Ever since we put in our outdoor kitchen, once the summer weather hits, we live outdoors! We’ve never had a proper dining table by the pool though, so this year I snagged the Camrose Farmhouse Dining Table as soon as it was available online.

I’ve been dreaming of summer for awhile so when we got a warm sunny break from the rain, I had to celebrate with lunch by the pool! My friend Katie came over and helped me set up this bright and beautiful lunch setting, I think she was excited about the sun too!

We layered the table with lots of bright and bold colors, and I have to say I’m in love with these melamine fish plates from Walmart. I found coordinating dishtowels for less than $1 that I used on the table as place mats. Who says kitchen towels have to only be used for drying the dishes?

The BHG Live Better galvanized metal serving tray and drink dispenser are the perfect combo for making a guest-friendly drink station.

I bought these BHG Live Better crossbar metal lanterns last summer but I use them all the time and they are perfect for a table centerpiece.

It’s not quite warm enough for swimming – yet – but I couldn’t help but buy some new towels for the pool. The BHG Live Better beach towels at Walmart are HUGE and they come in so many bright and beautiful colors! I draped mine over the chairs to make them more comfortable, and to add a pop of color.

So what do you say, are you up for a sunny lunch date by the pool? We’d love to have you join us.

Even the puppy came out to join us and enjoy the short-lived sunshine.

And now for the giveaway! I’m giving away a $50 Walmart gift card to get you all ready for bold & beautiful outdoor dining too. To enter to win, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite Better Homes & Gardens Live Better summer product is at Walmart. If you haven’t seen all the great stuff they have this year, you can check it out HERE. (Giveaway ends April 24, 2017 at midnight PST, winner must be at least 18 years old and live in the continental US).

If you need me, I’ll be out enjoying the sunshine!

And just for fun, if you want to see how we layered and created this tablescape, here’s you go!

Shop this Bold & Beautiful look:

• Camrose Farmhouse Dining Table
• Galvanized metal serving tray (available in stores)
• Galvanized metal drink dispenser
• Crossbar metal lanterns
• Extra large beach towels
• Fish dinner plates
• Fish kitchen towels (available in stores)

 Follow Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart to see what’s coming out soon!

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Disclaimers – I am part of the BHG Live Better Blogger Network; this post is sponsored by BHG at Walmart. All opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links, for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

The post Bold & Beautiful Outdoor Living appeared first on Ask Anna.

With shorter, cooler days, wouldn’t you rather spend time curled up by the fire, with a good book, in stead of heading to the grocery store to pick up things like cleaning supplies, sponges, shampoo and candles? I know I would! That’s why I am so excited to tell you about Grove Collaborative. With Grove I can stay cozied up under a blanket because they deliver the best, natural products (carbon offset) right to my doorstep, on my schedule. They remember my favorites, and remind me when I’m about to run out of hand soap or shampoo.

Plus, Grove introduces me to great new products that I never would’ve found at my local grocery store. My Fall favorites are the Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents – Apple Cider and Mum. The Apple Cider smells just like real apples, it’s tart and juicy, with the right amount of spice. The Mum is a warm floral scent that reminds me of a fall garden.

With Grove’s exclusive offer for my readers, you can experience Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents for FREE!

If you’re new to Grove Collaborative you can get the set for free, in your choice of Apple Cider or Mum scent, when you sign up using THIS LINK. Here’s what you’ll receive:

• Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal hand soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal dish soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal multi-surface spray
• Free Grove Collaborative Kitchen Towel
• Free 60 Day VIP trial

To take advantage of the offer, all you have to do is spend $20, here’s what your first basket might look like including the Mrs. Meyer’s FREE fall set, and some of my Grove Collaborative favorites:

If you’re already a Grove Collaborative customer they want to make you feel special too! You can get the set at 50% off when you use THIS LINK or click on the box below.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the free 60 day VIP trial! My VIP membership has paid for itself with free shipping alone, but with the VIP membership you also get perks like price matching, exclusive sales, personal service and free gifts!

If you want to take advantage of this deal you have to HURRY!

There are limited number of sets and they will go quickly so make sure you click the box below and head over there right now, to claim yours, before they’re gone!!!

Here’s how to get yours:

1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative HERE. You will receive the Mrs. Meyer’s offer for FREE when you sign up.
2. Answer 4 quick questions about your home that Grove Collaborative will then use to customize your first basket (it’s super fast and you’ll be surprised at all the awesome products they pick out for you!).
3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can finalize your basket of products to suit your household needs, by adding or removing items.
4. To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love, and want to receive in your first box.
5. You made it! Click Finish & Pay and place your order.

And because Grove is a company that likes to give back, light of everything that’s been happening with Hurricane Matthew, on top of this great offer, they are going to donate $100 in 10 reader’s names, to the Red Cross hurricane Matthew relief efforts!

