We are fortunate to live in a great area where there are so many fun places to visit close by. We’re close to the beaches, Newport, Cape Cod, Providence and Boston, to name a few. Over Columbus Day weekend, Jamie and I decided to do a day trip somewhere we hadn’t been. We wanted something scenic and quintessential New England and we wanted to be near the water. I suggested Marblehead because it checked off all those boxes and it was about an hour and a half away. My friend Erin from @accidentalfarmhouse is from my neck of the woods but lives in Marblehead now. I knew how gorgeous it was thanks to her pictures on Instagram. I decided to message her the night before to pick her brain about where we should go and what we should see while Jamie and I were there. She was full of so many great suggestions! Here are some of Erin’s tips that we checked out during our day in Marblehead.

Downtown: Erin was kind enough to let us park at her new Airbnb @hideawayhousemhd. When I say it’s in the PERFECT location, I’m not exaggerating. I’ll get more into the house a little later on in the post.

Erin’s rental is right in the heart of Historic Marblehead. It’s right around the corner from the downtown area where there are great shops and places to grab a bite. At her suggestion, we popped into Shubie’s to browse the gift shop and check out the foods and wines. It was one of the first places we stopped at when we arrived. Everything looked amazing but since we weren’t hungry yet, we decided to pop back later on since everything was so convenient to walk to.

Next we strolled up the street to peek into the little shops on Atlantic Avenue. Jamie accidentally left his jacket at home and the sky turned to overcast shortly after our arrival. We stopped in Sweetwater Trading Co. to grab a him a cute long sleeve Marblehead tee and search for an ornament. We started a tradition of buying an ornament from places we visit, even if it’s a day trip in our home state. They all get added onto the travel tree at Christmas.  By the time Christmas rolls around this year, I think we should have 4 new ornaments for the travel tree!

Old Town: I’m a sucker for anything Colonial and I have my sixth grade reading teacher to thank for that. She had us read so many books that year about Colonial times and that’s when I fell in love. My dream home isn’t a big and fancy new build — it’s a super old, creaky Colonial with fireplaces in all the rooms, wide plank floors and some ghosts haunting it (but only the friendly kind).

We headed back towards Erin’s house after our shopping downtown to check out Old Town. The second we turned a corner and I saw rows of old Colonial homes, I was in heaven. We walked somewhat aimlessly through the winding streets stopping to read the plaques on the houses and learn about their original owners. What a beautiful and interesting place to live! 

The Landing: As we walked down State Street and got closer to the water, we realized we’d worked up an appetite. Erin had suggested a place that was featured on Chronicle (a Boston area program with New England based stories) so when we happened upon it, Jamie and I decided to check it out for lunch. It was a little too chilly to eat outside but the view from inside was a great one of the harbor. The menu at The Landing has a lot of seafood but if you’re like me and not a big seafood eater, there were plenty of other great options. I went with the clam chowder, which was amazing (and one of the few seafood items I eat), and the spinach salad, also delicious. Jamie had the swordfish club and ate every bite. We walked the winding streets back toward the center of downtown and stopped to take more pictures along the way. Everything is just so beautiful, historic and quintessential New England.

Hideaway House: We walked the short distance back to Erin’s house and were sad to leave. Erin let us check out the house when we arrived so I snapped a few pics to share. It was so sunny when we first arrived and the house has the most gorgeous natural light. Jamie and I were immediately blown away by Erin’s decorating style and attention to detail. I left there feeling very inspired and plan on making a few design changes in our home thanks to our visit. 

The custom built in in the living room was the prettiest color and so functional. I love the pop of leopard!

I love a bright kitchen and this one was no exception. 

The bedrooms were great sizes and were bright and cheery.

I really loved the boldness in both the half bath, with the cool fish wallpaper, and the pretty blue tile in the full bath.

Erin knocked it out of the park! She almost ended up with a couple of squatters on her hands, haha! 

Just at the end of Hideaway House’s driveway is a little town square and the MOST ADORABLE Chamber of Commerce Information Center you’ve ever seen. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of it but there’s a couple of glimpses of it from their Facebook page here and here.

Directly, and I mean directly, across the street is a little plaza that had a Starbucks and a 7-11. Super convenient for grabbing a quick hot drink (like we did when we arrived) or some snacks for your stay.

Just a block or so down was a cute movie theatre which would be a great thing to do on a cool fall night.

Other Tips: Erin also suggested going to Stowaway Sweets for a Raspberry Meltaway but I was so full from lunch, I couldn’t cram another bite in. We’ve added it to our list for next time along with The Marblehead Museum and Chandler-Hovey Park on Marblehead Neck. If the weather had been nicer, we probably would have picnicked there with some takeout but it was just a little too chilly for that.

Before heading back home, we stopped back at Shubie’s to get some dinner to eat once we were home and settled. We ordered a turkey BLT that came with a lemon mayo – delicious! We grabbed a coffee (which Jamie said was phenomenal), a tea and of course, a giant cupcake! I was too mesmerized by the desserts to think to take a picture, unfortunately.

We both fell in love with MHD and can’t wait to go back again!

xo,