Ailee Petrovic

Week in Review March 2, 2015

Week in Review

Happy Monday! As I mentioned here on Friday, the week flew by and then we had the busiest Saturday I can remember. We had Hollis’ first birthday party near our house, then Nora’s first birthday party in Katy, and James’ fourth birthday party back in town. Three birthday parties, coupled with some other secret stuff (that I hope to share soon!) meant that by 6:30pm on Saturday night, the entire Petrovic family was exhausted. All of the celebrations were so much fun, and the three mommas did amazing jobs with the decorations! I only got a few photos at Hollis’ and none at James’, as I was holding Isla for both of those parties. However, I got a ton at Nora’s and plan to share them later this week, as Danielle really outdid herself (check out her beautiful Etsy store).

I”m sharing lots of other highlights from the week (as well as tons of photos) below. It seems that I really like to photograph Isla eating and sleeping the most. I seriously could watch her sleep all day long (but she hates naps, so that is impossible). When she does go to sleep, Isla loves to be covered in blankets, lovies, Meg the Monkey and her favorite butterfly (one of these).

Moments to be grateful for:

Having cheese, wine, and truffle popcorn at our house with two sweet friends, Jessica and Brittany (host of this year’s Galentine’s Day) – I made them the raw healthy, vegan Oreos (renamed N’Oreos by my sister) which were eaten quickly!
Eating at one of my favorite spots in Houston – Tiny Boxwoods – with my friends, Melissa and Kiran (Good chats + Beet It Burger + White Wine Mojito – it doesn’t get any better than that!)
Going over to my friend’s house for a playdate with her son, Alexander – the lunch spread that Emma put together could not have been more perfect!
Touring First Baptist Academy’s Primary School with Marcy, the Director of Early Childhood – she is seriously the sweetest, and that school is unbelievable… we’re on the waitlist and I will be praying every night for those spots to move quickly!
Being surprised with a belated birthday flower delivery from a sweet friend – they’re the most beautiful pop of color in our kitchen right now!
Going with my older sister to visit our little sister’s apartment in the Med Center (she’s a student at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston – she requested frozen yogurt, so I brought (and ate) the best – Orange Leaf
Staying in on Friday evening with my sister to play Bananagrams – have you played? If you’re a logophile, you would adore this game.
Being talked into going to STRIKE! at Life Time Fitness – I haven’t been able to move my arms since Thursday
Going to church on Sunday – it’s always my the way I calm down after a busy Saturday/week, and I love Bayou City Fellowship so much
Visits from Sasha’s mom (Four days – lots of Baba-loving!), his step dad, and my parents!
Laughing as Isla learned how to master the straw sippy cup, which she did after a few upside-down attempts! Sasha at first thought it was too hard to sip through the straw, but was proved wrong!
More berry painting – It’s so messy, but Isla and I both love it! She kept trying to eat her masterpiece!
Stopping by Biscuit Home for birthday party gifts and being tempted to buy absolutely everything
Getting a new BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light in the mail, which is seriously incredible. We used it as a playpen temporarily on Tuesday as my sister and I prepped for a case study, and Isla loved it! I can’t wait to take it with us to Europe in May.
Watching Isla as she practices how to wave and point – my sister taught her to point at me when she said, “Where’s Muma?”

How was your week? What were the highlights?

Fashion February 27, 2015

Favorite Looks of the Week

I cannot believe it is Friday. This has to have been the fastest week of my life, and I didn’t get much done either! I’m excited for a fun weekend ahead, as I get to catch-up with a number of friends I haven’t seen in awhile.

From the freezing temperatures in New York City to the sunny beaches of Maui, my favorite bloggers were spread all over the place, so there is quite a variety in this week’s top ten. Given my absolute adoration of big bows, Julia Engel’s look definitely wins the #1 spot. I want her Kate Spade blouse so badly, as well as that scalloped coat (which I posted about recently here). Lauren of Murphy’s Law also wore a large black bow paired with a cream blouse while in NYC, and I love the whole outfit!

In honor of this week’s big bows, I am sharing a few of my favorite bow items – dresses, blouses, and swimsuits. One of my favorite items is this blouse from Forever 21 which is less than $20! This ISSA dress is a litttttle out of my budget, but I absolutely adore it. Are you into big bows? Which of these looks is your favorite?

FL5 1 Fancy Pants Report | 2 Murphy’s Law FL4 3 Pink Peonies | 4 Brighton the Day

Mom Talk February 26, 2015

Do As I Say And As I Do

Do as I say and as I do Mom Talk Advice Role Model Babies

You’ve probably heard the phrase: ‘Do as I say not as I do‘ a thousand times in your life. As a new mom, I keep on thinking about this adage and how flawed it is. Every night, I pray that I will be a good role model for Isla (and our future kids), and in order to do this, I need to act the way I want her to act. Therefore, my mom mantra is going to be ‘Do as I say and as I do.’

