Oh Daylight Savings! How much fun is that? 😉 Sunday was very slow moving with us all operating on an hour less sleep, but overall, the whole weekend was one of our most relaxed in months. Therefore, I have no complaints at all! After a very hectic week, it was much needed. Sasha was in California again for work, so I was a one-man show, fortunately with help from family! I mentioned this last week, but seriously – single moms are heroes.

Some highlights from the week include:

• Going to my first spin class at RYDE with some of the other bloggers in the #boxwoodsbreakfastclub – it was such a good class! I absolutely loved it.
• Getting a fresh chop and a tiny bit of summery color with Eric Vaughn, then running across town for the cuteheads x The Monogram Shop Easter shoot (those kids though!).
• Photographing Esther and gorgeous baby Tova for a collaboration with Solly Baby.
• Taking blog photos for Caroline at BLVD Place, Destiny at CityCentre and Alex at our house! Isla borrowed Alex’s Henri Bendel purse and was strutting her stuff – we were cracking up.
• Enjoying a few postponed shoots due to the rain and getting to sip coffee with Meredith at the house while Isla entertained us with Snapchat filters!
• Going to the Rising Tide Society meeting at Fill in the Blank Studios – it was about taxes, and I actually learned a ton!
• Attending the Macy’s event that Destiny was co-hosting with Emily and Alice – it was so fun and I got to see some other sweet blogger girls.
• Finally getting to eat dinner at Coltivare – it is so busy!!! We got there 20 minutes after it opened, and there was an hour wait, so we sat at the chef’s table. It wasn’t the best, but we had a great time and the food was delicious!
• Running into Elly at the gym on Saturday morning – she looked like a total doll, and I was wearing bleach trays in public #embarrassing!!
• Taking a trip to Walgreens with Isla, with her refusing to get dressed… so that was interesting (she did have a diaper on though)! She got a lot of comments. Ha! Mom of the year right here.
• Shooting cuteheads‘ new collection – it is so cute, and I cannot wait for you to see it all! Some sneak peeks below.
• Taking sweet Blakely’s newborn photos! She was such a doll.

Hope you had a wonderful week too and are catching up on some sleep!

Complaining about Mondays may be so basic, but truly, they are my least favorite day of the week. Sasha is back in California for work (a department ski trip to Tahoe? Tough life, right?), so I’ve been entertaining Isla all day, trying to distract her from the fact that today is her first day with no binkie. She did relatively well, and only asked for it a few times during the day. At nap time, she cried for the “BINKIE! BINKIEEEEE!” And I repeated, as I had earlier, “Your binkies are all gone!” She paused for a second, looking deep in thought, then said, “PACI!!!!” I died laughing (probably didn’t help) because I have never, ever heard her call it that. These little minds are so funny.

The past week was a lot of fun. I hosted an Instagram challenge, which was my first but not last. I loved seeing the entries everyday (although I’ve lost faith in all photos showing up when you click the hashtag! I would see some days later!). You can see the pictures here.

Other highlights from the week included:

• Meeting Destiny at Discovery Green; Caroline, in the warehouse district; Molly, downtown, and Brittany at Uptown Park. Gorgeous gals! Isla got to play with Truman after our shoot at the park and Los Trompos exhibit. They wore matching rain jackets from The Monogram Shop – seriously too cute.
• Going to James’ 5th birthday party! His mama, Nina, was due days after I met her – cannot believe that was five years ago! Time is such a thief.
• Taking newborn photos for an adorable baby boy, Wes. His nursery is such a dream, and he’s cute to boot. I also photographed the most gorgeous little babe, Annie! She was such a cool little lady – so cute too!
• Meeting Meredith at Lauren’s house for some baby and beauty flatlays and lifestyle photographs. I got to meet sweet Ford for the first time! He’s precious.
• Going to church and then having lunch at my mother-in-laws! Isla was having cold symptoms, and we didn’t want her to get any of the kids at the daycare sick, so we dropped her at my in-laws beforehand.
• Playing at Donovan park and then eating dinner at Carabbas on Voss after a failed attempt to eat at Coltivare (a 1 hour 45 minute wait at 5:30pm??). 
• Running the 3 mi loop at Memorial Park and then going to Isla’s swim class and having coffee afterwards at Kraftsmen Baking with my sister, Karine.
• Eating lunch with Joy at The Dunlavy and with Leah at Adair Kitchen – love both these ladies AND the delicious restaurants. Definitely my favorites!

