Search Results for “san francisco” – Page 2 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal August 8, 2016

Week(s) in Review

Happiest Monday! We’re still here in Durango, but will leave in a few days. I don’t think we’re ready for the heat of Houston, but I’m missing our family and friends at home. We’ve got another trip to Colorado planned in early September (after a short visit to San Francisco!), so it won’t be long until we return.

Two of our closest friends, Brett and Kirby, drove from Oklahoma and got here early Tuesday morning with their two adorable kiddos – “Ohhhh Baby Henry” and Lillian (also referred to by Isla as “Livi” and “Olivia” for 90% of the their stay). We love them so much, and had such a fun week hiking, playing at the park, swimming at the rec center, going on long walks, playing Taboo, and eating lots of delicious food. The house feels so quiet and lonely now that they’re gone!

I snapped quite a few (ahem, a ton) of photos of the kids, so prepare yourself for lots of hugs ahead:

Week in Review January 4, 2016

Week in Review

Happy New Year! I have already written 2015 a handful of times and expect that won’t change until February (at the earliest). I can’t believe that this is the year of my 10 year high school reunion – where in the world did time go?

This is a busy week, as we will celebrate Serbian Christmas on Thursday and go to a church service the day before. I’m currently working on editing engagement photos, which I love already! I cannot wait to share some soon (sneak peek on Instagram here).

Some highlights from the past week include:

Spending NYE with our friends Destiny, Sid, Jessica and Bubba – we had lots of fun ringing in the new year with them at our house!
Hosting game night with my sister-in-law, Bob, my sister, Kevin, and our friends, Blake and Michelle – we played Taboo and it got very, very competitive. The women obviously swept every round.
Taking two sets of newborn photos – two boys, of course (I feel like every baby born recently is a boy!). They were both adorable!
Taking photos of Lauren at Highland Village – she is the sweetest and looks incredible at 33 weeks!
Going to (and photographing) Lilly’s first birthday party on January 1! The details were unbelievable. Some sneak peeks below! Post to come soon!
Taking photos of Destiny at her house – we snuck in some NYE pictures, and she even got behind the lens to take some photos of me and Isla!
Photographing Caroline at her house and then doing outfit pictures at the River Oaks District. I cannot believe she just had Andrew – she definitely does not look like she was ever pregnant!
Spending quality time with my sister-in-law, who is in town from San Francisco! I love her!
Going to Bayou City Fellowship on Sunday! I love our church home.
Giving Meredith a brief camera tutorial at our house (which resulted in that pink photo below!) before she headed to Vegas and Palm Springs (lucky lady!).
Having our cousin, Kristina, and her sweet friend, Allie, over to the house and catching up with them – we even swung by HEB to do curbside pickup of our groceries (you don’t even leave the car… it’s a dream come true!)

How was your week? How did you celebrate NYE?

Mom Talk December 15, 2015

Week in Review

Isla and I just got back from San Francisco yesterday evening after a long day of travel (why are my flights always delayed??), so I’m a bit behind (or a lot behind actually). Which means this post will be shorter than normal, as I have lots of emails and editing to catch up on. Oh, and Christmas cards too! Hoping to get those out by Thursday!

Our trip to the Bay Area could not have been more perfect. As it was my ninth trip in under five years, we skipped a lot of the tourist activities and focused on spending time with some of our favorite people, as well as meeting some of our online-favorites for the first time! We arrived on Thursday night and I met up with one of my best friends from college, Blake, at Union Larder, right across from my sister-in-law’s apartment. That night we picked up food for dinner and tried to have an early-isn evening. On Friday, I met Jillian of Sweet and Spark for coffee at Jane on Fillmore. We started emailing each other years ago, and she is seriously the sweetest lady! I am so grateful to have met her finally! I even went to a Spark Party at her gorgeous apartment on Sunday (and snagged a gorgeous gold necklace!). After coffee, Ivana, Isla and I headed to Half Moon Bay to look at the Ritz as a potential wedding venue – in short, it’s perfect. We’re obsessed. Sadly, Isla got sick on the way home, so we bathed her and then had a quite night in.

