Shop Love: Trending

When my friend Beverly told me she was opening her own online clothing store, I was so excited. We went to college together and since I have seen her work first hand, you can believe me when I say: it's good stuff. Her goal was to create a store that provided a selection of one of a kind, high quality statement pieces, for a lower price. Trending is just that: on trend. The online boutique specializes in thrifted and reconstructed apparel, as well as handmade clothing and accessories. The items you will find are standout staple pieces that are perfect for today's modern young women. I love the concept, particularly the reconstructed goods. With just a little alteration, something that seems old and dated becomes fashionable and trendy again. It's perfect! Beverly has a great eye for what is on trend right now, a lot of these pieces have a very 90's feel, which is making a huge comeback right now. For all of us that grew up in the 90's it's awesome to see! I can finally break out my over-sized shirts and chunky heels again, right? Ok, maybe not the heels. 

I think the most inspiring part of this store launch is that Beverly used it as a way to pull herself out of what could have been a very devastating situation. She was working for a law firm at the time that was going under, which gave her all the more motivation to make her dream a reality. She is now working on Trending full time and loving it. 

Boxy Sweater

If you have ever scoured the racks of a thrift store, then you will know how frustrating it is to dig through the duds and end up with nothing to bring home. As a busy mom, blogger and small business owner I really don't have time for that so I am happy to let someone do it for me. In Beverly's own words:

"I figured I can take the work out of sifting through rack after rack of stained tee shirts and sweaters with holes in them to find the treasures that most people don't know exist. Not only that, but people all over the country don't have access to the thrift stores in Massachusetts and I think these stores have a lot of high end items that you won't find elsewhere."

Reconstructed Tank

Since she has a partial education in Fashion Design, Beverly will also be creating handmade goods for her store. Currently she is offering headbands, but intends to include more items like bandeaus and crop tops very soon. 

Turban Headband

I hope you are all as excited as I am about this new shop launch! And because she is so great, Beverly has generously offered all Hello Kelcey readers 30% off everything at Trending with the code "hellokelcey" until July 31st, as well as free shipping on all orders over $20 (no code, and that does not expire!). 

Red Cropped Jacket

High Waisted Levis 505 - Reconstructed

Take a look around http://shoptrendingg.com/ and let me know which items are your favorite. You can also find Trending on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr to keep up to date on new items and promotions. Happy shopping!

A Trip to the Brimfield Antique Show

Last weekend, Nora and I stayed overnight at my parents' house so we could go to the Brimfield Antique Show. I've missed it every year for 5 years and I wasn't going to let it happen again! Apparently, this is a pretty well know event and people travel from all over to come and roam the grounds hunting for treasure. I grew up two towns over from the show and had no idea it was so popular, I didn't even know it was called the Brimfield Antique Show. We always called it the Brimfield flea market. Oh well! Now I know. 

I love flea markets, you can always find the best things. Also, tons of over priced junk that's just fun to look at. I went with my folks and Nora on Saturday morning for a couple hours. We didn't have anything in mind to buy, I really just wanted to go for the experience. If you're really looking for something specific you probably need a full day, maybe even two, because there are so many vendors. I brought my camera so you could get a feel for the event. Let me know if you have ever been, and what your favorite part is!

I like old cans. These were some good ones.

Nora had the best seat in the place.

I took these for Madison because he wants a bike.

I also have a thing for old glass.

This was my favorite tent we went into. 

This was my favorite outoman. It was too expensive, and the vendor told me he was planning on burning it anyway, so there's that. 

This is why it was my favorite. 

The biggest, and best, doughnut.

My dad and a baby who desperately needed a nap. 

Lawn ornament selfie, obviously. 

My (Quite Possibly) Vintage Dresses

I was at my parents' house for Easter recently and my mom mentioned that she had a bunch of my baby clothes saved in their attic. I had never seen my baby clothes, other than in pictures, so we went up to investigate. While up there I found my original Rhiney the rhino which was allegedly lost. I saw his ear sticking out of a box and recognized it immediately. He's been washed and clean up so now my home has two pink rhinos in Hawaiian shirts, what could be better than that? Also in that same box were the baby clothes we had been searching for. I was so excited to see all of the cute tiny outfits. My mom let me go through them and take some home for Nora and any future baby girls to wear. 

I guess these would be considered vintage. They're from the 80's... but it kind of blows my mind that the things I wore as a baby would be considered vintage now. Regardless of my potential quarter life crisis, these clothes are cute! Only one of them fits Nora, but that's ok because it was one of my favorites. She looked like such a doll in this. I'm pretty sure my mom is going to go crazy over these pictures. Enjoy!

Vintage Toys- Fisher Price Loving Family Dolls

This installment of vintage toys is very exciting for me. If you read my first and second posts, you know that I have started collecting vintage toys I used to have so that Nora can experience them too. This time, I collected these vintage 90's Fisher Price Loving Family dolls as the start to something new and very exciting. Also- are toys from the 90's already considered vintage? That makes me feel old, but that's beside the point. While perusing the internet one day I stumbled upon to this blog post from Life as a Thrifter and I got SO EXCITED. That is the cutest dollhouse I have ever seen and I am now on a mission to make something equally adorable for Nora. She is too young to play with a dollhouse so that gives me about 2-3 years to complete this project. Totally manageable. I might get the same dollhouse because I finally live close to a Hobby Lobby (yes!!), and with a coupon, the kit is very affordable. I plan to follow the progress as the dollhouse comes together here on the blog, so you have that to look forward to as well! Anywho, I decided to get completely ahead of myself and start with the family. This is the same type of family Holly used in her dollhouse and I think it's a great idea. Have you ever seen "dollhouse dolls"? Kinda creepy. These aren't creepy at all and they are fully poseable which is great for toddler play. I got these guys on Ebay for a pretty good price, considering what other shops were trying to sell them for. Part of the fun in searching for vintage toys is finding exactly what you want for a great price. This set was looking a little lonely so I also got....

A puppy and a rocking horse!

Seriously, how cute?

Here they are all together, one big happy family. I hope once Nora is old enough she loves these dolls and the dream dollhouse I have planned for her.

Vintage Toys- Fisher Price Little People Tudor House

Today we have the second installment of my vintage toys series. If you saw my first post you will already know that I am starting to collect vintage toys for Nora so she can play with some of the same toys I had as a child. Over the years most of my childhood toys have been donated to charity. Now the hunt begins to find them all again.

One of my favorite toy collections was the Fisher Price Little People. I had a few different sets and tons of the people. This Tudor house was my favorite. It just looks so sweet. My plan for this house is to fill it with DIY peg people that I create this year. Nora is still too small for toys like this, so there's plenty of time to get it prepared. I got this house on Ebay for $13, which is a total steal considering others were being sold for between $50 and $80. 

Here are some detail shots of the house.

The house is in pretty good condition considering how old it is, and that it is made mostly from cardboard. Both the front and garage doors open and close perfectly.

The back of the house, complete with doggy door.

The door bell still works, which makes me so happy.

I hope you liked this little tour. I will be back soon with an update once it is furnished, as well as a peg people tutorial!