Snapshots – Page 7 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal March 27, 2018

Some Bunny Loves You

I am so excited (ahem, eggscited, if you will) for Easter this weekend! As I mentioned earlier last week, spring is the happiest time of the year, in my opinion, and I love that this important holiday falls smack dab in the middle of my favorite season!

On Friday morning, we took the most impromptu Easter pics in the empty lot across from our house. I already had a ton of eggs, bunny ears, etc. so Sydney and I just planned to meet early in the morning, then my sister-in-law and her best friend ended up joining, since Destiny was in town for my photo class yesterday.

I love these sweet kiddos so much! Somehow, these last minute photos always end up being my absolute favorite.

Personal March 6, 2018

Our Trip to the Magnolia Market at the Silos

As Sydney and I drove to Magnolia Market yesterday, she asked me if I had ever wanted to go to Baylor when I was in high school, and I was quick to remind her of my Longhorn loyalty (ha!). When I visited Waco in 2004, as part of my older sister’s college tour, we drove around the campus and then around the city. And there was really not much to see. Then one of my close friends went to Baylor, and I visited her and learned that I hadn’t been wrong on that tour. The appeal of Baylor to many isn’t how cool Waco was, but the gorgeous campus, the history and prestige of the university, the prominent Greek life, etc. But I wasn’t sold. Had Fixer Upper existed in the early 2000s, I would have been singing a different tune about Baylor and Waco, because what that show has done for the city is unbelievable. When we pulled up to the market (all googley eyed!), we saw Waco tour buses. Tour buses. For Waco. What! A city once made internationally famous by David Koresh, it is a new place. A city with a booming tourism industry, with cute coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants and last but not least – the Magnolia Market at the Silos. It was a Monday, and the place was absolutely packed.

We walked around the grounds, taking in the food trucks, beautiful buildings (even the restrooms were gorgeous!), and the center grassy area where hoards of kids were kicking balls and running around. We had seen the line for the bakery wrap around the building, so thought we would save that for last. We braved the shop with two strollers and a wandering toddler and I bought two candlesticks, a magnifying glass and a galvanized tub. Afterwards, we went to feed the kids from one of the food trucks, while waiting on my friend Courtney to arrive. I was so excited to see her and hear all about her adventures working for Magnolia (as I said yesterday, what a dream!). We ate at a healthy food truck (a delicious strawberry salad!), then caught up on the lawn. Afterwards, we walked around and snapped a few photos then went to get in line for the bakery. We snagged a few of their famous cookies, then packed up the car and headed back to Houston. It was a short, but especially sweet, visit. We had the best time and I can’t wait to go back again!

Personal February 23, 2018

Emilia’s First Steps with Carter’s

This post is sponsored by Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

After spending a week in Paris, we’re once again stateside, where the weather is just a tad warmer. The Parisian forecast looked a whole lot like the coldest week we had in Texas this winter, reminding me how spoiled we are to have such a short cold season. My mind is already wandering to hotter times, and given that Spring is my favorite season of the year, I’m starting to look for new warm-weather clothes for me and for the girls. Carter’s has always been my go-to for baby basics, and I wanted to make sure that I took advantage of the Carter’s February Baby Sale (which ends March 5). Emilia is still wearing 6-12 months clothes right now, but I went ahead and bought her some cute 18 month clothes for her to grow into (all linked below!).

My sweet second daughter has only really worn shoes a handful of times (versus Isla, who always had a pair to match her outfit!). Emilia has at least 40 pairs of shoes in her closet, but I feel like most of them are just cute and not very good at helping her to walk steadily. Now that she’s completely able to walk everywhere comfortably without fear of falling (although she still prefers crawling, for speed!), I wanted to get her some good quality sneakers. I absolutely love the Every Step Carter’s shoes – Isla calls them Emilia’s “magic walking shoe” because she has such great balance when she wears them. Emi’s first steps were taken (and video recorded!) while she was wearing her Carter’s Hawaiian print footed pajamas (a hand-me-down from her big sis), and I know that her first time to run will be in her new heart shoes. So many of our “baby’s first” moments have been associated with Carter’s, like Emi’s first time to sleep through the night and also dating back to Isla’s first Christmas! Read about our holiday traditions with Carter’s here (sweet baby Isla in those photos! Time is a thief!).

The Baby Sale is running from 2/20 until 3/5 – so don’t miss out on the deals. You can also use this 20% off coupon until March 12. I just ordered some new PJs for both the girls, and I know they’ll be so excited to get them in the mail soon.

