DEFINE

Happy Labor Day! I hope that all of my American readers are enjoying their holiday weekend! It’s funny how having one extra day in a weekend can make all of the difference in the world. This week flew by even faster than others with a few photoshoots – one that I was in for a change (for this Bikini Body Guide review post). We broke bread with friends on a number of occasions, which always makes me happy. In addition to playdates and pool days, I would say this was one of my favorite weekends in ages. I wish it would never end!

Some of the highlights from the past seven days include:

Visiting with one of my favorite people on earth – Brooke – at our house on Sunday, and having Isla feed her a million Goldfish. She’s such a joyful soul, and I love her to pieces!
Having a playdate with Esther and Naomi at their gorgeous house. Naomi is such a little chatterbox. I love her!
Swimming at our good friends’ house with their little ball of happy energy, Ellery. It was so fun watching her and Isla play… and by that, I mean determine whose things were whose. Isla kept pushing sweet Ellery off of her own chair! Such a little bully!
Worshiping at Bayou City Fellowship and listening to Pastor Derek talk about Godly parenting. I was so inspired! I think I’m going to do a blog post on this topic soon!
Taking photos for my Bikini Body Guide review post with Paige and getting my hair and makeup done by Britt beforehand. Paige had a meeting to go to afterward, but Brittany and I ate breakfast at Sweet Paris in Rice Village together afterwards. I treated myself to a mimosa!
Eating breakfast at Buffalo Grille on Saturday morning with my older sister, Karine. I love their oatmeal, and Isla adores their pancakes! It was a treat to eat breakfast out twice in one week!
Finally getting most rooms in our house painted (we chose Benjamin Moore Classic Gray!) by Alvarez Painting. I didn’t quite think about how ALL of our stuff would get moved around, so the house was super chaotic, but it’s all back to normal now, and I love it.
Attending a Memorial High School cheerleading practice to chat about Senior Photos, and having some of the male cheerleaders put Isla into her first stunt! She loved the attention she was getting.
Going to Isla’s 15 month doctor appointment at Blue Fish Pediatrics. She weighs 22 pounds and is 31.5 inches long! She’s getting so big – it’s crazy! She did not like the three shots she had to get one bit. Poor baby girl!
Taking head shots and product photos for Nine0Nine Creative on Tuesday and Friday at Meredith’s house. Mother Nature was certainly against us, but we made it work!
Meeting my former co-worker turned friend, Nastassja for lunch in Katy at Dish Society on Friday. I always love catching up with her!
Decorating vegan sugar cookies (adapted from this recipe) with watermelon colored icing on Monday to surprise Tata when he got home from work! He ate them all in a matter of minutes.
Stopping by DEFINE and briefly catching up with Kasey, who gave Isla a grand introduction to the class she was teaching. I documented it on Snapchat (@aileepetrovic) – are we following each other yet?
Eating frozen yogurt from TCBY and getting some for Sasha and Isla at Orange Leaf – it was a froyo filled week! I also treated myself to a number of Sinfull Bakery’s Everything Bars from Georgia’s Farm to Market, which are seriously my favorite treat in the entire world. I would choose those over any other sweet or dessert!
Dropping by The Monogram Shop to pay for a gift I had ordered and picking up a sweet gift for Isla from Leah, the store’s social media guru. I love it! I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of Isla with her new bag, which gets carried around everywhere.
Eating dinner at our favorites – Garbanzo, Buff Burger, Ruggles Green, Rosie Carrabba’s – we are such creatures of habit, but have a list of new spots to try and are going to make a point to visit them soon!

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

Can you believe August is almost over, and that Texas public schools start back today? Oh goodness, where is this year going?! We spent part of the afternoon planning our trip to Australia in January, as it felt so far away until we pulled out our calendars. Only 4.5 months until we leave! I cannot believe it. I’m so ready to sunbathe on Manly Beach (plans changed from a trip to New Zealand to Sydney!), photograph the colorful boat houses on Brighton Beach, play with koalas at Taronga Zoo, watch our favorite players at the Australian Open, etc. However, the insanely long flight with a 18 month old will be less exciting (ha!).

Overall, we had a fun week, filled with a few shoots, tiny train ride, a birthday party, a high school pep rally and a whole lot of rain. Isla loves to splash in the puddles, so she was in heaven.

Other highlights from the week included:

Photographing two DEFINE body shoots for some of their new clothing and another for DEFINE Foods (I kept snacking on the set food!).
Attending a Butter Artistry and Fave4 hair styling event and getting a fancy schmancy braid in my hair. It was a great event, but I need a serious private lesson to learn Britt’s amazing skills.
Taking a trip to the Rice area, where we had ice cream at Cloud 10 Creamery then headed to Hermann Park to walk around the Japanese Gardens and take a train ride, which Isla LOVED. We grabbed Niko Niko’s on the way home – they have the yummiest falafel.
Shooting our friend’s newly built, gorgeous house, which I’ll feature on the blog this week!
Going to our niece’s adorable 4th birthday party at their house and laughing at Isla’s crazy pool antics. Like I said earlier, she loves to splash.
Having both my older and younger sisters babysit Isla, which I love, as I want Isla to be very close to her aunts!
Receiving my Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite flash in the mail. I’m so ready to take some photos in the evening now!
Photographing the Memorial High School cheerleaders at their back-to-school pep rally. It seriously made me nostalgic! I cannot believe I graduated 9 years ago. What?!
Getting the house painted grey – we finally landed on Benjamin Moore’s Classic Grey! I cannot wait for it to be completed.
Planning another fun shoot that will take place in a few weeks with lots of my favorite creatives and entrepreneurs like Lindsay Marcella, Willow Crowns, A Fine Flourish, Cake & Confetti, cuteheads, Miss J’s cookies and Shop Sweet Lulu.
Eating lunch with Meredith of Cake & Confetti and Leah of The Monogram Shop at Adair Kitchen to discuss some potential collaborations between the three of us – a store with every cute item imaginable, a stylist and a photographer. Expect colorful things to come!
Going to church at Bayou City Fellowship and catching up with our sweet friends, Sydney and Philip, then going to lunch at Buff Burger afterwards.
Eating a delicious and fun brunch with Megan of Willow Crowns and her sweet little Olivia at Sweet Paris in City Centre and then running around the green afterwards. Isla fell fast asleep as soon as we go in the car – she was worn out!
Participating in the Rising Tide Society challenge (#risingtidechallenge), which was so inspiring and I got to ‘meet’ lots of other creatives whom I’m now following and already loving. I am so pro “community over competition” and think it’s great that this global group is pushing it so actively!
Organizing jewelry on our dresser with new holders from Target – the stacking glass jars and another West | Emory bracelet holder that is now out of stock! I’m glad to finally get more organized.
Getting started on Snapchat! You can add me by my username @aileepetrovic and I’ll add you back! It still confuses me a bit, but I’m getting the hang of it and love seeing my friends’ fun activities (especially the little babes!).

How was your week? What were your highlights?

Week in Review

Week in Review