Photo credit: AP Photo/David Goldman (WTHITV.com)

They will randomly select 10 readers, who join Grove, before this deal ends on Sunday, and make a $100 donation in their name to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief fund. How amazing, and generous is that!? It’s acts of kindness like this that remind me there are still good companies out there, they aren’t all just big box chains.

Tip to save: Once you’ve submitted your Grove order, be sure to sign up for the free 60 day VIP trial. You’ll get free shipping, free gifts, price matching, exclusive sales, and personal service.

HURRY before they’re all gone!!!

This post contains some affiliate links, for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

The post FREE Mrs. Meyer’s Fall Scents are HERE!!! appeared first on Ask Anna.

Last year I added a seating area on the deck off our living room, but this year I wanted to add some outdoor eating space too. I would LOVE to build a farmhouse table for this space but we’re a little project’d out this spring (after finishing up the bedroom/bathroom remodel and the downstairs floors) so for now I decided to go simple, and use one of our folding tables. Setting up my outdoor table got me thinking that it would be fun to show y’all how to set up an affordable outdoor dining area for your family too!

If all you have is a cheap plastic table, like me, don’t worry, you can still have a fabulous, magazine worthy table setting for your family and guests! Set the stage (and hide the table) by covering it up with a pretty tablecloth, like this indigo border tablecloth from the Better Homes and Gardens line at Walmart (only $11.88!). I love the colors of the table cloth and it coordinates perfectly with our breakfast nook on the other side of the wall. And you’d never know this was one of those cheap tables once it’s all decorated!

Outdoor dining should always be fun and these melamine plates and bowls are the perfect way to make it fun and pretty! At a mere $2.48 a piece you can set an entire table very affordably!

After you’ve got the plates set up then it’s time to add lots of serving dishes for the food. This bamboo serving bowl was less than $20, and I’ve used it for everything from salads to chips!  I also love these ceramic oval bowls because they are super cute and can be used to serve a variety of things too.

And of course every meal needs drinks and at less than $12 (what!?) this adorable drink dispenser is the perfect way to serve them. I use mine ALL THE TIME so I was stoked when I found the drink diffuser because now I won’t have to spend time picking berries out of the spigot.

And of course flowers; every dinner party must have flowers, and sunflowers are so “happy”. They are an inexpensive way to dress up any table and make it look like you spent a lot of time and money on it. But don’t worry, the secret is ours that we just set this entire table for less than $60, and I’ll be sure to use all these items time and time again!

I seriously love this time of year and I’m so excited to enjoy lots of dinners out here. Does your family dine outside when the weather gets nice? To help you set your outdoor eating area, I’m giving one of you a $100 Walmart gift card, so you can buy all this stuff AND have money left over for something fun for you! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win and GOOD LUCK!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shop this table –

• Folding table
• Table cloth
• Teal plates
• Bowls
• Bamboo serving bowl
• Ceramic oval bowls
• Drink dispenser
• Drink diffuser (in stores only)

Follow Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart to see what’s coming out soon!

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Disclaimers – I am part of the BHG Live Better Blogger Network; this post is sponsored by BHG at Walmart. All opinions are my own.

I have included affiliate links to the products I used for this makeover, if you buy through the link I get a small commission but you don’t pay a cent more than you normally would. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!

The post How to Set Up an Affordable Outdoor Dining Area appeared first on Ask Anna.

When choosing the flooring for the bathroom I knew I wanted marble hexagon tiles but I didn’t think about how much grout would come with an entire bathroom full of 2″ hexagons (oops!). Luckily I found this great No Knees Floor Scrubber that helps me scrub the grout, without having to get on my hands and knees (hence the name).

It even has a narrow head at one end of the scrub brush, to make it easy to clean corners!

Once I scrub the grout, and make sure it’s clean, then I can steam clean the tiles to sanitize them and make them sparkle!

The other new thing I was worried about cleaning are the marble counters. We have marble countertops in our kitchen but they are honed, so I don’t have to worry as much about them scratching. The very first time I cleaned our new bathroom counters I put a scratch in them – yikes!!!

I knew right away I needed to find a more gentle sponge to clean them with, which is when I found the China & Glass Sponge. This sponge helps me clean the counters, and get all the grime off, without scratching them, which is a HUGE relief! Now I just have to train my eye to look everywhere except the scratched spot, which is hard to do!

In our old bathroom we had a tile shower but our new shower is over twice as big, which means it has over twice the tile and grout to clean. As I mentioned earlier I’m not a huge fan of scrubbing grout so I found this handy dandy scrub brush to help me clean it quickly and easily.

I chose white grout for the shower, because I thought it would look nice with the white tile, and I definitely want to keep it white, so I’m glad I have my handy scrubber to help me out!

