To my readers and followers, happy new year and welcome to 2024, I hope to share another year of fun, ideas and inspiration from my home, my garden and my wardrobe with you. For new readers, happy new year and welcome to Modern Woman Old Soul!
About Me
I thought the new year would be a good chance to reintroduce myself to those who’ve been here for a while, and introduce myself for the first time to those who have recently found me. I started Modern Woman Old Soul because I love to write and I wanted to share my eclectic interests with others who might feel that they, too, have a foot in the past and the present. I have a wonderful husband and a three-year-old who inspire me and encourage me in so many ways. This year I have turned my back on the conventional 9-5 to explore my creative career options but also to be more present for them.
Gardening
I’m passionate about seasonality and in our garden we try to grow our own vegetables and fruit, more or less successfully, to supplement our meals. We buy the remainder of our fruit and vegetables from the local community farm, which sources produce from the farm itself, as well as sustainable organic enterprises across the UK, Europe and further afield for things like bananas. This year, as I am no longer in full time employment (I refer to myself as a writer, freelancer and homemaker, my brother refers to me as ‘retired’ – I am only 35!), I’m hoping to increase the yield we get from the garden as well as maximising preserving and storage. I am also on the waiting list for an allotment, as I would like to be able to grow larger quantities of staples for storing, such as potatoes, onions, carrots and so on.
Cooking
This leads me on nicely to the next thing you’ll find here on the blog – recipes! I’m a huge advocate of the importance of home cooking and making food from scratch. My meals are not very ‘cheffy’. I love to cook but I prefer to make family meals, traditional recipes and things that showcase the quality of ingredients such as fresh seasonal vegetables and sustainably farmed or caught meat and fish. I’ll often talk about how to cook things in my Everhot (an electric heat storage cooker) but all recipes are suitable for any oven.
Style
Last but not least, this year I want to expand my discussion of style – both in my home and my wardrobe. I’ve always loved clothes but have floundered for years, adopting others styles instead of my own or feeling that I shouldn’t spend time, money or energy on looking good. Recently I’ve realised that my love of clothes and of feeling ‘put together’ is as valid as any other interest or hobby and that, since we all need to wear clothes, we might as well enjoy what we’re wearing! I’m going to kick off my renewed enthusiasm with some posts on how I plan to revamp my wardrobe and some of my recent purchases that are bringing me joy.
If you’re in need of some inspiration on making the most of the cold and dark winter months, check out my post on Tips for Simple Living, and if you want to share your thoughts on posts or topics you’d like to see more of, let me know in the comments or email me at hello@modernwomanoldsoul.com.
Happy New Year and see you soon!
Heather xx
I really enjoyed learning more about you, Heather! Lovely photo of you at Polesden Lacey – I visited there for the first time recently.
I think your brother might be slightly off in his description of you as ‘retired’! It’s hard to be retired with a 3 year old!!
Thank you for sharing this post with Hearth and Soul. I’m going to highlight it in the Hearth and Soul Community on Facebook. Have a lovely week ahead!
Author
Thanks so much April, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. It is always nice to share a little more of the ‘woman behind the words’.