peonies – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal September 2, 2014

Week 7 in Durango

Week 7 has come and gone very quickly, with the holiday weekend and my parents arriving in Colorado. We are going back to Houston in one week from today – I am so ready to hug (i.e. squeeze to death) my friends, but so sad to leave this gorgeous weather and valuable family time.

In the past week, we hiked up to Fort Lewis College every morning, tried a new restaurant (Chimayo – amazing and will definitely be on my updated Durango Travel Guide), went to the Saturday farmer’s market (delicious hatch peppers and tasty wheat grass drinks!), made some crepe paper peonies (DIY here), baked more vegan black bean brownies as well as these amazing and healthy cookies, ate even more Cream Bean Berry, watched Isla play with her ‘Mimi’ and ‘Papa’, dominated my parents in Taboo, and practiced playing bean bag toss (I’m awful). The only low point of the week was getting stung by a wasp twice (in my hand and leg) – totally unprovoked on my end! Not fun.

Lastly, I recently set up a Facebook page and Instagram account for Snapshots & My Thoughts. I would love if you were to follow along so I can follow you too! Thanks for reading. xoxo

Read about our time in Durango here: Week 1 | Week 2 and 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

Baby July 22, 2014

Isla Loves: Wink Shapewear

As mentioned here, I’m starting a series in which I review baby and post-pregnancy products that both Isla and I love. Today is the first post, and I’m reviewing Wink Shapewear.

In order to get my body back to its pre-pregnancy size quickly, I knew I would need the help of a postpartum girdle/shapewear. I did research online, and ended up ordering two different brands – Wink Shapewear and Belly Bandit. While I definitely liked both, I found the Wink Shapewear much more effective. I ordered the Ultimate Postpartum Bikini in nude (see below left). I ordered a medium, which looked tiny while pregnant and definitely fitted very snuggly when I first put it on four days after delivery. Over the following weeks, it became less tight (and more comfortable!). I saw results pretty quickly – see the difference in 10 days in the photos below. I was back in my regular clothes on day 8, which felt like having an entirely new closet after wearing maternity clothes for months!

Wink Shapewear kindly sent me another product to try – the Waist and Hip Blaster Shorts in Black (see above right). I wanted something to help narrow my hips as they had expanded significantly during pregnancy – probably the reason Isla popped out after 18 minutes of pushing! I received these shorts in a medium, which seemed much larger than the bikini medium. In retrospect, I would have ordered a small in this item. I really like these shorts and wear them 2-3 days a week. The only thing I preferred about the bikini versus the shorts is that the bikini has a clamp at the bottom which makes it easy to go to the restroom, while the shorts unclamp on the side, so you have to undo them them pull them down which takes a little longer. Overall, both products are very effective and I highly recommend both.

40 weeks pregnant (before heading to the hospital at 2am!) // 8 days postpartum (first day back in regular clothes)

10 days postpartum (in my Anthro PJs which I love!) // 14 days postpartum

Follow Wink Shapewear on Twitter and Facebook and check out their website here

Décor May 27, 2014

Pink Peonies

It’s my favorite time of year – pink peony season. I could not be more obsessed with these flowers – definitely my favorite by far (well, you can never go wrong with tulips and hydrangeas!). I love seeing them begin to pop up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Central Market and other local flower shops. There is something about how full they are and their gorgeous variations of colors that just inspires me. I love them so much and would quite like a constant supply in my kitchen and living room! What is your favorite type of flower?

all images via weheartit.com