Ailee Petrovic

Personal February 23, 2015

Week in Review

I seriously had the best week ever, so much appreciation to all of my lovely friends who made me feel extra special on my birthday. I was surprised by the most gorgeous flowers delivered from my sweet friend Mara (of Hook, Thread and Tinker) – the only way I would have been more excited about the delivery would have been if she had been at my doorstep instead of thousands of miles away in chilly Chicago! I also got beautiful flowers from my three close friends from high school, and have them spread around the house, bringing happiness to various corners! It’s incredible the joy that florals can bring.

In addition to birthday festivities (more details below), one of my best friends, Kirby, was in town with her husband, Brett, and daughter, Lillian (more about this tiny little angel here!). I am so incredibly grateful for the time we were able to spend together (as they live in Oklahoma City), and Sasha is too, as he loves Brett.

We had dinner at her brother and sister-in-law’s house on Friday, then went to her parent’s house during the day on Saturday and celebrated Mardi Gras together at our mutual friend’s parents house on Saturday night. I wish they lived here so badly, but I’ll take action packed visits as a second best option any day!

Some other exciting things that took place this week include:

Getting treated to birthday lunch by my best friend, McKenzie, and her wonderful boyfriend, Bryan – we ate at True Food Kitchen, and I’m officially obsessed
Eating birthday dinner with Sasha and Isla at Rosie Carrabba’s, which is one of our favorite spots in the city (and his ‘Holy Ship, it’s your birthday!’ card still has be laughing)
Celebrating my birthday with my family at Benjy’s on Washington on Saturday for lunch – their beet hummus and Brussels sprouts are phenomenal
Meeting Sasha during his lunch break at Zoe’s Kitchen on Monday – his office is only 15 minutes away, so getting to see him for a bit during the day is such a treat
Going to lunch with two co-worker friends on Friday at none other than Ruggles Green – so much fun to chat with them, especially since the main topic of conversation was blogging!
Feeding Isla restaurant food – she had a chicken skewer at Zoe’s Kitchen, a grilled chicken breast at Benjy’s and Carrabba’s, and guacamole and quinoa from A Moveable Feast – it makes our meals a smidgen more expensive, but we love watching her feed herself like a tiny human (and these stick-on mats are necessary now!)
Sleeping – although Sasha and I both feel exhausted from the busy week, Isla has slept from 6:30 pm – 7:30am every night this week, and I’m praying it’s not just a fluke… I want to get used to that!
Planning the final wedding details with Amanda, who surprised me with gorgeous tulips, delicious vegan cookies from Whole Foods and an amazing card on my birthday!
Getting a manicure and pedicure at Paradise Nails while Isla’s Baba (Sasha’s mom) babysat – it was such a treat, and I’m definitely going to try to keep it up (typically terrible at this…)
Going to Sephora and being surprised by my birthday gift, which was two NARS lipsticks – my favorite gift they’ve ever given!
Catching up with one of my best friends, Paola, who moved to Honduras after their wedding in Mexico City last fall and I miss her so much it’s insane! I did not want to get off the phone!
Spending way too much money at The Monogram Shop – that place is dangerous (if you live in Houston, you need to go)
Spending the night at my parent’s house after the Mardi Gras party and waking up with the entire family there – my two sisters had spent the night too!
Buying and setting up new furniture for our bedroom as gifts from my parents – they also got me the Audrey Lamp, which has been on my birthday and Christmas lists for years!
Heading to Memorial Park during a patch of sunshine on Sunday and doing the 3-mile loop together (and Isla’s straw hat does me in every time!)

You can also follow along during the week by following on Instagram! How was your week? What were the highlights?

Fashion February 20, 2015

Favorite Looks of the week

There are certain times when I ‘give some serious thought to thanking my lucky stars I’m in Texas’ (Goode Co. reference for all you Houstonians out there!), and this week was one of them. I watched on the news as snow piled up stories high in Boston, and women ran around the streets of NYC in haute couture, freezing their butts off! We felt a dip in the weather at the beginning of the week in Houston, but are back in the high 60s towards the end.

