You know what happens when you give a girl a surprise week off? She starts living her life like she's always going to be a stay at home mom and like she's never gonna have to work again! No joke, I got into total "never wanna work again" mode last week. It was bad and I was pretty bitter about today and being forced to work again! ha. Honestly though, no complaints here. I had the best week off! And we got soooo much done this weekend at the house.

On Friday, our trees got trimmed (that was a half day job for those poor guys) and then our counter tops got refinished! Our awful 80s laminate counters now look like a faux granite! They look AMAZING and have totally given our kitchen an updated look! We didn't want to get in the way of the guy plus the paint smell was so strong so the babe and I holed up at my parents' house and got so comfy that we ended up just staying the night. It was good! And I know my parents loved having that extra time with Violet. They're still texting me, wanting to talk about all the cute things she did at their house - like her new "grandma walk". SO hilarious and such a random thing for her to do but she'll walk around hunched over with a little smile on her face, like she knows how funny she looks. That child is a mess.

Cozying up at my parents' house // First one to pass out at the sleepover

Saturday, we went to the San Antonio Coffee Festival! We went last year (omg look at how little V was!) but it was like 80 in December and so not coffee tasting weather. This year, it was sunny again but much cooler and breezier so I was excited about that! And this year, we let V taste the coffee a little and she loved it! Apparently Ronnie's already been sneaking her sips of coffee for a few weeks now. (We're talking like a sip every couple of days; don't go calling CPS! ;) We're raising a little coffee lover and I think it's awesome! Then that night, Ronnie installed our new kitchen sink (we needed a new one badly) and poor guy, that took up his entire evening. So lucky to have such a handy manly man! ha.

Sunday was the day we acted as crazy people. Our precious child woke us up way too early so we dragged ass all. day but when we finally "woke up" in the afternoon, we decided we'd paint the kitchen RIGHT NOW! So we rolled up into Home Depot and finally chose a paint color. It was time for the two year old lime green paint to go! Pregnancy obviously made me color blind because back when we bought the paint, I swore the color was a mint, pale green...but when it dried, it was bright lime green. Total vom and so not us but we stuck with it only because being 9 months pregnant and prepping for a baby didn't leave much time for us or energy to re-paint! Major shout out to my MIL for watching V for the evening because we were finally able to get the painting over and done with! I chose a safe, basic tan which Ronnie yawned over but I love it! I wanted calm in our kitchen after the lime green insanity and I've always loved colorful accents so I'm looking forward to adding some fun things in there, including a wall dedicated to our coffee love! Can't wait to get started and show y'all some before and afters soon!

Ronnie calls them side-swept hipster bangs // Side pony. My new fave // Can't paint without wine

Now, Monday. I should be totally relaxed about the fact that this is my last week of work until after the holidays but in typical Jessica fashion, I'm stressed as all get out...Why? Because I suck at Christmas shopping this year and still have about 95% of my list to buy for! And there's only 9 days left. WTF have I gotten myself into?? Wish me luck, y'all!

House + bebe talk

I am finally moving my ass and getting into decorating our house. Oh, just over a year since we bought this place! Things have been looking bland and I HATE IT. I know Ronnie does too. We need color, we need things, we need it to feel cozier! I blame the fact that we moved into the house just 2 1/2 months before Violet arrived so we honestly have never had the time to properly decorate! So I've started picking up a few things here and there and was surprised at how many cute things I found at Kohl's! I haven't really shopped there lately but we had some gift cards from Christmas so we've gone a couple times recently. I've added many things to my wish list for when they go on sale ;)

I think just picking up small things like rugs and wall decor really gets me excited for bigger projects! Last time we went, I picked up these rugs, one for the entry way and one for the kitchen. They're both so so cute in person!

Chevron  // Striped

Then I picked up this picture for our entry way gallery wall that is finally in progress and I had to grab the frame for my desk at work.

I can't believe how much she's grown since those pictures were taken!

We still have so many more things we want to do to the house but I think next up is PAINTING!

We (as in Ronnie) painted the house right before V was born and we hate the color (remember?) and fully DESPISE the color in the kitchen (lime green that sampled pale but painted BRIGHT. Yuck.). So that's what's been going on in my hizzy. Hopefully this painting business will get done soon. As soon as mama gets her tax refund, it is ON! ha

Now, I'd like to take a moment to get all whiney and sad because it is exactly 3 weeks until my girl turns ONE. I had a full on sob session last night when I was watching videos of her on my phone. The one that really had me sobbing was this one from when she was 5 WEEKS OLD. She had finally started smiling and LOOKING at me and would just stare into me forever while I held her. Oh, my heart.

Please ignore my annoying voice (I'm pretty sure my nose was stuffy) AND please oh please ignore our horribly messy house! We were way tired ok and not in any condition to clean! haha

Guest Post: Corrin talks Target Designer Lines

Welcome, Corrin, one of my favorite Austin bloggers. She has the best taste in home decor, clothing, accessories and more...A stop by her blog always has me adding something else to my wish list. Just like I now want the vases below. Go say hi!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a good Target designer line (I won’t even admit how long I stood in line for a Missoni quilt last year). The latest, to be released in just a few days, is a line of home accessories from designer Nate Berkus.  
 

Nate Berkus for Target is what I call (and please excuse my lack of technical designer lingo) retro traditional with a tribal twist. He’s no stranger to mass-market design having a successful HSN line under his belt.
 

You can get a peak at some of the collection on Curbed. The pieces I’m loving are more accessories than necessities; treasures and chachkies instead of linens and drapes.

The sea urchins are a must.

As are the gold vases.

And I love the sculpture-like quality of this table lamp. A pair would look great in just about any room.

I have the unshakable urge to spray paint these tortoise shells gold.

Are you eyeing anything from the collection?

Corrin lives in Austin, Texas, and blogs at www.ohheywhatsup.com. She loves fro-yo, fashion, and can really cut a rug.