Young House Love: The Book

I follow so many wonderful blogs, but one of my absolute favorite DIY and home decor blogs is Young House Love (1 young family + 1 old house = Love)!  YHL has taught me everything from painting wood paneling to hard-wiring a pendant light.  I love following all of their DIY adventures. They truly are an inspiration to anyone looking to update, decorate, or completely remodel their home without breaking the bank.

Well, just when I thought YHL couldn’t get any "AWESOMER" (more awesome), they wrote a book.  The book will be released on November 6th, 2012 and you can pre-order it here now.  I'm really looking forward to its release, especially since there are over 400 never before seen photos and illustrations.  I will admit that I'm a little heartbroken that their book tour isn’t stopping in Los Angeles, I really would love to meet them.  But hey, maybe hubby and JD will like to take a trip to Portland, Oregon in January (hint-hint)!

Design ideas for every style, skill level, and budget, from the beloved couple behind YoungHouseLove.com

This debut book by bloggers Sherry and John Petersik is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up a home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts, 5 million blog hits per month, and an ever-growing audience since the launch of Young House Love in 2007, Sherry and John are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Whether an experienced decorator or a total novice, on a tight budget or with money to spend, any homeowner or apartment dweller will find ideas for his or her own home makeovers here. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

Packed with 243 tips and ideas--both classic and unexpected--every project pictured was exclusively executed for the book. With more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Adding a little wow factor to your home has never been more fun!

(Source: Amazon.com)

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!

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!

Kersti Kooiman Photography

A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of meeting and working with Kersti Kooiman, she is the very talented photographer behind our family photos, seen below! Kersti was referred to me by my friend Melissa and I can't thank her enough for referring us, I really couldn't be happier. Kersti took my vision and made it a reality. She has such a fun and upbeat personality and had such a wonderful way with JD. Her eye for details and her ability to capture true emotion are extraordinary! Here are a few of my many favorites.

Christmas Straw Flag Printable & Giveaway

When Kristin asked me to participate in her 12 Days of Christmas Printables Party I was more than happy to join in and I was also super excited to create my very own Christmas printable! I absolutely love paper straws, so I decided to make a straw flag printable using one of Moo & Puppy’s super cute digital scrapbook papers and give you a chance to win 30 red and white striped paper straws just in time for Christmas!

Please visit  A Simply Klassic Home for this free printable and to be entered to win 30 red and white paper straws!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my dad's birthday and I want to wish him a   

Very Happy Birthday!

A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she’s hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.

 A girl needs her dad To show her a man who’s good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.

 A woman needs her father Just to be aware,
He’ll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.

 You’ve been all these things, Dad. I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me.

12 Days of Christmas Printables Party!

I am so excited to announce that Kristin from A Simply Klassic Home is hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Printables Party! What does this mean exactly, well for 12 days starting December 1st Kristin will be providing amazing inspirational Christmas printables for free to all of our readers. I'm super excited and honored that she has asked me as well as a few other wonderful friends to join the party! There will be gift tags, scripture, banners, subway art, movie quotes and more! There will also be a giveaway and a linky party.

Please visit A Simply Klassic Home for all the fabulous details and don't forget to mark your calenders for December 1st!

Quaintly Amusing Giveaway

Cool Kids, one of my favorite blogs is hosting a Quaintly Amusing Giveaway! This giveaway is for a $30 gift certificate to my shop. I will be adding new items to the shop this week, so now is the perfect time to visit Quaintly Amusing Etsy Shop and an even better time to win a $30 gift certificate. Please visit Cool Kids for all the details!

Thanks to Cool Kids for hosting this giveaway!

From Follower to Friend

I've been blogging for almost two years now and I have been through good days, bad days and sometimes all around I want to quit days; but Friday I finally felt like no matter what, it was all worth it!

After JD's 1st birthday party a wonderful women named Kristin contacted me for ideas for her son Coop's carnival birthday party, it turned out that we not only had a love for planning the perfect carnival party, but a lot of other common interest and we actually only live about 20 minutes away from each other. We started an online friendship, exchanged emails on a weekly basis and even recently met up at a local flea market!

Friday Kristin started a new weekly feature on her blog A Simple Klassic Home called "You Inspire Me" and my blog was her first feature! Although I was really honored to be featured, I was more honored to read how she felt about me and about our friendship; as I read her post it brought tears to my eyes not only because it was so sweet but because I feel the same way about her. Kristin is an amazing and creative busy mom of two, who definitely inspires me on a daily basis and I thank God that blogging has brought us together!

You can read our friendship story here!

JD is a Real Life Cool Kid!

Today thanks to Betsy from Cool Kids Blog, I'm having one of those super proud mommy moments; JD has been featured as a Real Life Cool Kid! I've been following Cool Kids for about as long as I've been blogging, it's such a fun and fashionable blog. Betsy really does have an eye for super fabulous kids fashions and products, she has amazing giveaways and features some of the countries coolest kids. Please stop by Cool Kids and become a follower and if you have your very own cool Kid(s) send her an email, she would love to feature them too! Thanks Cool Kids!

Robot Invitation

JD's Robots & Rockets birthday party was this past weekend and I thought I'd share his invites and the inspiration behind them! I have to admit although I love making invitation they can be so very time consuming, so I'm glad this party was super small and I only had to make about 20 of them. I had an idea of what I wanted them to look like and I knew I wanted to include some type of tin material (I was going for the whole retro tin toy robot look), but had no clue where to start until I came across LovePaperPaint Blog; it was like Katie knew exactly what I had in mind, the invitations she made for her son's retro robot party were so amazing and I give her all the credit for inspiring the design behind JD's invitation. Thanks Katie!

Polka Dots & Pearls: Reusable Snack Bags

Last week JD received these adorable reusable snack bags from Melissa at Polka Dots & Pearls, aren’t they so cute! Melissa and I met through my Etsy shop a couple weeks ago and we both share a love for retro and whimsical party supplies. Melissa not only makes these adorable snack bags but also makes really cute bows, headbands, doll outfits and more! Melissa and her family are currently settling back home in Germany after spending some time on the East Coast, but she will be taking orders again in a couple of weeks!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy birthday, Mom!

May every second, minute

hour, day and year of your life

be filled with the kind of

comfort, security, and happiness

you give unfailingly to me.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Without you, there would be

a gaping hole in my life, an emptiness

that only your love can fill.

Thank you, Mom, for all that you do,

for the extraordinary person you are.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday and I wanted to wish him a Very Happy Birthday, he is by far the best dad a girl could ever ask for and I can't thank God enough for making him my daddy!

                                 

                                Daddy, 

You've always been there for me

And I know you always will be

You're the one who taught me everything

And you've helped me to see

That you're the one who made me

who I am today

By being that special person,

you know no other way

You taught me life's lessons,

About how to be a good friend,

About being honest

And playing till the end

Whenever I had a problem

You were always there

To walk me through it

Or to just tell me that you care

You were always my protector

Around you I felt so safe

No one could harm me

While I could see your face

I've always trusted you

You're the first man to hold my heart

Cause you are my father

And we will never part

I'm writing this to say

Thank you for being you

For always being there

For always being true

I love you dad

And today's your special day

So face your future,

I'm behind you all the way!