Ailee Petrovic

#GIRLBOSS September 30, 2015

GIRLBOSS: Megan of Willow Crowns

GirlbossMegan

I first met Megan this spring – the morning that we were both on Great Day Houston (alongside Esther, also featured in the #GIRLBOSS series). We chatted for about 3 minutes, exchanged each other’s Instagram details and just like that became real life friends (an important distinction in this day and age!). There are some people in life you click with immediately, and Megan is one of those people. We’ve had a handful of playdates in the past few months (hence lots of Isla photos on her feed!), and I am always ready to get the next one on the books.

Megan is an amazing business woman and the owner of a gorgeous hair accessories shop – Willow Crowns. Megan and her business partner, Stephanie, believe ” in good hair days every day,” which is easy when you a) have gorgeous hair like Megan and b) have a ton of amazing headbands at your fingertips.

Personal September 28, 2015

Week in Review

Happy fall, y’all! Can you believe that last Wednesday was the first official day? Have you bought a pumpkin yet? Brought out your Halloween decor? Drank a Pumpkin Spice Lattee? Worn a sweater? If you live near us in Houston, you’ll likely only have done max one of those things, given that it’s still hot-hot-hot.

We spent a few hours yesterday in our front yard doing gardening before Sasha decided it was miserable and that we should get someone else to do it (fine by me!). I’ve had a few dedicated yard days since we bought the house three years ago, but all were pre-Isla and while Sasha was in class, so it was just me working. I could never convince Sasha to get yard men to do the planting until he actually got his hands dirty! I would consider that a win (ha!).

Some of the highlights from our past week include:

Eating at Sweet Paris not once but twice – once with Megan and Olivia for brunch and on Saturday morning with Sasha! I got the Vegan and then a vegan parfait one, both are absolutely delicious! I could likely go every single day (and probably gain 25 pounds by doing so!).
Photographing a DEFINE Body shoot for next month’s Breast Cancer Awareness month
Meeting Elly Brown at CityCentre on Monday to shoot three outfits for her blog – Uptown with Elly Brown. She is so gorgeous!
Treating ourselves to a little Jamba Juice at Greenway Plaza while waiting on Sasha’s car being serviced (why does it always take 2x longer than promised?).
Going to Target for laundry detergent and lightbulbs and leaving with about 23 other things, including new blue pillows for our long couch!
Having a hair consultation with my stylist, Eric Vaughn, for a chop and Keratin treatment on Tuesday – then eating lunch next door at Salata.
Briefly meeting up with my friend, Joy, to give back Priya jewelry!
Going to the Houston Garden Center and Home Depot on Sunday afternoon to buy a ton of flowers, grass and ivy to redo our front yard, which has been severely neglected by me. After working for four hours, Sasha decided to outsource the work, and we’re getting an estimate on Tuesday! Ha. Gardening is not our thing!
Shooting with Kim Myers of Champagneista on Sunday evening at Highland Village.
Watching two movies (even one would be rare!) throughout the week – The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Aquatic Life of Steve Zissou – they took us 6 nights to finish, but we loved both, mainly the former! Wes Anderson is amazing.
Going to Isla’s swim class at The Dad’s Club, which is for sure a highlight every week. Isla loves the water! It’s hard to get her to stay out of the water when she’s dressed and ready to go home!
Photographing an Uncork event at the JW Marriott downtown and finally meeting the sweet and trendy Magen Pastor after following each other on social media for awhile! The event was so fun (loved catching up with friends!).
Testing technology with Meredith at my house and dying laughing over Google Effects – she caught the best photo ever of Isla wearing a monocle and having a halo. Hangouts are the best!
Running into my friend, Melissa, at Lifetime and convincing her to do the crazy BBG arm workout with me! She’s so fit! She then ran something crazy like 18 miles on the treadmill the next morning!
Playing tennis with Sasha at his mom’s neighborhood courts, while she watched Isla. I am not very good (understatement), so I had a lot of learning points from Sasha. Why is it always harder to be coached by your husband than anyone else? Ha!
Going to a wedding at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Saturday where Isla’s Christening was held. It was great seeing almost all of Sasha’s family, and the bride, Iva, looked stunning. My best friend, McKenzie, babysat while we were gone, and she did the most amazing French braid in Isla’s hair.
Getting one of our new favorite restaurants – Garbanzos – delivered to the house (I love delivery!!!). Garbanzos is the mediterranean version of Chipotle! We’re obsessed.
Meeting Sasha for lunch at Zoe’s Kitchen on Thursday after swim class and sneaking off to buy some things from Carter’s (which is next door). I got some new sparkly black shoes, which I love! It’s so nice getting to sneak in a lunch with Sasha during the week!
Having a fun little balloon party after buying another helium tank. Isla freaks out when she sees balloons – she LOVES them. I tied them to a candy bracelet, and she waved her hand around like crazy and was dying laughing at the noise.
Finally getting the last pieces for our bedroom and photographing it (post here).
Buying our first pumpkin of the fall, which Isla kept calling a “ball” and throwing it. I imagine it’ll be nice and smooshed inside.
Buying new fall clothes at Gap including a fun French poodle sweater for Isla (similar here) – ready for it to be a tad cooler!
Booking 10 family sessions in one week (which had a lot to do with this!) – I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I only have a few weekend days left in October and November, so email me now if you’re interested! Go to SnapshotsbyAileePetrovic.com for pricing details!

