Last year we had such a good time attending the New England Shake-Up in Sturbridge, MA that we decided to attend and vend this year! (You can read about last year's adventures here.) Here's a quick shakedown of all the fun we had!
Thursday Sept 24
We packed up our little PT Cruiser--filled with tubs of crinolines, sunglasses, pomade, and pettipants--and headed East with our friends Mike and Judy.
The ride was long, almost 7 hours, but the reward was great… after settling into the hotel we took a drive to have dinner at Kowloon restaurant! If you LOVE tiki (like we do,) it's the local place to go. We didn't sit in the ship or next to the fountain or volcano, but that didn't matter, the food and drinks were out of this world. I drank the best Mai Tai ever. To commemorate the event we purchased a tiki mug. You can't have too many, right?!
Friday Sept 25
I woke up early to get my face on! Last year my friend Judy did a photoshoot at the event, and her pictures turned out great, so I decided to join in on the fun this time with Cherry Dollface, Bomber Betty, and Vintage Girl Studios!
Cherry Dollface teased and tamed my hair into a giant 1960s bubble with a little curl at the ends. I never thought my hair could get that big! She is so down to earth. We chatted about all the people she gets to meet traveling and living in California. I'm trying to convince her to come to Buffalo for a pinup hair and makeup seminar at Cats Like Us. Wouldn't that be cool?!
Jessica, aka Bomber Betty, made my makeup “glam 1960s”. She applied individual eyelashes to my eyes – with the patience of a saint! They were so fluffy, and my lipstick was the perfect shade of neutral mod. We chatted about her upcoming wedding, bronzer, and of course, I had to buy some makeup. I like the matte white eyeshadow because with skin as light as mine, it's hard to find a good highlighter. (Check her out ladies. Not only is the product excellent, she can even mix custom colors for you too!)
The photoshoot was done by Krzystyna from Vintage Girl Studios and she was really nice. The pinup package included hair, makeup, and your choice of two backgrounds and two outfits. I picked miniature golf as the first background for my vintage 1960s scooter dress. (The golf course is just behind the Sturbridge Host Hotel, so if you want to take a break from the Shakeup at any point you can go golfing!) I was told I was the only one that's ever picked that for the shoot. I just really wanted something different that's why I went with a 1960s look. 
The second background I picked was a classic car with my mechanic jumpsuit. We also had time to shoot near Cedar Lake which is right next to the hotel. It was the perfect temperature for an outdoor photoshoot!
It was a wonderful experience with organized, professional ladies!
I don't know about you, but all that smiling makes me hungry! We decided to eat at Sturbridge Seafood, which is within walking distance of the hotel. It was as delicious this time as it was last year, and I recommend the Lobster Roll and a Punch in the Face. (“A Punch in the Face” is the name of one of their signature drinks—delicious!)
After we refueled we headed straight to the Vendor Shopping Room, it was in a much less cramped room this year, with nice fitting rooms. I snapped a shot of my haul below which included an awesome black and white bat swing skirt from Erica at Dressed to Kill, who was even doing pinup hair at the event! I picked up some vintage big eyed cat pics by the artist Gig for my cat room walls too. After, we checked out some bands (Jeff Deware and the Bop Thrills, and The Bellfuries) and picked up a CD along the way! 
It was an early night because we had to set up to vend at the car show at 7am. Yikes!
Stay tuned for part 2 of our trip to Sturbridge, coming soon. Thanks for reading!
~Julie Ann