houston – Page 5 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal August 10, 2015

Week in Review

Is it Friday yet? Kidding, but only slightly. The past seven days flew by, and I’m definitely planning a much more relaxed weekend ahead! As I mentioned on Instagram last night, I am definitely not complaining, as we got to see lots of friends and family, meet new blogger friends (and old Instagram friends!), take lots of photos (with Cake & Confetti, Willow Crowns, Feather Thread, Butter and two first birthday shoots – one for Meg!), swim multiple times, praise God at one of the most incredible concerts I’ve ever attended and decorate a new set of bookshelves!

In a little more detail, here are some of my favorite moments from the week:

Attending the Outcry tour with Hillsong, Bethel Music and Kari Jobe (amongst others!) with my friend, Ashley, and catching up over food and drinks at The Grove beforehand. While we were gone, Sasha had three of his friends over with their little kids, and I managed to snap some cute pictures of Isla and Ellery before I left. She is such a little lady! I love her.
Going to the first Blogger Brunch hosted by Justin James and Carrie of Wear Where Well at Tout Suite on Sunday after church at Bayou City Fellowship. It was a lot of fun meeting ladies I’ve followed on Instagram for a long time.
Swimming and barbecuing at our friends’ house. I want to move into their home immediately. Everything is so gorgeous, and Nina is so sweet and is letting me do a home tour post, so be on the lookout for that soon!
Having couples over for dinner on Saturday to discuss Paris plans (they’re going next weekend, and I’m so jealous!) and then playing a few games of Taboo and Bananagrams (I’m such a game nerd!).
Shooting the fall line with Willow Crowns at Megan’s house on Tuesday. Her and Olivia, her daughter, are truly the sweetest, and we had the best time playing after we took product pictures. The new bows, headbands, clips, etc. are gorgeous, and I cannot wait for the launch!
Taking two sets of first birthday photographs – one for Sophia and another for Caroline (Meg’s daughter). Both girls were super cute and happy, which makes my job lots of fun.
Shooting photos for Jessica’s blog – Feather Thread – and hair styling photos for Brittany’s partnership with a hair product company. So much girliness going on!
Swimming multiple days at our sweet neighbor’s house – we’re so blessed to live next to her. Isla and Sasha also headed to my parent’s house after church on Sunday while I was at the Blogger Brunch to swim with them! She’s a fish.
Receiving our new Sawyer bookshelves from Crate & Barrel and getting to work on decorating them. They’ll likely change ten times in the next two weeks, but this is how they look right now!
Spoiling Isla with some Bahama Bucks (taste testing all of the sugar free snow cone places in Houston!) and cotton candy (made by Meredith for an upcoming cocktail!). She’s a lucky lady!

Personal August 3, 2015

Week in Review

Happy Monday, everyone! I cannot believe that it was only one week ago that we were running around the woods of Houston photographing this hippie shoot. Last week was busy with lots of photography, which made me very happy! Meredith and I got together to photograph her Texan cocktail (‘The Lady Bird’) for 5 O’Clock Fashionistas, and then the next day, Brittany came over to shoot photos for her exciting Instagram launch this week! Between those three shoots and catching up with friends and running errands, Isla and I kept very busy.

I am grateful that on National Sister Day (do people just make these things up for Instagram?), I was able to spend time my three sisters (two by birth and one ‘in law’). Ivana was in town for work from San Francisco, so we spent the evening with her on Saturday and then had a pool party at Sasha’s cousins house on Sunday. I got to see both of my sisters at their birthday dinner celebration at Pondicheri on Sunday evening (that place is so delicious!).

Some other highlights from the week included:

Going to a surprise birthday party for my older sister – she genuinely had no idea all of her friends were going to be there, and I absolutely love surprises like that! It was a great evening.
Celebrating my best friend’s birthday with lunch at True Food Kitchen and then a girl’s get-together on Saturday. She hosted us at her place, and we had a gorgeous table full of the most delicious food – plus yummy blackcurrant drinks she made us! It was the best afternoon.
Worshipping in Bayou City Fellowship’s new venue, which is slightly closer to our house than the last, which is great. We ran into a few of our friends, which made my morning, and then ate at Ruggles Green after (my absolute favorite!).
Meeting two of the sweetest (and most beautiful!) mamas in Houston – Destiny and Kristen – after being Insta-friends. We met at a splash pad near Kristen’s house, which was seriously the most amazing splash pad we’ve been to. Truman, Mila and Isla were so cute together – they would come together, then go on their separate ways. The photo of Truman biting Isla’s doughnut is hilarious!
Catching up with my friend, Amanda, at her house and talking about interior design, as they’re in the process of updating some of their rooms. Scott and Amanda just got a new dog, Gilbert, who is adorable. He was being slightly terrorized by Isla, who is used to a much bigger dog, but was a great sport about it.
After being in Colorado for a month, I finally got back in the gym. I’ve been doing my BBG workouts at home, but it’s much easier to do it at the gym. I definitely missed Lifetime!
Given that we went from breezy, dry 80 degree weather to hot and humid 105 degree Houston, I felt we needed to reward ourselves throughout the week with fun treats, so we had TCBY twice, juice from Big Power Yoga’s new Big Juice bar and snow cones from Mam’s. Needless to say, Isla loved every bite.

What were the highlights of your week? Hope you’re having a great Monday! xo

Personal July 27, 2015

Week in Review

Happy Monday, y’all! The last four-or-so days have been a complete whirlwind, with us packing up and traveling back to Houston from Durango after being gone for a month (Isla and I, flying and Sasha, driving) and then hitting the ground running with photo shoots on Saturday night (just hours after landing) and again on Sunday (for Jessica’s blog – Feather Thread). I’m doing a sneak peek of some of Jess’ photos below, as they are absolutely my favorite we’ve done so far. I have a hippie-inspired styled shoot tonight with five other talented ladies/friends’ involvement, and I am anxious for 7:15pm to roll around for us to get started.

