vegas, baby!

 a few weeks ago we were contacted about a teaching couple position with a reputable organization that works with at-risk youth. i haven't even mentioned it for fear that it just wasn't going to work out and it almost didn't! we initially thought {as did they} that we would go to their site in chicago, but that wasn't a good fit. we visited and got to see the program, but we simultaneously knew the chicago site wasn't for us but the position was. luckly, they had an opening in las vegas and i am pleased as punch to tell you that we were offered and accepted the position on friday!!

so yeah, we're moving to vegas! and although it's not a place we ever imagined living and it's so very far from family and friends, we are really looking forward to it! we've spent the last week and a half researching it and i think we're going to love it there! {goodbye debilitating allergies}

i'm so excited i could scream and so terrified i could run and hide {almost!} we just know that this is, without a doubt, what we want to be doing and an organization we can't wait to be a part of. we will be living in their facility, in a big house with our own quarters, and playing the role of surrogate parents to 4-6 kids who live there anywhere from 6-9 months. it's going to be stressful, it's going to be rewarding, and we just can't wait to get started!

we've gotten off one roller-coaster to jump directly onto another: we fly out there the last week of may to do some paperwork and check everything out, come home for a couple days and then head to their headquarters for a two-week training. then we come home and move to vegas in june. it's going to be crazy! and really, we wouldn't have it any other way. i don't think we could wait another minute to start this new adventure!

i could go on and on, but i'll stop for now. i've got so many other things to share and i'll be doing my very best to document this big change. thank you all for your lovely thoughts and comments, they really helped me stay positive on some tough days!

news {or lack there of}

i'm so excited to show you more of my bedroom changes, but lately life has taken over my....well, life. and yes, i'm aware that doesn't make sense. but you get the over-all gist, and i don't care if my husband graduates with a masters in english comp {on thursday!} my writing can be non-nonsensical if i so choose. and i do!

anyway, trying to keep you posted on changes in my life over the past 2 weeks would look something like this:

we might have a job!

90% sure we have a job!

gave up 2 jobs for a sure thing!

i think we're moving to chicago!

ok, definitely not moving to chicago, but maybe some where else?

nevermind, we might be moving to chicago no matter what!

or perhaps we will both be unemployed in a few short weeks.

so basically absolutely everything is up in the air and any update i give you will likely be void within a few days {or hours!} some days we're rolling with the punches and some days i think my head will explode and that we've made all the wrong choices. 

only time will tell.

until then, i will continue to do what keeps me busy and my mind moving- namely, avoiding long stretches of time at the computer {which provides way too much time for mind-wandering and worst-case-scenario dwelling} and deep cleaning my apartment {that we may or may not be moving out of any time soon.....}

ah, life! someday we will look back at this time and think it was all worth it {at least i hope so!}

lucy makes cadbury eggs

well, here i am again gracing the internets and your computer screens with my presence. lucky you! i haven't been around much lately for no reason other than sheer lack of motivation. hubs and i are having lots {and lots and lots} of conversations about our future and dealing with all the little {and big} ups-and-downs of life that seem to be coming all at once these days. and while next year still has a big question mark next to it, i can definitely say i've kicked my funk and am feeling myself again. this uncertain time is a chance for us to define ourselves and look at life as an adventure again, not an obstacle, and i'm excited about the possibilities. even if that ultimately means staying in kansas one more year. {also, hubs passed his thesis defense! great news indeed} {also also some things are in the works that i might be sharing with you soon!}

so, moving on, happy belated easter! it's no secret that i'm in love with dessert of all shapes and sizes but husband really isn't. that being said, he's obsessed with cadbury creme eggs and i've kept a constant supply of them in the house since they appeared. since they'll be gone soon i tried my hand at making my own {with these instructions}

they taste ah.mazing!

unfortunately i didn't want to get molds and i'm really not good at dipping things in chocolate and i made a huge mess in the kitchen {and on my hands. and on the floor...} i felt like lucy at the chocolate factory. 

good thing my stomach doesn't have eyes!

hard times

it's time for a little honesty: i'm a generally happy and upbeat person, but sometimes you just get in a funk and instead of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, suddenly everything is tinted crummy. i usually keep it out of my blog, but the unavoidable truth right now is that we're going through a rough time. last week was hard and brought some very difficult choices to our doorstep. the last few months have been a roller-coaster ride of job interviews and rejections and while it is good to finally have an answer to the "what will we do next year" question, the answer is hard to accept.

we will not be moving.

and that pretty much sums it up. it's going to take some time to wrap my mind around spending another year in kansas, and so very very far away from the people we love, surrounded by allergens that seem intent upon killing me oh-so-slowly. but i know that it's the right choice. of course that doesn't make it easy. at all. 

so, in light of this news, i'm launching myself into some major craft therapy meshed with a desire to have a beautiful and comfy home. after all, we'll be here one more year. i've already made a lot of small changes, but my new project is the bedroom, which i've never been very fond of. it currently feels like a second thought- a room where all the leftovers go. and while pursuing pintrest i found my perfect inspiration:

the colors, the words, everything is beautiful perfection.

so i'm off and running with this image in my brain. and since it's sold {for $540.00!} i'm going to be recreating it with my own {slight} twist. which makes me feel like a low-class art thief {sad} but honestly, if it keeps me busy and gives me a beautiful bedroom then i will just have to live with low-class-theify self!

