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Week in Review

Happy Labor Day! I hope that all of my American readers are enjoying their holiday weekend! It’s funny how having one extra day in a weekend  can make all of the difference in the world. This week flew by even faster than others with a few photoshoots – one that I was in for a change (for this Bikini Body Guide review post). We broke bread with friends on a number of occasions, which always makes me happy. In addition to playdates and pool days, I would say this was one of my favorite weekends in ages. I wish it would never end!

Some of the highlights from the past seven days include:

  • Visiting with one of my favorite people on earth – Brooke – at our house on Sunday, and having Isla feed her a million Goldfish. She’s such a joyful soul, and I love her to pieces!
  • Having a playdate with Esther and Naomi at their gorgeous house. Naomi is such a little chatterbox. I love her! 
  • Swimming at our good friends’ house with their little ball of happy energy, Ellery. It was so fun watching her and Isla play… and by that, I mean determine whose things were whose. Isla kept pushing sweet Ellery off of her own chair! Such a little bully! 
  • Worshiping at Bayou City Fellowship and listening to Pastor Derek talk about Godly parenting. I was so inspired! I think I’m going to do a blog post on this topic soon!
  • Taking photos for my Bikini Body Guide review post with Paige and getting my hair and makeup done by Britt beforehand. Paige had a meeting to go to afterward, but Brittany and I ate breakfast at Sweet Paris in Rice Village together afterwards. I treated myself to a mimosa!
  • Eating breakfast at Buffalo Grille on Saturday morning with my older sister, Karine. I love their oatmeal, and Isla adores their pancakes! It was a treat to eat breakfast out twice in one week!
  • Finally getting most rooms in our house painted (we chose Benjamin Moore Classic Gray!) by Alvarez Painting. I didn’t quite think about how ALL of our stuff would get moved around, so the house was super chaotic, but it’s all back to normal now, and I love it.
  • Attending a Memorial High School cheerleading practice to chat about Senior Photos, and having some of the male cheerleaders put Isla into her first stunt! She loved the attention she was getting.
  • Going to Isla’s 15 month doctor appointment at Blue Fish Pediatrics. She weighs 22 pounds and is 31.5 inches long! She’s getting so big – it’s crazy! She did not like the three shots she had to get one bit. Poor baby girl!
  • Taking head shots and product photos for Nine0Nine Creative on Tuesday and Friday at Meredith’s house. Mother Nature was certainly against us, but we made it work! 
  • Meeting my former co-worker turned friend, Nastassja for lunch in Katy at Dish Society on Friday. I always love catching up with her! 
  • Decorating vegan sugar cookies (adapted from this recipe) with watermelon colored icing on Monday to surprise Tata when he got home from work! He ate them all in a matter of minutes.
  • Stopping by DEFINE and briefly catching up with Kasey, who gave Isla a grand introduction to the class she was teaching. I documented it on Snapchat (@aileepetrovic) – are we following each other yet?
  • Eating frozen yogurt from TCBY and getting some for Sasha and Isla at Orange Leaf – it was a froyo filled week! I also treated myself to a number of Sinfull Bakery’s Everything Bars from Georgia’s Farm to Market, which are seriously my favorite treat in the entire world. I would choose those over any other sweet or dessert!
  • Dropping by The Monogram Shop to pay for a gift I had ordered and picking up a sweet gift for Isla from Leah, the store’s social media guru. I love it! I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of Isla with her new bag, which gets carried around everywhere.
  • Eating dinner at our favorites – Garbanzo, Buff Burger, Ruggles Green, Rosie Carrabba’s – we are such creatures of habit, but have a list of new spots to try and are going to make a point to visit them soon!

How was your week? What exciting things did you get up to?

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Vegan Everything Bar

If you live in Houston and haven’t tried Sinfull Bakery, you are truly missing out. I first tried their delicious treats at Catalina Coffee, when I grabbed a vegan Everything Bar while checking out. i intended to eat only half at first, but on that specific day, I learned a very important lesson: It is impossible to only eat half of an Everything Bar.

Last weekend, Isla and I ran into Catalina while Sasha was at Martin’s Tailors (best in Houston!) getting new pants hemmed. Recognizing the fact that I could not get a coffee without reaching for the Sinfull treat, I grabbed a bar and decided that I would share it with Sasha (ha, well he ended up getting 1/6th). I looked at the ingredients on the back – all healthy, but some ingredients that I avoid from day-to-day, like flour and brown sugar. After church on Sunday, I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I make an everything bar?’ After all, these desserts are supposed to be just a gathering of lots of healthy ingredients from one’s pantry.

Alas, my everything bar recipe. This first attempt included a lot of: ‘Oh, that needs some salt…’ and ‘Yikes, too dry… needs coconut oil.’ Once they came out the oven, Sasha and I couldn’t keep our hands off them. I’m pretty darn proud of this Ailee-invented-Everything-Bar (as always, vegan and gluten and refined-sugar free). Please try it at home and let me know how it goes!DSC_0322

Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market

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On Satuday, I headed to the Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market (Eastside location) – something I’ve been meaning to do for ages and had never gotten around to. One thing’s for sure – I’ve been missing out. Enticing aromas welcome you when walking towards the long two rows of tents selling everything from brightly colored vegetables to fresh flowers, organic beef and vegan treats. I went with Sasha’s aunt, Zlata, who enjoys markets as much as I do. We left with a full (recyclable, of course) bag, stuffed with basil, portobello mushrooms, peppers, flowers (top left picture), limes, and last (but definitely not least) vegan pumpkin pie! I was giddy with excitement when I saw Sinfull Bakery‘s stand (my favorite), as I’ve been trying various vegan pumpkin recipes to little success, and wanted something tried-and-proven on that particular morning. Sasha scarfed it down when we got home and gave it two-thumbs up, which means a lot coming from a carnivore who eats eggs but doesn’t like desserts.

My favorite stands were:

Sinfull Bakery – as mentioned above, the vegan treats (and samples) are so tasty
Pat Greer’s Kitchen – I was handed a vegan sauteed veggie taster and it was heaven-in-my-mouth (need to head to her restaurant!)
Billabong Fresh Flower Farm – where I got my gorgeous flower arrangement
Utility Research Garden – the juiciest limes I’ve ever tasted
Shade/Canopy – I love the restaurants, so naturally loved the booth
Knopp Branch Farm – some of the best portobello mushrooms we’ve ever eaten
Revival Market – a little sneak peek before I headed there for lunch with friends on Saturday

My love for farmer’s markets dates back to my time in Austin at The University of Texas – I wrote an article for the UT newspaper, which was linked to here.

Have you been to your local farmer’s market?