Snapshots – Page 20 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

ASP Wedding December 31, 2013

Shapshots of 2013

For the past four years, I’ve made an annual Shutterfly book that covered all travel and adventures for the year. I just finished my 2013 book yesterday, and it was extremely tough to keep it at 111 pages! I literally had to delete 6 pages in order to complete it. What an amazing year! We went to SF/Napa three times (more pictures here), Durango, Dunton Hot Springs, Boston, New York City, Miami, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Minneapolis, and Bali. We remodeled a house that became our home, got married and are now expecting a baby girl in 2014. I’m almost sure that fits the definition for ‘whirlwind.’

How was your 2013? What are you most looking forward to next year?

Click here to view our 2013 in snapshots (pictures below by Ryan Ray).

Click here to view my 2012 book. Click here to view my 2011 book.

International December 26, 2013

Cultural Bali in Ubud

On one of the last days of the trip, we took a day tour with Panji from Bali Safest Driver (I highly recommend him!) to a city in the central part of Bali called Ubud. Our newlywed friends, Julianne and Cody, joined us, which we really enjoyed. Ubud is rich in culture and very hippie – we met lots of intense yoga lovers while strolling through the streets. We went to the Monkey Forest and were greeted by hundreds of monkeys, which Julianne, Cody and Sasha all held on their hand, while one decided to lay flat on my head. Afterwards, we went to the Para Saraswati Temple, then to the Don Antonio Blanco Museum. Blanco was a very talented painter, but his art is very, very sexual. We got a good laugh at some of the intense descriptions at the museum. We ate the most amazing lunch at Melting Wok Warung – our second favorite meal of the trip. We went walking through the nearby markets afterward, then headed to a more upscale shopping street afterward. Exhausted after a long, hot day, we got back in the car and went to Seminyak for dinner. We ate appetizers at Chandi (our favorite restaurant where we’d eaten the night before), then ate our meal at The Bistrot. This restaurant is gorgeous – we all commented on how it would thrive in NYC or Houston (where we were both from!). I highly recommend it. Afterwards, we went back to the Conrad and subsequently all fell asleep immediately. One of my favorite days from the honeymoon!

The Bistrot in Seminyak

Snapshots December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you have a very merry Christmas!

“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.'”

Luke 1:35

picture via 100 layer cake | by paige jones

Baby December 20, 2013

Our Baby Girl

Sasha and I made a big announcement on Instagram yesterday – we’re having a baby girl! She is due on June 4, 2014. I’m 4 months and 2 days along now, and I feel good – I’m definitely glad to be through with the first trimester. All I can think about is baby clothes shopping and decorating the nursery. I’ve been scouring Land of Nod, Baby & Child, Hayneedle, and Pottery Barn Kids for cribs and furniture and being inspired by Taylor Sterling of The Glitter Guide (nursery posted here).

Her little shoes are Freshly Picked Moccasins – the first article of clothing I bought!

International December 19, 2013

Elephant Safari

One of our favorite activities from our honeymoon in Bali was the day trip to visit the elephants in a village north of Ubud. We booked our trip with Bali Adventure Tours, and we highly recommend any tourist book via this operator, as they treat the elephants very well. I’ve never played with elephants before, as they’re very dangerous when you encounter them in African safaris. These massive animals were far from threatening – they just wanted to be your friend (and I was willing to concede). We fed the elephants, then took a 40 minute ride through a park. Afterwards, we ate at the delicious buffet before seeing the show. The show leader emphasized that the elephants weren’t being paraded like in a circus, rather they were showing off their intelligence. And I believe it – they are so smart. We befriended another American couple, Julianne and Cody, on the trip. They were staying at the same hotel as us, and of course, we had multiple friends in common. This world is so small!