The Shape of Things to Come…

THIS IS A SHORT POST TODAY!  NEW POST IS COMING AFTER THIS ONE!

The way that this world today is mind-boggling.  Never would anyone imagine that a little thing like a virus would stop the world as we know it.   

Two weeks ago, I was contemplating this stuff I had to do for my business, my home (spring cleaning), and time. 

I am not here to talk about the world and what COVID-19 is doing to it.  Unless you decided along time ago (as in 5-20 years) to isolate yourself from the world, to which congratulations are in order and live in a cave somewhere off the coast of The Caribbean on an island, I am here to talk about a different shape of things to come.

(c) 2020 by Pixistock.com

I am talking about this blog.  I have hinted this on the My Ambiance Life blog, and it is finally getting ready to roost. First off, the current blog of At Home with Tricia's Baskets will change names once again (hopefully this will be a permanent name-next time will be in the art of deleting it).  The reason has to do with how this blog was set up, and how it functions as of now. 

First off, I did a major scramble when Longaberger first closed its doors for what I thought was a permanent thing.  Anyone who has been following this blog for quite a while knows that I used to be a home consultant for the company, and the first thing I did after naming this blog was to get rid of anything remoting related to any sales on this blog.  I only left a couple that highly mentions Longaberger and any of its past products. I was not ashamed of selling for the company, I did not want to keep explaining to potential clients that the company was no longer in business, and I could not take their order if that was the end goal for that person.

I would like to invite you to look at the New Longaberger website, and the company will be run by Rachel Longaberger Stukey, another daughter of Dave.  When Tami was running the company, Rachel was behind the scenes running the Longaberger Foundation and attending the convention for consultants.   The company has a new owner, and currently, there are no consultants, only the website and QVC, that are selling the products.  As I stated in the past post, when the company starts requesting for consultant again, I will not be part of the salesforce.  I had my run, and I am working on my own company, P. Lynne Designs.

Second, The name will not reflect my name at all.  I know, shocking.  It will not contain the word, “baskets” in it either.  The name of the new blog is called, “Home Prep”.  It will be on the WordPress platform and it will talk about the home and family. 

Finally, the travel portion of the blog will have a new blog.  It is tentatively named D’Princesses Travel Blog.  You know what that means, Disney Travel first, the rest of the world and cruises later.  It will all be there.

This time, I will not be removing posts from the blog.  I realized that it was a big mistake.  I will not be changing the blog name on the old blog.  I am keeping the name, At Home with Tricia's Baskets and there will be a link to the old blog as well on the new one.  I fact, I will have a link to all of my blogs and websites on all of my blogs when I change, as well as affiliates. 

Here are the topics I have on Home Prep:

1. Organization:  This has been a running theme since I was writing in Simply Organized Crafts.  In this category, you will find:
1. Home-closet, kitchen, bedroom, and craft room (which was previously covered in my craft blog, P. Lynne Designs) are the main subjects.
2. Work-time management, office organization (which may be different than The home office)
2. Time management- Believe it or not, time management is part of home organization, and once you divide your time into manageable pieces, your life will be easier to manage as well.
3. Decoration:  Once you have organized your home, it is time to decorate, and not just any decoration will do, it must be on a budget. I am not talking about only Dollar Tree, but there are some really good deals in Target, Ikea, and even Pottery Barn, if you know where to look. There are also projects to make ordinary-looking items look like you spent thousands of dollars, when you only spent a fraction on creating them.

There is so much more.  These are only the major parts of the new blog.

Saying goodbye to summer 2019

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

I am trying to figure out where the time has gone.  Soon the 2010s will be gone, and we will be saying 2020 everything.  No longer the name of television once headed by Barbara Walters, or what your vision should be, 2020 will be a force to be reckoned with, and I am looking forward to how 2020 will treat me my family and friends, and my business.  Now, we are jetting towards fall, and I did not have a summer that was wonderful.   Swimming pools, vacations by the beach, and being patriotic will soon be replaced with teachers, making new friends, warm drinks, ghosts and goblins, and a fat bird named Tom.

September, the month for

• Going back to school (if you have not already done so)
• Labor Day
• And Autumn (Fall if you are in the United States)

Image by Goumbik from Pixabay 

Fall?  Already?

Yes, Fall (or Autumn elsewhere in the world).  We are talking:

• Leaves turning shades of brown, red, yellow, and a darker shade of green.
• Apple Cider
• Roasting marshmallows
• Blankets
• Fireplaces and fire pits
• Halloween and Thanksgiving (Pass the turkey, please)
• In addition to these major holidays, we also have
• Grandparents day
• Patriot Day
• The Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah
• And some cute little holiday like:
• Talk like a pirate day
• But we also have:
• National Potato Month
• National Chicken Month
• National Biscuit Month

Pull out your favorite chicken, biscuit, and potato recipes

• National Hispanic Month (September 15-October 15)

And for all of us who play the piano, National Piano Month

For those of you born in the month of September, you have:

Birthstone: Sapphire

Flower: Aster

And zodiac signs: Virgo and Libra.

 What I love about September:  It is a transitional month.  It transitions from hot to cool to cold in a matter of 30 days.  You start out in shorts and ended up in a nice warm toasty blanket and sweater. 

