Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017 | The Future of Kozy & Co

It’s hard to believe that this is it. The last weekend of the year. 2016 has held a lot of great things for me, both personally and in the blogging world, and while I’m looking forward to the new year, I’m a little sad to see this one go. I took some (much needed) time off from the blog over the last week to enjoy the holiday season with my family, and to really reflect on how Kozy & Co has grown this last year and where things will be heading in the future. For starters, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read what I have to share.  You’re support, your comments, your likes and love are my motivation, and I am grateful for each and every one of you. 

When I began blogging a few years ago, I never dreamed that it would go in the direction that it has. It was a hobby, a creative outlet, and my own little corner of the internet, where I could candidly share about anything that I wanted.  Over time and with many hours of hard work, Kozy & Co has become so much more for me. I have met, and become friends with, a number of incredibly talented and inspiring women, gotten to work with some of the most amazing companies and brands, and I have been blessed with some truly awesome opportunities. In addition to all of this, I have finally found a way to do something that I absolutely love, while staying home to raise my children, that allows me to help support my family.

There have been some questions (mostly from friends and family) regarding my “sponsored” posts, so I thought I would take the opportunity to explain a little. First, the elephant in the room… yes, I get paid to blog now.  Not all the time, but a fair amount of the time. Brands and companies like to reach out to influencers /bloggers to spread the word about their products (basically for advertising purposes). I try really hard to maintain my voice in these type of posts, while still educating you guys about the products that I am featuring. I will always disclose that these posts are sponsored, and try to mix them in with lots of non-sponsored content as well, but as I mentioned, they help to “pay the bills”, and therefor I will continue to write them. With that being said, I promise you guys that I will never agree to work with a brand simply for compensation. I often turn down offers that aren’t a good fit for Kozy & Co, and make a valid effort to “keep it real” when reviewing products. I have had people ask what I do if someone sends me something that I don’t like, and the answer is, I’m honest with the company about my opinion and I offer to return the item and/or I don’t share about it. Rest assured that if I’m reviewing something on the blog, the thoughts that I share about it are honest and not scripted in any way, and the product is something that I truly enjoy and think that my readers would too.

Now that all of that business is out of the way, I want to talk a little about the future. After a lot of thought, I want to get back to writing and sharing about the things that I enjoy the most. In 2017, I plan to post more about crafts, DIY projects, recipes, and our home. I plan to start sharing more style posts as well.  This is something that I’m not entirely comfortable with at the moment (thanks post baby[s] body), but will work on moving forward, because it’s something that I have been wanting to do. I will be scaling back as well.  In November and December, there were weeks where I blogged 5 days straight. This required SO much work, even if it might not always seem like it, a single post can take hours to put together (more about that another time). These last couple of months really drained me, so I have decided moving forward, that I will aim to post 3-4 times a week at most. Saturday morning Swoon Worthy posts will continue, along with 2 (sometimes 3) posts during the week. As always, I am totally open to any questions or ideas that you might have. If there is something you really want me to write about, by all means, send your ideas my way!

I am really excited about the upcoming year, and for some of the projects that I already have in the works. I look forward to continuing to share more and to creating appealing content. On a personal note, I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for our family… I’m willing to bet that there will be lots of exciting changes for us in the near future. I’m looking forward to (with apprehension, because babies don’t keep!) watching my babies grow and thrive, and watching my husband continue to grow and succeed in his career. I don’t necessarily believe in resolutions, but I do believe in setting goals and achieving them, and that’s what I hope to do in the upcoming year.

Whatever your goals or aspirations are for the future, whatever you set out to achieve in 2017, I hope and pray for nothing but the best for you all and I wish you a very happy and fulfilling new year!