The only sad part about the very intermittent cold weather (and this is me scrambling for cons) is that you don’t really buy a lot of fancy outerwear, as it isn’t required or worn for more than a week or two. So as I looked from blog to blog at girls in their gorgeous faux-fur vests, I felt a tinge of jealousy. Then, I saw that Maya of My Life as Maya wore one in California (post here), and I thought to myself, ‘I can still get one!’ So voila, enter vest shopping! Here are some of my favorite decently priced vests.

My most favorite looks this week are probably Maya’s because I adore her floral blazer and Rachel’s because how-the-heck does she look so good pregnant? Which of these looks is your favorite?

In case you missed it, check out my ‘10 things you may not know about me‘ post from earlier this week – there may be some surprises in it! Have a great weekend! xo

1 My Life as Maya // 2 Peace Love Shea 3 Pink Peonies // 4 Gal Meets Glam

Baby February 19, 2015

Celebrating Julie & Baby Kerr

On Saturday, I went to the cutest baby shower, honoring my friend Julie and her baby boy, Kerr, who is due in less than five weeks. There were a number of sweet hostesses, but the girl whose home we were at has the best interior design taste ever. I was seriously lusting at everything in their beautiful house!

All of the blue and red details of the shower were just perfect, as you’ll see in the photos below. There was a little adorable baby print with balloons on which guests wrote prayers for Kerr, which I loved! The guestbook was a baby book for people to sign, which was also a sweet touch. The invitations (by Haley Hardcastle Designs), cake and cookies all matched, and I loved the beautiful intricate design.

It was definitely a special party, and I cannot wait to meet Kerr. I’m going to be taking maternity photographs for Julie soon – I pray they turn out well! I’ve never taken any maternity pictures, but have been studying on Pinterest (naturally).

PS Y’all are seriously the best. Thank you for all of the birthday wishes yesterday! xo

Personal February 18, 2015

Twenty-Seven

Today, I am turning 27. I honestly feel like my 21st birthday was just two or three years ago, not six! Every year on my birthday, I reflect on my favorite moments from the previous year and make goals for the next. With the birth of Isla last year, I must say that it’s been my favorite yet (and that was by far the best moment). I definitely feel much older, but that is probably to be expected when you become a mother. I am cursing myself for ever entering a tanning bed, and am now venturing into the world of anti-wrinkle creams and heavy duty sunscreens. All fountain-of-youth suggestions welcome!

Apart from newly formed eye wrinkles (let’s call them smile lines for the sake of my birthday), I have had so many amazing moments during my 27th year, some of which include:

Celebrating my birthday party last year at Canopy with a number of our closest friends and family

Going on a mother-daughter trip to Washington, DC to learn calligraphy from our wedding calligrapher and getting to explore the city together (posts here and here)

Taking a girls trip to San Francisco (post here)

Personal February 17, 2015

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

Last year, Jenny Cupido and I connected via the blogosphere, and I’m so glad we did, as I love her blog. She asked me and a handful of other blogger friends to participate in a blog hop (started here) where we share 10 facts that our readers may not know already. You’ll find all of the participants linked at the bottom of the post. I’m honored to participate in this fun series. Some of my readers have been friends for years and years and may know all ten facts, but others may be surprised about some of these tidbits. I’d love to know if you learn anything new!

1. I have traveled to 6 out of the 7 continents – I still need to visit Antarctica, and while I’m excited to go, I don’t think it’ll happen for a number of years. If you like tracking your travels, you should get an account on Wolpy (unfortunately, the Wolpy map doesn’t show the mapped cities in mobile view). I’ve traveled to a number of cities, but only lived in Scotland, Texas and Paris (for a summer). I speak conversational French, but definitely need to brush up before our trip in May! The world is enormous and when you see it all mapped, it makes you realize there is so many places you still have to go to. Thank goodness for Bucket Lists.

2. I’ve never shared this on Snapshots & My Thoughts before, but my husband, Sasha, was on Season 5 of the Bachelorette with Jillian Harris. We still give him a hard time for it now – I’m so glad that she stopped giving him roses! It’s funny because we watched a lot of Love It or List It Too (for which she’s a host) while in Durango, and now I absolutely love Jillian. I like to think I’m his unicorn! Sasha and I met while working for the same global consulting firm. We were both on a project in Oklahoma City – I love how our paths aligned. We also went to the same high school… only we were 7 years apart!