Life Unfiltered in My 40s: Starting Over at 43 in a Forest Cottage.
From van life to building a forest cottage and a life that finally feels like mine.
I’m Annie. I’m 43, single, and starting over. After years of van life and a season of rebuilding, I bought an old RV in the woods and started turning it into my version of home.
This space is where I share real life in your 40s: starting over, simple living, building a forest cottage, and figuring things out as I go.
Starting over isn’t pretty. But it’s real.
I didn’t plan to start over (again) at 43.
After years of van life and a season that forced me to rebuild everything, I found myself creating a home in a way I never expected.
Not a perfect house. Not a finished life.
Just something real.
This is where I share what it actually looks like to start over in your 40s—building a forest cottage, learning as I go, and figuring out what matters.
Annie Wonderlich has been featured in:
Life in My 40s: Van Life, Starting Over, & Building My Forest Cottage
Daily life, building my forest cottage, van life, and starting over at 43. Follow along across all platforms.
For years, I lived alone in a van. Now at 43, I’m building a new life in the Pacific Northwest, turning an old RV into my dream forest cottage and starting over from scratch.