas this summer. We left behind a lot of great finds too though including some great vintage cameras, wire baskets, and more.

We made several other stops including Seaport Antiquities where we found an amazing antique bistro set that’s still haunting us because we didn’t buy it along with a vintage ladder that would be perfect for a bookshelf. We also popped into Comina which is always a favorite and also has eight other locations in New England that are worth checking out. And in the non-home department, Lively Kids was a great kids clothing and toy shop featuring favorites like Tea Collection, Bla Bla Kids, Petunia Picklebottom, and many more fabulous brands.

We loved Souffles (and not just because I was obsessed with their sign), but they had fabulous coffee and biscotti and a great collection of kitchen gadgets and dishes. Their display of cafe au lait bowls in the window made me want to buy them all! It was the perfect place for that last jolt of caffeine we needed to make it through the afternoon and we picked up something that we’ll be using in a creative way for an upcoming birthday party (you’ll have to stay tuned). They also introduced Kim to her new favorite coffee drink, a Chai with a shot of espresso.

So what did we come home with? Well, I picked up this great wicker cake stand at Wish Basket that I thought was a steal. I can’t wait to serve up cheese and crackers on it this summer at polo.

And I finally found a shade chandelier for my dining room at Red Bird Trading that I hope to be able to show you installed very soon.

I believe more than one of us took this galvanized bucket home from Wish Basket. For $8, how could you not?

Speaking of galvanized, Kim also picked up this beautiful antique galvanized pitcher at Seaport Antiquities.

And she scored this fabulous wine barrel lazy susan at Wish Basket. It will be perfect for serving up a beautiful selection of cheeses (notice a theme?), and I know some adorable little mice that would look just perfect on it.

Pamela snatched up these fabulous vintage opera glasses and the adorable pagoda shaped magnetic board below.

There were a few other little bits and pieces we picked up along the way, and I’m sure that there could have been many more. There were so many things we loved about this day trip to Newburyport, but one of things we were most impressed with was the range of prices. Not only did every store have great products at all price ranges, but the prices on items we’d researched on the internet were less in these small boutiques than we could find on Etsy or Craigslist.

Without a doubt, if Newburyport is within driving distance from where you live, it’s worth the trip. And I have a feeling we could have spent a lot more time there. We didn’t even get a chance to check out the beautiful homes, the shoreline, or the restaurants. Although the quick bite we did grab at The Purple Onion was fabulous.

One last note: when you’re doing a daytrip or even a weekend like this, choose your shopping partners wisely. All four of us are passionate about home decor, but we also all have varying tastes (although they certainly overlap). While this trip was really fun because I’m good friends with all of these ladies, it was also wonderful that our styles varied enough that we could eye a one of a kind item and even if we all would have loved to have it, we knew who’s house it would work  best in and be thrilled for that person to have it. It made the trip all that much more enjoyable.