My journey from dysfunction to cozy and thriving!

I grew up in a trailer park. The outside of the trailer was an uninspiring yellow with a stale brown stripe down the center. The carpet was brown, and no matter how many times you cleaned it, the sound of dirt clanked through the vacuum cleaner as it ran over the rough fibers. The walls were made of fake wood paneling, and the rooms were small, although they did not seem that way at the time. The alcohol was hidden, and if you weren’t accustomed to detecting the scent, you might not know it was a permanent fixture.

I grew up in a trailer park in a dysfunctional home. It was there I learned to find my coziness in the middle of chaos. When you’re young living in a trailer park, you don’t know it’s a ‘trailer park’, it’s just where you live. Now, there is NOTHING wrong with living in one. It’s more the choices and lifestyles of the adults that make a family live there that is typically the problem.

Within those faux-wooden walls, I would find relaxing activities or adventurous endeavors to occupy myself, my thoughts. Creating an ambience that fit each scenario was important to me, though I wouldn’t have known what to call it at the time. Security. Satisfaction. Contentment. The good tingles.

I left home unassuming, unconfident, and unimpressive. Four years later I had graduated from college in another state, but still hadn’t found my ‘place.’ Moving to yet another state, I went to college again, this time to be a pediatric nurse. It was during that time I met my forever girl. I liked it so I put a 💍 on it.

Apparently, I just couldn’t get enough school, because I applied to get my Master’s Degree through a USAF scholarship, and we moved across the country to attend college again. Then it was off to Commissioned Officer Training and my assigned Air Force Base. 

This was a difficult transition. Within the course of a few short months we (my forever girl, our dachshund Stogie, and I) moved to our new city, became an Air Force officer, nurse practitioner, and new father, then, I lost my father. 

It was a long process through all of this, developing confidence, a strong work ethic, striving to be the best husband possible, and a dynamite dad. I’m not saying I have all these things in spades, but these are things I concentrate on.

It took a lot of work to get here, and my forever girl and I have 4 littles whom I adore, and definitely live in a functional home (far from perfect, but lovely just the same – infinitely due to Mrs. Forever Girl! 💕).

I know countless people did not have a glamorous childhood, and many certainly had it much worse than me. I left the trailer park long ago, and have a healthy, fortunate life. But when life’s chaos calls, I still love my ambience. It is Linus’ blanket level cozy to my soul. 

As I’ve gotten older, my love of ambience has only grown. After all, when something latches on to your soul, it never really goes away does it. The kid from the trailer still loves his cozy, and is ready to take it to 11! And here we are, my cozy site. Welcome, and I couldn’t be happier you’re here! All the good things are best shared.

It is important to me to clarify something though. Coziness in itself is an external and fleeting comfort. Utterly lovely, but temporary and not enough. The true source of my contentment, and the foundation of my joy, from the trailer park to now, and always, is Jesus. He has my ❤️. Without Him, all the ambience in the world won’t fix anything. It’s a bandaid on a bullet wound. If you would like to know more, click here. If you have any questions, do please let me know.

When I first had the idea for this site, I was a little worried if I could find enough things to continually write on the topic of coziness. After all, how many times can you tell people about fluffy blankets, candles, soft music and pumpkins in Fall?

But, oh my friend, I have found an amount of cozy you wouldn’t believe! After utilizing my academic training (2 bachelors, 2 masters), completing copious research, and bringing on talented advisors/staff, we have unearthed enough coziness to last a lifetime of writing. So grab a mug of something hot and delicious, and join me on my calming adventure.