6.11.2019

Shopping Trip to Nantucket


Are you ready for the trip of a lifetime?? Ugh, I still can't believe it was real and that I was picked to do this! I'm so so so thankful and happy and appreciative for this trip. I cannot WAIT to tell you all about it!!


NIR Retail (aka Shop Nantucket on Instagram) invited me out to enjoy some fabulous shopping and exceptional food on Nantucket. I, of course, jumped at the chance to go because ... Nantucket duh. It's my favorite place! Any and all excuses to go back, I will. What I was so excited about was the itinerary they set up for us. There were so many places I had yet to shop and dine at.

I don't create travel guides often because I really want to get to know a place before I make suggestions. But one I am really proud of is my Nantucket guide and how many great things there are to do on such a beautiful little island. The thought of being able to round out the guide with details on shopping and more restaurants got me excited. 

I'll stop rambling now and take you through our three days on Nantucket with the NIR team!

Sweater / Tank / Jeans / Shoes / Earrings / Tote Bag / Luggage 

Our day started off with a casual wakeup call of 3 am and a 3:30 am Uber so we could make it for our 5am flight to Boston. This wasn't the first time I've stopped in Boston on our way up, so I didn't think anything of it. We were booked on JetBlue, and that was that! FYI, every time we fly from NYC to ACK, we're on a plane that has four seats in each row. It has small overhead spaces but otherwise a normal-sized plane.

We get to Boston, and I can't access our boarding pass (or get any other information for that matter) for our connecting flight. I had to stop some pilots in the airport and ask for help, and they directed me to the Cape Air gates. We popped over and checked in. It didn't really hit me until they were weighing our bags and then asked for our weight. LOL, WHAT?! I was like, "ohhhhh are we on a puddle jumper to the island?" The customer service rep laughed and told me to look out the window.

I did, and it was all but completely blocked by the bridge (that would go to a normal plane). Then I saw a teeny, tiny, little aircraft on the tarmac. LOL, I did not know what I was in for. Cape Air lined us up, walked us out, and we were assigned seats based on our weight. Ashby and I ended up right behind the pilot and co-pilot, and I was just laughing in shock at how small this plane was. 

I've been on a private plane before to Derby, and that was small, but not compared to this!! The whole time I could have reached out and touched the pilots. It's not normal being that close to the people who are flying the plane. It was wild but a lot of fun. The biggest perk (being an airplane freak lover) was getting to see takeoff and landing through the eyes of a pilot. It was a lot of fun!!


We landed in Nantucket around 8 am. By this time we've already lived a lot of life haha. Ashby and I were ready to take on the day. We were picked up by someone on the NIR team and taken to our hotel, The Cottages at the boat basin. If you read my Nantucket guide on where to stay on the island, you'll remember that I have wanted to stay at these cottages ever since Andrew and I were first on the island and realized they were for rent! I'm sad he wasn't able to experience it with me, but boy oh boy was it a great stay. 

We stayed in the Veronica cottage. It was a two-bedroom place with a queen downstairs and two twins on the second floor. It had lots of closets (three I think!), one full bathroom, a cute little living room, and a kitchen. We also had the most quaint patio overlooking the boat basin. Lots of cards were played out there!

The hotel offers free bike rentals, beach towels, chairs, decks of cards, lots of water, free DVDs and will bring you freshly cooked popcorn if you want to have a movie night! It was like staying with family. Everyone we came in contact with was over-the-top friendly and helpful. We could not have had a better stay. Thankfully, we were able to check in early, drop our bags and head into town, which was about five steps away since we were so wonderfully located on the wharf! 


Since we had plans for lunch, we didn't want to get a huge meal but needed something to tide us over. We opted for The Juice Press. This is a relatively new spot right on Main Street that I had never been to before, so I was really looking forward to it. Andrew had gotten a juice for me during our trip in May, but I hadn't been in there myself, and I just love it!! I want to go back and sit down for breakfast. Ashby and I split a delicious acai bowl (the picture doesn't do it justice lol).


After a quick bite, we walked around the wharf and I showed Ashby some of my favorite spots. We also did a quick stop into Nantucket Peddler, which is one of my favorite touristy stores on the Wharf. I shop pretty much only here, and Annie and the Tees for my Nantucket gear! They were sold out of the crop sweatshirt I wanted, but I did manage to snag this cute beige one!


