I look back at the 1437 posts I’ve written on this blog, and think about all that’s happened in the past four years I’ve been blogging at Cozy Little House. I’ve gone through a divorce, moved to another state, had wonderful highs and crushing lows. My life has basically been laid bare for my long time readers. I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who’ve been with me every step of the way.

Yesterday I got an email from a woman in New York who said she found me on Pinterest. Starting last week, she said she started at the beginning and read every one of my posts. Now that’s a lot of reading! It is so inspiring to get feedback like that from readers.

Down every winding road and around every bend, I’ve always said my readers are the wind beneath my wings. And you are. When I’ve felt like sinking to the floor and just giving up, I had all of you there, steady and loyal, wanting to help or give advice or just a virtual hug. You’ve sent me lovely gifts and cards, and even sent me live plants to make sure I had a garden last year.

You’ve watched me tearfully leave a wonderful home and my two cats in Texas, where I’d spent six years creating my dream gardens, only to have it end in heartbreak and little else. You’ve read along as I’ve begun to live a whole new lifestyle here in Tulsa, learning how to pinch pennies. But having a sense of peace I thought was gone forever.

You were there when I broke both sides of my ankle and helped me through many months of trying to rehabilitate it. I’ve wondered at times, if the life I knew before July 9, 2012 is a thing of the past. Will I be able again to take a shovel to hard red dirt, and haul bricks and create something out of nothing? Maybe so. Maybe not. But I’ll find a new “normal.”

I still have all of you surrounding me with sisterly love and devotion, and daily you give me courage. You are the most loyal friends a girl could possibly have.

I have come to the point in my 5 years of blogging that I am ready to add like-minded bloggers to contribute to this blog. I want to, through their varied personalities and interests, send Cozy Little House on to a new level. Broaden the scope of it and look to farther horizons.

With my team of four delightful women, they will bring their locales and their diverse experiences and their homes and unique strengths to the table. And yes, they love the colors and details of decorating and style that I do.

Beginning in March, these four women will alternate Thursdays with a theme that will run for just that particular month. We will plan events to share with you, and instead of one mind devising ways to delight and entertain you, there will now be five.

Andrea Haywood blogs at Opulent Cottage. She lives in Dallas and we’ve been friends online for quite awhile. She lives in a small cottage with her husband. They are recent empty nesters, as their only daughter is in college in Austin. Andrea loves red of course, and toile and doing projects and decorating.

Judy Clark blogs at 20 North Ora. (Well, by now all of you know who Judy is). She lives in Tulsa and became my friend over a year ago (and saved me throughout my ankle surgery and the ongoing rehab). Judy is a licensed interior designer and decorates houses all over the Tulsa area. She is semi-retired now and loves to do projects. (And boy, are they fantastic projects!) She also is a wonderful painter. She has had a successful Etsy shop for nearly two years. And she loves red!

Dawn Cain blogs at Creative Cain Cabin. She lives in a lovely log cabin she shares with her husband and two teenaged sons. Dawn loves to decorate and do craft projects. And she loves red! She comes up with fantastic decorating ideas. And you’ll see even more of her log cabin that she and her husband built together.

Elaine Lewis blogs at Sunny Simple Life. She has four daughters, ages 4-21. Elaine is top notch at coming up with frugal ways to save money. She knows how to cook for a family of six on a budget. And she has the cutest chickens! And, of utmost importance, Elaine loves to decorate with red!

These four very talented bloggers will be part of a round table team, and will come up with their own series and special blog segments that we will all undertake together.

I hope you will enjoy this new change at Cozy Little House. Five women, four states and all living in different parts of the country. Five completely varied homes. But all loving the cottage, farmhouse, eclectic lifestyle. We all enjoy decorating and go junking, and transform furniture pieces we find on the curb. We love a bargain and thrifting and repurposing old pieces and turning them into new treasures.

Dawn, Judy, Andrea, Elaine and I look forward to bringing you the expanded version of Cozy Little House. We hope you enjoy our combined efforts as we travel this new path together. I love you all.