shop small – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Fashion October 12, 2016

Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt

When my good friend, Esther, asked me to participate in a meaningful project she was working on, I immediately said yes, without even knowing all of the details. Esther told me that she had designed a fun, frou-frou tulle skirt which she wanted to travel around the country (or world!) from one woman to another, creating a sisterhood of a the traveling skirt (flashback to reading the ‘pants’ book series in high school!).

As explained in her blog post, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt is for anyone who thinks they’re too old/too young/too fat/too skinny/too inexperienced/too self-conscious/not smart enough/not pretty enough… not enough. You are SO enough. Even if you’re embarrassed, even if you’re self-conscious, even if you’re afraid… do it anyway. Don’t let fear stop you from becoming who you want to be.”

Décor August 27, 2015

My Favorite ‘Small Shops’ (Giveaway!)

One of the greatest blessings that has happened this year is the newly formed friendships I’ve made with some incredibly inspiring women. I started my Instagram account almost one year ago, and through it, I’ve ‘met’ (and really met) very talented photographers, bloggers, makeup artists, event planners, and last, but not least, small business owners, most of whom are ‘mompreneurs.’ Being a WAHM (or ‘Work at Home Mom’ – so many acronyms to keep up with!) is not an easy task, as balancing raising children with running a business is no easy task.

I am such a big advocate of the whole ‘shop small’ and ‘shop local’ movement, which I believe was greatly empowered by the creation of Etsy. Although I would be lying if I said I didn’t love buying clothes from big retailers like Gap, Nordstrom, Carters, etc., I do make a very conscious effort to purchase a lot of our outfits and gifts from ‘small shops’ (this always feels like a funny term, since some of the stores below are far from small!).

Today, I’m sharing eight of my favorite shops, all of whom have kindly offered some of my favorite items in a giveaway (which, to be honest, I’d really like to win!). Enter using the widget below and make sure to read about each of the shops below! Also, make sure to check out my favorite Etsy stores post here for more small shop love!

PS This post was supposed to be published yesterday as part of the Shop Small linkup (here), but I had a nasty stomach bug! Make sure to check out some of the other posts in the linkup.

Shop Small Giveaway

Cuteheads: Esther, the owner of cuteheads, is one of my favorite mamas around – you’ll quickly know that from reading her #GIRLBOSS interview here. I’m sad that Isla no longer fits into her adorable cuteheads chambray pom-pom romper. It’s so cute! I am so excited to see the new collection, and I’m even more excited (read: jealous) that Esther is including a seersucker top in the giveaway.

Decor August 19, 2015

cuteheads’ 3rd Birthday Party

Last week, a few other Houston mamas and I celebrated cuteheads‘ 3rd birthday alongside our sweet friend, Esther (remember her #GIRLBOSS feature here?). Meredith made the cutest balloon arch, we had gorgeous furniture from The Foundry, precious monogrammed garment bags from The Monogram Shop, food from Green Plate Foods and florals from Something Borrowed . It was quite the party. Of course, last but not least were all of the custom dresses that Esther designed for each girl. I cannot handle how cute they all were!

It was definitely my biggest photography challenge to date, as shooting on manual with five kids under the age of four running around like crazy was not what I’m used to (how peaceful newborn babies seem now!). I had a lot of fun chasing the girls around for the shots though, and I hope I’ll be able to celebrate many more cuteheads birthdays to come!

Read Esther’s post about the shoot on her blog – the cuteness – here.

#GIRLBOSS July 22, 2015

#GIRLBOSS: Esther of cuteheads

I first met Esther (owner of cuteheads) when we both were on Great Day Houston on the same day (related post here). We had a very brief introduction, but I knew immediately that I liked her. After a few months of Instagram following, liking and commenting (i.e. modern day bonding!), we met up again with a group of Houston mamas for a splash pad playdate in June. Although we all spent most of the time running around after our crazy kiddos, Esther and I got to chat a bit more, and the craziest thing is that I already feel like I’ve known her for ages and ages. She’s just one of those likable people (a common trait amongst all of the ladies I’ll feature in the #GIRLBOSS series).

Besides being incredibly sweet, this working mama is unbelievably talented. Her clothing is adorable – my favorites being this chambray pom-pom romper (that Isla owns!), this blue and white zebra romper, this seersucker dress, and this (sadly sold out!) Carrie top. I also adore the cuteheads custom dresses that Esther makes and will occasionally post photos of on Instagram (like this one and this one). Her skills are endless!