What were the highlights of your week?

Personal September 25, 2015

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month with Judy’s Mission

Last week, I got together with some fabulous Houston ladies for a short photoshoot to promote Judy’s Mission and increase awareness of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The shoot was organized by Megan Silianoff, who is the hilarious creative genius behind Megan Silianoff Writes (specifically books and a hilarious blog – Greetings from TX). Meg is an ovarian cancer survivor, which she discusses in her book 99 Problems but a Baby Ain’t One (it’s on my nightstand, up next to be read!).

Next month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which you’ll realize as soon as October 1st rolls around, as pink license plates, banners, t-shirts, etc. start appearing everywhere you look. This is amazing. There is so much funding and research taking place to help cure breast cancer – which makes sense, as it accounts for almost 25% of all cancers. I personally have close friends who are survivors and also know of friends who have lost their mother’s to this terrible disease and am impressed by all of the research taking place.

Décor September 24, 2015

Our Master Bedroom Redesign

Do you remember way back in January when I posted about my interior design process? I also included a rendering of my vision for our master bedroom redesign, which is pretty darn close to the final product (it only took 9.5 long months to come to fruition!). We recently got the house repainted, and I’m really glad we chose Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore. It’s as close to white as Sasha would let me go! Our room is pretty spacious (perhaps just given that our house is not big!), so last year, we decided to forego the office to make it a playroom and move my desk into our bedroom. I love working in here now that the redesign is complete. It feels calm and airy, with bright pops of color from our pillows, bookshelves and art.

Décor September 22, 2015

Planning the Perfect Picnic with Kids

Months ago, the idea for a picnic photoshoot popped into my mind, and I immediately began looking for the perfect blanket, as I knew this would be the starting point for the rest of the styling. As soon as I saw the blankets in Lindsay Marcella’s gorgeous shop, I knew I had found “the one.” Flash forward a few months (I posted about the blanket back in July here) and a whole lot of planning later, we held the picnic this Sunday at our local Spring Valley park. We invited our good friends, Jenny and Bailey, who, may I say, is the perfect little model. I adore her!

In addition to the blanket from Lindsay, we had unbelievably gorgeous cookies from Miss J’s Sugar Cookies. Jessie is so talented. I seriously did not want the girls to eat the cookies because they were so pretty, but alas, they won – Bailey knew she wanted a pink cookie (and got three!).

Nashville Wraps sent us the beautiful scalloped boxes, which I love so much (I’m a sucker for scalloped edges!). They also sent oodles of gorgeous ribbon, which I want to use on everything in our house. I made four little picnic bites for each box (in their own divided sections), which I’m sharing details about below. Two of my favorite details about the food were the adorable corn holders from Talisman Designs and the fun umbrella party picks (from Emerson Sloan via Meredith).

We also had berry baskets and clear juice bottles from Shop Sweet Lulu, as well as colorful plasticware, which I wrapped a napkin around and secured with a candy bracelet. Meredith of Cake & Confetti made vinyl lettering for the bottles that said “Sweet Like Me,” as well as creating “You’re One in a Melon” for the cooler that she lent us.

Leah at The Monogram Shop gave us a tray and ice bucket, which was perfect for the juice to be chilled in. Last, but certainly not least, were the girls’ outfits. Esther of cuteheads dressed Bailey in the Kennedy Seersucker Dress, and she made a custom design for Isla, which I adore. You can order this ‘Isla dress’ in any color or pattern you like, just send an email here! Bailey chose one of the Willow Crowns pink glitter clips for her pretty blond locks, and Isla wore my favorite navy heart clip.