Look at my garden now!

I can't wait to eat that big beautiful tomato 

Jalapeno almost ready for salsa! 

Billy made a trellis out of PVC pipe to support our growing plants .
We have already enjoyed a few of these delicious cherry tomatoes.

"Purple okra", I can't wait to try them

"WOW", look at it grow!

It's so much fun watching the watermelon vines and cantaloupe grow

How cute is our baby bell pepper:)

"Wheatgrass" it will be so nice to have our own wheatgrass, it is so expensive in the juice stores. 

Crispy Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan is one of my family's favorite meals.
I have tried so many recipes and I have finally came up with my own way to make it.
No frying, so pretty healthy, hearty and oh so yummy!
My husband loves crispy eggplant and this is the best way to make it crispy without frying.
So many recipes say to add the sauce on top and then bake but this only leaves a soggy mess.
Bake and then broil with the cheese, you will get a crispy crust every time.
Then you can put however much sauce you like right before you eat it.
Bobby Flay's sauce is really good with the eggplant but it does take a long time to make,
 if you don't have the time to make the sauce, use a jar of your favorite marinara sauce.
Or you may message me for my quick and easy recipe for marinara.

I serve mine with BARILLA Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti.

Enjoy!

Velata is fun fondue!
 Scrumptious, premium Belgian chocolate warmed and served in a fun-to-use warmer.
No flame, no scorching, no messy cleanup!
Chocolate, strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels, oh my!!

Fun and easy dessert that everyone will love!!

Lizzie and Zane approve, they are now Velata fans:)
To order go to my website www.joparker.velata.us

It’s FINALLY here!! I am officially an Independent Velata Consultant! I am so is thrilled to start sharing Velata! You can now visit my new website www.joparker.velata.us
Message me to find out more about this delicious and fun new product!
Host a Velata Party receive FREE Chocolate!!
Join Velata and work for Chocolate!!:)
Enjoy the simplicity of this fun, easy and delicious product!
It's so simple, I love the fact that there is little clean up,
which gives you more time to enjoy with your family:)
Ordering Velata is simple too, just go to my website www.joparker.velata.us

Lizzie's 8th Birthday

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream for Lizzie's classmates

Need a cupcake carrier?
 Ask your local Kroger bakery.... I think each container was $2.50.

Slumber Party invites

I found the little girl image on google, printed and cut them out, then added eyes.

Found these cute socks at target and thought they would make a great sleeping bag:)
When the guest arrived at the party we gave them the other sock,
they were all so cute wearing matching cupcake socks.

Lizzie and I had so much fun making her invites! 

Mini Barbie Cupcakes

Everyone had their own cake with their names.
And they got to take home their dolls.  The girls loved them!

Center Piece 

I made sure the girls had lots of goodies:)

They each got a sleeping mask and pillowcase

They enjoyed decorating pillowcases

Homemade baked donuts......they were yummy!

Breakfast Menu: Mini quiche, fruit and baked donuts

Painted nails with nail art

Painted toenails with nail art.
Slumber party success!!! 

Before and After Reupholstered chairs

Before and After Reupholstered chairs

Lizzie's Vanity Chair
Before

After

Before

After

I had left over fabric, so I might as well go ahead and redo these chairs
(they only needed to be redone for six or more years now...haha!!)

Now I'm thinking I will paint the top of the table with chalkboard paint.
The top has been colored on and it's scratched up so I thought I would try it.  

Our Garden

One of our weekend projects, complete!  YAY!! We now have a garden. I always wanted a garden, it brings back so many childhood memories of picking the garden with my mom. I'm so excited to make these memories with my children. They already enjoy watching all the veggies grow. 

Basil

Jalapeno, tomatoes

Squash, Zucchini and okra

Cantaloupe and watermelon

Orange tree, jalapeno, more tomatoes, chile peppers  and grapefruit tree

thyme

My first BLOG! YAY!!

YAY!!! I have finally entered the blog world!! Please bare with me I'm a newbie:)

This blog will be about: my family, me, all the things we enjoy, our journey with Christ, being different (fruit loops hehe!!:), baking, cooking, gardening, kids parties, and decorating..  My husband and I own a Home Remodeling business, and I can't wait to show you some of our latest work.  We are always in the process of remolding our own home, I will soon post our latest project. And last but not least I am a proud Independent Scentsy Director and have now been a consultant for almost three years.  I absolutely love my job and I'm excited to share Scentsy with you.