houston – Page 13 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Uncategorized December 31, 2014

ClassPass in Houston

I made a sneaky little announcement two weeks ago that ClassPass was making its way to Houston. Well, this week, it launched… and I’m very excited. While I’m a new member at LifeTime Fitness and love it so far, one thing I am not too pleased with is their classes (except STRIKE!). The main reason I joined LifeTime is to have on-site daycare for Isla, which is a godsend. However, I went to DEFINE for morning spin classes until I was 39 weeks pregnant with Isla, and I miss going to independent studio classes.

That’s when ClassPass enters the picture.

With ClassPass you get unlimited monthly classes at the best boutique fitness studios in Houston like Pure Barre, Yoga West, Studio Fitness, The Bar Method and Joy Yoga Center. You can see them all mapped here.

I am definitely going to try classes at Joy Yoga on Voss, which is near our house, as I’ve wanted to go for ages now. My little sister and best friend are in love with classes at Big Yoga on Waugh, where my older sister’s friend instructs, so I’ll be heading there too. I am pretty excited to venture to various studios across the city to dabble in their classes.

Personal December 30, 2014

Isla’s Serbian Orthodox Christening Ceremony

On Saturday, December 27, Isla was Christened in a Serbian Orthodox ceremony. Although Sasha and I attend a baptist church (Bayou City Fellowship) on the weekends, Sasha grew up in the Orthodox religion, so we decided to Christen Isla in an Orthodox ceremony. We originally intended to do the ceremony and reception in Galveston at the Serbian church, but due to a double booking, we held the ceremony at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral and went to Canopy (one of my favorite restaurants) for the reception. I think it all worked out, as the Greek church is very beautiful (and much closer).

The ceremony is very long (I’ve outlined what happens below), and Isla held up for the first 30 minutes, but started wailing when she was dunked into the water (I would have too!). It was pretty traumatic for me, I cannot lie. I was very glad when the ceremony wrapped up after 45 minutes, although the symbolism of all the components is very meaningful.

We headed to Canopy for two hours of food and drinks, which I really enjoyed. We had cups, napkins and party favors from For Your Party, and honeycomb balls all over the tables from Devra Party Corp. Our Invitation was from Minted, and captured the bright colorful vibe I was going for. For the Christening, Isla wore the same robe that me, my dad and my grandfather wore, then changed into a more fun and comfortable J. Crew dress afterwards for the party. All of the floral arrangements were done by me and my sister-in-law, but they weren’t exactly what I was going for, but apparently this arrangement cannot be made in the winter!

Christie of KiKiMac is amazing and stepped in at the 11th hour (literally) to take photographs when our photographer had something come up. She did an incredible job, especially given that it was dark and pouring outside and taking photos in a church is very difficult! I am so blessed to have such a talented friend.

Week in Review December 29, 2014

Week in Review

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas or happy Hanukkah – can you believe it’s all over? I am seriously in a state of denial. I cannot believe 2015 is just a handful of days away. I am excited to see what the new year brings.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my parents in Katy, which is only 20 minutes away from our house (a short enough drive to do throughout the day to let Belle in and out of the house). I was taken aback when Karine and Jill (my older and younger sisters) asked to change the family tradition of watching Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve (I discussed it here), but it all ended up working out as we agreed to watch Frozen as a family (obsessed). We woke up nice and early with stockings at the end of our bed. Isla wasn’t quite as excited as I was! After waking up Karine and Jill, we opened stockings then gifts. I got the colorful Riad rug from West Elm (in photos below), a new steamer, a T3 Featherweight Luxe 2i Ion Generator Hair Dryer (it dries my hair in half the time!), amongst other lovely gifts from my family. One of the major highlights of the entire day was opening all of the incredible gifts (so well wrapped that I was slightly hesitant to do so) from my sweet friend Mara (of Hook Thread & Tinker). She is amazing and sent the most adorable and thoughtful presents for me, Isla, Sasha, and Belle. I wanted to hug her, but she was off vacationing in Mexico (jealous).

The week was pretty chaotic getting ready for Christmas and then getting ready for Isla’s Christening on Saturday. I will be sharing photos and details of the ceremony and reception tomorrow (taken by the very talented Christie of KiKiMac). Other highlights include:

Meeting my coworker-turned-friend for lunch at Ruggles Gree, taking a stroll through Town and Country (this does not normally happen in Houston, as proven by the lack of sidewalks for strollers) and picking up some clothes at Gap and books at Barnes and Noble
Trying a new feeding method that is working! We are now doing baby-led-weaning (or BLW) instead of feeding Isla purees, and so far, so good. Isla has been smearing her face in banana, apple and avocado for a week, but also eating a lot of it, which is a good step forward
Playing with our x-Isla-phone a lot… it’s so much fun (mainly for me, I think)
Sitting in the shopping cart at HEB for the first time using our new Infantino Cloud Cart Cover
Going to REI on Boxing Day for my family’s annual ‘jacket trip’ – Sasha and Isla left with new thermal jackets (see photo below), and I got some cold weather running gear
Spending time with all of Sasha’s cousins who are in town for the holidays
Making floral arrangements for many hours on Friday to prepare for Isla’s Christening the following day (which meant a trip to Southern Floral Co, HEB, Whole Foods and Trader Joes!)
Having a semi-lazy Sunday due to all of the heavy rain in Houston! I loved it
Baking up a storm with recipes from the delicious raw vegan cookbook that Mara gave me… I will be sharing my favorites soon!
Finishing three Shutterfly projects: a family birthday calendar for Serbian Christmas (January 6), a Christening book, and my annual 2014 book (I’ll share later!) – there are always incredible sales taking place, and I totally jumped at the sound of 40% off (especially since I ordered 16 items)

