Week in Review

Personal February 23, 2015

I seriously had the best week ever, so much appreciation to all of my lovely friends who made me feel extra special on my birthday. I was surprised by the most gorgeous flowers delivered from my sweet friend Mara (of Hook, Thread and Tinker) – the only way I would have been more excited about the delivery would have been if she had been at my doorstep instead of thousands of miles away in chilly Chicago! I also got beautiful flowers from my three close friends from high school, and have them spread around the house, bringing happiness to various corners! It’s incredible the joy that florals can bring.

In addition to birthday festivities (more details below), one of my best friends, Kirby, was in town with her husband, Brett, and daughter, Lillian (more about this tiny little angel here!). I am so incredibly grateful for the time we were able to spend together (as they live in Oklahoma City), and Sasha is too, as he loves Brett.

We had dinner at her brother and sister-in-law’s house on Friday, then went to her parent’s house during the day on Saturday and celebrated Mardi Gras together at our mutual friend’s parents house on Saturday night. I wish they lived here so badly, but I’ll take action packed visits as a second best option any day!

Some other exciting things that took place this week include:

Getting treated to birthday lunch by my best friend, McKenzie, and her wonderful boyfriend, Bryan – we ate at True Food Kitchen, and I’m officially obsessed
Eating birthday dinner with Sasha and Isla at Rosie Carrabba’s, which is one of our favorite spots in the city (and his ‘Holy Ship, it’s your birthday!’ card still has be laughing)
Celebrating my birthday with my family at Benjy’s on Washington on Saturday for lunch – their beet hummus and Brussels sprouts are phenomenal
Meeting Sasha during his lunch break at Zoe’s Kitchen on Monday – his office is only 15 minutes away, so getting to see him for a bit during the day is such a treat
Going to lunch with two co-worker friends on Friday at none other than Ruggles Green – so much fun to chat with them, especially since the main topic of conversation was blogging!
Feeding Isla restaurant food – she had a chicken skewer at Zoe’s Kitchen, a grilled chicken breast at Benjy’s and Carrabba’s, and guacamole and quinoa from A Moveable Feast – it makes our meals a smidgen more expensive, but we love watching her feed herself like a tiny human (and these stick-on mats are necessary now!)
Sleeping – although Sasha and I both feel exhausted from the busy week, Isla has slept from 6:30 pm – 7:30am every night this week, and I’m praying it’s not just a fluke… I want to get used to that!
Planning the final wedding details with Amanda, who surprised me with gorgeous tulips, delicious vegan cookies from Whole Foods and an amazing card on my birthday!
Getting a manicure and pedicure at Paradise Nails while Isla’s Baba (Sasha’s mom) babysat – it was such a treat, and I’m definitely going to try to keep it up (typically terrible at this…)
Going to Sephora and being surprised by my birthday gift, which was two NARS lipsticks – my favorite gift they’ve ever given!
Catching up with one of my best friends, Paola, who moved to Honduras after their wedding in Mexico City last fall and I miss her so much it’s insane! I did not want to get off the phone!
Spending way too much money at The Monogram Shop – that place is dangerous (if you live in Houston, you need to go)
Spending the night at my parent’s house after the Mardi Gras party and waking up with the entire family there – my two sisters had spent the night too!
Buying and setting up new furniture for our bedroom as gifts from my parents – they also got me the Audrey Lamp, which has been on my birthday and Christmas lists for years!
Heading to Memorial Park during a patch of sunshine on Sunday and doing the 3-mile loop together (and Isla’s straw hat does me in every time!)

You can also follow along during the week by following on Instagram! How was your week? What were the highlights?

Personal February 16, 2015

Week in Review

Happy Presidents’ Day, everyone! I hope you are enjoying the day off, but if not, I pray you had a wonderful Valentine’s weekend and are still on a love-high from the weekend and don’t mind sitting at your desk today. I had an amazing week, getting to spend time with old and new friends as I celebrated Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, a friend’s 32nd birthday, and a sweet baby boy due so soon! The weather in Houston has just been amazing, so our evening family walks have lasted a little longer than normal.

The main low point of the week was Isla’s first tooth breaking the surface. Oh gosh. I mean, teething is awful! She was a snotty mess all week and absolutely will not let you wipe her nose (poor day care staff at Life Time Fitness discovered that the hard way). She was snugglier than normal though, which was sweet. I cannot believe this is an ongoing process… so many more teeth to come! I am grateful that I’ve had a gummy bear for as long as I have though, and pray she doesn’t feel like biting down while nursing!

