Nellie's Barn Sale

01/24/2025

Are you planning your route?

01/24/2025

Yes please.

YES PLEASE!

HEY VINTAGE LOVERS & SHOPPERS...be sure to TAG/SHARE to your ROAD TRIP buddies...then start making plans to attend the...

BEST. ROAD TRIP. EVER.

Vintage Shop Hop
Friday & Saturday, March 7 & 8, 2025

Check back weekly for an updated list and map for the spring version of the ultimate road trip.

MAP: https://bit.ly/VSHMarch2025GoogleMap
LIST of SHOPS: https://bit.ly/GetTheList_and_Map

Never shop hopped? You are in for a treat! Over 400 vintage shops & barn sales, antique malls, ladies boutiques, home decor stores and upscale consignment shops roll out the red carpet for you!!! You'll find discounts, demonstrations, door prizes, games, food trucks, live music, taste testing, and more.

Ask for the day off now! Friday & Saturday, March 7 & 8.

Shop owners--you have until February 22 to register. Qualifying shops include: vintage stores, antique malls, barn sales focused on vintage & antiques, ladies boutiques, home decor stores and upscale consignment shops. If you're unsure, send a PM to this page with your store page link so I can take a peek.

Register here:
https://bit.ly/BestRoadTripEverRegistration







(photo courtesy of Warehouse 55/Vendor: megillicutti)

01/24/2025

Is it on your calendar?

EASY TO USE: ZOOM in close to see all the stores in a neighborhood...towns with multiple shops within close proximity of each other are stacked. Click or tap the icon to open detail of any shop. Colored icons represent the 5 different "shop types". LEGEND: Vintage Shops/Antique Malls = Purple Home D...

01/24/2025

BUCK THE BOX STORES.

Get off the couch. Shop local. Drive Illinois or Wisconsin. Support the small & unique businesses on the Vintage Shop Hop!

Part of the fun in shopping this two day, self-guided road trip is not only choosing which of the 400+ shops you'll visit, but where! In addition to brick & mortar storefronts on Main Streets, downtown districts, and country highways, you'll enjoy shopping some pretty unique and historical buildings!

Maybe the shop was once a Studebaker garage. A general store. A century old barn. A stately home. A butcher shop. A mill.

March 7 & 8...shop the 400+ Illinois and Wisconsin vintage shops, antique malls, ladies boutiques, home decor and upscale consignment with a few barn sales thrown in! All shop owners are rolling out the red carpet for you with door prizes, games, demos, meet-the-maker, treats and more!

Where will you shop hop?

01/23/2025

Estate sale in Rockford this weekend...

01/10/2025

Get it on your calendar...tag your road trip buddies and make a plan. Jump over to Vintage Shop Hop page to follow along!

01/01/2025

SHOP REGISTRATION BEGINS TODAY!! Starting at 6am today, January 1 you can register your shop for the BEST. ROAD TRIP. EVER.

Use this link at 6am to jump to the registration form. Register in the next 7 days and get a $20 discount with Early Bird Pricing!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vintage-shop-hop-official-event-march-7-8-2025-registration-1126382052039?aff=oddtdtcreator

First, jump to our official event page at Vintage Shop Hop to follow along and not miss out on important updates. Next, read below to see if you qualify!

We allow five types of shops to participate:

Vintage/Antique Shops & Malls - 75% of inventory must be vintage/antique
Vintage/Antique Barn Sale & Pop Ups - 75% if inventory must be vintage/antique
Ladies Boutiques - All new inventory, no thrift
Home Decor - Less than 75% of vintage, all new, or a mix
Upscale Consignment Shop - Clothing or home decor, upscale and on-trend

If you aren't sure you'd qualify, send a PM to this page with a link to your business page so I can take a peek. We hope you can join us!

12/29/2024

Tag your road trip buddies---and save the date! Better yet, jump over to our Vintage Shop Hop page and follow us there so you never miss out on updates!

12/29/2024

HARD TO BELIEVE...THE SPRING VINTAGE SHOP HOP IS ROUNDING THE BEND...AND SHOP REGISTRATION BEGINS in a few days on Wednesday, January 1 at 6am...don't miss out on this fabulous selling opportunity!!

Do you own a vintage shop--antique mall--ladies' boutique--home decor store--or run a vintage barn sale? If you're located in northern Illinois or the southern half of Wisconsin, then don't miss this amazing selling opportunity to reach ladies who love to shop! If you are unsure your shop would qualify, jump over to our Vintage Shop Hop page to send a PM to me on the with a link to your shops business page.

The Vintage Shop Hop is a twice-a-year self-guided road trip. We can put your store in front of thousands of new potential shoppers who love to shop with friends! Read more about the event on our blog website at https://bit.ly/GetTheList_and_Map

Shops can register beginning January 1 through February 22. If you come on board in the first 7 days you'll save $20. To register, on January 1 jump to the Vintage Shop Hop page to find the link to our Eventbrite registration page to read more about qualifying.