Some of the highlights from the past week (other than taking a much needed ‘blogcation’) include:

Seeing my parents and Sasha’s mom after being gone for a long time! I know they were all way more enthused about seeing Isla, but I’ll pretend it was equal love for all! Ha.
Getting picked up at the airport by my very best friend, McKenzie. She met us in the baggage claim area and I could have hugged her all day long. She also made my favorite vegan dessert and had it in a cooler in the car. Yup, she’s perfect.
Making multiple trips to the Durango Rec Center, sliding down the slides at least 50 times with Isla and hearing Sasha brag about being the “fastest person ever to go down the big slide” (which is clearly made for 13 year olds).
Going on multiple bike rides with Isla along the Animas River – we even stopped one day and let Isla wade around. She is a champ, because it was so cold I couldn’t even last ten seconds. I adore the photos of her holding onto her Tata’s hands. They melt my heart!
Eating at every single one of our favorite restaurants in Durango before heading back to Texas – Himalayan Kitchen, Cyprus Cafe, Fired Up, Carver’s, Cream Bean Berry and Eolus. Best meals and drinks! I am going to miss each place a lot.
Lots and lots of swinging at the park. Isla is addicted, and I’m obsessed with her squeals of joy, so it’s a win-win activity!
Trying the Animas Brewing Company and having my first glass of wine from a can. And y’all, it was so good. The company is called The Infinite Monkey Theorem, and if you can get your hands on a can, I recommend it.
Getting a package in the mail from Bookroo – I cannot wait to share details about this cool company/concept this week!

How was your week?? Get up to anything fun?

#GIRLBOSS July 22, 2015

#GIRLBOSS: Esther of cuteheads

I first met Esther (owner of cuteheads) when we both were on Great Day Houston on the same day (related post here). We had a very brief introduction, but I knew immediately that I liked her. After a few months of Instagram following, liking and commenting (i.e. modern day bonding!), we met up again with a group of Houston mamas for a splash pad playdate in June. Although we all spent most of the time running around after our crazy kiddos, Esther and I got to chat a bit more, and the craziest thing is that I already feel like I’ve known her for ages and ages. She’s just one of those likable people (a common trait amongst all of the ladies I’ll feature in the #GIRLBOSS series).

Besides being incredibly sweet, this working mama is unbelievably talented. Her clothing is adorable – my favorites being this chambray pom-pom romper (that Isla owns!), this blue and white zebra romper, this seersucker dress, and this (sadly sold out!) Carrie top. I also adore the cuteheads custom dresses that Esther makes and will occasionally post photos of on Instagram (like this one and this one). Her skills are endless!

Personal July 20, 2015

Week in Review

Alas, our trip in Durango has almost come to an end! We are embarking on our last week here, and although I’m so ready to see family and friends at home in Houston, I’m going to miss the gorgeous weather here in Colorado. We have a “punch list” (as Sasha calls it) of things to do before we leave on Saturday – most of which includes doing certain hikes and eating at our favorite restaurants. We made the most of the past week and plan to do the same for the next five days. I’m even taking a “blogcation” from Wednesday onwards so that I can spend every single second with my sweet family!

Speaking of family – yesterday was our second year anniversary, and we are so engulfed in the laid back mountain lifestyle that we had no idea what the date was! We figured it out when a friend posted an anniversary picture on Instagram in the evening, and I checked the date right after. We had a good laugh about it, then I walked two streets over and bought a bottle of Chandon Rose and we celebrated 730 days of marriage. I love that man to pieces.

Some of this week’s highlights included:

Making two trips to Maria’s bookshop – I finished The Girl on the Train and We Are Called to Rise – instead of having a second reading list post, I decided that I will just update this post as I read new books! But in short: you must read both. The latter is one of my favorites ever. Sasha also read Into the Void and loved it. We read every evening on the front porch with a glass of wine (i.e. I was in heaven).
Joining the Durango Recreation Center and spent three days playing in the splash pad and sliding down the fun slides – watch two short videos of her sliding here and here.
Eating meals at Himalayan Kitchen, Fired Up Pizzeria and Grassburger – our top three favorite restaurants in Durango (you can read my full guide here).
Taking morning hikes up to Fort Lewis College – the view is so gorgeous (photo here), and I will miss it so much!
Shopping at the Durango Farmer’s Market and getting some delicious treats from local farms and restaurants. There are some great markets in Houston, but this one is definitely my favorite.
Perfecting the “Neiiiigggghh.”
Riding our bikes to the numerous nearby parks where we did lots and lots of swinging – Isla loves it! The Yepp bike seat is a hit around here.
Playing soccer with a beach ball at Buckley Park – Isla was getting so into it! Belle loved it too, but she burst one of the balls we bought, which was a slight inconvenience!
Drinking oodles of flavored water – even tried Codi of Creative Wife, Joyful Worker’s kiwi mint recipe here. You can read my healthy basil lemonade recipe here.
Getting featured on Annie’s blog for her #theprettypursuit roundup. MontgomeryFest is one of my favorite blogs out there and you should definitely be reading!
Updating my website – Snapshots by Ailee Petrovic – with some new photos and cannot wait to add even more after the 8 shoots I’ve got lined up when we get home. So excited about them all! Incredibly appreciative of this journey so far. I also spent time working on a client relationship management database, which is so dorky, but makes me so pleased to have things become more organized!

How was your week? I’d love to hear your highlights in the comments below!