“I just got in from the Windy City, the Windy City is mighty pretty but it ain’t got what we got…” – Anyone able to name that movie? It was one of our favorite growing up, one we’d watch with my dad’s parents all of the time. I loved Doris Day! But seriously, the Windy City is mighty pretty. Isla and I spent the weekend in Chicago visiting one of my best friends, McKenzie, and her boyfriend, Bryan. We were lucky enough to also get to catch up with a dear friend of mine, Mara, and get to finally meet her handsome son, Simon. Isla and I also went out to dinner with another sweet friend, Caroline, who, per usual, had us dying laughing with her hilarious stories. All in all, it was such a wonderful weekend, and I’m already dying to go back. The weather was just perfect – as evidenced in the nine million fall-inspired leafy photos below! I couldn’t get enough.

Other highlights from the past week included:

• Photographing my friend Gentry’s two daughters in prep for their upcoming birthday party! All black and white might be my favorite thing ever!
• Seeing Destiny and co. for frozen yogurt so that the kiddos could say goodbye to each other! I then photographed them again later in the week – so sad that as I’m writing this, they’ve already moved! I can’t even believe it.
• Going to Orange Theory with Monica – i.e. getting my butt kicked, ha.
• Newborn photos with gorgeous baby Sloane!
• Dentist appointment with Dr. Matt Nickolas – he is the best!
• Having Riley babysit the girls – they love her.

As always, I’m sure I’m missing something really big and fun and potentially insulting a good friend, but alas, my brain is currently churning at 10% capacity. Off to prepare for a mock-photo course tomorrow at our very messy house! xo

Alas, I jinxed myself last week when I doubted the cold front rumors in Houston. However, it was the best kind of jinxing (perhaps this means it wasn’t a jinx? Ha.), in that we actually experienced a few days of fall weather before hitting the 90s again. It’s back to being in the 70s, and I am praying it stays! Isla and I are heading to Chicago this weekend to visit McKenzie, so we bought a few things for Isla to wear, as she quite literally only has dresses and a few tops.

The biggest highlight from the past week was Meredith’s baby shower! If you follow me on Instagram, you will have already seen a ton of snaps and photos. It was Otomi themed and very colorful, à la Mere. I am going to post a bajillion photos on the blog very soon, so you can see all of the details!

The lowest moment of the week was going to Texas Children’s for Emi’s allergy bloodwork. She was truly a bigger hero than I was, as I had to ‘tap out’ and have a nurse come and assist me. What a weenie! I need to get over this needle phobia – it’s ridiculous. We will get results back tomorrow or Wednesday, and go for follow up testing before heading to Chicago on Friday.

Other highlights from the week included:

• Having Ailie and Jack stay with us after their quick trip to Austin for ACL – we toured about town, and time flew by way too quickly! It’s unreal. We had some fun family game nights though, and I’m already missing the two of them!
• Having a farewell to Destiny dinner with Amanda and our husbands at Lupe’s Tortillas on Highway 6 (The Original) – ah, I cannot think about her moving next Monday. I have cried so much already!
• Taking Meg Owen’s family photos at Evelyn’s Park on Saturday evening, after watching the UT vs. OU game at Bob and Ivana’s friends house. I love their photos and am about to send the gallery off now – hopefully they do too!
• Photographing Carrie and Elle for her fourth ‘monthly photos’ – she looked like the cutest little pumpkin ever!
• Having a visit from Sasha’s cousin, Stevan, on Saturday and getting to catch up.
• Fixing my chipped tooth – Dr. Matt Nickolas is my friend and also the best dentist! I am getting a cleaning this week – two visits in two weeks is a record for me.
• Celebrating Megan’s 30th birthday lunch at Sweet Paris with some of our friends! It was great chatting with these ladies.
• Seeing Meredith for Emi and Milly’s halloween costume modeling, our trip to The Confetti Room at The Montrose Studio, our pampering date to Dry Bar and at her shower. We typically talk on the phone ten times a day, but rarely see each other, so this was a treat!