We had killed enough time by then that it was time for our lunch (and when our itinerary with NIR kicked in!). Our first stop was the Straight Wharf Fish Store, which is right next door to Provisions! One of my favorite things about this trip was how many new to me places I got to try. I guess I get very stuck in my ways when I go to the island. I forget how many great places there are still on my list!

One of those was the fish store. It's right on the dock near where the HyLine ferry lets out, and it's so authentic and tasty. You must stop by! It's a little shop where I think you mainly order fish/seafood to bring home, but they have a small menu and I, of course, ordered the lobster roll. I've had lots of lobster rolls in my life, and I will say hands down this was the biggest one I've ever had! There was (dare I say it) almost too much lobster (gasp!). I know, I know. Crazy but really good.


The fish store is also owned and connected to Stars ice cream. Andrew and I had this during our first trip to the island and loved sitting by the water eating our ice cream. I was too full this time around, but Ashby loved her mint chocolate chip!!


Then the fun began, and we started our tour of stores for day one. Our first scheduled stop was Lemon and Line which make these really adorable (and very preppy!) rope and leather bracelets for men and women. Their store is one of the cute little shops right on Straight Wharf. I made an adorable stack -- that I'm still wearing today -- of the Nantucket leather (red on one side, brown on the other), a gold anchor and the classic beige knot!

If you like them, you can use the code "krista" for 20% off! They messaged me after seeing me in store and were so kind as to offer this for my readers!! 

I keep telling Ashby they are our friendship bracelets!

Next, we stopped into Native Shoes (also on Straight Wharf), which was a totally new-to-me store with a great mission. They are trying to make sustainable (and cute) shoes and will gladly accept your old ones to help make playgrounds out of recycled materials. Their shoes are affordable, adorable, and are insanely comfortable. I was between the bow flats and the white sneakers (that you can machine wash without worry!) and eventually went with the sneakers. I wore them for the rest of the weekend, and I'm pretty sure they're now my go-to summer shoes. 


After that, we stopped into Perch (right behind the Gazeebo next to Provisions), and I fell IN LOVE with this Veronica Beard blazer. Then I saw the price and nicely put it back lol. I could justify a lot of things, but at that moment I couldn't. But I swear that I have never looked cooler IN MY LIFE. Like so cool that I was too cool to be friends with myself lol. I think about it every day. If anyone would like to gift the blazer, I'm a size 4. 

After that, we were done for the day until dinner, and we stopped by a few more shops on our own. One being this little shack called Bon Ton. It's right next to Nautilus, and it has little knick knacks from around Nantucket and estate sales, and it's surprisingly not overpriced. It was like a treasure hunt in there. I loved it! I picked up a little flower basket for Ryan to use at the wedding and a unique item for my mom as well!

After that, Ashby and I decided to head back to The Cottage to catch our breath, get off our feet, and play some cards. Julia was also on the island so her, her photographer and friend (also named Julia) and the Dudley Stephens team stopped by to hang out. We had a lot of fun, and it was great to see them all!


We still had some time to kill before dinner, so after the girls left Ashby and I rented bikes. I showed her around the northern part of the island. We rode by Brant Point and stopped to get some beach time, then to Jetties, Galley beach, The Nantucket Hotel, and then eventually past the house where I'll be getting married!! Bikes are the best!


After the little tour of the island, it was time for dinner at Slip 14. This is another place I had never been to! It's right next to the reception desk at The Cottages, and for those who still are having some trouble, it's on the same path/walkway as The Skinny Dip right next to the wharf! I ordered oysters, we ate some tuna, Ashby got some crab artichoke dip, we had some salads for dinner, and Ash got to try their creme brulee. The food was delicious!! The seafood especially was so good. The oysters were perfect!


I couldn't help but stop by the Juice Bar for a little late-night snack after dinner!! Once we got back to our room, we were exhausted. Remember, this is still the same day of our 3 am wakeup call. Longest. day. ever. And we made it an hour longer by watching some Handmaids Tale lol. 


THE NEXT DAY we started out at or, The Whale which is a very new (five weeks!) restaurant on Main Street for brunch. The place was so cute, and the owner was even sweeter! They're open for brunch and lunch, close at 2 pm and re-open for dinner. The weather the night before was stormy, so we weren't able to hang out on their back patio, but we did get the best seat in the house in the front windows. The food was great, but I was really eyeing that Lobster roll for lunch. I will need to come back!!


