Events – Page 9 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Décor June 24, 2015

Cake & Confetti Turns Two

Photo (1 of 1)-27 Last night, I attended the world’s most perfect dinner party. Like flawless flowers, lust-worthy flatware, delicious food, tasty cocktails. Meredith, the owner of Cake & Confetti, knows how to throw a party. It is her job after all, and she knows what she’s doing. A group of her friends and fellow creatives got together at her house to celebrate two years of her being in business (did you read her #GIRLBOSS interview here?).

I had the honor of photographing the dinner, and of course, I immediately edited them upon getting home at 10:30pm (yup, I’m crazy too). I’m bursting at the seams to show the photos, but I can’t for now. I am able to share some of the photos we took a month ago to use as a follow-up to the big dinner party. Meredith’s creativity is endless. I love the 2 sparkler in the macaroons (although she did get slightly burned by the sparks!).

Baby June 16, 2015

New Favorite Baby Products (6+ Months)

In December, I shared my baby registry guide, which included all of the essential items for babies ages 0-6 months. Now that Isla is a year old, I’ve looked back on the list to see what new items would be needed for 6-12 months, and there aren’t many. Besides eating apparatuses, like clever bowls, spoons, cups, and snack containers, the list of items to buy isn’t enormous (hooray!). I’ve rounded up a few of our new favorite products that are appropriate for this age range, and I’m sharing details below.

After reading through, I would love to hear from other mamas about which products you’ve tried recently and love? Mom word-of-mouth is always the best!

Boon Suds Bottle Washer: As I begin the process of weaning Isla off breastmilk (begin is key here), I’m starting to introduce her to almond milk. So after not using bottles for months and months, we’ve pulled them out from the cabinets and are filling them up. Anyone who has cleaned bottles before knows how frustrating it is not to be able to easily clean down to the bottom, but with the Boon Suds washer, you put the bottle inside the scrubber and push down and it cleans the entire container really well (and scooshes water up, like a car wash). Watch this video for a demonstration. I highly recommend this – it doesn’t take up much space and the dishwasher will not get the milk stains off the same way!

Baby June 10, 2015

Introducing Pierce (And a Big Announcement!)

No, I’m not pregnant. I thought I’d clear that up immediately, as ‘big announcements’ are normally associated with telling the world this news!

We will, however, start this post with baby talk, as I had the honor of taking newborn photos for the cutest little man ever on Sunday. I know baby Pierce’s mom through a friend of a friend, and Melissa is one of the most gorgeous ladies ever. She already looks like she was never pregnant, let alone in delivery the week before. We took the pictures at their perfect house in Rice Village (another swoon), and Pierce was so well behaved! I always have the hardest time narrowing down the photos to share on the blog, as I want to show them all! Sweet little Pierce and his adorable friend Tucker both melt my heart, and after photographing two other baby boys recently (Kerr and Brooks), I have to say I’d be more than pleased to have one next (although a sister for Isla would be perfect too)! But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

My big announcement isn’t that much of a surprise, as I mentioned here that I was quitting the world of consulting to do photography, but today I’m sharing the link to my new site. So here we go (drum roll, please!)… introducing Snapshots by Ailee Petrovic! I originally had another name for the business (She Delights), but I wanted the blog and the photography business names to complement each other, and so Snapshots by Ailee Petrovic was born. The website is not super fancy, doesn’t have a bunch of bells and whistles, etc. but it serves the purpose for now. I imagine down the line, I’ll revamp, but for now, it serves the purpose well!

So with this said, if you know of anyone who is pregnant or just had a baby, I’d love to take their newborn photos! I’m also doing family sessions, and I’ve got a few head shots and other shoots lined up too. They can contact me through the site or email directly.

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

Beauty April 30, 2015

Houston Bloggers at Blush and Brush

Two Sundays ago, I attended an event at Brush and Blush, a blow dry and makeup salon in the Memorial area, that was put on by Uncork Events (the newest venture of Christie of KiKiMac). We were joined by four other wonderful ladies: Michelle of Michelle Able Photography, Jenny of A Fine Flourish, Meredith of Cake and Confetti and Kim of Champagneista. We started the morning with blow outs (getting shampooed in massage chairs, seriously!), and I really loved the woman styling my hair. I was seated between Kim and Meredith, and we had lots to talk about, as this world is so tiny and we have tons of friends in common.

As the ladies were finishing up with our blowouts, we had two makeup tutorials: a smokey eye and contouring. I was the model for the eye, and Kim took on contouring. I love how both looks turned out. Now if only I could replicate it at home!

As we were getting all dolled up, we spoke with the owner, Greer, who is seriously so sweet. The salon is only 2.2 miles from our house, so it could not be more convenient to go to (ideally every day). I definitely will have to go back to get beautified again soon. A special thank you to Christie for organizing the event, Michelle for taking these amazing photos and Greer for hosting us!

PS I wore my new J. Crew Perforated Crepe Dress, and it’s the most comfortable dress ever.

Follow these pretty ladies on Instagram!