Seattle & Colorado {travel + nature}

This Valentines Day my husband and I planned to be in Seattle to enjoy the city we adore and explore the nature of Washington.  We piggybacked this trip with a stop in Colorado on our way home to visit some good friends that just moved from Milwaukee to Glenwood Springs.

Upon our arrival we headed to Ballard Ave to find something good to eat and start our adventure.  We stumbled across this awesome place called Kings.

After fueling up we headed to our hotel and started to research Seattle neighborhoods in perpetration for house hunting on Monday the 13th.  In between all the running around we made sure to enjoy some site seeing, night views, pike place market, nature hikes, and even discover new places together.

After a good nights rest we started our day off with some yummy Brunch and a list of open houses we had planned to visit.  Unfortunately we didn’t fall completely in love with any but still had a blast looking and got some inspiration in the house department.  Seattle homes have some amazing spaces.

A pit stop at the Market is always a must when you are visiting Seattle…so that is what we did.

For the first time we drove over to West Seattle to explore the area…it felt like we magically ended up in a beach town.  We quickly checked out two homes that were holding open houses and then went to Alki Beach and enjoyed the views while taking a short stroll on the beach.

It was incredibly peaceful after a busy day.

Monday morning came quickly and we viewed homes with our lovely Realtor for the majority of the day – the reward afterwards was an amazing Italian dinner at Bizzarro Italian Cafe.  I highly recommend checking this little joint out, it was even featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  

Valentines Day — > Today was a day for us!

I was looking forward to this day of our trip from day one.  We had planned a ‘nature’ day to explore beyond the city limits.  It was the first time for the both of us to see what other elements were right outside the city.  We started with Snoqualmie Falls which was only 30 minutes away from downtown.

After we left the 270 ft waterfall we drove through some rainfall and sunshine to get to Twin Falls.  Once we arrived we decided to hike the whole trail…through we were not prepared to do so, it still was absolutely perfect.  Ended up being just what we needed!

This place blew me away…

After our short hike we ended our day with an amazing drive back into the city during sun set.  We also got to witness another rainbow during our drive.:-)

Today was our last morning in Seattle before we headed to our next stop, COLORADO.  So, we did some wondering before heading to the airport and saying goodbye to this wonderful city.

Hello Colorado.

The first full day we had in Colorado was pretty chill, being that we were pretty tired from traveling, but we still managed to do a little hike and started our exploring and re-uniting with our friends.

…meet Micah.

Thursday the 16th was the day that my husband and I learned how to snowboard for the first time!

Our good friend, Micah, works at Sunlight Mountain and hooked us up with lift tickets.  During the first half of the day Joel got comfortable on his board and I focused on taking photograph’s of Micah on his skies.  Colleen hung out by me and took some video as we anxiously awaited our turn to get on the boards in the afternoon.  It was a great day full of falling on our asses, breaking skies, blue skies, peacefulness, sore muscles, and picture taking!:-)How can you not love the creamy blue skies in Colorado, seriously?!Thanks Micah for kicking a** on your skies!

Micah also had some of his friends hit the slopes for me to get some ‘action’ shots during our day at the mountains…some talented boys out there!

Till next time….goodbye Sunlight Mountains.

Next stop…to  the Hot Springs to soak our achy bodies.   

Besides waking up real tender from all the activity on the mountains the day prior it was also a sad morning because it was our last full day in Colorado with our friends.  Still, we tried to do as much as our bodies would allow us to.  We started with a chill gondola ride up the mountain and enjoyed the wonderful views bellow.  It was very relaxing and a nice slow start to the morning.Relaxing things to do in Glenwood Springs:
For the hell of it we decided to take a short drive to Aspen and roam around downtown.

We ended our trip with stargazing and light painting in the sky. 

Though are adventures were fun, it was great to come back home and get back into our daily routines.

Till we meet again here is a recap in snapshots.

Hope you enjoyed our trip through my eyes:-)

Winter adventures!

 

This past weekend marked the 2yr anniversary of my Father-in-law’s death.  Wow, I don’t write the word ‘death’ often, and now I know why.  Knowing that it would be a rough day my husband and I thought it would be helpful to meet his family in Door County and visit ‘the bluff‘ where Jeff’s ashes were spread.  It is a lot easier to battle hard days like these when everyone is together.

It ended up being a short trip to Door County but a lovely one.  We visited the bluff twice, once at night where the night sky blew us away with thousands of stars!  Un-fortuenly, I did not have my camera with me to capture the clusters of pure sparkle in the sky, but made sure to document the next day at the bluff and the icy waters before heading back to the city.

