Ailee Petrovic

Personal October 17, 2016

Week in Review

These weeks are flying by, and hopefully continue to do so, as I’m 24 weeks pregnant and am very ready for February 3rd to be here. I cannot believe I was roaming around Durango with Courtney Brown just last week. The rest of the week was a blur, trying to catch up after being gone for a few days. We’re in the throws of family photo season already, so my weekends are pretty much gone – except for this upcoming one, as I’ve taken Friday off because my best friend, McKenzie, is coming to visit and I could not be more excited.

Some highlights from the last week include:

Going to Sasha’s dad’s house for a BBQ and spending time with him and his wife, Olivera (“Oli,” as Isla calls her)
Eating dinner at Jonathan’s the Rub with three of friend couples
Taking family photos for the Burkes, Kapoors, and Wallaces all around Houston at some of my favorite spots – the weather was so gorgeous, despite being in the high-80s/low-90s still!
Photographing sweet Natalie York – her nursery was a dream, but she was even cuter!
Exploring Durango with Courtney on Monday – I have never been there past Labor Day weekend before, so it was fun to see it in the fall!
Getting my hair chopped and colored by Eric Vaughn – he is amazing and I highly recommend him!!
Taking the glucose test at 24 weeks – and passing!! That drink is so incredibly disgusting, so I’m glad I didn’t have to drink it twice (which you do if you don’t pass the first test).
Buying Isla’s Halloween costume at Pottery Barn Kids. I DIYed her outfit last year, which I loved, but I don’t have time this year unfortunately!
Celebrating the 6 year anniversary of meeting Sasha at work, which we didn’t really do anything for except have a big hug 😉 Simple people, ha.
Taking Bear’s photos in Katy after he spent a long weekend at the vet
Picking pumpkins at Trader Joes, then painting one in the driveway. It is literally LATHERED in paint, now a sort of black color… such a cute table center piece, right? Ha.

Hope you had a wonderful week too! Happy Monday. xo

Fashion October 12, 2016

Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt

When my good friend, Esther, asked me to participate in a meaningful project she was working on, I immediately said yes, without even knowing all of the details. Esther told me that she had designed a fun, frou-frou tulle skirt which she wanted to travel around the country (or world!) from one woman to another, creating a sisterhood of a the traveling skirt (flashback to reading the ‘pants’ book series in high school!).

As explained in her blog post, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt is for anyone who thinks they’re too old/too young/too fat/too skinny/too inexperienced/too self-conscious/not smart enough/not pretty enough… not enough. You are SO enough. Even if you’re embarrassed, even if you’re self-conscious, even if you’re afraid… do it anyway. Don’t let fear stop you from becoming who you want to be.”

Personal October 11, 2016

Week in Review

I’m back in Texas after a quick 40 hour trip to Colorado with Courtney Brown, where we shot at wedding (kind of an elopement, because it was planned within two weeks!). It was truly breathtakingly gorgeous, and I cannot wait to share photos.

I’m way behind after a busy weekend, so spending nap time getting caught up on edits and emails. Some highlights from the past week included:

Spending time with my Granny before she headed back to Scotland yesterday. We had tea parties, played in Emi’s room and outside, and Sasha and Isla even spent the day in Katy on Sunday while I was in Durango. I can’t wait until we see her again (hopefully soon!).
Grabbing lunch with Meredith at True Food Kitchen on Tuesday and catching up – we talk about five times a day on the phone but rarely get to see each other!
Finishing Emi’s closet organization with multiple trips to The Container Store (three in one week to be exact!).
Meeting with our architect, Kelly Cusimano, whom we love and are so excited to work with!
Stopping by The Monogram Shop to buy something for a sweet new baby girl and then having breakfast with Leah at Adair Kitchen on Wednesday!
Taking family photos at Discovery Green and another set at Lakeside Country Club – both had the most perfect weather and settings! Excited to finish editing these!
Making a much craved trip to Bahama Bucks for me, Isla, Ivana and Sasha – Thin Ice Super Sour Raspberry for the win.
Taking pregnancy announcement photos for our sweet friends, the Nickolases, and some photos for my friend (more to come on what for soon!).

I hope you had a great week and are getting to enjoy some fall weather! xo

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Beauty October 4, 2016

My New Makeup Routine with Beautycounter

A few months ago, I heard about Beautycounter through one of my best friend’s friend, Kelsey Wiley. I was intrigued by this company that “puts your health first” – not a claim I’d ever heard made by MAC, Maybelline, L’Oreal, Laura Mercier, etc. Kelsey included a link to the video below, and after watching it, I knew I wanted to try Beautycounter’s products.

Beautycounter’s mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone and lead a movement for better beauty. This is definitely a mission I can stand behind. While over 1,300 toxic ingredients are banned in personal care products in Europe, only eleven are in the US. Isn’t that scary? I had absolutely no idea which (potentially harmful) ingredients were in my skincare products, and I was ready to change that.

I will not lie – changing my tried-and-true makeup and skincare routine has not been painless. I had been using some of the same products since I was in high school! For about a month now, I’ve been using a majority of Beautycounter products (sharing honest reviews of each below), while ‘cheating’ every now and again with an old blush or eyeshadow that I love. As time goes on, I’ll buy more and more Beautycounter items when my old ones run out. So far, I’ve loved every single product – except the mascara, but I’ll explain why!

Personal October 3, 2016

Week in Review

Happy October! It’s definitely one of my favorite months of the year, as we start ramping up in full fall mode with pumpkin-everything (no PSLs for me!), cooler temperatures, warmer clothing, one-month-closer-to-Christmas, etc. Last week, it felt so amazing in Houston, and unfortunately we’ll be back in the 90s for two more weeks, but I see the end in sight!

I spent last week taking photos, spending time with my Granny and parents in Katy because it was my dad’s birthday, and working on Emi’s nursery. I’m struggling to find gold knobs and pulls that work with this dresser we bought from Pottery Barn Kids. The four bottom pulls are impossible to replace! I’ve ordered substitutes from Anthropologie, Wayfair and Pottery Barn – to no avail! If you have any other suggestions, please let me know!

Some highlights for the week include:

Booking my first wedding/elopement in Colorado for next weekend! I’m heading back to Durango for the fourth time this year and so excited to shoot alongside Courtney Brown – she’s amazing!
Eating vegan crepes at Sweet Paris with Megan, Olivia and Isla then running around the green afterwards while snapping some bow shots!
Visiting baby Olivia, Jessica and Bubba and bringing them Barnabys. She is seriously the cutest!! So glad we finally got to meet her!
Getting crib sheets from By George Baby Boutique for Emi’s room – I love working with Sarah and can’t wait to get the Boppy and changing pad covers!
Celebrating Papa’s birthday in Katy on Thursday – going to Sprinkles first to get him a few treats with our balloon tail we made!
Photographing Elly at River Oaks District and then grabbing a coffee afterwards at Le Colonial to catch up.
Taking photos of Esther and her sweet family for a Life Cereal shoot. Her backyard looked amazing!!
Eating lunch with Destiny and Truman at Salata after snapping some photos at their house!
Taking family photos for a girl who lived in the same dorm as me my freshman year at UT! It had been ages since we’d seen each other. Her daughter, Abigail, was too cute!
Going to church at Bayou City Fellowship and then eating Sunday lunch with my family in Katy. My Granny Jill leaves next Monday, so we are trying to spend as much time with her as we can beforehand!
Doing the 3 mile loop at Memorial Park with Belle, Isla and Sasha on Saturday morning and running into Ivana while she was there too!

Hope you had a great week and that your Monday is going well so far! xo