Ailee Petrovic

Week in Review November 2, 2015

Week in Review

Happy November! 52 days until Christmas! Can you believe it? I wish I was one of those savvy shoppers who had all of their holiday shopping completed by September, but alas, I am a last minute dash-to-the-store (ahem, order on Amazon Prime) people. The last few years, I’ve asked for practical gifts for Christmas, like things for Isla or for our house, and this year, I’m rebelling against that (much to Sasha’s chagrin – sorry babe!). Have you thought about what you’re going to put on your list? Do you even make a physical list or does your family and/or significant other just know you really well?

Last week’s Halloween festivities were a lot of fun and were kicked off by the ‘Mummy and Me’ party that my friend Destiny hosted (my post here and her post here with pictures). Isla dressed up in her cotton candy costume that I made last weekend. It was so big, and I laughed so hard I cried when she first tried it on, but I think she looked adorable!

Then, on Saturday (actual Halloween), we dressed Isla up as a cat in the morning so that she could get the most out of the day. Some of the kids at the Lifetime gym were so incredibly adorable, and I especially loved Olivia’s Minnie costume, Truman’s skunk costume, Kristine’s family’s Frozen costumes, Whitney and Milan’s fox costumes (an ode to their last name), Mila’s ballerina costume, and so many others.

The only low point of the week (besides all of the rain canceling even more family photo sessions!) was coming home on Friday after getting a mani/pedi to Isla having a huge knot and gash on her head. This is what happens when Daddy babysits while sports are on TV! Isla was climbing and fell face first towards our stone coffee table. The gash is still there and the bruise now looks green, but it’s definitely healing quickly thanks to my sweet friends’ suggestions (helpful hints here!).

Besides the tumble, our week was full of positive moments, including:

Taking photos for Destiny and Elly at City Centre – these two ladies are so gorgeous and stylish to boot. Love taking their pictures!
Doing family photos for the Goates in Katy. Nora’s cuteness kills me.
Having our photos with Paige Budde at Menil (sneak peek here) and then taking photos of our friends in the evening (see cute fake snow pictures below!)!
Having our cousins and their sweet kiddos over for dinner on Wednesday. It’s so fun for the kids to play together! Isla was up way past her bedtime and loved it.
Taking photos for Alex and Jessica at River Oaks District, which has the coolest backdrops ever, and I’ll be so disappointed when they’re all taken down in lieu of Cartier, Dior, Gucci, etc.
Getting my eyebrows done at Brows by Jackie in Rice Village. It’s only the second time I’ve ever had them waxed, but I’m working on the whole arched brow thing. We’ll see how this progresses!
Meeting my friend Megan at Sweet Paris to catch up and for hugs. I love her! So talented and never fails to make me laugh!
Attending a Andrea Montgomery jewelry event with some other lovely Houston bloggers. Andrea is so talented and incredibly sweet. I cannot wait to share more details from the event!
Going ‘apple picking’ in our yard! Isla is obsessed (understatement) with apples – it’s all she wants to eat. I strung them with wire and hung them in the trees in our yard, and you would have thought she had won the lottery when she ran full speed out of our back door. She took a bite or two from each one and pulled them down. It was so fun!
Watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for 15-20 minutes every night and finally finishing it – we loved it! We’ve now seen every Wes Anderson movie except The Darjeeling Limited. Have you watched it? There are very mixed reviews!
Reading Meg’s book – 99 Problems and a Baby Ain’t One – it is so funny. I was laughing out loud at multiple spots (with Sasha sleeping in bed next to me!). I recommend it!
Attending a Instagram Styling Workshop hosted by Cake & Confetti with Michelle Able – love this dream team!
Getting my first manicure/pedicure done in about 5 months at Paradise Nails – of course, I came home to Isla’s booboo and then had Belle (our pup) smudge my nails with her paws causing Sasha say, “It’s just not meant to be.” #momlife
Going to the Shop 1975 pop-up with Jessica in Rice Village and meeting the two sweet (and super stylish) owners!
Scouting locations all around town for a few hours while Isla napped and finding some fun ones to add to my photo guide! I rarely scout because Isla is normally with me, so it was nice to just drive aimlessly around Houston.

PS I read this post by Whitney today and love it. It’s about ‘living in the now’ and such a refreshing reminder that the social media pressures of today are so trivial and that life is about so much more than like, comment and follower counts. Thanks, Whitney, for sharing.

Décor October 30, 2015

“Mummy and Me” Halloween Party with Salata

On Wednesday, Isla and I headed to a ‘Mummy and Me’ Halloween party that our sweet friends, Destiny and Truman, were hosting in their new gorgeous house.