After brunch, we started our tour-de-Nantucket with our first stop at The Skinny Dip, which is easily one of my favorites stores (ever). Their whole aesthetic is me to my core, and I want one of everything when I walk in. I walked out with another version of my favorite Nantucket sweater from Ellsworth and Ivey (they have a ton of cities!) -- which I now own in navy, Cisco in white and another Nantucket in red! I also was this close to pulling the trigger on this Peter Beaton hat. I might go back for it!


After that, we walked over to The Black Dog and Southern Tide (neither of which I remembered to take non-IG story photos of)! Southern Tide was a massive success for us as we both got something we really loved. She was on the hunt for a great pair of white jeans, and these were the ones she found. They looked so good on her I tried them on myself!! I ended up with an adorable white sweater for summer that sadly isn't on their website.

Next, we stopped into Vis-a-Vis, which is connected in the same building as Southern Tide. Then we went to Murrays Toggery and Seamen Shepps before heading over to our next official stop: Cattivo. I never even knew this store existed and now I can't stop raving about it. Everything in there exudes cool, and I felt awesome going in. 

You know there are those girls who always look fantastic on vacation with a one-of-a-kind dress that you could never pull off but desperately try to replicate? Or is that just me?? Well, those girls shop here. It's a wonderfully decorated and curated store that you MUST stop into next time you're on the island. I almost got this dress which I can't find online, but UGH it's excellent. 

I also tried on a super cute dress, but I couldn't move my arms in it, and GUESS WHAT: Beyonce has the same dress. So like, we're twins and now best friends. 


Our next stop was across the street to Olivela, which was basically the designer store on the island. They had Dior in the window and all the fancy things you would need for a casual weekend on Nantucket lol. What I thought was so great was every purchase they give 20% back to a charity. Love shops that do good!

That is where I also fell in love with this hat...


Our last two stops were Vanderbilt Gallery and Sara Campbell before breaking for lunch. Our schedule called for a small break in between shops, but we wanted to power through it since we were still full from brunch! Once we were done, we grabbed some sandwiches from Provisions, which is my favorite grab-and-go spot on the island, and took them back to The Cottage for lunch in bed. Then we took a quick power nap before dinner!

Top / Jeans c/o / Bag c/o / Shoes c/o / Sunglasses

After a little refresh, we got ready for dinner and headed out. We decided to make this our dressed up night, and this is what we wore. Side note, we woke up and walked out to this large yacht in our boat basin and I was like hi, subtle. 


I was probably the most excited about dinner this night! We ate at Lola 41 (kind of by the Yacht club down by the White Elephant residences), and I had never been but so badly wanted to go. The food did not disappoint omg. We got oysters, edamame, mac and cheese, and my entree was the best sushi I've ever had! Ugh, I want to go back 100 times again. I hope we can squeeze in when Andrew and I are back next month!!


Then, of course, we walked right by the Juice Bar. I couldn't not go in!


OUR LAST DAY (sad face) was the prettiest one on the trip! We packed up our rooms before heading out for the day and said one last goodbye to our little home for the past few days. UGH, I miss it so much lol. We rented bikes and had brunch at Brant Point Grill and looked out onto the Harbor. The restaurant is part of the White Elephant Hotel and has the prettiest view of its immaculate lawn and private little beachfront! I, of course, forgot to take photos but I was just trying to soak it all in!


The rest of the day was ours, so we decided to do some more shopping lol. WHY NOT? I stopped into Peter Beaton's studio and still thought about buying this hat!! I convinced myself otherwise. We also popped into Centre Pointe, which had the BEST Nantucket decor, and I wanted one of everything.


After some more shops, we met up for lunch at Oath and grabbed some pizza for the beach. Then we went to Aunt Leah's Fudge (OMG THE BEST) shop and picked up some goodies for the trip home. I love their peanut butter chocolate fudge! I also think I'm going to get little boxes for our welcome bags. It's too cute not to. 

Once we loaded up on the goods, we went back to The Cottages and rented bikes and rode out to Jetties beach to eat our lunch, play two hands of cards and enjoy the last few hours of our trip! After that, we dropped our bikes back off, drove out to the airport and within the hour, landed in NYC, and reminisced about our trip. 


I wanted to say thank you again to NIR Retail for our trip! They were more than gracious and flew us out, comped our stay, covered our meals (outside of Juice Bar lol) and introduced us to some wonderful shops and restaurants. I wanted to also thank all the stores who let us come in, shoot and shop! And special extra thanks to those who gifted us items during our visit! Same to the restaurant owners who made us feel so welcomed and loved at each meal we had. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this trip. I will forever be grateful and thankful for this magical trip!
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