For food, that is simple, hot chocolate, soup (which is actually a winter type food, but you can start having some in September), and apple cider.  Towards the end of the month, Halloween candy.  It is also National Potato, Chicken, and Biscuit month.  So eat and celebrate all.  Cook up some of your favorite recipes with these ingredients, and you cannot go wrong.  You can also add them to your favorite Spanish foods because it is National Hispanic Month, starting September 15, and continues until October 15. 

Decorating for the season:

For decoration, it is time to break out the reds, oranges, yellows, and browns.  In Fall 2019, the trend is about architectural shapes, heavier weighted material, which includes an Italian feel in terms of textures and colors.  If you are on a budget, you can add one or two pieces to make it feel like you did a lot.  An example of this may be adding one or two pillows to your couch, chair, or bed.  You can also add paper lamps to your decoration.

The colors according to Pantone are Chili Pepper, Brick Red, Crème de Pêche, Peach Pink, Rocky Road, Fruit Dove, Sugar Almond, Dark Cheddar, Galaxy Blue, Bluestone, Orange Tiger, and Eden.

Fashion colors include caramel and merlot, but also purple, pistachio, hot pink and orange.

No matter what the month of September brings you, make it a good month, a blessed month, and get ready to be nice and toasty around the fire pit.

Have a great day, and God bless.

Changes are coming to this blog

So many Choices
Copyright @2018 The
Longaberger Company

Hello, and welcome to the new At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  It has been over a year since we talked, and I do apologize for being absent.  I decided to revamp this blog for several reasons, but first, I want to explain briefly why I have not blogged in that time span.

1)      I have been blogging.  Not here.  For those who follow me in social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube), know that I have my rounds as a crafter, writer, graphic designer, influencer, and now YouTuber.  

2)      I have restarted my YouTube Channel (never really left) but finding content for all my blogs and a YouTube channel has been challenging that I am willing to take.

3)      My family and I have had some health challenges in 2017.

4)      Finally, as of May 4, 2018, I am faced with an uncertain future as an Independent Home Consultant with The Longaberger Company.  As of this writing, I still do not know what’s up, and the news that you are hearing is of a temporary closing.  I will not know until they (the owners) send me an official email of what is the current and future status of The Longaberger Company. I know that I am angry that we (the sales field) was not better prepared, but an email is better than finding out when you place an order that your website was closed.

The last statement is what got me to see if I closed this blog or not.  I know I had downloaded a copy of every post written by me, in the form of a single file, so that I could purge this blog.  I am so glad that I forgot to do it, as I discovered 3 days ago. 

So, what is next for Tricia’s Baskets?

The last statement also had me thinking, “what if Longaberger closed its doors for good?”  Surely, everyone will find out through the news media, rather you are an employee of the company or part of the sales force getting that official email or a customer who has ordered from their consultant in the past, or visited Longaberger’s headquarters (Big Basket, Homestead, or their new place in Dresden, Ohio).  I want more from this blog than showing you how to decorate with or to buy Longaberger products.  There is so much information on decorating for your home, and I showed that to anyone who read my now closed Simply Organized Crafts blog.  I also showed you lifestyles for family living, as well as travel tips.  I want to transfer that knowledge to this blog.

I want to Introduce you to At Home with Tricia’s Baskets

This is the last post under the name, Tricia’s Baskets.  I am not getting rid of talking about Longaberger either.  The blog is getting a new name and a niche upgrade.  It will also be a little less “sales”, meaning I will not be placing sales flyers in every corner.  I think that is what turned people off from engaging in the posts and not fully reading them.  If a product is on sale, I will only provide a link to the article, and maybe say something like “Featured in this post”.  Something like that.

In addition to the way I present Longaberger products (if and when the company is fully back in business), I will also feature their sister companies as well.  I am no longer “Just a Longaberger product” consultant.  There are Tomboy Tools (tools made specifically for women’s hands), and Paperly (paper products, such as notepads, clipboards, business cards, and more).  I will also talk about decorating on a budget, especially with products from Ikea, Dollar Tree, Target, At Home, The Container Store, and Walmart as examples.  I will also include Amazon when it applies to what I am talking about.  I will include online coupon codes, but only if it applies to the post I am writing.  I will not have it as a weekly feature.  Finally, I will talk about travel, but since I do not travel every month, it will feature some tips like, “what to pack for a cruise”, “How to plan for your family vacation”, or even some Disney Tips and tricks.  This is just a sampling of what is possible for this change.

I cannot do this alone…

This blog is for you the reader.  I gave you my ideas and I want to hear from you.  I want this to be a place where you can get some tips, some tricks, and trends.  I will do my best to give you information on what is trending, but on a budget-friendly scale.  Not everyone can afford to Rose Gold everything, but by just having 1-2 pieces to start with, and when you can afford to get more, get the pieces within your budget.  This is an example of the advice I would present to you each week and your tip for this week. I also do hauls and starting “Come with Me” videos on my YouTube Channel, but it is not enough.

I want you to make suggestions.  If there is something that you have seen or want me to do, tell me in the comments area below each post.  You can even make these suggestions on my YouTube channel.

So, it is nice o be back, I wish it was on happier terms with concerns with The Longaberger Company, but I have faith that whatever happens with the company, there would be a reason for the decisions made, and I trust God for it.  If this company does continue, I will be continuing to be a consultant until June 2019.  I will explain when the time comes. 

Until then, it is time to revamp a blog.   Talk to you later.