On Saturday, we woke up excited to meet the Benzers. We parked next to one of my best friend’s apartments, walked with Georgia and Thompson to coffee, where we met Kristy, Brett and Olivia (Livi). Isla and Livi were born a few days apart, and they are so incredibly similar – it’s been fun to watch their similarities on Instagram, but even sweeter to see them together in person (although Isla was quite cranky!! Ha!). After lunch at Little Star Pizza (which is delicious!), we walked to Alamo Square Park to see the Painted Ladies. Isla passed out quickly in the car as she was exhausted, but I popped into Wrecking Ball Coffee on the way back to get an expresso shot (also tired!). After Isla napped, we walked to Ghirardelli Square to meet another blogging friend, Annie, and her husband, Justin. I’ll sound like a broken record, but they were also so incredibly sweet. Annie was a baby whisperer, as Isla was not in an exceptionally good mood, but she managed to have her running around and giggling. That evening, one of my best friends, Georgia, came over with cheese and wine, and we had a wonderful night of catching up.

On Sunday, we went to the Spark Party in the morning, then Isla napped, and then we met Georgia and Blake for a late lunch at Blue Barn, then finished it off with some delicious frozen yogurt from Loving Cup. We went back to the apartment, started packing and called it a night early given that we had to wake up super early for our flight.

Okay, so that wasn’t actually short. Some of the other highlights from the week included:

Meeting Destiny and Truman at CityCentre for blog photos!
Taking Caroline’s maternity photos, then having her go into labor at 35 weeks the next day! Mom’s intuition’s should never be underestimated! I’ll share more photos tomorrow.
Meeting Molly of A Piece of Toast for first time and taking photos at Highland Village and then at her apartment.
Getting a keratin treatment and cut from Eric Vaughn and having Meredith stop by with coffee to catch up!
Meeting Santa at the mall – oh gosh, not a highlight for Isla (see below!).
Stopping by The Monogram Shop and getting to visit with Leah!

I’m sure there were other fun moments, but I’m braindead (so if we did something fun together and I forgot, I’m sorry!). 10 days until Christmas, and I have only purchased a few gifts. Panic! Ha. Off to tackle that to-do list!

Personal December 8, 2015

Week in Review

It looks like Tuesday Week in Reviews may be the new thing for a few weeks, as Isla and I are heading to San Francisco this weekend to visit my sister-in-law, one of my closest friends, and a few of my favorite people whom I’m never met 🙂 Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? I’ve got dates planned with Jillian, Annie and Kristy, and I could not be any more excited about seeing all of these wonderful ladies.

Taking photographs for the cover of January’s Buzz Magazines – this publication is sent to all homes in River Oaks, Tanglewood, Memorial, Bellaire and West U., so it was an exciting project! I cannot wait to get my hands on the various copies!
Photographing Lyndsey and her two gorgeous girls for a holiday collaboration she is doing with a very fun brand – I cannot wait for her to post the pictures!
Going to swim class and showing Coach Alicia Isla’s new trick of blowing bubbles under water – we’ve practiced every week for months, but she’s only now doing it (and not just drinking the pool water!).
Getting the MacBook I got while I was in college re-booted by installing a new hard drive and battery, and getting it re-imaged at the Apple store… it literally is as good as new and cost about $150! I can finally work on the couch next to Sasha versus having to always be at my desk! I’m seriously so excited.
Attending a Villa Wanderlust party that is hosted by two amazingly talented ladies – Sarrah of La Mochi and Joy of Priya –
Going to our nephew’s party at Wonderwild and watching all of the kids bounce, slide and play together.
Taking family photos for an old sorority sister of mine, Sarahbeth, at Lost Lake; a friend’s sister-in-law, Lindsay, on Rice’s campus; my sister-in-law’s high school friend’s sister, Elizabeth, at the Arboretum; Sasha’s co-worker, Rosie, at The Houstonian; and my friend, Ellen, at Briargrove Park. I am almost done with family photos for the year – just a few left when we get back from California!
Celebrating Olivia’s 3rd birthday party at the cutest little indoor party place called Giggles & Fun. She was so excited about her cake (which made sense because it was beautiful!).
Taking photos for Caroline at her house and getting to snap a few of her adorable son, Knox, too!
Having Sunday brunch at Sweet Paris in Rice Village with my two favorite people! Isla was very strategically picking out all of the strawberries from her Nutella crepe – such a healthy little lady 😉
Going to the Cake & Confetti workshop, which was so much fun! We got to decorate adorable little cakes, make garlands, eat lots of cheese, drink cocktails, and learn hostess and beauty tips!
Celebrating Destiny’s 24th birthday (such a baby!) at Ruggles Green on Monday! Then she jet-setted off to Utah, then Vegas, then SF right after. Looking forward to her being back this week!
Taking photos for Elly at River Oaks District. She is absolutely flawless, and I love snapping her photos. These photos were some of my favorites we’ve done so far!
Having my very best friend over for dinner and tree decorating on Monday. She is moving to Chicago and I’m so excited for her, but so selfishly sad! We’re having a going away dinner celebrating for her in a few weeks, and I need to bring my Kleenex.

