Search Results for “bali” – Page 3 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Week in Review January 11, 2016

Week in Review

How does Monday arrive so quickly? I think every weekend needs to be at least three days – we love having Sasha at home! We had a busy week and traveled all over the great state of Texas, so decided to do very little yesterday, and it was pure bliss. I’ve already started packing for Australia because I am a) very OCD, b) an overpacker and packing early is a tactic to slowly remove unnecessary items, and c) so excited about a beach vacation! I haven’t sunk my feet in the sand since we went to Bali on our honeymoon in 2013!

Some highlights from the past week include:

Spending Serbian Christmas Eve at the Serbian Orthodox Church in Galveston, and then celebrating the following day at our Aunt Zlata’s house with all of the family – it was such a great evening. It’s always nice to have all of the family in one city! Sadly, we started taking down Christmas decor that evening when we got home. I was sad to see it go, but ready to have our house back in order!
Taking photos for my gorgeous sister-in-law, Ivana, and Bob downtown and at Memorial Park – I am dying to share every single photo, but we’ve got to keep some of them mum for now!
Having a spa day at the Houstonian Spa (Trellis) with Destiny – we both got facials (which were amazing), then spent time in the sauna before heading to lunch at True Food Kitchen.
Heading to Austin for a day trip to celebrate Sasha’s grandma’s 85th birthday and his Aunt and Uncle’s Slava. It was a lot of fun, although 6 hours in the car with Isla and very little sleep made us slightly nervous about next week’s long flight to Melbourne from LA. Thank goodness for amazing mamas on Instagram who shared helpful toddler travel tips!
Taking blog photos for Destiny, Alex and Caroline – three of the sweetest ladies! Love spending time with them.
Meeting Esther and Naomi at Discovery Green for pictures for her collaboration for Everlane – I love this momma/daughter duo!
Having an impromptu park date with Megan, Kristen and Destiny! It’s hard to have real adult conversations with toddlers running around, but Isla and I still had a great time.
Spending much of Sunday at home after a crazy week of being all over the place. We rarely have quite days at the house, and we all loved it. Sasha and I watched the Golden Globes last night

How was your week?

City Guide September 2, 2015

Four Perfect Days in St. Petersburg: Travel Guide

In May, we went to St. Petersburg, Russia after visiting Paris for the French Open (travel posts here and here). Lots of people asked why we chose St. Petersburg, as most Americans don’t travel to Russia, and the answer was simple: it was cheaper than other options. We knew that we were going to France and that we had to fly through Frankfurt (because United is the worst), and we thought we should tackle another city while we’re halfway around the world already. After looking up flights to Munich, Vienna, etc., we decided on St. Petersburg, and I’m glad we did.

I did not know a whole lot about St. Petersburg before booking the trip, but had a good image in my mind of what it would be like. For the most part, I was right, but the one thing I did not expect about this beautiful city was how good the food is. And I should clarify: I don’t think I ate anything Russian in Russia. The food scene in St. Petersburg is world class. The restaurants are trendy, the cocktails are delicious, the dishes are eclectic… and we loved every bite and sip.

We soaked up so much history and culture in just four days in the city. We bought Faberge eggs (ahem, eggs from the Faberge Museum), walked until we could walk no more, toured this canal filled city by boat, used more audio guides at museums than I would like to admit, and frolicked in at least five parks.

Long story short: You need to go to St. Petersburg at some point in your life. And when you go, I’ve outlined four perfect days in the city. You can also use this custom Google map I created which plots all of the places named below.

Personal June 23, 2015

Sweet Baby Boys

Sasha and I took the optional early gender test when I was pregnant at 14 weeks and found out a week later, on our first day in Bali, that we were having a girl. I am not going to lie – I was so relieved. I kept telling everyone I thought I was having a boy, almost to reverse jinx myself. I have two sisters and a plethora of girl cousins, and to be honest, I just didn’t know what I would do with a baby boy.

Fast forward over a year, and I’m dying to have a little boy! I mean, having Isla is the most special thing ever (a mini me to dress like yourself? Yes, please). However, little boys are also so, so cute. I feel like 2015 has been the year of boys (and lots in 2014 too – namely, Simon!). I’ve recently photographed five newborn boys (see photos on my photography site – Snapshots by Ailee Petrovic), and most of Isla’s little friends are boys too.

I had the privilege of photographing a sweet baby boy named David yesterday. He is absolutely precious, and he slept during the photos (hooray!). It was the first time that has happened in ages, and so we got some cute snoozing photos. I also took 3 month photos of Baby Brooks (his newborn photos here). Y’all, he is so precious I cannot handle it!

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to two 1st birthday parties on Saturday for Isla’s boy friends. Instead of inundating your inbox with lots of separate posts, I thought I’d share photographs of Brooks, David, Kevin and Alexander all in one. Consider this baby boy cuteness overload. You’re welcome in advance!

Brooks

City Guide June 2, 2015

Paris City Guide

Four perfect days in Paris. Ahh, is it even possible to accomplish all you want to see in such a short period of time? Ideally, anyone going to the City of Lights would have weeks on end to stroll through this gorgeous city, but knowing that isn’t the case for many, I’ve decided to write a four day itinerary (longer than most of my other City Guides). During these 96 hours, I’ve included nearly all of the must see places you’ve seen in movies and heard about since you were little, like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, etc. I also added smaller gems, like L’Orangerie and the Place des Vosges. You can see everything on a map here – I’ve also embedded it at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve been to Paris and think I’m missing some wonderful restaurants or sites, please let me know! I’d love to try new places when we visit next. Also, if you have any specific questions about this itinerary, please email me!

Bon voyage!

Day 1

Start your morning off early with breakfast and coffee at Les Deux Magots in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres area.
Walk by La Duree and stop in for a few famous macaroons on your way to the Louvre (cross over Pont du Carrousel) – the line may be long, but it’s worth it in order to see some of the most famous pieces of art in the world (the Mona Lisa may be underwhelming, but it’s still cool to see!).
If you’re hungry after walking around the massive halls of the Louvre, walk to lunch at nearby Cafe Marly or Claus (recommended by a friend who lives in Paris).
Stroll through the Jardins des Tuileries, and stop in at L’Orangerie for the most awe-inspiring Monets you’ve ever seen – this is one of my favorite museums in the world.

Fashion April 9, 2015

The Perfect Little White Dress

Two weeks ago, I posted a roundup of my favorite blush pink dresses (read here), and I had a request from a friend of mine who is engaged to do a refresh of an old little white dress post (read here). I’m sharing twenty-four of my favorite ‘little white dress’ finds in a number of price points, ranging from this gorgeous Forever21 dress, which costs $35, to this fun, perforated Chloe dress at $589. Also, I slipped in a romper and two maxis, which aren’t really ‘little white dresses,’ but they belong in the roundup!

When you’re engaged, there are a number of occasions to wear a white dress besides your wedding day. Couples showers, engagement parties, bachelorette parties, bridal luncheons, rehearsal dinners, etc. – the list goes on. I recently rewore a shower dress at Isla’s Christening, and I wore every white dress I own during our honeymoon to Bali. They’re handy items to have on hand!