Salata kindly catered the party, which was such a blessing. It was so easy – we chose the Salata Bar, which came with lettuce, 12 toppings, three dressings (with the choice of 10), protein (you choose from four chicken, four seafood and three vegan options!), bread, croutons and pita chips. I swung by the store on the way to the party, and they had everything bagged and ready to go. It couldn’t have been more simple!

I absolutely love Salata (as do the other ladies who were at the party), and it was like having the entire restaurant experience at your house. The new online ordering platform (developed in-house by Salata!) makes catering orders easily customizable with the click of a button. Guests can quickly select their orders through the visual customization options and schedule on-time order deliveries. Other new offerings include new premium salad recipes, developed through a Salata employee recipe contest. Four of the winning recipes are now on the menu – Sweet & Savory, Green Goodness, Spicy Thai Crunch and Keen Wah Kale, with superfoods quinoa and kale. The combinations are available in the salad bowl, wrap tray and boxed lunch catering options. I highly recommend you order from Salata if you’re hosting a party and need to feed a lot of hungry mouths – they’ll love you for it!

Now onto the party – Destiny is seriously the hostess with the mostess. Every single detail was perfect! Her invitations were from Saturday and Ninth, and a lot of the decor was from Sweet Katy Lane. They only recently moved into their house, yet she opened up her doors for us amidst getting her kitchen cabinets finished (super mom!). It is already decorated so well – house envy!

So, are you guys ready for Halloween tomorrow? Are you going trick or treating or to any fun parties? Stay safe!

Baby October 29, 2015

Introducing Baby Lincoln

Last weekend, I had the privilege of photographing sweet baby Lincoln, who was less than two weeks old and the cutest little man. I’ve followed his mama’s blog – Veronika’s Blushing – for years now, but hadn’t actually met her until this newborn session. She is just as gorgeous in ‘real life’ as she is in photos – and sweet to boot.

Some of my favorite photos were those of Lincoln’s older sister, Harper, holding him for the very first time. She softly stroked his head, and it melted my heart. Plus, we let her bounce on her brand new bed, and she loved that too!

I’m sharing some photos from the session below – prepare yourself for some serious baby fever.

Personal October 26, 2015

Week in Review

Happy Monday! For those of you in Houston, I hope you survived the crazy storm that hit the state of Texas on Saturday. I had to postpone three family photo sessions due to the inclement weather, which is not ideal, but it may just have been a blessing in disguise, because I was able to catch up on editing, emails, house cleaning, ‘thank you’ cards, and DIY projects, like making one of Isla’s Halloween costumes.

Unfortunately, all of the rain caused Sasha’s boat to flood. It was stored at his parent’s beach house in Tiki Island (outside of Galveston), and it couldn’t handle all of the water. Sasha is very upset about it (he had planned on selling it soon) – hopefully we can salvage the engine before having to get it disposed of.

Besides the intense weather, we had a fun (and quick!) week. I finally weaned Isla (I know think it was just me who couldn’t do it before – more to come on this later!), and she impressed us by learning one new word or animal sound a day. Our friends told us that all of a sudden, they’ll know a heap of words, but we didn’t fully understand this until now. She says: Duck, turkey, bear, bee, owl, bird, “nana” (banana), “nack” (snack), apple, cheese, “nigh-nigh” (night night), thank you, no way, no (all too often!), book, ball, baby, bubbles, “bankie” (blanket), binkie, one, “mo” (more), Belle, Dada, Tata, Deda, Baba, Mimi, Papa, Nana, Mama and Mummy. She will use sign language for: More, all done, one and where, but her favorite thing in the world is to make animal noises for: Sheep, horses, dogs, cats, monkeys, lions, fish, and elephants. The latter is definitely my favorite. If you don’t have the Peek-a-boo Barn app on the iPhone, get it!

Some other highlights of our week include:

Photographing Veronika’s (Veronika’s Blushing) sweet new baby boy, Lincoln. I will be sharing my favorites this week!
Taking fashion blogger photos for Lauren Mills of Sunday Beach Blog, Elly Brown of Uptown with Elly Brown, Jessica of Feather Thread and Destiny of Truly Destiny. These four ladies are so gorgeous – I love photographing them!
Taking family photos for my friend Esther’s friend, Rima, outside of the Menil Collection on Friday (prior to the downpour all weekend!). Their son, Saul, was too cute!
Photographing two extremely attractive (and fit!) models at a Define shoot. I definitely went to the gym on Wednesday night! Ha.
Taking newborn photos for my friend, Annemarie. Her daughter was born very prematurely, so she’s three months old, but really just a newborn!
Taking product photographs for Willow Crowns‘ winter collection – the bows, clips and headbands are seriously too cute. I am obsessed! The launch isn’t too far away.
Going to Lifetime with Sasha (he is a member at 24 Hour Fitness) – I love when he uses my guest pass, and we get to be together!
Taking swim class at Dad’s Club. Isla enjoys the Mommy and Me class so much and is so confident in the water. She’s a fish!
Eating at two of our favorite spots: Ruggles Green and Garbanzos, and trying a salad bar restaurant that is less than a mile from our house – Sweet Tomatoes – that we’ve never gone to before!
Getting visits from the grandparents (except my mom, who is in Colorado). Isla is lucky to have everyone so close!
Going to a surprise birthday dinner for our friend Aaron at Benjys on Washington – the food there is incredible. It’s definitely one of my top three favorite restaurants in Houston. You must go and have to eat the Brussels sprouts!
Making a cotton candy costume for a Halloween party this week, and then ordering another from Carter’s for Saturday.
Shopping the amazing 40% off Gap sale with code ‘BOO’ – I did a little damage, but I have a Gap card now, so there are future benefits!
Finally buying two day Australian Open tickets for our visit in January. Sasha is very, very excited.
Splashing around in the rain with Isla’s new pink Hunter Boots – I have some in grey (but wish they were pink!). She loves the rain!
Finding fun skeleton flamingos for our yard – you can buy them here!

Are you on Snapchat? If you are, then follow me @aileepetrovic, and I’ll follow back! I ‘snap’ most of my highlights, so you can see them real time.

Personal October 19, 2015

Week in Review

Hello, Monday. I am so not ready for you. Where are these weeks going – or maybe just the weekends? To put my feelings about today into perspective: I’m currently drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee, which rarely happens these days (typically opt for decaf if I can). I’m very, very sleepy.

Besides being tired from a busy weekend, I’m feeling exceptionally grateful as I look back at the photos taken over the past week. We got to see some of our closest friends who live out of town, play tourist in our own city, eat at some of our favorite restaurants and celebrate a good friend’s birthday. This past week was definitely one of my favorites. Some of the highlights include:

Going to our third Rising Tide Society meeting (held at Ecclesia), and heard some useful tips from a local lawyer about contracts. I am drawing mine up now! I’m learning quickly how important they are!
Taking Isla to The Water Wall in the Galleria area for the first time. She absolutely was beside herself. All of the water and mist. She was so confused at first, then ran around and around in circles squealing.
Seeing my guest post on Say Yes to Happy here! I’m honored that Julie asked me to writer for her blog! I chose to share details about my blogging journey.
Eating a family lunch at True Food Kitchen on Sunday and meeting an Instagram friend who was eating right across from us!
Taking family photos at Centennial Gardens on Saturday with the most dapper little man! I can’t wait to share some of the photos.
Shooting maternity photos for a partner at my former company’s wife at Brazos Bend State Park. Sophie looks amazing!
Taking Isla for a fun play date at our neighborhood park. She is fearless and will just step off the platform onto a slide. It scares me to death!
Going to swim class at Dad’s Club. Isla is a fish. She loves it so much!
Having lunch with my sweet friend Joy at Dish Society on Wednesday and catching up on our endeavors. She is such a mover and shaker. I love it!
Taking Isla to the Houston Polo Club to see her favorite animal face to face. Her reaction made me tear up. She was so incredibly excited and kept walking around with her arms out, neighing.
Shooting Jaclyn at River Oaks District with some colorful backgrounds!
Getting to catch up with our friends, Andrew and Diane, who will be moving to Texas next year, and I am so excited. I love them!!! Andrew and I spent the summer today frolicking around Paris (blog here), and he’s one of my favorite people in the entire world.
Taking newborn photos of adorable baby Annie. Her mom was my sorority sister at Texas (both Thetas!), and I hadn’t seen her in entirely too long. I am anxious to share more photos form the shoot!
Going to my friend Danielle’s baby shower. Her daughter, Nora, is three months older than Isla, and is a hoot. She has so much personality, and all I want to do is squeeze her cheeks. I am very ready to meet Baby Girl Goates #2!
Eating dinner at Rosie’s Carabbas. The Insalata Fiorucci is my favorite salad in the city, so you know it’s a good week when I get to include it in my highlight reel!
Shooting some of my favorite fashion bloggers – Destiny and Lilly at CityCentre. They are both GORGEOUS, and I love their styles.
Having my older sister Karine over for dinner on Tuesday and getting to catch up with her over a glass of bubbly!
Celebrating my friend Kristen‘s birthday at The Shack in Cypress on Friday. I loved getting to meet some of her other friends. She is such a sweet, sweet person, and I’m so grateful for our new friendship.
Allowing Isla to have a donut in honor of National Dessert Day and being healthy again (12 days of medicine were probably more rough on me than her!).

P.S. My blog will resume its (hopefully) exciting, creative content when I figure out how to manage a family, photography business (editing takes so much time!) and a blog. Sorry for slacking lately!