and if you happen to be having a low week, or even if you're not, then maybe you can find some cheery inspiration from rachel castle too!

highest highs & lowest lows

this week has been....something else. to say it's been a roller coaster ride just doesn't quite cover it. it's like the week that never ends.

it started with my mom's {major} surgery on tuesday morning, which went well. yay! 

high!

but then she had complications, and was back in the hospital for 20 hours. my dad sounded a step away from distraught, and with no family nearby him to be supportive and a mom in a "precarious" situation, my siblings and i were all freaking out. a lot.  

low.

but then she went home and things have been all clear ever since. 

high!

wednesday husband had his final all-day interview with teach for america. 

high!

but the interview was in lawrence {a couple hours away} and the night before our car broke down. disaster.  

low.

but then a dear friend came through with a car to borrow. she's amazing.  

high!

{and oh yeah, he nailed the interview}

double high!

so now it's the end of a long long week and everything has ended on a good note, but i'm still reeling from, well, everything. 

i'm looking forward to a calm weekend. 

a weekend of recovery. {especially for my mom}

whoa boy!

here

 i don't spend much time hunting down new music. husband does that. and he enjoys doing it, so i'm always being introduced to different music. 

a couple weeks ago he found the punch brothers, and there has been little room for anything else on my playlist ever since. oh yes friends, i can't get enough of their bluegrassy sounds and great harmony. i could go on and on, but i'll just let you listen for yourselves.

Punch Brothers - New Music - More Music Videos

Punch Brothers - New Music - More Music Videos

nothing but lots and lots of love for these guys.

and in not-music-related news, i'm so glad everyone seems to agree

with me on yesterday's post. the frames no longer work and i 

need to go bigger. so i'm working on a new project.

i'm also waiting not-so-patiently for the fall issue of manhattan

magazine to be printed! i've seen the article, and i can't

wait to see it all together. it's just too bad no one in

manhattan will get to read it because i think i need

a couple hundered copies all of my own!

i'm no clothes horse

it's 5:45 AM and i'm up. why?

excitement! 

and i usually get up at 6 anyway. but today i'm up 15 minutes early. skipping those last 15 minutes i usually cherish so much. i just can't sleep anymore. because i have my very own photo shoot today. 

yup. me, a photographer's studio, and my violin.

you see, there's this magazine here in manhattan, {manhattan magazine} and they're writing a story about me! and i'm pretty excited about it. ok, super excited about it!

it's all about me as a violin teacher, and i'm kinda hoping some one reads it and says to themselves, "i must have this adorable person teach my child!"

but back to this photo shoot.

the photographer told me to bring a couple changes of clothes, and as soon as he said that i had the terrible feeling {probably not so unfamiliar for many of you girls} that i have absolutely nothing to wear. pure panic. {ok, gross over exaggeration- i have tons of clothes and didn't quite panic. but i was close}

so in this almost-panicked stated, i took photos of outfits, sent them to sisters {big, little, in-law, and pseudo} and made them spill about what worked and what didn't. i also made a trip to the mall, but came home empty-handed, because at the end of the day it turns out i don't really need anything new, so why buy it? of course, that didn't keep me from making a huge mess in the process and dragging out my entire closet!

i can't wait to see the whole story, and as soon as it's published i'll be sharing it with you!

weekend update

it's hot here. i mean, i know its hot everywhere, but i'm talking about upper 90's and up {it's already 100 degrees today} with 50-80% humidity. it's been too hot to blog, too hot to pet barn kitties, too hot to do anything but swim {which i do daily and with lots of sunblock} and eat cold things indoors with the air on. so this post is brought to you by ice cream and cole porter:

my sunburn is all healed up. thanks for the advice and sympathies!

i'm with my parents, in wichita, visiting family i haven't seen for years. i forsee lots of smiles and card games. photos to come.

the computer will be home when i get back, which means more updates and more visiting bloggy friends. cause i don't even know what you guys have been up to! i hope you're staying cool and enjoying the weekend!

a letter to you

dear friends,

we're coming to the end of the semester and husband is in desperate need for our home computer to be at his school office {since his old powerbook finally went kaput a couple months ago} so this is goodbye for the next two weeks. i'll be busy doing a few projects of my own {which i promise to share with you when i return}. in the meantime i will still check in on you once and a while {when i'm at the library or some other public place with computers} and will be checking my email at work. so you can always reach me if needed. but as always, i prefer a nice letter in the mail. if you'd like to become short-term {or even long-term} pen pals, email me and we'll exchange addresses.


until then,

and i'll see you soon. 

love, 
angelina la dawn 
angelinaladawn{at}gmail{dot}com

oh happy day!

i'm so excited to tell you that i made my first etsy sale!

and this is my 100th post!

needless to say, i'm pretty thrilled :)

here is my purchased item, hidden in packaging of shredded pages from my old martha stewart magazines:

my shop is looking kinda shabby right now, but i'll be working like crazy in the next couple weeks to put up some new items.

so go visit it {if you haven't already} and please- tell me what you think!

my little etsy

 {and don't forget to sign up for the valentine's card exchange! sign up closes saturday}