This week, I’ve got to write a million thank you cards for Christmas and the Christening, as well as get started on my friend Amanda’s wedding envelopes. We’re heading to the Texas vs. Arkansas game tonight (my level of excitement is around a 0.4 – not a football fan!) – I will be a good sport though for Sasha (the ultimate football fan). What do you have planned for this week? How were your holidays?

Week in Review December 22, 2014

Week in Review

I cannot believe that next week’s ‘Week in Review’ post will be recapping Christmas [insert little kid excitement!!!]. I love this time of year so much! I am finally done with gifts, but haven’t wrapped them all yet. I am a terrible wrapper, so I tend to procrastinate with this task or revert to gift bags at the last minute.

I really enjoyed this past week, as I got to catch up with a handful of friends. However, there was a tremendously low moment of the week: Isla’s 6 month appointment, which I braved alone. Four shots almost did me and Isla both in. I hate needles, and so far, Isla does too. Ugh. So terrible! She is the 94% for height – I cannot wait to see how tall she ends up being.

Some of the big highlights from the week include:

Seeing sweet Simon (Mara of Hook Thread & Tinker‘s son) with his little menorah (see stolen Instagram photo below)! Happy Hanukkah!
Exchanging gifts with McKenzie early, as she’s heading to Illinois to spend Christmas with her boyfriend’s family (most comfy J. Crew slippers ever!!)
Watching Isla play with her new Xylophone (also gifted by McKenzie) – or as we call it, the Isla-Phone (lots of photos below)
Seeing Isla pull herself up using her crib bars – which also scares me, but thankfully we lowered the crib last week!
Meeting Santa Claus at Memorial City Mall (horribly unfriendly staff, but wonderful Santa!)
Eating lunch with one of my closest friends at Adair Kitchen (love that lady!)
Catching up with one of my parent’s good friends at the house – she gave Isla the cutest little tulle skirt outfit!
Celebrating Isla’s Godfather’s Christening on Sunday – he had to get Christened before he could officially get the new title!
Spending time with my sister-in-law who is in Texas for most of the month of December thanks to the recent launch of Google Fiber in Austin
Breaking bread at our house (and by that, I mean mimosas) with my roommate from college – truly one of my favorite people ever! She’s wonderful
Updating my annual Shutterfly book – I was 6 months behind, so that took quite awhile!
Visiting my (super tiny and pregnant) friend Julie and her sweet daughter Evie
Attending my niece’s Christmas performance of the 12 Days of Christmas (cutest thing ever)
Singing Christmas carols and enjoying an early candlelit service (tradition discussed here)
Witnessing Isla get very, very excited about her bedtime story (Good Night, I Love You)
Spending much of Saturday at my parents house and strolling Isla around the neighborhood in her Balmoral Silver Cross Pram (imported from the UK upon news of my pregnancy)
Finishing my very first set of wedding invitations (doing the calligraphy, not the design!)
Enjoying a full night’s sleep – after numerous nights in a row, I can now say that Isla is sleeping from 6pm to 5:45-6am (ouch, still early)! It took some painful CIO nights, but it worked!
Teaching Isla to drink from a sippy cup! So far, so good. And this week we will begin to teach Isla sign language with the Signing Time DVD (very excited about this!)

Events December 18, 2014

Tinsel and Tables Workshop

Two weeks ago, I attended a Tinsel & Tables Workshop, hosted by Christina of Christina Leigh Events (first mentioned here). The event was so much fun – not to mention delicious (feast your eyes on the delicious baked goods from Buttercup Bakery). The attendees gathered at Over the Top Linen on a beautiful Sunday, and we learned napkin folds and discussed table settings, talked about cute paper goods with Katie of Katie and Co., practiced calligraphy with Jenny of A Fine Flourish and learned all about perfecting your holiday decor with Christina. She taught us how to make natural wreaths and the perfect bows. Needless to say, it was a very informative four hours. I took my wreath home and have it on our table as our centerpiece!

Over the Top Linen is the most incredible store ever (fabric heaven). I am dying to get my hands on those fancy sequin fabrics for Isla’s first birthday party. The entire event was exciting, as I had been following many of these lovely ladies on Instagram for awhile, and it was great to meet them (all incredibly sweet). I’m looking forward to Christina’s next workshop!

The entire workshop was photographed by the incredibly talented Jessica of Ever and Anon (all photos below are courtesy of Jessica). I hope to have her take photos for us in the future! Her pictures are beautiful.

PS Seeing these photos of me with the blond hair now makes me cringe. So excited to be a brunette again (photo here)!