The other thing we haven’t had, since our first house years ago, is a glass shower door! I love the way glass shower doors look, but I also know they can be hard to clean, if they aren’t taken care of. I’m all about saving time and doing less work, which is why I got a window squeegee to clean the glass after we shower.

Using a squeegee to get the water off after showers, will prevent us from having a problem with water spots later on. (If you already have water spots on your doors, click HERE to learn the best way to clean them).

All of these little tricks and new tools will help me keep my bathroom sparkly clean for years to come, which makes me happy because I never want this room to look dirty or dingy! And guess what, I’ve got a surprise for you! To celebrate me finding fun new cleaning tools (something I get giddy about) I’m giving away 3 full sets, of all these Libman cleaning products, to 3 of you!!! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win and good luck!!! I know you will love these products because they will make your life SO much easier!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by Libman but all opinions are my own and all the cleaning results shown are real. I have included affiliate links in this post but if you purchase through them you will not pay a cent more than you would otherwise. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!

The post Bathroom Cleaning Tips & a BIG Giveaway from Libman appeared first on Ask Anna.

This year, as I started thinking about spring cleaning, I received an email from a new company that makes premium hydrogen peroxide cleaners. I love cleaning with hydrogen peroxide because I know it’s safe for my family, my puppy and the environment. In the past I’ve used it to clean toys, laundry, etc. but today I’m going to show you how you can use Pyoure hydrogen peroxide to spring clean every room in your house and I’m giving some away so make sure you read all the way to the end!

For starters let’s use my favorite free printable Spring Cleaning Checklist, it will help us make sure to not forget anything. For your free copy, click HERE.

The kitchen

Since the kitchen can be one of the germiest places in the house, it’s nice to know you can tackle, bacteria, grease, etc. with just one cleaner. Pyoure has lots of amazing scents to offer but for my kitchen I chose Cherry Blossom because it smells refreshing and clean, exactly how I want my kitchen.

I know it might seem strange to clean the kitchen with Hydrogen Peroxide because most of us grew up just using H2O2 for cleaning cuts, but a friend recently emailed me this blog post about cleaning with it, and now it’s the ONLY thing I’ll be using in my kitchen! (After you enter the giveaway make sure to come back because that blog post is a MUST READ!)

Note: Some countertops, including natural stone counters, might be bleached by hydrogen peroxide so make sure to text it in an inconspicuous spot first. It works great on my marble but I made sure to test it first.

The bathrooms

Now let’s move onto the bathrooms. Germy toilets and bathtubs are perfect places to use Pyoure but during spring cleaning it’s also great to use it to clean hairspray off the walls, dust and grime off the door trim and baseboards, the vents, and all the nooks and crannies around the sink, including the overflow hole (a dirty overflow hole is a gross pet peeve of mine).

In the bathroom I used Pyoure’s Cool Citrus Mint scent because it smells very clean and sterile, which is exactly how I want the bathroom to smell when I’m done cleaning it.

The living room

Once you’ve cleaned the dirtiest rooms in the house (or at least the most obvious ones) it’s time to move onto some of the most lived in rooms in the house. It might not seem like there’s a lot to spring clean in the living room but don’t be fooled! Ceilings, walls, light switches, windows, mirrors, and picture frames all need to be cleaned.

And don’t forget some of the dirtiest places in the room, the remote controls and the dog bed. These are perfect places for germs to linger, but you don’t have to worry because the H2O2 will kill them all!

The bedrooms

Next let’s head into the bedrooms. If we go through the checklist there’s lots of dusting, vacuuming and laundry to be done, but make sure you also go through the room and sterilize all the dresser knobs/pulls, door handles (including the closet), light switches, lamp switches, etc. I recommend the Sweetheart Bouquet scent for the bedrooms because it smells refreshing and inviting, something you’d want to smell coming into a bedroom.

The laundry room

Last but not least, let’s clean the laundry room. I always forget to clean the laundry room because it’s usually the washing machine doing the cleaning for me, but there are lots of things to clean in there. Start by wiping down the walls, cabinets, shelves, etc. These places accumulate lots of lint dust from the dryer so it’s good to wipe them down every few months. Then use Pyoure’s Laundry Day scent (of course), to clean the washer/dryer controls, the sink, the cabinet pulls/knobs, etc. You can also use it to clean the barrels inside the washer and dryer!

Using hydrogen peroxide to clean is a great way to not just clean your home, but actually sanitize it at the same time (make sure you go back and read the blog post I linked to above). It’s also a great way to save money because you can use it to clean everything from sinks, mirrors, walls, floors and even the toilet!

Who’s ready to start Spring cleaning?

This post is sponsored by Pyoure Premium Hydrogen Peroxide but all opinions are my own and all the cleaning results shown are real.

Save

The post How to Spring Clean Every Room in the House with Pyoure Hydrogen Peroxide appeared first on Ask Anna.