How was your week? Are you ready for Christmas? It’s only 16 days away! I’ve got a lot to do before then!

Personal November 24, 2015

Week in Review

Today’s Christmas countdown is brought to you with sheer excitement as well as some panic, given that I have not bought a single gift, and we’re going to be sitting under a tree unwrapping presents in just 30 days. Yay and yikes. Black Friday sales, here I come. And by that, I totally mean Cyber Monday because let’s get real: I am not patient and will not go and stand in any lines at the mall.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, so I’ll save you from the details on , and that Sasha told me he felt like a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) this weekend (ha, shocking that a husband would do dishes and laundry!!). I am so incredibly grateful for amazing opportunities, but also ready for family photo season to come to an end, as I want to see my family again!

Also, my mom was unexpectedly in the hospital this weekend, but she is back at home now and in good spirits. We greatly appreciate the calls, texts and prayers!

Other than that definite low-light of the week, some of the more fun moments included:

Meeting and photographing Caroline Harper Knapp of House of Harper at her house twice – the second time involved a very smokey situation, as the flue was stuck… and we only realized that after the fire was started! Thank goodness her GC was nearby and came to fix the situation!
Going to the Buzz magazine office for a meeting – excited to work with them on photography and contribute for a fun (and relevant to all of this blogging/Houston creatives) article!
Ducking out of the rainstorm for TCBY with Leah of The Monogram Shop – I love her!
Taking head shots with the fun gals behind Moms Without Answers. They were very colorful, and I’m excited for you to see them (sneak peek below!).
Doing a holiday blanket pickup around town and getting to chat briefly to Meredith and my old Accenture boss, Andrew, whose wife just had twins!
Taking five sets of family photos at Rice University (with Elly Brown‘s adorable family!), Lakeside Country Club, Lost Lake, the Arboretum, and the Menil Collection.
Going to Isla’s swim class, which is always so much fun until we have to leave… which she never wants to do. Cue tantrum! She would truly want to stay in that pool all day long!
Meeting my good friend Alexis for drinks at Devine in Memorial. I could literally talk to her for hours at a time, and I always leave with a laundry list of things I forgot to ask her about!
Taking photos for Lauren Mills of Sunday Beach twice on Friday – in the morning and afternoon. She is a doll, and that bump is the cutest thing ever!
Going to Sasha’s grandma’s Slava, which is a holiday celebrating a family’s patron saint. His mom hosted it at her house, and it was so great to see Sasha’s cousins and their kids.
Surprising one of my best friends, Kirby, at Down House for dinner on Sunday. She is visiting her family for Thanksgiving, and we got to shower her (and sweet baby Henry in her belly) with love! I miss her so badly and wish they lived in Houston!
Eating lunch at Carabbas on Saturday before heading to REI for our family’s annual trip where we all get a new jacket. I got a new ‘Underwater Blue’ Patagonia puffer jacket that I love, and Isla got a new fleece and her first backpack. I’m obsessed!
Having my SIL, her boyfriend, Sasha’s dad and stepmom over for late lunch on Sunday. Ivana lives in San Francisco (we’re visiting in a few weeks!), and I love when she is in town. As does Isla, who has been saying, “NANA!” on repeat for days.
Photographing our sweet friends, Amanda and Scott, at Memorial Park with their rescue pup, Gilbert. We may or may not have been surprised mid-shoot when the cops showed up with flashing lights on. Whoops. I guess we weren’t supposed to drive down that dirt road! No arrests though, thank goodness.

I hope you had a fabulous week and that this one is starting off well too. Happiest early Thanksgiving!! xo

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