Out & About: Phantastic Philly!

     Philadelphia is an amazing place to visit for good food, culture, and of course clothing!  Last weekend Daniel and I visited the city of brotherly love to stop in to one of my all-time favorite boutiques- Nicole Rae Styer Boutique.  I have been a customer of Nicole's for a few years now, and every time I am in her boutique she makes me feel right at home!  If you are in the area you have got to check out her store, not only is it a beautiful feast for the eyes, but she also has fantastic sales, all one-of-a-kind and embellished pieces, and the friendliest customer service.  In her colorful boutique, one can find an affordable and well-made purse, top, skirt, dress or piece of jewelry that no one else will have!  Nicole embellishes each of her pieces using mixed media fabrics, beads, sequins, glitter, lace and other fancy handpicked materials.  What else is so wonderful about Nicole's work is that each item is made using up-cycled and recycled materials, so not only is each piece unique but also easy on the environment!  She also features jewelry and clothing pieces from other local artists, as well as my colorful filigree rings, although I need to restock them! :)  Her whimsical store is the perfect place for inspiration, gifts, and of course a little treat for you!

A closeup up her colorful work.

She even has a little section for the guys!  Here, Daniel is wearing the button-up shirt that she embellished for him, and a tie he discovered during our visit :) Now how cool is that??

Just a few of her amazing bags.

There is a wide variety of items and sizes to choose from!

Slip dresses on summer sale!

An absolutely gorgeous fur colar and slip dress.

Did I mention that she also has fabulously fancy lingerie?

A sampling of her bedazzled smart phone cases and incredibly whimsy earrings. (If I had a smart phone I would be ALL over these)

The beautiful and talented Nicole Rae herself!

Nicole is such a fabulous artist and seamstress, thanks for all of your wonderful creations and allowing me to feature your store, Nicole!  You can check out Nicole Rae Styer boutique from the link above or find her on facebook to find out about sales, events, and other news :)

Another Philly love of mine is the selective vintage thrift shop- Retrospect.  This place is pretty cool, but a little hit or miss.  This time it was a miss- but probably because we had 5 minutes left on our meter and had to leave before I got to look through everything- but last time it was a major hit with an awesome vintage floral jacket and $5 80's secretary dress from the sales rack.  This place has some really fun stuff!  

You can check them out here.

     And what day would be complete without a little cake? For our Anniversary, Daniel surprised me with this amazing red velvet cake from Sweet Freedom Bakery, a magical little place off South Street with goodies that are allergen and refined sugar free- what could be sweeter than that?

Amazing, huh?  It's a great place for anyone with food allergies or sensitivities, or those who want to indulge in something yummy that they can feel good about afterwards!  Some great, creative treats and their cream-filled pumpkin cookies are THE BOMB!

(I am in love with their candy colored chandelier!) 

What a phantastic philly weekend we had, and a great vacation in Virigina to follow!  In my next post I will share some photos from our stay and a cute little boutique I found in our journeys :)  Happy Saturday!

XO