I hope you have the best, most colorful, fall-feeling week! xo

Yesterday was a scorching 95 degrees, which felt not-so-fall-ish, despite spending part of the afternoon picking out pumpkin at a nearby patch. There have been rumors of a cold front coming – but I just checked the 10 day forecast and it looks like we’ll get one day with a lot of 84, but other than that – hot, hot, hot. It didn’t stop me from wearing booties to church yesterday though!

The past week was busy in the best way! When we moved to Texas in 1996, my parents became best friends with a couple named Hayley and Greg. They have two daughters, Ailie (pronounced the same way as me!) and Lauren, who are 7 and 5 years younger than me (respectively). We did everything with the Pattens. They truly became family to us. When I was a junior in high school, they moved to Australia, and I was devastated! Since they left, we’ve met up in Hawaii, and I’ve visited them twice in Melbourne. Ailie and her boyfriend, Jack, are currently on a 9 week trip around the US (and Mexico!), and stayed with us last week and are coming back on Tuesday for a few more days before heading to DC. We had the best time catching up and showing them around – cannot wait for them to come back.

A few highlights from the past week include:

• Making a very last minute trip to Centennial Gardens and Hermann Park with Ivana, Bob and Milly to ride the train. It was so hot that we decided to duck out of the sun for a bit and visit the Museum of Natural Science (which truly is amazing – we decided to get a membership!).
• Eating lunch at Local Foods on Sunday after church at Bayou City Fellowship – I love their Asian Chicken Salad with the tofu instead of the chicken. It’s delicious!
• Going to a big group dinner at North Italia on Tuesday night to celebrate Ailie and Jack being in town!
• Playing TopGolf – I could not be worse at the whole swing-and-miss thing. Clearly no coordination there.
• Spending time with family at Sasha’s Aunt Zlata’s house for their Slava on Friday! Isla had the best. time. ever. running around after her cousins.
• Picking pumpkins at the patch – Emi needs them for her class, so we got some of the cutest little ones!
• Taking Meredith’s photos at her house which was recently renovated and is seriously all of the ‘goals.’
• Snapping Brittany’s son’s (George) three month photos. Time, slowwwww dowwwwwnnnn.
• Celebrating Grandparent’s Day at the girls’ school. My dad and Sasha’s mom are both out of the country, so it was just Mimi and Deda there! Both Emi and Isla loved showing them off to their teachers and friends.

I pray you have a wonderful week and that it feels more like fall than it does here in Houston. xo

Well, it’s Thursday, and I really considered just skipping this week’s ‘Week in Review’ but I have done it consistently for almost two years now, so alas, here are a handful of photos from last week! Ha. Better late than never – my philosophy for life right now. We’ve had our good friends from Australia (originally, Katy, Texas) in town this week, so I’ve had my hands full in the best way possible.

Last week, I hung out with Destiny (twice!) and Meredith (twice!), which literally never happens. Isla had ballet class, I took the girls to school and got caught up on lots of emails that came in while we were in Destin. I am co-hosting a shower for Meredith next weekend, and I had fallen behind while we were gone, so I spent lots of time getting my ducks in a row. I went and saw serious updates on the house (hooray!). Jill, Kevin and I drove to Galveston to take their engagement photos. We went to church at Bayou City Fellowship, then ate afterwards with Sydney, Philip and Camden (whom I’m obsessed with!). Erin and Parker stopped by – loved getting to see them, albeit too briefly. I took family photos for my friend, Amy and her family, at one of my favorite spots in downtown Houston. We celebrated my dad’s birthday and Emi’s 8 month-iversary on the 29th, and spent Saturday afternoon together at Levy Park. All in all, there were a lot of happy things that happened during the week. However, one of our close family friends – the man who convinced me to take a job at Accenture, which is where I met Sasha – passed away after receiving a cancer diagnosis the previous week. Tommy had the best personality ever – honestly, he was so full of life. His funeral was on Saturday and the speeches/message was a mixture of hilarious stories and remembrances that made everyone cry. He will be so missed by an incredibly large number of people.

Some photos taken during the week include: