Thursday, October 1, 2015

I'm All Shook Up!: My Weekend at the New England Shake-Up


You may know from Instagram (if you follow me there) that I spent this past weekend in Sturbridge, MA rockin' and boppin' at the New England Shake-Up. What on earth IS the NE Shake-Up? Well, it's hard to explain but essentially it's a 3 day event of all things retro and rockabilly including a classic car show, songwriting seminars, pinup makeup lessons, vintage shopping galore, and all night parties with bands and DJs.

I had first heard of this event last year when I was at the Brimfield show. It seemed exciting but it intimidated me at the time since I had only just started branching out into the vintage/retro world. This year, I knew I had to go! Especially since I only lived 45 minutes away!



Regardless of how close we were, Cody and I made a little getaway out of it and stayed in town for the event. Why not? We can have our fun and not worry about all the highway driving back and forth each day.


The Shake-Up was Friday - Sunday but we drove in on Saturday morning to join the fun. We perused the car show when we arrived and shopped at some of the outdoor vendors like Cats Like Us and Julie Mollo.


I loved LOVED meeting Julie at her tent. Talk about a warm and fun gal! She chatted with me as if I were her gal pal and helped me find my very own "retroversible" skirt (she makes the reversible skirts you may have spotted on other bloggers like Miss Victory Violet).  Upon research, this girl is a rockstar! She's designed outfits for Katy Perry!? Be sure to check her out ASAP!

Julie and her stock of retroversible clothes! SUCH a genius concept!

I am super excited to now have the pink and yellow skirt. I may wear dresses nearly every day - but I wouldn't say I am super girly. I don't have much pink! I am excited to start coordinating outfits with this skirt! It's reversible - the possibilities are endless!

Cody also stumbled upon a really cool vintage guitar from the late 60's. He carried it along with him as I shopped, mindlessly strumming along to entertain himself. He really was a good sport about it.


After we admired the classic cars and visited the outdoor vendors, Cody and I grabbed a bite to eat before the indoor shopping hall opened. When we returned to the Shake-Up, we went to shopping. I found quite a bit in the shopping hall.

My scores from the weekend! Keep an eye out to see if they appear on the blog soon! ;)

Though the shopping hall was not as full as I expected it to be (it was a very large exhibition hall!), the vendors set up there were top notch. I found quite a few vintage items to add to my collection and Cody found a funny vintage shot glass set to add to his liquor cart.

There were barbers giving hot shaves to the guys!

We spent some time in a guitar playing and song writing seminar after shopping. Though it seemed a bit scattered and unorganized (the event coordinator in me wondered what went into planning the seminar beforehand...), it was really cool to hear from some rockabilly musicians and get their insight on how they write songs and get that surf sound on their guitars. Cody and I really loved this purple upright bass one fella played in the seminar - it had flames painted on the sides!


Back outside, some bands were playing so we went to check them out. These bass players go nuts with their instruments - the gentleman in the second image above spent most of his performance straddling (or "riding" as Cody put it! Haha!) and even STANDING on top of his bass! I don't know it didn't topple over. I wish I had gotten a good picture of him propped on top!

While we were outside, we ran into a familiar face! I know Bristol from Instagram and her blog, Colour Me Bristol, and was hoping we'd cross paths at the Shake-Up. It's so fun to meet other Instagrammers in person. She was such a doll and so easy to talk to - we chatted it up while a band played and then shopped a little together.


Together, we ran into another Insta girl, Kristina! We all laughed over dragging our boyfriends/husbands to the Shake-Up and shared how we bribed them there. It seemed to be a trend among all the ladies we were meeting. Whether it was beer, hot women, a weekend away, or guitar gear - we all found a way to get our special someones to make the trip. Hilarious!

After an exciting afternoon, Cody and I headed out to check into the hotel, change for the evening events, and get some dinner. We opted for a delicious meal at Sturbridge Seafood (fish and chips for him and a lobster roll for me) and it was so good, I didn't even think to snap a pic of our meals before we dug in! It was definitely one of our last summery splurges and every bite was scrumptious!


After dinner, we headed back to the Shake-Up for some live music, dancing, and drinks. Interesting fact about the Shake-Up - the party goes all night long! Bands start around 6pm and are scheduled out until 5:00am! We didn't last nearly that long but what a fun idea that some folks dance and jive until the sun comes up!

Ha! Don't be a Debbie Downer while the Shakeup is rocking...

Knowing that, it wasn't too much of a surprise to find the pool party scheduled for Sunday was pretty dead when we returned to the Shake-Up on day 3. After a night of partying, it seemed like everyone was sleeping in and recovering! We didn't want to hang around waiting for it to pick up (which we knew it would in time) so we opted for a round of mini golf (oh yes, the Sturbirdge Host Hotel has its own mini golf course!) and then headed home.

I totally kicked his ass...

We were pooped!

Overall, we had a great weekend away. For it only being the 3rd year for the Shake-Up, I see great things on the horizon. It's definitely still picking up speed and figuring its stuff out, but it was such a fun event and it felt so good fitting in for a change! It was almost weird not standing out like a sore thumb! I couldn't get over it - nearly every girl I passed was dolled up in petticoats, full skirts, Pinup Girl Clothing, Bernie Dexter, and then some! I complimented nearly every bombshell I saw.

It is definitely a weekend to recover from, but once I do...New England Shake-Up 2016, here I come!