Snapshots – Page 8 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Décor December 7, 2017

The Eskridge’s ‘At Home’ Family Session

Breaking news: It’s snowing in Texas. Literally everyone is freaking out, including me! Poor Sasha. This is what he hears from February until well, today: “Ugh, Houston is so hot!” “I am so sweaty – I can’t wait until winter!” “When is it going to get cold?” And then, 46 degree days arrive and I’m all: “THIS IS MISERABLE! I NEED TO GO TO THE BEACH!” Ha.

I digress. Back to the topic at hand: The Eskridge family.

After my clients and I agree upon a date for their family session, I send them a document with photos of a few favorite locations across Houston and have them pick where they want their photos taken. A lot of the time, people choose the same spots – which really is fine, since being familiar with an area is very advantageous with photography. However, on occasion, I’ll have clients who want something a bit different (which is so exciting!). This year, I had two families who didn’t want the typical “green space” photos. One opted for an all-white studio (can’t wait to share some of these!) and the other, Monica of Paper Flour Ink (whom I’ve talked about on here quite a bit recently), who suggested we do them at her house. Well, I’ve been to her insanelystunninginteriordesigngoals house before and was totally into this idea.

Their front yard is gorgeous. The courtyard is gorgeous. The backyard is gorgeous. The recently renovated pool is gorgeous. The fining room is gorgeous. And last, but certainly not least: The Eskridges are gorgeous. And there you have it – a winning combination for family photos. Keep on scrolling to understand exactly what I’m talking about!

Personal November 22, 2017

Will & Lesley’s Engagement Photos

As I mentioned last week, I am going to start sharing more of my photo sessions on the blog – I’ll do a roundup of my favorite family photos at the end of the ‘season,’ since there are a lot of those! On Monday, I took Will and Lesley’s engagement photos at the eastern-most parts of North and South Boulevards in Boulevard Oaks. They live nearby, and Will proposed to Lesley while on a walk down North Boulevard. It only made sense to take these photos there!

It won’t take you but 0.3 seconds to see why I’m dying to share these. Will and Lesley both look like models (for real!), and they were naturals in front of the camera (despite warning me otherwise). Will came to the rescue with tape for Lesley’s dress and an emergency blanket, which worked out perfectly. I love these two together, and I love their photos as well! I apologize for my inability to narrow down favorites to a reasonable number. Ha.

Personal November 3, 2017

Our 2017 Family Photos by Courtney Leigh Photography

Yesterday evening, we went to Montgomery to take photos with my sweet, insanely talented friend, Courtney Brown of Courtney Leigh Photography (who also took Emi’s newborn photos and our family photos last year). Y’all, they are my favorite photos ever. I cried looking through them and haven’t stopped scrolling since I got the album in my inbox (in legitimately the most record timing ever). These two girls of mine and that handsome husband – what more could I ask for? Oh wait, Belle!! We forgot to bring her! Ha! Poor pup. Our neglected first babe.

In all seriousness, I am going to print these this weekend to update galleries around the house! Sweet Emi isn’t in a single frame yet. Whoops! I was so worried about her being happy given that the drive is about an hour and she is much happier in the morning than evenings, but she actually did better than Isla. She seriously loved Courtney!

I tried to be selective, but as always, I am terrible at that! She did send 164 photos and it was a struggle to narrow down 100 favorites, then even more difficult to cut that in half for the blog. So alas, a ton of photos of the Petrovics in 2017!

PS Thank you, thank you to Maggie of Bramble & Bee for the gorgeous floral crowns and wreath! I loved these little touches. It was nice to feel a bit festive in 91 degree, humid Houston (in November, nonetheless!). Oh, and my dress is sold out, but the girls’ are still available at Gap! Isla’s here and Emi’s here.

Events September 25, 2017

Our Vacation at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa

Happy Monday/back to reality! We spent the last week at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, which is located on Miramar Beach near Destin, Florida. It was one of the best weeks of my whole life, truly. We were up at sunrise every morning, first in line for the breakfast buffet (more on that below, but it was so delicious!), first at the beach to get our umbrella and baby tent setup (Emi napped every single morning in it!), ate the best lunches at Barefoot’s by the pool, snoozed hard in the afternoon, then were back out for more fun around 3pm. Around 5pm, we’d head back to the hotel, all take baths/shower, then get dressed and eat dinner, either at the resort, or taking the free shuttle to Baytowne Wharf nearby. We were relaxed the whole time, and I couldn’t imagine it going more smoothly. I have some tips for beachin’ with baby below as well – we learned some things during our first time doing it! Isla was about 20 months old when we took her to the beach the first time, so her eating the sand was not a concern of ours! Ha.

Fashion September 20, 2017

Our Family Beach Photos

I have always loved beach family photos – the lapping blue, reflective water, the dreamy sun setting in the background, the white sand, the wind tousled hair. We have never had the opportunity to have a beach session, so when we booked our trip to the Hilton Sandestin, I started searching for a photographer immediately. I could not be more excited about finding Lauren Folk of Folk House Creative Co., because y’all, she is not only super talented, but a dream to work with. She seriously captured our small little family perfectly, and I will truly print and treasure these photos forever. I am so grateful for Lauren! If you are traveling to the Destin area, I cannot recommend her enough.

There is so much joy in these photos. Sweet Emi was very much ready for bed, but Lauren somehow managed to appear less tired than she really was! That babe was asleep less than ten minutes after we wrapped them up, but Lauren (and Isla) had her grinning with their smart posing and silly faces (well, Isla’s!). Without further adieu, a narrowed down, but still expansive, selection of favorites from our session.