Ailee Petrovic

Baby June 9, 2015

Isla’s Confetti-Filled First Birthday Party

We celebrated Isla’s first birthday on Saturday with a confetti-filled party at our house. I originally had another theme in mind, but when I saw this Stella McCartney Bell Party Dress on Instagram, I knew I had to change my plans. I immediately contacted Papellerie, the creative team behind our wedding stationery (see photos here), to see what sort of fun invitation they could think up. Needless to say, I am obsessed with how they turned out. Riley (our designer) did such an incredible job making my visions come to life. She is incredibly talented. We had custom confetti from The Confetti Bar inside each invitation – with little Isla confetti made by Meredith of Cake & Confetti. I love them!

The party went without a hitch, which I was so grateful for. We packed over 60 adults and 20 kids into our little one-story house and into the backyard (my prayers for sunshine worked!). Sasha and I were both on cloud nine after the party – there is no greater feeling than seeing all of our closest family and friends in one place!

A lot of work went into this party, and I want to say a special thanks to Meredith (mentioned above). She spent oodles of hours making a balloon arch, flowers, bubbles, confetti, signs, etc. and helping me set up on the Friday before. She is a force to be reckoned with, and I suggest that anyone in Houston who is planning a party contact her! Also, thank you to Riley for the invitations. You are amazing. Thank you to Leah Burke of The Monogram Shop, who met with me to brainstorm creative customization options for the party. We ordered our adorable frosted cups and beer koozies (both which were big hits!) from them, and I recommend anyone in the Houston-area stop by when planning a party. Last, but not least, thank you to my mom, who made both of the confetti cakes and also sewed the purple runner on our dining table in a matter of minutes on the Friday before the party. She puts Martha to shame!

I finally finished putting away all of the leftover confetti, favors, honeycomb balls, etc. yesterday, and I’m sad to see all of the bright colors leave our house. I wish that balloon arch was a permanent fixture around here! I already have Isla’s 2nd birthday party theme in my mind (yup, I’m insane!). Time to get pinning! xo

Personal June 8, 2015

Week in Review

Whew, what a week! We celebrated Isla’s first birthday on Thursday, then busied ourselves until midnight on Friday prepping for Isla’s confetti-themed party on Saturday. My sweet, sweet friend Meredith (of Cake & Confetti) had me over on Thursday evening to make the floral arrangements for the party, then was over until 11:30pm on Friday helping to set everything up (including our insane balloon arch!). She’s insanely talented, and I cannot recommend her enough to help design any event in Houston!

Now that her birthday and the party are over (photos to come tomorrow or Wednesday!), I’m finally taking a deep breath (and plan on catching up with all my favorite blogs!). There are tons of decorations that need to be put away (but where?), loads of thank you notes to write and lots of laundry and cleaning to be done. But for now, I’m trying to soak up the feeling of not having any trips to organize or parties to plan.

Other highlights from the past week include:

Isla getting her first ‘You’re a star’ type ribbon at her gym class at The Little Gym of Memorial. The semester is over, so all the kiddos got awards for their outstanding participation! Isla just wanted to steal other kid’s ribbons. She’s such a sharer (yikes!).
Seeing so many family and friends at Isla’s party. It felt like our wedding, but on a mini-scale (by mini, I mean there were 60+ adults and 20+ kids, so not far off our wedding count!).
Watching Isla transition from mainly crawling and sometimes walking, to mainly walking and sometimes crawling. So cute! And scary.
Seeing Isla play with her new baby doll(s). She adores pushing them around in their little umbrella stroller. It’s the best. I don’t know why she didn’t have one earlier!
Having all of our parents and my sister over for family dinner on Thursday to celebrate Isla’s first birthday – she was very, very tired, so the meal didn’t last more than 30 minutes (and no gifts were opened!).
Wading pool fun with Isla after unpacking on Monday. She then proceeded to hop in the pool days later with her clothes and shoes on. Lesson learned: never turn your back. Ever.
Taking photos of two adorable little babies – Tucker and Pierce – two friends who gave birth to boys just days apart! I love it! I cannot wait to share photos from Pierce’s shoot soon! I got to snap a few photos of my friend Julie’s kids, Evie and Kerr, beforehand – they’re too cute!
Celebrating my friend, Brittany, at her bridal bruncheon at Ouisie’s Table. She’s getting married so soon in Vail, and it’s going to be gorgeous!
Spending time with my sweet sister-in-law, Ivana, who came to visit for Isla’s party. She lives in San Francisco (so jealous), and we cherish the time we get with her when she’s in Texas!

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Personal June 4, 2015

Happy First Birthday, Isla Milijana!

Today, my little baby turns one year old. It sounds so cliche, but I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. For her birthday, I bought her a little baby doll and stroller, which I of course gave to her on Monday as soon as I got home from Target (she doesn’t know the difference!). She has been pushing it all around the house and will stop to lean over, adjust her baby and sometimes get in front of it to put the pacifier in the doll’s mouth. My emotions don’t know how to deal with this level of sweetness. My baby loves her baby, and I love my baby so much it hurts.

