Every now and then, it's good to slow down and step into another time.
This weekend we spent the day wandering through Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, a living history museum that brings early 19th-century New England to life. Covering more than 200 acres, the village recreates what a rural New England community might have looked like between the 1790s and the 1830s, with historic homes, gardens, barns, workshops, and costumed historians carrying on the everyday work of the season.
As we walked from one building to the next, I found myself paying attention to the little things, the worn wooden floors, the simple peg rails, baskets hanging by the door, herbs drying in the kitchen, and worktables that had clearly been used for generations rather than decorated for display.
It reminded me that our ancestors didn't fill their homes with things simply to own them. Every object had a purpose. A butter churn wasn't decorative. A pantry wasn't styled for guests. A stillroom wasn't a trend, it was where herbs were dried, remedies were made, linens were scented, and the rhythms of home quietly unfolded.
Those are the the details that inspire me most.
As NATURAWL continues to grow, these visits are more than just day trips. They help shape the feeling I hope to create in our little shop, a place that celebrates the beauty of ordinary life, the changing seasons, and the traditions that once made a house feel like home.
Sometimes inspiration doesn't come from buying something new.
Sometimes it comes from remembering how things used to be.