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Houston Bloggers at Blush and Brush

Two Sundays ago, I attended an event at Brush and Blush, a blow dry and makeup salon in the Memorial area, that was put on by Uncork Events (the newest venture of Christie of KiKiMac). We were joined by four other wonderful ladies: Michelle of Michelle Able Photography, Jenny of A Fine Flourish, Meredith of Cake and Confetti and Kim of Champagneista. We started the morning with blow outs (getting shampooed in massage chairs, seriously!), and I really loved the woman styling my hair. I was seated between Kim and Meredith, and we had lots to talk about, as this world is so tiny and we have tons of friends in common.

As the ladies were finishing up with our blowouts, we had two makeup tutorials: a smokey eye and contouring. I was the model for the eye, and Kim took on contouring. I love how both looks turned out. Now if only I could replicate it at home!

As we were getting all dolled up, we spoke with the owner, Greer, who is seriously so sweet. The salon is only 2.2 miles from our house, so it could not be more convenient to go to (ideally every day). I definitely will have to go back to get beautified again soon. A special thank you to Christie for organizing the event, Michelle for taking these amazing photos and Greer for hosting us!

PS I wore my new J. Crew Perforated Crepe Dress, and it’s the most comfortable dress ever.


Follow these pretty ladies on Instagram!

@michelleable [who took all of the photos below!] | @cakeandconfetti | @uncorkevents | @kikimacblog | @kimcasemyers | @afineflourish | @brushandblushbar

View More: http://michelleablephotography.pass.us/brushblushuncorkBB2

Talk Derby to Me

535808f0b7739$!900xThis Saturday is the 141st Kentucky Derby (they were doing this in 1874?!), and we’re going to a Derby party at Julep on Saturday. Ashley of Sugar & Cloth and Meredith of Cake & Confetti are styling the event, so you know it’s going to look fabulous.

The obvious predicament Derby-goers are faced with is their outfit for the big day. The Race for the Roses is notorious for the fashionable attendees, almost as much as the actual horse race. I’ve put together four outfits to help you decide what to wear, each being inspired by various style icons: Kate Middleton, Sarah Vickers, Lauren Conrad and Erin Andrews. Which is your favorite look? Are you getting dolled up for the Derby this year?

Week in Review

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Sunday, so I decided to take our wading pool (currently used to house play balls) outside for a little ‘swim.’ Isla had been standing by herself for 10 second stretches of time in the last few weeks, but hadn’t really taken many purposeful steps (just a few between objects, like from her walker to the table). While we were in the pool, she got very adventurous and began taking 4-5 steps from one side of the pool into my arms. Sasha was at Home Depot getting tools for my projects (thank you, love!), and when he walked into the backyard, he was floored (and very excited!) to see her waddling across. After we dried off inside, she started doing longer walks in our playroom before expressing her exhaustion by having total Jello legs (short video here). There were lots of ‘Yay, Isla!!’ chants yesterday, but I’m equally nervous about how many breakable items we have at reaching distance. Time to get serious about baby proofing! Isla’s favorite Instagram-friend, Livi, is totally motivating her – check out this video that her sweet momma posted yesterday. She’s amazing! Go, Livi, go!

The definite low point of the week was getting my first cavity filled. I am such a baby. I opted in for the laughing gas, and I still felt like I was going to faint. And then the ache in my jaw all day long? I’m brushing five times a day now and going to start using Act. No more cavities for me!

A few highlights of the week included:

  • My seriously amazing husband bought me a Canon 5D Mark III camera and the 50mm f 1.2L lens to show his support of my photography business, which I’ll be sharing more details about soon and hopefully ‘launching’ in less than a month! I am still learning the ins and outs of it, but I adore it. Half of the photos below are taken with the new camera, and the others are with my iPhone and my trusted Nikon D5000.
  • Meeting one of my college best friends, Blake, at Sweet Paris after church on Sunday – Sasha ordered my vegan crepe, which we laughed about as it arrived covered in powdered sugar and Nutella. I joked that he was trying to get me back for the one time I ordered him a salad and it had a cream dressing. Needless to say, I picked out the fruit from the crepe. I do love Sweet Paris though – especially the restaurant’s interior design. See my friend Christie’s post about it here.
  • Going to Tiny Boxwood’s with one of my favorite people in the world – Brooke – on Saturday for a mid-afternoon drink. Tiny’s has the best drink in Houston (in my humble opinion) – the white wine mojito. Yummm.
  • At long last, my bestest friend, McKenzie, and I celebrated her birthday (ahem, which is in July! Yikes!) with a spa date at the Houstonian’s Trellis Spa. We enjoyed the sauna, our treatments (massage and facial), and a glass of bubbly in our robes afterward. It was pure heaven!
  • Enjoying a wine and cheese night with two girlfriends on Tuesday – I am guilty of eating the entire Brie triangle. I cannot stop myself. I love spontaneous girls nights like these!
  • Getting my hair cut and colored by Eric Vaughn at Estilo Salon. He is so wonderful, and although I am the world’s least patient person and almost didn’t survive a three hour appointment, I love the outcome and had The Paris Wife to read while letting the color set.
  • Family visits from my mother-in-law, dad, and my older sister! She came over for dinner and a game night of Bananagrams, which I’m slightly addicted to. Since we’ll be spending most evenings in during our trip (except for our night out in Paris with a babysitter!), I’d love to hear any fun two-person game suggestions!
  • Being treated to TCBY twice in one week. With all of the self-serve places popping up, my loyalty to TCBY that was built during college sort of dissipated, but it’s back. We are addicted!
  • Receiving my first Voxbox from Influenster. I will be reviewing the products this week!
  • Finally hanging up our new West Elm mirror in our master bedroom and selling our futon – now all that’s left is to get a bookshelf and have the room painted, and the room is complete! I’m so excited.
  • Carter’s Instagrammed about my Baby Hospital Bag giveaway last week, which helped spike entries! I got very excited to see all of the giveaway pins on Pinterest! Thank you for participating. The winner of the giveaway is Daphne K.! I’m so excited for her and her sweet baby girl due in May.