Other highlights from the week include:

Painting a mug and a plate at The Mad Potter with one of my high school friends, Danielle, who has the most incredible story and you should be following her inspiring blog – Project 3×5 (and her Instagram)
Watching Isla take the reigns in peek-a-boo, as she now pulls the cover up and down all by herself – see a little video evidence here and here
Catching up with Alexis and Kevin at Ruggles Green – I cannot believe they’re first date was there months ago when they slept the whole time, and now they’re in high chairs making insane amounts of mess
Getting a beautiful cross from Isla’s Godmother (my best friend), McKenzie – it’s stunning and she is going to love it so much when she gets older!
Enjoying a lovely Galentine’s Day party (post here) with sweet girl friends
Celebrating baby Kerr (due in 5 weeks) at Julie’s (of Baby Grace Houston – part of the Best Baby Items on Etsy giveaway!) gorgeous shower – I’ll be sharing details this week!
Eating a romantic (ha!) Valentine’s Day dinner with Sasha’s two cousins, Natalia and Stevan, and my sister and playing gin rummy (two for two now, which is insanely lucky for me)
Going to McCormick and Schmicks and The Tasting Room to celebrate one of Sasha’s best friend’s birthdays – always so good to spend time with Paige and Matt!
Spending time with all three sets of Isla grandparents – during which she ate a crêpe for the first time, played with her new bee chair, and listened to a new book from my mom – Round is a Tortilla
Having my sister-in-law’s best friend over to help her design her wedding invitations – they’re going to look so pretty and I’m so excited for their fall wedding!
Letting Isla eat all sorts of new foods, like Special K Protein Plus with breastmilk (!!!!) as we were out of oatmeal (which we eat every morning), Brussels sprouts, portobello mushrooms and spicy black bean veggie burgers
Listening to an amazing guest speaker at church (Bayou City Fellowship) – his name is Jeremy Courtney and he is the Founder and Executive Director of Preemptive Love Collation – this organization has the most amazing mission and I was so moved by Jeremy’s message
Enjoying a family meal at Ruggles Green after church (yeahhh, I’m addicted to the Texas Goat Cheese Salad)
Being gifted the Classic Pave Link bracelet from J. Crew – Amanda gave me this for helping her with wedding planning, and I seriously cannot take it off… I love it
Getting to visit with Sasha’s aunt and uncle, who is sick – without sharing details, as this is personal, all prayers are definitely appreciated
Finishing up the trip planning for Paris and St. Petersburg – making reservations, figuring out minute details… and praying we get lucky with good French Open tickets!

Some other secretive behind-the-scenes things took place during the week, which I am praying I can share with you soon. Needless to say, the extra effort involved has left me very little time to do much else.

How was your week? What were your highlights? Did you have a fun Valentine’s Day? Please share in the comments below!

Personal February 9, 2015

Week in Review

As I mentioned on Friday, I went to Austin for the first part of the weekend to celebrate a friend’s bachelorette weekend, then drove back to Houston for another friend’s bridal shower. Both events were so much fun (although quite opposite in level of appropriateness). We went over to Sophee’s parents house after the shower to hang out with the bride and groom’s family, which I loved. Sophee and I lived together in college for two years, so I know her parents and sister very well and love them to death.

While I was busy on Saturday, Sasha took Isla to his friend’s 1 and 2 year old sons’ birthday party at the Houston Zoo. Zach’s sweet mom took some adorable photos which she sent me. I’m sad to have missed this fun celebration, but glad to have cute photos from the event.

Other highlights from the week included:

The drive to Austin with two of my best friends since elementary school – it was a trip, as we laughed the entire way there (the return at 7am was a different story…)
Pushing Isla on the swings at the park on Sunday – she giggles and giggles as she goes back and forth – similar to her bike ‘rides’ (as she push her around)
Giving Isla her first bath in the big tub, which was so fun and she splashed around and loved it. Her frugal father didn’t though and think’s we’re wasting too much water! So silly!
Going to Ciro’s Italian Grill for lunch with Papa (my dad) – it was such a treat, especially since he’s leaving for the UK for two weeks
Getting a blowout at Dry Bar while Isla was babysat by her Baba (Sasha’s mom) – she made us these delicious peppers and strudel too!
Worshipping at Bayou City Fellowship on Sunday – we’ve been gone or busy the last few Sundays so haven’t made it to church, but I’m so glad we did yesterday. Of course, I cried (happy tears) to be there, singing along with friends.
Bringing my best friend, McKenzie, Yogurtland frozen yogurt to celebrate her moving back into our old (but new) apartment complex after being in a very cool looking, but very old, four-plex for almost two years
Eating lunch at Ruggles Green with an old friend, Anna, whom I hadn’t seen in ages and love to pieces – it was so nice to catch up!
Spending time with Sasha’s aunt and uncle who live nearby and seeing his cousin, Natalia, who was in town
Getting a chipped bottom tooth fixed – I have no clue how it happened! They’re worried I’m a night grinder… praying that’s not the case or else I’ve got some cool mouth gear in my future
Taking more photos for Feather Thread (first mentioned here) – I’m excited for Jessica to launch it!

