What Travel Journaling Taught Me About Creating a Beautiful Life
A few weeks ago, I was away at my annual Mastermind Retreat in beautiful Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Every year, I leave feeling inspired by the incredible women I spend those few days with, but this year something unexpected happened.
One afternoon, one of the women in our group invited us to sit down for a mini travel journaling session. This person was Millie and she owns a Fine Stationary and Bookstore in New Zealand called Mrs. Blackwell's Village Bookshop.
She unpacked a small collection of art supplies, handed us each some paper and showed us how she captures the places she visits through quick pencil sketches, handwritten notes, and loose washes of watercolour.
Here we are at the pier in Lunenburg enjoying each other's company.
I'd admired travel journals before, but I'd always assumed they were created by artists.
I certainly wasn't one of those.
Or so I thought.
For about 45 minutes that afternoon we sat together, sketching what was in front of us. Nobody was trying to create a masterpiece. We were simply looking at small details and enjoying each others company.
For the first time in a long while, I wasn't thinking about emails, inventory, social media, or my never-ending to-do list. I was looking at the way the light hit a building, the shape of a window, the colours in the flowers around us.
Something about it completely drew me in.
When I came home, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I ordered a few supplies, signed up for an online class, and started learning. I'm still very much a beginner. Every sketch reminds me just how much I have to learn.
But that's also become one of my favourite parts.
Every page teaches me something new.
Some sketches work. Others don't. Some watercolour washes bloom exactly as I'd hoped, while others become muddy little reminders that learning takes practice.
And somehow, that's incredibly freeing.
Slowing Down
The biggest surprise wasn't discovering that I enjoy sketching.
It was discovering how much it slows me down.
For an hour or two, my phone sits untouched. The list of things I should be doing quietly disappears. I'm completely present, noticing details I would normally walk right past.
It's become one of those rare activities that asks nothing of me except to be there.
I think we all need more of that.
More Than a Home Décor Store
We have now been open 8 years and have done a lot of pivoting along the way.
This experience also reminded me why I started The Lemonade Stand.
People often describe us as a home décor store or a lifestyle boutique, and while those descriptions are true, they've never fully captured what I hope people feel when they walk through our doors.
To me, lifestyle isn't just about decorating a home.
It's about creating beauty throughout your life.
It's the books you curl up with on a quiet afternoon.
It's taking a walk without rushing.
It's gathering around the table with family.
It's lighting a candle at the end of a long day.
It's filling your home with pieces you genuinely love.
It's caring for your body, nourishing your soul, embracing creativity, and making space for the little rituals that remind you to slow down.
That's always been the heart of The Lemonade Stand.
The products we carry may look different over the years, but the purpose behind them hasn't changed.
Every item is chosen because I hope it helps someone create a life that feels a little calmer, a little warmer, and a little more beautiful.
A New Chapter
As I've fallen in love with travel journaling, I naturally started thinking about how I could bring that joy into the shop.
This fall, you'll begin to see a thoughtfully curated stationery and travel journaling collection arriving at The Lemonade Stand. Beautiful notebooks, sketchbooks, watercolours, pens, and creative tools chosen with the same care as everything else we bring into the store.
I'm also dreaming about hosting relaxed journaling gatherings where we can learn together, encourage one another, and simply enjoy creating without worrying about being perfect.
Because that's the lesson this little sketchbook has taught me.
You don't have to be an artist to begin.
You don't have to be an expert.
You simply have to be willing to try.
If there's a stationery or journaling brand you love, I'd genuinely love to hear about it. Feel free to send me a message—I'm always looking for beautiful products to discover.
And below, I've shared a few of my very first sketches and watercolour attempts.
They're far from perfect.
But they remind me that every beautiful journey begins with a blank page.
