JD's New Puppy!

A couple of weeks ago our little family made a very big decision; we decided to adopt a puppy! JD has been asking for a dog for months now and we finally decided that it was time. We started our search about two weeks ago and this past weekend JD finally met his match. He picked a frisky, 4 month old terrier mix with scruffy hair and floppy ears. We got to bring her home yesterday and she spent most of the night resting (shelters spay their puppies before releasing them to a new home), but by this morning she was following us around and making herself at home. JD is super excited about his new puppy and has been so sweet to her. He insists on tucking her in and wants her to get better soon so they can play. Here are a few pictures of her this weekend from JD's meet-and-greet and on her way home yesterday (in a laundry basket). Once she's feeling better, I'll post some more pictures of JD's new puppy, Bailey!

Simply Klassic Sunday Linky Party

Kristin from a  Simply Klassic Home is having a linky party! This linky party is held every Sunday and home projects, crafts, tips, DIYs, makeovers, recipes, etc. are welcome.  I was really excited to to link up today and also get a chance to see some really amazing projects. For all the details visit Simply Klassic Sundays!

Preschool Rocks

I can't believe how fast time flies, JD has been attending preschool for a little over 4 months now! Those first few weeks of preschool were a little hard, not so much for JD, but for hubby and me. Allowing a complete stranger to watch your child no matter how qualified they are is really hard. But now looking back at our decision to start preschool early, we definitely feel we made the right choice. JD really enjoys going to school, although he doesn’t enjoy waking up. He has learned so much in the last few months. His relationship with his teacher is amazing and he constantly talks about all his friends at school. The school provides so much structure. There's a time to play, snack, relax, explore, go crazy and nap. Using this same approach at home has really helped to counteract the “terrible two's”. We can't wait to see what this school year has in store for JD because Preschool Rocks!

JD's Lima Bean Garden

Bookcase Desk

With hubby's home office almost done, I've finally had some time to work on my little corner office! I really didn’t want to take up too much room but I did need a space for all my shop supplies, a functional yet pretty space. With a crazy idea in my head I began searching for a bookcase. To my surprise, I stumbled across the discontinued HENSVIK Bookcase in good condition for $35 on Craigslist! I purchased the bookcase and covered the backboard with some fun gray and yellow patterned fabric. Then I purchased a pair of table legs and mounting hardware ($15) from Lowes. The next step was finding the perfect piece of scrap wood. Hubby had the brilliant idea of checking the “As Is” section at IKEA and sure enough we found an off-white ADEL kitchen cabinet door for $3.99! Now came the hard part (not too hard though), turning all of these pieces into a functional Bookcase Desk!

Hubby installed the table leg hardware (the table legs come ready to screw in to the hardware). After measuring the depth of the bookcase, we added two notches to the kitchen cabinet door/desk top making it easier to slip into place. We added a 1 inch piece of wood to the inside of the bookcase which was screwed into another 1 inch piece behind the bookcase to support the back edge of desk top. I spray painted the legs with Valspar's satin finish paint. We slipped the desk top into place and screwed in the legs. After getting all of my supplies organized, I now have my very own Bookcase Desk!

        

JD's Meatball Sliders

Getting a toddler to sit down, stay still and actually eat dinner can be challenging, even if you have a toddler that loves to eat like we do! In recent months we’ve been trying a few new ways of getting JD excited about dinner. We include him in preparing dinner, setting the table and recently we started making our dinners more toddler friendly and bite size! Last night we had meatball sandwiches for dinner and I purchased mini buns to make meatball sliders for JD. It was so amazing to see how proud he was of his meatballs and he really enjoyed his sliders!

JD's Meatball Sliders

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (or 1/2 ground beef 1/2 mild Italian sausage) 
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs 
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 10-20 mini buns (Trader Joe's)
• 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 pinch salt and pepper, or to taste 
• 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce 
• 1/2-1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef (or ground beef and sausage), bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 10 meatballs, place in a baking dish and drizzle meatballs with olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, toast the mini buns in the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted. While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. When the meatballs are done, cut them in half and transfer them to the sauce. Remove the meatballs, place 1 meatball half on a mini bun and and top with shredded cheese (you can hold the slider together with a toothpick). Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool and enjoy!

