The Ask Anna Blog

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

One of my good friends had a birthday recently and I asked her if she’d like me to make her a cake. I think she started drooling when I asked her, and of course she said yes! She loves chocolate so I told her to check out my Chocolate Love board on Pinterest, and to pick out a recipe. There were a couple she liked but she landed on this incredible chocolate salted caramel cake from Martha Stewart. I’m glad she did because this is a cake I’d never made before and it was TO. DIE. FOR. I made the… Read More

How to Plan a Feast in 6 days

What?! Thanksgiving is just a week away! How in the world the time flies faster at this time of year, I will never know; but I often feel like I am in a pinball machine of holidays and events and parties this time of year. Getting it all done and still having the energy to enjoy the special times can feel overwhelming. And to be honest with you, I struggle with deciding what is important and what is extraneous (read: unnecessary). I also find I can get so busy doing, that I look up and suddenly the event is here… Read More

Gray and White Pantry Makeover

I am beyond excited to show you my pantry makeover! When we moved into our house my favorite room was the pantry and right away I knew what I wanted to do with it. In our last house my pantry (if you even want to call it that) was super small. It was basically just a well organized cupboard that functioned as a pantry. So when we looked at our current house and I saw this pantry, I swear I heard angels singing. The narrow shelves on the far left, are the equivalent of what I had before. When we moved… Read More

Thanksgiving Planning & FREE printables

If you are hosting Thanksgiving this year it’s guaranteed to be more fun and run more smoothly, if you plan ahead. Today I’m going to share a few tips for Thanksgiving planning that will help you turn your Thanksgiving dinner into a fabulous event! Menu Planning Food at Thanksgiving is one of the most important parts of the day so start planning your menu at least a couple weeks in advance. Because food is such an important part of Thanksgiving it can also cause you the most stress and anxiety. Planning ahead will help you avoid unwanted stress and anxiety…. Read More

Two Easy Ways to Organize Jewelry

Hi! It’s Wendy here, from Pretty Well Organized! I’m here today to share two easy ways to organize jewelry. Are you a jewelry addict? I know I am! I have always loved jewelry, even as a little girl. Cheep, fancy, costume, sterling…it doesn’t matter, I love it all. Naturally, I am also a part-time Stella & Dot stylist {so I have a LOT of jewels!}. I keep my “personal” jewelry separated from my Stella & Dot jewelry using two easy storage methods. Anyone can use these, promise. The first way I store my jewelry is in small 3-drawer storage containers… Read More

Thankful Banner

In keeping with tradition, every year I make a thankful tree. Two years ago I used real branches and last year I made a huge vinyl tree for the back of our front door. This year I thought I’d do something a little different so I made a thankful banner to hang in our main living area. I started by purchasing fake leaves at Michaels and then peeling the plastic spines off the back. After dinner the other night we went around and each of us named off things we were thankful for and I wrote them on the leaves…. Read More