Hope you had a great week too! Happy Monday. xo

Happy Monday (and Leap Day!)! Today is Sasha’s first day at his new job at Google, so while he’s touring the Googleplex, eating free (delicious!) food, and learning more about what his role entails, Isla and I are in Houston wishing we had hopped on the plane with him. I told him the next time he goes to California, we’re joining – mainly so we can see our sweet friends, Kristy and Olivia! Sasha requested that we watch The Internship (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn movie set on Google’s campus) on Friday night, and we’ve had some good jokes since then about the culture shock he’s about to face. Let’s just say that old school Oil & Gas clients aren’t Googley.

On another side note, I’m hosting an Instagram photo challenge! You can find more details here! I hope you play along (especially since you can win a $20 Starbucks gift card for doing so!). 

The week flew by, busy with photos and activities – seeing lots of family and friends (which we love). Some of the highlights include:

• Going to Tiny’s No. 5 for this month’s #boxwoodsbreakfastclub (ironically at lunchtime) and getting to see some of my favorite ladies and meet others who are equally as sweet!
• Taking photos for Caroline and Destiny at Discovery Green – I love shooting downtown. It has such a fun street vibe.
• Photographing Alex for a Target swimsuit campaign! She just got engaged, and her ring is gorgeous! I am so excited for her and Rick.
• Meeting Lauren at Clinique in the Galleria for photos for an upcoming campaign. It is insane to think that she had her baby boy (Ford) just 14 days earlier! She looks amazing. It’s not fair!
• Meeting with Riley (I’m obsessed) of Papellerie to discuss some stationery photos I’ll be taking – seriously cannot wait!
• Attending a workshop at Renovate hosted by Emily Reeves Calligraphy and The Briar Rose – two talented ladies! It was so much fun, and I’ll share more details this week!
• Briefly catching up with Leah at The Monogram Shop – looking forward to our lunch today! I love her.
• Sipping wine with Meredith, Brittany, Michelle and Alyssa at The Tasting Room on Monday for Happy Hour. Brittany is the best cheerleader ever and made us all tear up with her amazing motivational (and Godly!) speech.
• Photographing sweet Charlie – a tiny newborn wearing grown up man clothing, which I have a weakness for. Babies in suspenders? I can’t.
• Taking sorority and sister photos at Hermann Park and Centennial Gardens with two gorgeous gals – I wish I had been a quarter that pretty and cool at their age! 
• Going to church and then eating lunch with my parents in Katy on Sunday!
• Remembering our sweet Uncle Toma with a memorial lunch with Sasha’s family on Saturday. We miss him so much and talk about him often – I think this Helen Keller quote is so true: “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” 
• Going to a dermatologist appointment with Dr. Debra Chernosky, whom I love (and highly recommend!) on Monday, only to be told by my frugal husband I needed to wait to fulfill any medicine for a week until we get better insurance. I’m pretty sure it would have been a $10 difference! Ha. Crazy men!

How was your week? Can you believe it’s March tomorrow?

It’s Tuesday evening, and I’m just now getting around to writing last week’s review post, as it has been a pretty crazy past few days. Isla seems to have gotten into a routine of waking up around 3am and not wanting to go back to sleep for a few hours. I feel a bit like a zombie, and then I remember that a few of our good friends are nursing newborns every 2-3 hours! Oh goodness – those are the craziest days! 

We arrived home from Australia on Sunday the 31st, then I took Monday off and ran some errands, like picking Belle up from Meredith’s house. She had the best time with the Staggers – their yard is way bigger than ours, and she is always ten times more spoiled by others than she is by me during the day. Belle was excited to see Isla though! The two of them have been inseparable since we got them home together.

Other highlights from the past week include:

• Catching up with and photographing some of my favorite ladies – Destiny, Caroline and Molly
• Finally meeting one of my SIL’s best friends, Jenny, whom I adore. She stayed with us on Friday night, and we galavanted across the city on Saturday, taking photos for her site – Jenny Journey. We got in trouble from security guards, almost froze to death in gusty winds and had lots of good laughs. It’s rare you find someone so genuine and uplifting – I love her so much and cannot wait to follow along on, well… the Jenny journey.
• Taking newborn photos for the sweetest couple and their adorable bundle of joy, Morgan. He was so calm during the entire session!
• Spending time with our family after being gone for two weeks – Isla went to Katy for a day to see my parents. She loves Mimi and Papa!
• Baking ‘thank you’ cookies for our neighbor with Isla, and then having them eaten by Belle when I wasn’t looking – I was none too pleased with her!

How was your week? Up to anything exciting for Valentine’s Day?