Toddler Snack Tray

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that I'm addicted to Pinterest, as I'm sure many of you are! I came across this pin a couple weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since. JD loves snacks and being the wonderfully independent child that he is, he will try to get things from the fridge himself. Sometimes he manages to get what he wants without incident, but that isn’t the case most of the time. So, based on the ingenious pin above I made him his very own snack tray! The tray has all his favorite snacks; fruit, grape tomatoes, cheese sticks, yogurt, carrots and juice. I placed his snack tray on the lowest shelf in our fridge, so it would easy for him to reach and everything in it is snack size, healthy and ready to eat!

Blog Makeover in Progress

You've probably noticed that things look pretty different around here! I wanted to start the new year with a completely new look, oh and a new name. I really enjoyed the name and baby makes three... and put so much thought into it when I started this blog in 2009, but our little family may eventually do some growing (we are totally getting a dog this year, hehehe), so why not change the name now! Quaint is one of my favorite words and I love it's meaning: strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way! Quaintly Garcia I feel is the perfect name to describe our little family and all it's quirks.

The minute I decided on this big change, I contacted my friend and amazing blog designer Kristin from Simply Klassic Design. Kristin is so talented and she took a simple idea and brought it to life, I can't thank her enough for making my blog so darn pretty.

There are still a few things I need to add, so please bear with me during this makeover and don't forget to grab my new button!

Home Office Decor from Target

Since we're focusing on one room at a time this year (hubby's idea) I'm on a mission to get the office done as soon as possible so we can move on to our next project! The office is really starting to come together, but it's definitely lacking in decor. Yesterday I made a quick stop at our local Target and came across a few decor pieces that are functional and stylish and I got them at an amazingly low price. Don't you just love Target!

Modern End Table

Retail: $69.99

Clearance Price: $20.00

Silver & Maple Task Lamp

Retail: $49.99

Clearance Price: $29.98

Baked Lemon & Garlic Salmon

Hubby has been requesting fish for dinner more often, so I've been looking for new recipes to try! I came across a really yummy white wine, butter and garlic sauce recipe and decided to add shallots and dill and try it on baked lemon salmon! It actually turned out pretty good, so I decided why not share the recipe. Enjoy!

Baked Lemon & Garlic Salmon

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets, bones removed
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 small shallot sliced (optional)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle fillets with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place 2 lemon slices on top of each fillet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove and tent with aluminum foil for 10 more minutes (the salmon will continue to cook during this time). While salmon is baking, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add minced garlic, sliced shallots and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in wine. Cook for 5 minutes or until sauce reduces by 1/3. Stir in fresh dill and remove from heat. Remove lemon slices from the top of the salmon and discard. Gently slide a serving spatula between the skin and the flesh of the fillet to remove the skin, it should separate very easily (I personally like to leave the skin on). Transfer to a serving platter and spoon white wine dill sauce over the top. Serve and enjoy! 

Home Office in Progress

It's been a little over a year since we bought our home and although we’ve managed to accomplish a few projects, we are nowhere near done.  One of our many goals for this year is to work on our home! Hubby and I have agreed that we will work on one room at a time (not the way I usually do things) and start saving for a few bigger renovations, like the kitchen and maybe adding another bathroom in the future. The first room on our list is the office, it has unfortunately become a junk room! With both hubby and myself going back to school this semester (one of the personal goals on my list), we definitely need a functional office space. This weekend we finally got started, we painted, we organized, we built hubby's new desk and hutch and now our junk room looks like an actual office. We still have to add some decor, lighting and get rid of the dresser pictured below but for now I have to admit it's a pretty cozy home office!

Before

After

Paint: Behr Natural Gray
Desk and Hutch: Magellan Realspace Office Depot
Shag Gray and Brown Rug: Homegoods
Leather Futon with fold down cup holders: Craigslist
 

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome 2012!

Although 2011 was a bit stressful it really was great year for our little family! We moved into our new home and learned the true meaning of DIY and yard work. Hubby went back to school while working full time and taking care of our little family; oh and he still managed to get really good grades, he's such a smarty pants! JD celebrated his 2nd birthday, started school and was potty trained. I celebrated my first year at my new job, opened my very own Etsy shop and actually managed to continue blogging! Well, 2012 has officially arrived and with it comes a bunch of new and exciting projects, adventures, milestones and even a few personal goals we hope to achieve. I hope you'll follow along!
Welcome 2012!

2012 Laurel Denise Planner