In Jeff’s style, we made sure to smile and have a good day after all:-)

We had a hard time getting a little motivated the next day after such an emotionally exhausting, yet amazing weekend so we decided to enjoy the wintery snow day in Milwaukee by Lake Michigan.  Days like these are seriously my favorite.  Hope you enjoy:-)

The following Saturday we ventured to Tomahawk to go on our traditional family sleigh ride… Here are a few images of our adventures from that day.

Having kids around always makes things more exciting and joyful.

The Felix Culpa {Farewell Show}

Originally I was going to publish this post in my pre-existing ‘live shows’ post but this particular show deserves its own post for a number of reasons.  I will start by saying that my writing skills are not always the best, they never were, but I will do my best to express the feelings I have for The Felix Culpa.

Besides the fact that my husband is the drummer I am so proud of each one of the Culpa boys.  I think these indivuduels are simply amazing people and even better musicians. Together they made an incredibly unique band that was driven with so much passion…but as we know that doesn’t mean everything in the music world these days.  They worked hard at what they did and unfortunately just came short of making their dreams come true.  With all that aside they still managed to touch so many kids with their music- and on December 9th a lot of you came out to show your respect, love and appreciation for this band.  It was an incredible sight to see so many kids singing their hearts out, for one last time, to their favorite band.

It was an overwhelming night that was full of so many feelings that has left me dumbfounded.  All I can say to you guys is:

Thank you so much for making music that matters!  Music that is complex and driven with passion.  That is so rare these days, and I cant tell you all how much I will miss your music, shows, and energy as a band.  I have so many wonderful memories that came along with the journey of The Culpa.  I am proud to say you are all my friends and even more proud of the music you made!

I love you boys!

I was hesitant to enter The Metro the 9th of December… because it meant that it was one step closer to the Culpa ending.  But I walked in with a smile on my face, knowing that the night ahead of me would be a night I would never forget, slapped my backstage pass on my leg and began to soak in all that the night had to offer.  The line up was perfect with friends from El OsoSainthood Reps, and Monday’s Hero reuniting- it simply was a night to remember.  Thank you all:-)for making this night so incredible. The first round of chills started with their sound check…

Then it was GO time!

Having Jakey fly in from Puerto Rico for the show was the cherry on top… with the bonus of hearing him scream along to some Culpa songs!

One of my favorite parts of the evening was standing on stage with these fellas and seeing the joy and love they have for their friend’s band, The Felix Culpa!  They huddled around with arms linked and mouths wide open singing along…it was picture perfect!

Due to the fact that I shot a lot of video at this show I plan to update this post with some live footage- so please check back soon.  Till then feel free to leave some kind words bellow about this post and The Culpa’s last show:-)

 

Alissa & Dan {east coast wedding}

We were so excited to be apart of Alissa and Dan’s wedding day that took place in various locations around Wilmington, DE.  It was such an honor to be flown in to photograph their special day!  And calling it ‘special’ is an understatement.  Alissa and Dan’s day was full of so many personal touches and handcrafted items – from the wreaths on the church doors to the centerpieces at the reception hall.

With all that being said, our day started at the Sheraton Suites and then a short Limo drive took us to the Parsonage House.  This is where the ladies continued to get ready and Alissa became an incredibly beautiful looking bride.

The ceremony was nothing short of flawless and ended with the new Mr. & Mrs. Long exiting the church with loved ones outside throwing paper- airplanes in their direction.  It was picture perfect:-) As well as the leaf covered grounds at Bellevue State Park where we made sure to stop and take photo’s before heading to the DCCA.  As the day continued, the events just kept getting better and better with so many photo opportunities that I hope you enjoy in the post below.

Thanks again for choosing us to be apart of your unique and personal wedding day! Congrats

Then the party began…With glowing lights above and wonderful surprises throughout the evening.  It truly was a wonderful night!

Christina & Sam {wedding}

As soon as Nina’s parents opened the front door on the morning of October 29th I immediately felt welcomed into their family.  It was a wonderful pre-halloween weekend full of sunshine & joy in Cedarburg, WI.  After Christina put on her gorgeous white dress we headed to the park for ‘first look’ and family photo’s.  We even snuck in some play time in the park and ventured into historical downtown area before the ceremony.  It was truly a perfect Fall Wedding!

Then it was time…

Happy Halloween from the new Mr. & Mrs.