This statement applies to all aspects of life, from being kind and respecting all individuals to eating healthy and staying active. I cannot tell Isla to eat all of her veggies if I’m stuffing my face with pizza, nor would I be able to scold her for talking bad about a classmate if I constantly gossiped about my friends. Although many of the examples I can think of pertain more to a few years down the road, I know that I need to get into a good routine now so that she doesn’t grow up watching Sasha and I have bad habits.

One example of us getting into a bad habit is with our meals at dinner time. We spend a lot of money at the grocery store every week, buying organic veggies, fruit, meat, etc. to prepare all three meals at home. There is a delicious health food store and restaurant a stone’s throw from our house that is very reasonably priced, and so a few weeks ago, we decided to get takeout from A Moveable Feast every night (Monday through Friday) to see if we saved money by eating out (making our grocery bill significantly smaller). Not only did we spend less on food that week, it was such a relief not to have to cook dinner and clean the dishes. By gaining thirty minutes every evening, I felt like a new woman!

Food February 25, 2015

Healthy, Raw Vegan Oreos

My sweet friend, Mara, bought me an incredible raw, vegan cookbook for Christmas, and I have been cursing her every week for it (only kidding!), as I cannot stop myself from making these delicious desserts. In all seriousness, this book has saved poor Sasha from enduring the millions of healthy baking recipes that I tried to invent in my head for years – apparently there’s actually a science to these things and the recipes cannot just be winged like cooking!

I’ve been making most of the recipes following the exact instructions in the book, but yesterday I decided to go a little rogue on Emily’s ‘Raw Chocolate Cookies Sandwiching Vanilla Cashew Cream’ recipe and I’m so glad I did, as the result was phenomenal. I’ll call it the healthy, gluten free, refined sugar free, raw vegan Oreo (catchy little name, right?), or perhaps just vegan Oreo for short.

I’ve got to warn you, these will make about 6 cookies, but they won’t last more than 6 minutes (especially if you’ve got guests over)! These are definitely my new ‘go to’ items, although I won’t stop making my other healthy vegan favorites (Black Bean Brownies, Brownie Bites, Mini-Cheesecakes and Chocolate Beet Brownies).

Cookie Ingredients

3/4 cup of oats (gluten free if baking for someone with Celiacs or gluten intolerance)
2 1/2 cups of pitted dates (I use these which you’ll find next to the raisins and other dried fruit at the grocery store)
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of melted organic coconut oil

Events February 24, 2015

My Life-Changing Playlist

I started going to church as a senior in high school because of my best friend from Scotland who was living with us at the time and my boyfriend (and his incredible mom). I became a Christian the summer going into my freshman year of college after reading Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (naturally I really recommend it, but have Kleenex nearby). I was really, really into Christian novels at the time and went through over twenty of Karen Kingsbury’s books (amongst others). Although most of the reading was fictional, I was incredibly moved by the stories I was reading. I read less now, but recently finished Love Does by Bob Goff and seriously loved it to pieces – it’s an easy and moving read if you’re looking for something in that category.

Although I became a Christian going into college, my faith developed significantly during my time at The University of Texas, as I was attending an amazing church called The Austin Stone. The worship music was unbelievable. For my first few years, Chris Tomlin led the singing, and it was like being at a concert every Sunday (and the best one ever at that). I learned during my four years in Austin the impact that music can have on your soul. Singing worship songs did not end at church – my iTunes account is 90% Christian music, and I listen to it while I drive, work on the computer and workout. When I start to feel like nothing is going right, I’ll put on Lord I Need You. When I am needing a reminder that I’m loved, I’ll put on How He Loves Us. When my faith feels weak, I listen to Oceans. When I doubt God, I listen to Mighty to Save. When I want to dance around the kitchen with Isla, we jam to Marvelous Light or Like a Lion.

After an insane amount of thought and consideration (i.e. this started off with around 70 songs), I’ve created the 30 most life-changing Christian song playlist (according to moi). I had a great time making this, as I got to listen to all of the songs at one time. ‘Life-changing’ is a really bold statement, right? Well, it’s true. I am a completely different person than I was before 2006. These songs have had a huge impact on the person that I am today, so yes, ‘life-changing’ is right.

Mighty to Save by Hillsong United (iTunes)
Lord, I Need You by Chris Tomlin (iTunes)
What Joy by Generation Church (iTunes)
Desert Song by Hillsong United (iTunes)
It Is Well With My Soul by Aaron Ivey (iTunes)