It had been nearly 8 years since I have last seen Matt around, and to reunite for something like this was pretty special.  Matt Santos and I met when I was in collage – he worked at the coffee shop around the corner from the dorms and was always very kind to me.  Later in the school year I had found out that he was also an incredibly talented artist.  He was very involved in the art community and would often hold open-mic nights in the coffee shop, even some gallery showings (in fact, my first photography show was held there).  So, it was a pleasure to help on the ‘Burning Up’ music video for Matt’s most recent album, Quickly Disappearing.  I highly recommend you check it out!

Till then, here are some images from the shoot.  I hope you enjoy!  And be sure to check back to see Nick Cavalier’s finished product of the video.

Pictures like these are made because self-timers exist.

And let me tell you… the way Thirty welcomed me was pretty special.  I will start with saying that my Mom (being that she lives far away)  did something unique and special for me this year that I would highly recommend you to do for someone you love, because it was wonderful!  She sent me box in the mail that was full of gifts that were wrapped and numbered 1 through 30.  It worked out that my birthday happens to be in a month where there are 30 days so I had a gift to open every day of April for my 30th birthday.  It made me feel so special and it was so thoughtful of my Mom. 

So, if that didn’t make me feel special enough – the morning of my birthday as my husband and I did our traditional coffee run I hopped into my car to find a beautiful letterpress birthday card, chocolate covered strawberries (one of my favorite desserts), a cupcake and some beautiful flowers!

Then it was off to Chicago to start the adventures!

Upon our friends recommendation we tried Karyn’s on Green which was an amazing all vegan restaurant.  I was blown away by how delicious their brunch was and would highly recommend it to others to try.   Next we decided to visit the Willis Tower and enjoy the city from the inside since it was chilly out and there was rain in the forecast.  I was bummed at first that our outside plans were ruined but it ended up being perfect! We witnessed the storm pass right through as we temporarily were in the clouds.  It was really neat.  When I lived in Chicago I had ventured up the Hancock building before but had never visited the ‘Sears’ or Willis Tower before, so it was a nice first.

The Skydeck is pretty fantastic. After all the sightseeing my  ’BIG’ gift from Joelly was soon approaching as we got back in the car and drove a little further and ended at Medieval Times! I had no idea what I was in store for.  As we entered the Castle to begin our night Back in Time I noticed two of my friends in the lobby waiting for me…it was such a nice surprise.  Since Joelly picked the Birthday Package for me we had all the perks – from getting our group photo taken (dressed up I must add), a slice of cake, and VIP seating.  It was a night to remember It was a swell birthday.  

 So we wouldn’t miss the birth of my brother’s second child, my husband and I drove out to Philly to be close by for when we got ‘the call’ that this little one has arrived.  We were in town for 4days before that wonderful moment happened.  Since we were gonna be in town for a good week or so we made sure to use our time wisely by enjoying the city of Philadelphia and getting some quality time with my niece Delphine and the rest of my  family members.

 We had lots of play dates at the park and walks to coffee shops together

Delphine loving on her Momma’s baby belly… awaiting her new brother or sister!

On March 24, 2012 Julian Matthew Petruccelli was welcomed into the world.  He weighed 9.7 lbs and was 21″ tall.

I can’t put into words how much I adore my family and seeing my brother, Matt as a father melts my heart.  The joy Mere &  Matt share of parenthood is so contagious, and I can not wait to experience that feeling when I am a Mother some day.  They truly warm my heart.

This is his little family! I hate knowing that because I live so far away I miss out on things with my family.  This becomes much more obvious when there is a new little one around  because I know when we see Julian next he will have changed so much already.    But, I am very thankful that my brother and sister-in-law allow me to take so many photo’s of their kids so I can see their faces as much as I need till my next visit back home.

After spending several days in the city we decided to go to Delaware for a night and stay with my Mom.  During our stay we enjoyed a nice walk on the Brandywine .  We always enjoy getting a side of nature to our trips.Then it was back to the city for a couple of days before heading back to Milwaukee.  So, I made sure to sneak in a few more photo’s…Enjoy! Before we knew it – we were saying our goodbyes and on our way home.

Zombie Stars  is an exclusive clothing brand that focuses on zombie versions of your favorite stars. The designs are hand illustrated and hand printed.  Imagery shows a take on things and pop-culture, and zombie-related fun.

The main focus of Zombie Stars Clothing is to create a lasting brand, an eye catching apparel line, and a profitable business for all involved.  Shirts will be coming soon to a store near YOU so keep your eye out!

So, this past weekend I had the pleasure of getting my hands on a variety of these shirts and finding some wonderful people to model them for me.  They each individually gave up their time willingly and did an incredible job showcasing ZombieStarsClothing.

Once again, I thank you ALL for your time and help during the shoot.  I know Tony Cavailer (owner) and his brother, Nick thank you as well.

To see whats new and on the horizon with Zombie Stars, check out their twitter account by clicking HERE!

Thanks to: Jerrod Johnson, Bethany Price, Willie Lee, Caroline Maja Jaecks, Amelinda Burich, Sean Raasch & Joel Coan for modeling.  Nick Cavalier for helping out on set and his brother, Tony Cavalier -owner of Zombie Stars Clothing.  Also, a special thanks to Priscilla Benitez, from Beauty Hair Salon for doing the make up and hair on set.

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 to our daily routines.

Till we meet again enjoy this recap in snapshots.

Hope you enjoyed our trip through my eyes

]]> http://www.andreacoan.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1852 8 http://www.andreacoan.com/blog/?p=1791 http://www.andreacoan.com/blog/?p=1791#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:00:53 +0000 andrea http://www.ap-imaging.com/blog/?p=1791  

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.

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 Oso, Sainthood 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

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!

Then it was time…

Happy Halloween from the new Mr. & Mrs.

{snapshots}

Along with seeing loved ones and my dear cousin become a married man we got to spend some quality time with my niece, Delphine.  And I was sure to stick my camera in her face to capture some darling photo’s of her.

Towards the last part of our trip we decided to take a drive to Lewis Beach and stay at the families beach house.  It was a short stay but we managed to squeeze in a boat ride, a beach visit, a nice dinner, and check out the town.  It was a well needed break from our busy lives and we can’t wait to come back. Till then we have some images to remind ourselves of how beautiful this place is…enjoy

{snapshots} overview of our beach visit

Before we knew it we were loading up our car and driving home.