How was your week? What did you get up to?

Personal February 2, 2015

Week in Review

I truly love a good yearly planner, and I’ve used one forever and ever and ever; however, after Isla was born, mine got left behind in my laptop bag that hasn’t been opened since June. My organization was shocking, which is totally understandable for the first weeks or months. 7 months in? Maybe not so much.

I was really excited to get my Sugar Paper planner for Christmas, but even more excited when I found out last week that I had won a Simplified Planner from Christina Leigh’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. It seemed perfect timing, as Emily Ley (owner/creator of the Simplified Planner) gave birth to her adorable baby twins last week, and I couldn’t stop crying when she posted this photo on Instagram. What is wrong with me? I now want twins really, really, really badly.

So, besides twin babies (whom I do not know) being born, other highlights of the week included:

Two lunch dates to Ruggles Green with the most adorable babies – Hollis (11 months old and a walking machine) and Alexander (please see photo below to understand my utter obsession) – I love catching up with their sweet moms too, especially while eating a Texas Goat Cheese Salad
Finishing the editing on my video for Milk Nursingwear – it’s being reviewed, but I’ll be able to show it soon!
Participating in the 30 day challenge with 89.3 KSBJ, which is a local Christian radio station – I seriously cannot be in a bad mood while listening to this station (and when Broken Vessels is on… my heart is extra happy). I’ve also started the She Reads Truth Bible study and am obsessed. Can we talk about the content, as well as the beautiful graphics?
Traveling to Galveston for our niece’s Christening, which was beautiful – Ana is a champion and slept through 90% of it, then cried for only a second (during the dunking, which is understandable!)
Laughing and laughing when I looked over at Isla one morning as I got ready to see that she had climbed on the scale and was standing up, examining herself in the mirror (handy though, she weigh 19 pounds now… avocado and sweet potatoes are chunking her up!)
Receiving a beautiful package for Isla from Janie and Jack and getting some cute little jeans and a top from Nordstrom for her as well (does anyone ever do returns without buying something??) – also, let’s talk about how I only buy clothes for Isla now – this is the definition of being a mom!
Enjoying time with my older sister and both of Isla’s grandmas who came to visit this week and play with Isla

I felt awfully sick on Saturday (I kept Googling symptoms of an Appendicitis, but turns out I have a cold, ha!). A very laid back day helped me get back on my feet quickly. How was your week? What were your highlights?

PS The winner of the Isla necklace giveaway was Joanna Murnan! Congratulations!!

Week in Review January 26, 2015

Week in Review

This past weekend, we hosted a wedding shower at our house for two of our close friends, Scott and Amanda. We tested the capacity of ‘The Manor,’ and had 67 people eating, drinking, laughing and taking polaroids (or Instax Minis, to be precise). Sasha and I had such a good time, and seriously cannot wait for their wedding in New Orleans in just a few months. I’ll share a handful of photos later this week – although it’s hard to play photographer when you’re busy being a host! I’m glad I got some photos taken before the party started. I did share one of my favorite pictures below – Amanda’s two adorable nieces came, and they love the photos. You’ll see the ‘World’s Best Selfies’ below!

The shower was by far the biggest highlight of the week, and getting ready for it took up most of the week. There were a few other fun moments, including:

Meeting two sweet friends for lunch at Adair Kitchen and getting one of my favorite meals in the city – their black bean quinoa burger (it’s heavenly)
Getting our new ficus lyrata set up – we ordered it from Houston Interior Plants and love it
Ordering a British passport for Isla
More mushed berry finger painting with Isla, as her aunts commissioned pieces of their own
Hanging up lights in our backyard (well, Sasha did) – we ordered these ones from Amazon and love them!
Taking Isla to the park with her cousins and swinging for the first time!
Receiving packages from one of my best friends, Sophee, and from Kendra Scott – details on what was inside will be shared tomorrow!
Catching up with one of my closest high school friends, Joy (who owns the amazing jewelry company, Priya) over lunch at Zoe’s Kitchen
Receiving my two new wedding bands, as the tiny pave ones I had kept losing diamonds!
Discovering that Isla is obsessed with Plum Organics squeezable purees – we are doing baby led weaning, but want to make sure Isla practices eating from a spoon too! She is obsessed with the Greek yogurt, spinach and raspberry flavor
A playdate with McKenzie and Sasha’s mom on Friday – we had Isla time, then enjoyed lunch together at the house
Getting pampered on Saturday morning with a mimosa and blowout (something I need every day!)
Buying at least 7 outfit options for the shower, then wearing something I already owned (how often does this have to happen for me to learn?)

A definite low point was spending hours on the phone with Apple to fix my iPhoto – where I store all photos. Yikes. I was extremely cranky last night while this was happening!

What were your highlights this week?