If you're a shopper--you don't need to worry about a thing...no registration for shoppers! But put these dates on your calendar and don't forget to ask for the day off...Friday and Saturday, March 7 & 8 and again for our fall event on October 3 & 4, 2025.

12/25/2024

Blessings to you for a joyous holy season.

12/21/2024

DO YOU ICE SKATE?

The fresh fallen snow here in Northern Illinois has brought sweet memories of my childhood winter days. In 1966 every neighbor kid owned a pair of skates. There was no rink. You either skated on the frozen creek in the backyard or the neighbor's pond. All of my brothers were older than I so we enjoyed many 'crack the whips'. When our toes were so cold we couldn't feel them anymore, it was time to head inside for that long-awaited cup of homemade hot cocoa and toast sopping with butter. How many of you dunked your toast in your cocoa? And yes, homemade cocoa. In a family of eight children my mom did not buy packets.

Does anybody have a Time Machine? I'd give anything to have a few more minutes of that snippet of time.

In all the rush and craziness of the holiday season don't forget to stop and make memories. And try your hand at homemade cocoa.

12/20/2024

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.

Luke 2:8-12: The Message to the Shepherds

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"

12/19/2024

FINALLY SATISFIED.

I've struggled for years with being satisfied with the right piece of furniture in my front hall. I live in a 1970s one story ranch. None of the rooms are overly large. This front entry is only 10 ft wide by 3 ft. deep at best. And it opens directly to the wide doorway to the front living room (lovingly called the Frunch room). There's not a whole lot you can do with 3 ft.

Over the years I've had many different low dressers, tall cabinets, and other odd pieces of furniture that didn't work. After browsing IG for the right look I decided to emulate the gorgeous hallway belonging to Bambi . It's so fabulous you'll find it on the cover of Country Living's Vintage magazine this month! Her home is one of my favorites on IG. Be sure to take a peek.

I love my entry now. It's the perfect spot for not only seasonal displays, but for guests to drop their coat in purse on the bench. My favorite tidbit is the soft pink plaid scarf that belong to my mother. My 1800s dress form (appropriately attired in her turn-of-the-century velvet cape) stands guard quite nicely don't you think?

12/18/2024

FIRST REAL SNOW...

Now it feels like December.

I do believe it's the perfect day for Christmas music, some gift wrapping, and writing out the grocery list. I'll have to do a bit of pretending... that I don't have a dentist appointment this afternoon. Ugh!

Swipe for close-ups of a few vignettes in my dining room. Oh wait, I forgot it's not a dining room anymore. It's the library. 😉 📚

Enjoy your last minute preparations!!

12/11/2024

THE CHOIR IS GETTING READY...

Only 2 weeks until the glorious holy day. Are you ready?

12/10/2024

15 DAYS AND COUNTING...

I'm headed out today to find a Grinch T-shirt of all things...for party attire.

What's on your agenda?

12/05/2024

CREATE EASY GINGERBREAD VILLAGE WINDOW ART...

Okay, are you ready for a simple project? This adorable gingerbread village is easy peasy. It's a window cling from Amazon!!!

Yep.

A few weeks ago I was helping my bestie, Kim from with Christmas decor at her house. She wanted to do original art using a paint pen on the windows. We ran out of time so we did the next best thing. Check Amazon. She bought two different sizes including this large village and a smaller one for her paned windows. I decided to try it out in my kitchen. What do you think?

I don't share a lot of photos of my kitchen but I'm feeling pretty good about it. I recently purchased the two Danish/MCM style swivel chairs, and swapped out the wall sconce lighting. Previously I had vintage glass shade lights with cords. These fun fixtures are rechargeable battery operated!!

For those of you who have followed a long time you know that almost every single item in my home is vintage. It was a bit out of my comfort zone to get 'new' chairs--but I had no luck with finding a pair of vintage chairs that worked in this space. I'm really happy with these. They are stylish,comfortable, easy to keep clean and they swivel!

Now go and order yourself some window clings. Just search on the words 'gingerbread house window cling'.

12/04/2024

GUEST ROOM READY... ✔️

Neutral decor does not have to be boring. Changing over to Christmas decor in my guest room is fairly quick and easy. Having white coverlets and neutral sheets on the beds makes for an easy transformation. All I do is change out the blankets at the foot of the bed and add a Christmas pillow.

What do you think of my dust ruffles? They are lace tablecloths. And the art above the beds? Simple $3 large gift bags from .

One of my favorite items is a little bit hidden...the NORTH directional highway sign sitting atop the cubby unit. I actually own two of them. The other is 'up north' at the lake. It's also a nod to my maternal grandmother whose name was Nellie North. My business is also named for her!

What's one of your favorite Christmas treasures?