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10 Items You Need from The Monogram Shop (Giveaway!)

The first time I ever stepped foot into The Monogram Shop, I knew I had found my match. Everywhere I looked, I saw gorgeous jewelry, monogrammed purses, colorful napkins, witty cards, and adorable baby gifts. I wanted it all.

If I ever need a gift for a baby, friend (male or female) or something special for myself, I head to The Monogram Shop, as I know I’ll be able to find something good. I tend not to leave myself enough time to get something personalized, which is an issue, as I always fall in love with something that needs to be monogrammed. My goal for this year is to be more proactive in buying presents more than just a couple days in advance.

Last week, I went to the store to meet with Leah to discuss some fun party items for Isla’s birthday. I cannot wait to see how they turn out! I also browsed the store, looking at their latest and greatest. If you’ve never been to The Monogram Shop and live in Houston, you’re seriously missing out. I’ve put together a list of ten things that you need from The Monogram Shop, which includes their jewelry, colorful cups, travel accessories and many other pretties.

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The best part of all is that The Monogram Shop is offering one lucky Snapshots & My Thoughts reader a $50 gift card to their store. You don’t have to live in Houston to use it either, as you can order from their website or over the phone. The giveaway ends at 11:59pm on Friday, April 17th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you visited The Monogram Shop before? If so, what did you think? If you live outside of Houston, is there a similar store in your area? I’d love to hear about it.

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1 Jewelry | Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc.DSC_0308The Monogram Shop

Week In Review + Isla at 10 Months

I hope you had a hoppy Easter and a most eggcellent weekend (the only puns I’ve got!). We were in New Orleans on Friday and Saturday for our good friends’ wedding, and drove back to Houston early on Sunday in order to spend Isla’s first Easter together. We carpooled with two friends and so we quickly dropped them off, then headed to my parent’s house for an Easter lunch and to see what the Easter bunny had delivered. Thank goodness that bunny knows what we want, as our baskets were filled with dried mango (Isla’s favorite too!), Bananagrams (you need this!), J. Crew and Starbucks gift cards, as well as other little treats.

Saturday was Isla’s 10 month-iversary, and we were sad to miss it, although we did FaceTime multiple times with her, as she was with my parents in Katy (and having the best time ever!). I cannot believe our tiny little baby is almost 1 year old, and that I’m already in the throes of planning her birthday party (we’re gone the two weeks following up to it, so I’m trying to get ahead).

Every day with Isla is better than the last. I grow to love her more and more each morning – it’s incredible that our hearts are capable of such expansion. She currently loves clapping, waving, being in charge of peek-a-boo (normally behind pieces of paper – see photo below), hitting me with balls to get me to say, “Ouchie!”, going to music class, popping bubbles, swinging at the park, taking naps in the stroller while I run, standing up, and walking everywhere with her walker (getting faster day-by-day). She eats everything except for raw beets, but most especially loves berries, cereal, sweet potatoes, avocados, mushrooms, chicken, pasta, quinoa, dried mango, puffs, clementines and chia seeds (weird, yes). Isla’s biggest dislikes are the blender, cold water at swim class, the first 4.3 seconds in her car seat, laying still while getting her diaper changed, getting her face wiped and when I take my cell phone away.

Isla is still sleeping from 6:30pm to 7:30am, but does not like to get into her crib unless she is accompanied by her lovie, a pacifier (or multiple), and at least two blankets. She is the DJ to her Cloud B Sleep Sheep, and constantly changes the tunes. She loves her bedtime stories, which we’ve now memorized. Going to get her in the morning is one of the happiest moments of the day, as she is still so excited to see me. That will never get old!

Although the week flew by, we had some very exciting moments, including:

  • My best friend from childhood, Alisdair, and his wife, Erica, came to Houston on Monday and stayed with us, so we had a handful of our friends over for dinner, wine, cheese and vegan treats – we had the best evening catching up, which doesn’t happen often, as Ali and Erica live in Scotland.
  • Another one of my closest friends, Andrew, was in town from Boston and came over for dinner, wine and good chats – as well as the Bieber roast, which was absolutely hilarious!
  • Meeting sweet baby Brooks and taking his newborn photographs, which you can see here.
  • Celebrating Amanda and Scott’s wedding at the Southern Oaks plantation in New Orleans – I cannot wait to share more photos this week! Every single detail of the weekend was perfect, and you will die when you see the video that was taken of the Long sisters’ performance at the wedding.
  • Spending Easter with my family (in our matching Gap outfits!), and knowing that we’ll get to do the same next weekend, as Serbian Easter is a different date than the rest of the world!
  • Having Sasha’s grandma come and visit for the day, and then spending the rest of the evening with his mom (Isla’s ‘Baba’).
  • Getting pieces of Isla’s birthday party in the mail and finalizing her invitations, which are being designed by Papellerie – I am way too excited about them. There’s an exciting custom confetti package that will be on its way to our house soon – have you checked out The Confetti Bar yet? I love it.
  • Isla’s swimming class was much more enjoyable this week, as she only cried once or twice. Everyone says it gets better every week, so I’m praying for even less tears this Thursday! She also is starting The Little Gym this week, which I’m excited about.
  • Getting my new desk and mirror delivered from West Elm – I am obsessed with both!

How was your week? I’d love to hear about your highlights in the comments below!

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