Personal – Page 15 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal September 21, 2018

Our Family Vacation to 30A Rosemary Beach

Only now, after spending a week here, do I understand the obsession people have with 30A Rosemary Beach. If you drive around Houston and pay attention, you will see a ton of cars with the iconic 30A bumper sticker. I might be ordering one on our drive home tomorrow, ha! When I mentioned on Instagram that we were traveling to this Florida beach, I was flooded with recommendations (which I’ll share in a separate travel guide post!). The food, the shops, the houses – all amazing. But the BEACH – it’s unreal. Crystal blue, calm-as-can-be water. The first day we arrived, we went down to the house, but were all coughing and sneezing within a few minutes. It turns out, there was a red tide in the area, which made the beach unenjoyable. Fortunately, it was much less severe the next day and completely gone by our third morning. We spent some time at the pool (Barbados) and splashpad (in Alys Beach) while we were waiting for the beach to clear. Beside that, we were beach-bound morning and afternoon every day.

We were here with our best friends, Matt and Paige, and their two kiddos – Ellery (4.5) and Barrett (14 mo). They’re so similarly aged to our girls, and for the most part, everyone got along swimmingly! Ha. To be expected with four-nagers, right? We honestly had the best time, and I’m already mentally planning a trip back next year (with an 8 month old baby P in tow!).

For our stay, we rented the Amsler Cottage on VRBO. I couldn’t envision a better rental property. We loved it. I definitely want to stay in the same house next year. I am going to share more details on the rental during my travel guide post.

Last night, we snuck down to the beach right before sunset and took a few photos of each other’s families (thank you, Paige!!). We were hurrying to get ready and then were immediately covered in sweat – but so glad we took these special pictures to commemorate our friend/family trip. Those, as well as the 100+ other photos! Ha. I narrowed them down as much as I could, but am still sharing a zillion below! More details to come about 30A very soon.

Personal September 10, 2018

Week(s) in Review

As Sasha would call it, today has been a ‘take care of business’ Monday (or TCB, as it’s referred to around here). After being gone all last week, I had a million errands to run today, as well as a meeting at the new house with the wallpaper installer. So Emi and I dropped Isla at school, then ran across town before heading home for nap time. Isla and I were on a cruise last week, and I didn’t want to waste any precious data on emails, so I’ve spent the past two hours catching up. Still have a handful of emails to get through, then I’ll feel much better when I’ve cleared my inbox! Family photo season starts in two weeks, and I’m so excited (and stressed!).

We spent many hours at the new house this weekend, and I am excited about the progress taking place. We’re staining the wood floors this Friday and next week, then painting the following two weeks. Then come the appliances and hardware, then final touch ups… and then we can move in! Realistically, it won’t happen until the very end of October, but the end is in sight! I cannot wait to move, but also am 100% unprepared on the side of packing up our stuff and getting things boxed. So I need to get on that!

I will be sharing a huge email with a review of the Disney Cruise, but in short – it was the most fun week. Isla and Truman were adorable together and literally on Cloud 9 all day long (then would crash HARD at night). I’ll share that post later this week! Here are some photos taken over the weekend and the week before we left! Hope your Monday is going well so far.

Personal August 28, 2018

Week in Review

Last week was a whirlwind – I could hardly keep all of the parent orientations, meet-the-teachers and PTA meetings straight (three evenings out in a row – I felt like I was 22 again, ha!). We definitely felt ready to start on Monday! Over the weekend, we hung out with Sasha’s and my sides of the family, which was really nice. We ate dinner with Ivana, Bob, Milly and included Sydney, Philip and Cam to our ‘Pizza Friday’ tradition. Sasha is all upset with me for breaking tradition to get my favorite Adair Kitchen Black Bean Patty and Super Food Bowl, but cravings are cravings, right? The next day, we swam at Noah’s Ark pool, which the girls all loved. That night, we had our niece and nephew (Sasha’s cousin’s kiddos) over – we played, ate burgers and watched Jumanji (only slightly horrified to find out at the end that it’s PG13). On Sunday, we went to church then catch up on some errands before having big family dinner at our house with my family. Vieng Thai for the win. If you haven’t eaten from there, it’s a MUST.

I didn’t take many personal photos last week, but I DID update my Artifact Uprising photo books – I finished a March through May one and have a few pages left in the June through August one. They updated their editing tool and ohmygosh, I am obsessed. It’s so much easier to use. Hallelujah! I had two shoots throughout the week, and I also focused on planning family photo sessions. All my Saturdays are booked, but if you’re interested, you can check out my availability here.

We made lots of progress with the house, which I’ll share soon. I am loving these final stages, where big things happen that are visible vs. electrical wiring and plumbing, which are behind the scenes!

I hope your week is off to a great start. We had a rocky morning, but the rest of the day was all uphill. Praying we have smooth sailing through Sunday, when Isla and I leave for our Disney Cruise. Cannot wait!

Personal August 27, 2018

First Day of School 2018

And we’re back at it – Mother’s Day Out again for Miss Emilia and Pre-K 4 for Miss Isla. This year, my niece, Milly, is starting at the girls’ school, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get the littles in the same days. So she’s going MWF, and Emi is TTh again. Isla has done three days for the last two years, but is going Monday through Thursday this year. She is so ready to be back with her friends. She had no problem with kicking me out of ‘Meet the Teacher’ last week. Of course, I came back in and she was in head-to-toe princess gear. This morning at drop-off, she walked right in, waved hi to her best friend, Susie, got her Isla lanyard and went to wash her hands. A small goodbye, but I wanted a bigger hug! It’s just the beginning, right?!

We’re incredibly grateful to have found a school that we all love as much as we do. I cannot (repeat: CANNOT) believe that Isla is going to be in Kindergarten next year. I’m in total denial.

I snapped some pics of three slightly uncooperative kiddos – the group shot was (as it always is) a tough one, ha. It’s not hard to tell by looking at it! The girls’ dresses are from Alice & Ames, and I’m obsessed. I want to buy them all! And the letter board is only $20 from Nordstrom. I have a feeling I’m going to be using it all of the time. I can’t wait to have another little girl to match.

Looking back at these pictures from Isla and Emi’s first day of school in 2017 makes me so sentimental. They truly are growing up so fast! Cheers to what is hopefully another wonderful year.

Personal August 21, 2018

Week(s) in Review

Next week, the girls are going back to school, and they are so ready! They really miss being around little ones their age on a regular basis during the summer – Isla especially. I am catching up on a few weeks below – but just sharing personal photos, not any client-work, since I’m so behind. This past weekend, Sasha and Bob were out of town, so Ivana and Milly came to stay to keep us company. It was so sweet seeing the girls play all weekend. The weekend before, Kirby and co. were in town, so we hung out with them for a few days, which was so nice! I wish they lived in Texas. We’ve had a few playdates with Isla’s friends the last few weeks, gotten a lot done with the house (upstairs floors done! all trim painted! all tiles done! all cabinets installed and painted with doors! ordered all wallpaper!), and tried to beat the heat the best we could. I have never been so ready for fall (but not winter, I’m never ready for that).

This week is filled with one meeting after another – two parent orientations, two meet-the-teachers, and a PTO board meeting (everyone who knows me well is probably saying YOU ARE ON WHAT?! Ha, I know, I know). Can’t wait for the girls to go and meet their new teachers and see who is in their classes this year. What a fun time of the year. Hope you’ve been enjoying the last few weeks of summer too!