So much has happened over the last year. Isla was born, then we went and lived in Colorado for two months during July and August, then traveled to Mexico City (our first time to leave her!), Sasha started working on a new client for work, and I quit my job. We traveled to Europe, took trips to Austin and New Orleans to watch two of our best friends get married, and enjoyed plenty of time together as a family of three here in Houston.

Having a newborn is so tough. I was reminded of that the other day. But I miss it so much at the same time. Isla is way more fun at one year old than she was at one day, and I love that her personality is shining through. She is definitely a wild child in the making, and it makes me laugh. She’s also so sweet and tender at times, when she’ll bury her face into a blanket and snuggle in my lap.

Isla started walking around her 11 month-iversary, then stopped for the first week in Europe. She’s back at it again, making huge strides (pun intended) around our house since we got home. I cannot believe it – I love watching her do the Thriller walk with her arms out in front of her (getting more and more confident everyday). She eats everything, but also loves throwing her food on the ground for Belle to eat (she calls her Bbbbbeh-beh and adores her). She especially loves water (even La Croix), almond butter, goat cheese, hummus, pasta, bread, strawberries and salmon. Isla is still breastfed 4-5 times a day, but I’ll wean her to two starting next week (wahhh!). She’s exclusively been fed breastmilk since she was born (but we have nothing against formula!). Isla has her bottom two teeth that are fully grown in, and the top two just broke through with the next two already becoming visible (thanks, Livi, for the warning!).

Isla is definitely more of a mover-and-shaker than a talker, but she does say “Baba,” “Dada/Tata” (in reference to Sasha) and as of the last two weeks, now says “Mamamama” (I almost fainted when I heard it). She also says, “Bubbles” which is hilarious because I LOVE bubbles and we have them floating around our house all too often. She loves her books, her lovie, her blankets, and recently, her pacis (aren’t we supposed to wean her? Woops). Isla really likes swimming (and wading in our new pool) – and I am right there next to her! It’s hot in Houston!

We are throwing Isla a confetti-themed party on Saturday, and I cannot wait to celebrate her with our closest family and friends. I’m getting some serious assistance from my friend, Meredith of Cake & Confetti, with the party! She’s amazing.

A few weeks ago, we had our family photos taken by Paige of Awake Photography (whom we adore). It rained for days on end before the photos, so the humidity was at an all time high and I was a puddle by the end of the shoot (my hair didn’t stand a chance – even though the most talented lady ever, Brittany of Butter Makeup, did it!).

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Personal June 3, 2015

Introducing Baby Tucker

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking newborn photographs for the sweetest little boy, Tucker. Tucker was born during the terrible floods that hit Houston recently, and the Morrison’s house had three feet of water in it when they were set to leave the hospital. I could truly not think of a more terrible situation with a newborn, but both Kelsie and Marty have such a positive attitude about it. Given that they are currently displaced from their house, we took the photos at our friend’s house. (Side note: Cuteheads is donating a onesie or tee for every order received in the month of June to victims of the floods! I just ordered that adorable chambray romper!)

I absolutely love taking newborn photographs, although these made me want to cry while editing them, as I cannot believe it was almost exactly a year that Isla was born (tomorrow will be her birthday!). They grow up so fast. Tucker was so itsy bitsy, and even then, he is almost two pounds heavier than Isla was! How is it possible she was that small? It’s crazy!

Hope you’re having a wonderful week so far. Here are some sweet baby photos to brighten your day!

City Guide June 2, 2015

Paris City Guide

Four perfect days in Paris. Ahh, is it even possible to accomplish all you want to see in such a short period of time? Ideally, anyone going to the City of Lights would have weeks on end to stroll through this gorgeous city, but knowing that isn’t the case for many, I’ve decided to write a four day itinerary (longer than most of my other City Guides). During these 96 hours, I’ve included nearly all of the must see places you’ve seen in movies and heard about since you were little, like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, etc. I also added smaller gems, like L’Orangerie and the Place des Vosges. You can see everything on a map here – I’ve also embedded it at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve been to Paris and think I’m missing some wonderful restaurants or sites, please let me know! I’d love to try new places when we visit next. Also, if you have any specific questions about this itinerary, please email me!

Bon voyage!

Day 1

Start your morning off early with breakfast and coffee at Les Deux Magots in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres area.
Walk by La Duree and stop in for a few famous macaroons on your way to the Louvre (cross over Pont du Carrousel) – the line may be long, but it’s worth it in order to see some of the most famous pieces of art in the world (the Mona Lisa may be underwhelming, but it’s still cool to see!).
If you’re hungry after walking around the massive halls of the Louvre, walk to lunch at nearby Cafe Marly or Claus (recommended by a friend who lives in Paris).
Stroll through the Jardins des Tuileries, and stop in at L’Orangerie for the most awe-inspiring Monets you’ve ever seen – this is one of my favorite museums in the world.