The Wonderful Life of the Parkers

Dove Chocolate Discoveries

Like pretty much every other woman out there - I LOVE me some chocolate.

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate, I want it all!

I was super excited to be able to work with Dove Chocolate Discoveries.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries was started in February of 2007 by the Mars Candy Company, so while you are enjoying their candy, you know you are getting the best!

Angela, with Dove Chocolate Discoveries sent us a few samples of some of their wonderful products to review.

The first thing I tore into to try was the sea salted caramels.

I had heard of these on tv and how absolutely delicious they were! My hubby helped me out with trying these!

The Sea Salted Caramel Collection includes both milk and dark chocolates. Each one has a different kind of sea salt sprinkled on top. You may be thinking- salt and chocolate?

They make the perfect combination! Its hard to describe the heavenly flavors that engulf your taste buds.

The next item we tried out was the Dark Chocolate Mousse kit.

This was so simple to make! All you needed to purchase was heavy whipping cream!

First you just mix the mousse mix from the package with whipping cream. Whip it until it starts to form peaks and gets all fluffy. Then you chop up the chocolate bars and microwave them in 20 second increments until they are melted. Add to the mousse mixture and there you have it!

I decided to enjoy this with some strawberries :) It was just as good though eating it from a spoon!

Lastly we tried out the Vitalize Drink Mix!

There are tons of drink mixes out there so you may be wondering what makes this Vitalize so great?

Did you know that chocolate can be good for you? Chocolate includes cocoa flavonals and vitamin C! Just add a packet to your bottled water and shake!

They come in great flavors like Orange, Pomegranate, Plum Berry and Sea Salted Cocoa Caramel.

We tried out the Plum Berry. It was just a great flavor! It was sweet and very unique!

Dove Chocolate Discoveries has lots of fantastic products that you are going to want to check out!

Please be sure to head on over and visit Angela's website and facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/OklahomaDoveChocolateDiscoveries

http://www.mydcdsite.com/PUBLICSTORE/stores/angela/default.aspx

Creative Chaos

I happen to love anything personalized. Anything I can create and change around to make it my own just seems to be more than just a piece of jewelry.

I was super excited when Creative Chaos asked us to review her beautiful charm bracelets!

What I love about these charm bracelets is how different they are. When you think of charm bracelets, normally some sort of metal bracelets with these little hook on charms comes to mind.

Creative Chaos is different.

Instead of the typical metal bracelets, these bracelets are similar to a watch band with the same kind of watch band closure. I actually love it because my wrist is very small making it really hard to find bracelets that fit well! This bracelet adjusted to my wrist perfectly!

Instead of charms that hook onto your bracelet, these slide onto the band.

This allows you to change out your charms whenever you'd like!

Creative Chaos has a HUGE selection of charms to choose from! They have anything from crystal letters and hearts, to sports charms and flowers! The charms are made of Zinc Alloy (lead & nickel free) then Rhodium Plated.

Be sure to head on over and Check out Creative Chaos! They have much more than just these unique charm bracelets! They have lots of adorable clothing and other fun products!

Creative Chaos

https://www.facebook.com/adrianacreativechaos

DIY Cutie Pie Keychain

If you are anything like me, you love cute little keychains. Well..anything little and cute! These keychains took me less than 30 minutes to make, and they are so adorable!

Now don't limit yourself to making only little birds, you can make anything that you want! All you will need is a pattern to follow.

I was browsing Pinterest (because like any other lady, I am addicted to it) when I saw an adorable bird. Thats when I decided to make my own.

This is one of the simplest things that I have ever made, so if you are looking for something quick and easy to make, you have found it.

What you will need:

Different colored felt and fabrics,

Thread,

Split ring

Step one:

Draw your cute little thing. Remember that you will be layering fabric over fabric and you don't want it to be too thick, also remember that you will be cutting out several different parts of each, so limit yourself.

Draw with shapes, everything will have to be cut out. (I have added a photo of an elephant drawing if you would like him better)

Step two:

Trace the individual shapes so that you have multiple parts. Cut these out to use as your pattern.

Select your fabric and start cutting!

Cut TWO of your base shape(mine is the bird body).

Note-the lip that the keyring will attach to needs to be doubled in length so that it can hold the ring.

Step three:

Put all the parts together and see how you like it. If anything needs to be changed, NOW is the time to do it.

Any parts that will be on the sides(the beak and keyring tab) will need to be sewn onto the front
of the "second" body.

Step four:

Sew body together and add any remaining parts. I decided that the bird looked better without the belly, so I kept that off.

I stitched a small eye using black thread.

Don't be afraid to add anything else! Be creative and have fun with it!

Let me know if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them (:

Meet Emily

I'm super excited to introduce all of you to our wonderful new DIY blogger!

She'll be sharing some of her favorite projects and tutorials with us :)

Hi Married Life lovers!

I'm Emily, I'm 19 years old, and I am not married (but I will be in about two years, so it's all okay:)) My goal is to be a wife and mommy one day, but because I can't exactly do that right now, I'm going to school and studying business. I am addicted to Pinterest and reading blogs; I love chocolate, and cake, and icing. My hobbies include finding adorable things, making cute things, fixing old things, and gardening. My life verse is Jeremiah 29:11 which reminds me that God has a greater plan for my life than I could ever imagine.

EdenFantasys

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Simply Mad Jewelry

I am a huge fan of Jewelry! Its the perfect addition to any outfit!

Simply Mad Jewelry sent us this beautiful necklace to review. I'm also a HUGE fan of pearls. I love them! They are so dainty and beautiful.

They sent us a Wire Wrapped Blue Freshwater and Swarovski Pearl Pendant with a Sterling Silver Chain. The frame of the necklace is created using anti-tarnish wire so that it won't loose its beautiful silver shine. It contains 16 freshwater pearls in iridescent blue and Swarovski pearls in light purple.

Simply Mad Jewelry also comes with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. They are also open to custom orders! When you have a custom order, your order will not be recreated so your beautiful product will be one of a kind!

I'm SO in love with all their beautiful jewelry! Here are a few of my favorite pieces!

Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings

Wire Wrapped Pendant

Be sure to check out Simply Mad on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/SimplyMadJewelry?fref=ts

Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyMadJewelry

Preparing for a Great New Year

Every year, people around the world come up with "resolutions" or goals to help them plan for a better year. More than half of them probably don't reach their goals.

Last year, my goal was to become more organized.

Needless to say, it didn't happen. This year, I've decided to make it happen.

Thanks to pinterest, I've got lots of ideas to get myself started!

Pinterest can really be a wonderful tool.