Last weekend, our little family headed to True Food Kitchen for post-church brunch. It only opened last year, but has quickly become one of our favorite restaurants in the city (tofu lettuce wraps, fall harvest salad, fun fruity cocktails, delicious beet juice – yes, please). At 17 months, Isla has become increasingly agitated with sitting in uncomfortable, wooden highchairs at restaurants, so we decided to bring our Bumbo chair for her to sit in instead. It’s super light to carry and straps easily onto chairs. Although there is an attachable tray that tucks into the back, it puts toddlers at the perfect height to use the dining table. As you can see from these photos, Isla feels (and acts – reading that menu upside down!) like she’s ‘one of us’ when she’s in her chair.
Our Favorite Pajama Traditions with Carter’s
This post is sponsored by Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I’m taking a break from my typical Monday Week in Review post (which I’ll publish tomorrow!) to share some of our favorite family traditions, which of course take place in none other than our PJs (sometimes considered my unofficial ‘uniform’).
Life has been pretty crazy recently with family photos taking place almost every day, which has made our ‘normal’ routine a little less rigid. However, some activities remain the same day in and day out, like taking Belle (our pup) on a family walk in the morning and evening. In the mornings, it’s just me and Isla, as Sasha goes to work at the crack of dawn so he can come home early. After eating our breakfast, Isla and I take Belle outside to the front yard and throw the ball around, take a spin in Isla’s car and walk down the street to let Belle go to the bathroom. This always takes place in our pajamas (our neighbors probably think we’re crazy, but we don’t care!). More often than not, Isla is barefoot, but more recently, she’s been wearing her new Carter’s footed pajamas with non-skid soles, which you can buy here. The best part is that you can get 20% off your purchase of $40+ now through Nov. 30 with the code CARTPJ25 (in-store coupon below!). If you follow me on Snapchat (@aileepetrovic), you’ve likely seen us take our morning walks in our PJs! No shame in our game.
When we get back inside, Isla will watch one episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, snuggled up with her blankie on the couch, while I clean the dishes and make the bed. She is never, ever happy about getting dressed afterward, and I don’t blame her.
We were really excited when the new holiday collection came out… so much so that we bought four pairs (see stack of pajamas in the photo above!). My favorite thing about Carter’s PJs is how affordable they are, which is why I feel comfortable buying so many sets. I bought both cotton and microfleece pairs – the latter has zipper tabs, which are great – who wants a cold zipper rubbing on their chin?!
There are some pajama traditions that come but once a year, like opening our Santa stockings all cozied up in our new PJs. I shared a post about this tradition last year here – more Carter’s pajamas photos (can we talk about how little Isla looks in those photos?? Sob).
So now it’s your turn: Does your family have special traditions that involve PJ time? Have you pulled out your one-piece fleece pajamas yet? I want some in my size, seriously!
Buy Carter’s PJs here (remember to use CARTPJ25!) | Find a Carter’s store near you by clicking here | Check out the #LoveCarters Instagram hashtag for cuteness overload!
Week in Review
I think I’ll just start every ‘Week in Review’ post (my only posts these days!) with a little Christmas countdown to help alleviate any Monday blues. 45 more days until my favorite day of the year – can you believe it? I am so excited. I also need to start thinking about what to buy everyone! I was so late in purchasing presents last year and promised myself I’d be more on top of things in 2015. We’ll see how that goes!
Last week was filled with lots of photography – ’tis the season, I suppose! Ha. Although many of the sessions made it onto my highlights list, the real high point was watching Isla’s obsession with Hillsong’s Touch the Sky music video grow and grow (be still my heart!). It calms her down no matter her mood, and lately, we’ve done bath, PJs, stories, prayer and then the video (on repeat). Then I’ll just lay her in bed, and she falls right asleep. She’s mesmerized! It calms me down too. I love that song so much.
Some of my other favorite moments from the week include:
- Taking photos of the cuteheads Cotton Candy Collection on Monday. I’m co-hosting the launch of the collection at Blue Leaf this Wednesday from 6-8pm – if you’re free, come on by!
- Photographing fur babies with their parents at the West Elm x ASPCA event on Thursday! I was dying over the pups in their Christmas getups.
- Getting to catch up briefly with Meredith when she came by our house for some Christmasy blankets for their family photos. The pictures are gorgeous! Michelle did such a great job.
- Taking family photos and blog photos for Destiny. I love how both turned out! Her husband, Sid, and son, Truman, are equally as beautiful as her – they’re unreal!
- Attending the Holiday Hosting Worth Posting event by House of Hough (more photos on their Instagram). Destiny and I rode together, and we left Truman and Isla with my mom. They were so cute and smoochy together when we got home!
- Having a playdate with Taylor and photographing her new kitchen remodel (which is seriously so gorgeous). I’m excited for her to share the rest of the photos!
- Taking photos at Lauren Mills’ baby shower. She wore this non-maternity Valentino dress and looked like ten million bucks! She is seriously glowing.
- Taking three sets of family photos, some of which I’ve shown below! I’m going to do a roundup of all my holiday photos taken this season in a few weeks, and I’ll share more then!
- Getting a long visit from my best friend, McKenzie, who just got back from a month in London for work! We missed her like crazy.
- Taking photos for Margret of Style the Girl for the first time. She is seriously so nice and talkative – I can’t wait to hang out with her again soon.
- Doing maternity photos at Lost Lake very early on Sunday morning. Michelle was glowing, and I love their baby girl’s name – Eleanor.
- Going to our church (Bayou City Fellowship) and hearing our Lead Pastor preach about hypocrisy. We love Curtis!
- Having family dinner with my dad (Mum is in Scotland!) and sister from Ruggles Green. It had been way too long since I ate my goat cheese salad!
- Eating breakfast at Sweet Paris on Saturday with Sasha and Isla – they met me after photos, and we drove around Rice Village on the way home. I love that area!
- Testing out the new Bumbo at True Food Kitchen on Sunday after church. We ran into Nasseim, an old high school friend! I cannot believe I graduated 9 years ago! That is crazy.
How was your week? What were your highlights?
Our 2015 Family Photos
Remember how I was going to wait to share our family photos (taken by the absolutely incredible Paige Budde) until after our card was sent? Well, here they are… on November 4th. And I haven’t even given thought to our Christmas cards (although I’m eyeing a few Artifact Uprising ones that are ah-mazing). That, my sweet friends, is the embodiment of impatience.
But do not fear – I’ve saved three of my favorites that are top contenders for the card so that there will be SOME element of surprise when people receive theirs in the mail!
We took our photographs with Paige at 6:45am on Sunday… in the rain. Thankfully, we had already discussed taking them at the Menil Collection, which has a covered sidewalk. I’m also so grateful that Paige showed up with the gorgeous chair you’ll see below (she also owns The Foundry Rental Co.), which gave some extra flair given that we were limited to where we could shoot with the rain. When I saw this sneak peek, I was very excited. And then I saw the email in my inbox this morning and got teary eyed looking at all of the photos. I feel so incredibly blessed (I’m “so basic,” I know) to have these two in my life. Sasha is the best best-friend and husband I could ask for, and I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone like I love Isla.
Thank you, Paige, for capturing these special moments. It’s amazing to see how much she’s grown since our photos last year, and even since Isla’s first birthday photos. Please don’t retire from photography or move before 2037.
50 days until Christmas! I can’t wait!
Week in Review
Happy November! 52 days until Christmas! Can you believe it? I wish I was one of those savvy shoppers who had all of their holiday shopping completed by September, but alas, I am a last minute dash-to-the-store (ahem, order on Amazon Prime) people. The last few years, I’ve asked for practical gifts for Christmas, like things for Isla or for our house, and this year, I’m rebelling against that (much to Sasha’s chagrin – sorry babe!). Have you thought about what you’re going to put on your list? Do you even make a physical list or does your family and/or significant other just know you really well?
Last week’s Halloween festivities were a lot of fun and were kicked off by the ‘Mummy and Me’ party that my friend Destiny hosted (my post here and her post here with pictures). Isla dressed up in her cotton candy costume that I made last weekend. It was so big, and I laughed so hard I cried when she first tried it on, but I think she looked adorable!
Then, on Saturday (actual Halloween), we dressed Isla up as a cat in the morning so that she could get the most out of the day. Some of the kids at the Lifetime gym were so incredibly adorable, and I especially loved Olivia’s Minnie costume, Truman’s skunk costume, Kristine’s family’s Frozen costumes, Whitney and Milan’s fox costumes (an ode to their last name), Mila’s ballerina costume, and so many others.
The only low point of the week (besides all of the rain canceling even more family photo sessions!) was coming home on Friday after getting a mani/pedi to Isla having a huge knot and gash on her head. This is what happens when Daddy babysits while sports are on TV! Isla was climbing and fell face first towards our stone coffee table. The gash is still there and the bruise now looks green, but it’s definitely healing quickly thanks to my sweet friends’ suggestions (helpful hints here!).
Besides the tumble, our week was full of positive moments, including:
- Taking photos for Destiny and Elly at City Centre – these two ladies are so gorgeous and stylish to boot. Love taking their pictures!
- Doing family photos for the Goates in Katy. Nora’s cuteness kills me.
- Having our photos with Paige Budde at Menil (sneak peek here) and then taking photos of our friends in the evening (see cute fake snow pictures below!)!
- Having our cousins and their sweet kiddos over for dinner on Wednesday. It’s so fun for the kids to play together! Isla was up way past her bedtime and loved it.
- Taking photos for Alex and Jessica at River Oaks District, which has the coolest backdrops ever, and I’ll be so disappointed when they’re all taken down in lieu of Cartier, Dior, Gucci, etc.
- Getting my eyebrows done at Brows by Jackie in Rice Village. It’s only the second time I’ve ever had them waxed, but I’m working on the whole arched brow thing. We’ll see how this progresses!
- Meeting my friend Megan at Sweet Paris to catch up and for hugs. I love her! So talented and never fails to make me laugh!
- Attending a Andrea Montgomery jewelry event with some other lovely Houston bloggers. Andrea is so talented and incredibly sweet. I cannot wait to share more details from the event!
- Going ‘apple picking’ in our yard! Isla is obsessed (understatement) with apples – it’s all she wants to eat. I strung them with wire and hung them in the trees in our yard, and you would have thought she had won the lottery when she ran full speed out of our back door. She took a bite or two from each one and pulled them down. It was so fun!
- Watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for 15-20 minutes every night and finally finishing it – we loved it! We’ve now seen every Wes Anderson movie except The Darjeeling Limited. Have you watched it? There are very mixed reviews!
- Reading Meg’s book – 99 Problems and a Baby Ain’t One – it is so funny. I was laughing out loud at multiple spots (with Sasha sleeping in bed next to me!). I recommend it!
- Attending a Instagram Styling Workshop hosted by Cake & Confetti with Michelle Able – love this dream team!
- Getting my first manicure/pedicure done in about 5 months at Paradise Nails – of course, I came home to Isla’s booboo and then had Belle (our pup) smudge my nails with her paws causing Sasha say, “It’s just not meant to be.” #momlife
- Going to the Shop 1975 pop-up with Jessica in Rice Village and meeting the two sweet (and super stylish) owners!
- Scouting locations all around town for a few hours while Isla napped and finding some fun ones to add to my photo guide! I rarely scout because Isla is normally with me, so it was nice to just drive aimlessly around Houston.
PS I read this post by Whitney today and love it. It’s about ‘living in the now’ and such a refreshing reminder that the social media pressures of today are so trivial and that life is about so much more than like, comment and follower counts. Thanks, Whitney, for sharing.