Personal February 14, 2018

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Every year, I’ve done a few Valentine’s photos of Isla (a handful with newborn Emi too last year!). This year, with Emi’s birthday, lots of work and preparing for a trip to Paris, I totally hadn’t thought about any Valentine’s photos. Super duper last minute, I called Meredith, then Nancy, whose studio we used, and coordinated a small set of heart-filled photos. And you know what? I think they’re my favorite yet. Monica came with Riley, and they surprised me with the most delicious egg-free cake in history. Paris diet out the window! Brittany lives around the corner from Nancy (literally), and her and George came too, which was a treat given that I called her 45 minutes before we started – ha.

We’re enjoying this love-filled holiday in Paris – my dream! I can’t wait to share photos over the next week. Hope you all feel extra loved today! xo

Mom Talk December 28, 2017

The Ultimate Photo Book Guide

The two topics that I receive most questions about (via Instagram’s Direct Message or email) are printing photo books and managing photo storage. Alas, a post that covers both in great detail is very overdue, but actually very timely, given that most people start to think about printing photo books at the end of every year. Plus, most photo sites have great discounts right now (50% off everything at Mixbook until 1/1/18 at midnight, 50% off everything at Shutterfly until 12/28/17 at midnight, etc.).

If you’re new to Snapshots & My Thoughts, then you may not know about my ~~love~~ obsession with photo books. I started printing them in 2006, during my first year in college, and have printed many ever since. Beginning in 2010 (the year I graduated), I began to make an annual photo book in Shutterfly. I would pick a theme, but customize almost every page to my liking. Looking back at the early books, the designs are cringe-worthy but I absolutely love them. I would also print books for vacations and other special events. In 2013, I decided to do a photo-a-day book for Isla, which was quite the undertaking. I am so glad that I documented every day, because it’s amazing to watch her grow page by page, but with sweet Emilia, I am doing a photo-a-week, and you can see the transformation just the same (with much less work involved!). I will share these layouts below!

Every year, I would update the annual book at the end of every month, occasionally falling a month behind but always staying rather up-to-date. Well 2017 happened – a second baby, a busy work schedule and a husband who travels every week for week and alas, my fancy, customized-per-page Shutterfly book didn’t happen. Which I’m still coming to terms with, since I’m one for consistency and routine! I did, however, fall in love with another company in the transition.

I was introduced to Artifact Uprising a few years ago, as I used them to make our Christmas card in 2015. Last year, I decided to invest in one of their layflat books (which are pricier than Shutterfly, beginning at $179 for the 8.25×11 size that I love) for our family photos. Then in February, I chose to print Emi’s newborn photos in another layflat book and seeing the quality of these two ultra-thick, fabric bound books, I was hooked. I printed five layflat books total in 2017!

Fast forward to November 1st, I had this huge cloud hanging over my head: our annual photo book, which had two months of content in it, needed lots and lots of work (and time!). October through December are my busiest months, and I knew I couldn’t spend the time I needed to make the Shutterfly book I wanted. The obvious alternative was Artifact Uprising, as I knew if I couldn’t have ultra-designed, I wanted ultra-simple and white. I couldn’t wrap my head around spending $250+ on each book (I knew I’d need multiple books for how many photos I took this year). I decided to try their hardcover books, which begin at $79 for an 8.5×11 book. I chose the 50 page option, which allows you to fill 99 pages, and managed to get January through March photos included. Filling the pages went so quickly, and you can even chose auto-fill. I’ll go into detail on the uploading process below. I ended up having five books total, but could have done less if I had chosen to do the 150 page option for each instead (allowing you 199 pages) of 50 (allowing 99).

All in all, I am so in love with our 2017 annual photo books. It was not the cheapest option, but I used two Artifact Uprising coupons to bring down the cost (more on coupons in the FAQ section below!). I know that the interest in printing photo books is out there, as people always reply to my Instagram posts or stories saying that much. So, I pray that this post helps move you to action! Print those photos – whether that be prints or books. I love Artifact Uprising’s motto: Inspired by the disappearing beauty of the tangible. I stand behind that – if photos stay on digital devices, we are slowly losing the beauty of the tangible printed photos, which tell stories that generations beyond us can cherish.

There is a lot of content in this blog post. First, I’ll cover details on the books I’ve printed before: annual Shutterfly photo books, photo-a-day/week Shutterfly photo books,annual photo books using Artifact Uprising hardcover photo books and special occasion Artifact Uprising layflat photo books. This is probably my most personal post ever, as I’m actually sharing links to many of our family’s books. Let me tell you: when I made them, I had no intention of them ever being viewed by anyone outside of close family or friends, so they include very personal photos and details, but I really do want to help inspire people to make books, so I feel like it’s important to do this.

So, let’s begin!