The First 5 Days of Thanks

HaRim West - The newest member of the family.

Everyone, meet the Byuns. Sook, Sarah, HaRim and Michael. These are some of the most wonderful friends that we've ever met, hailing from Incheon, South Korea. But sadly, they all flew home this past Saturday. 

Well, everyone except for THIS guy.

Everyone, meet HaRim. The newest member of the West family. No, I'm not kidding. We have legal guardianship over this young soul for the next three months. AND WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!

But not as excited as him!

Long story short, he and his family wanted him to have a more "American" experience, and give him the chance to work a little bit more on his English. So we've decided to let him move in until mid-January, take him everywhere we go, and treat him as if he were our own child. (Which meant he cooked us Korean dinner on Sunday night. Including sauteed anchovies, squid, and rice wrapped in seaweed. I win no awards for how I did with the anchovies on my plate). 

I do want to leave you with this conversation between HaRim and Patrick on night #1:

Patrick (ordering at Chick-fil-A): I  got a complikated order! Sekurity!

HaRim: I want to learn to talk like that.

Patrick: Like how?

HaRim: Like British people.

Patrick: That was ebonics. 

In other news I punished Lucy today for eating out of the litter box.

That is all.

YAMMO, Indy, Weddings and Friends

Re-capping the last three weeks seems utterly impossible. I had a brief (and early) visit with Lauren. Pardot was acquired by ExactTarget. I went to ExactTarget's user's conference in Indianapolis. We went to our first Jewish wedding. And we celebrated Benji's wedding in Athens with some old friends. 

Everything has been SO FUN but man, I am beat. 

Co-workers at our YAMMO party. We rented out the roof of the W in Buckhead, and were transported in limousines to this fabulously swanky event. And have I mentioned that I LOVE my co-workers? I'm pretty much obsessed with these incredibly smart, sweet, and talented women. 

If you go on a walk with me, this is what I do. I instagram. Shamelessly.

At Greg and Lauren's wedding. Mazel Tov!

Our FINAL meal with our Korean neighbors. They leave this weekend, but are considering leaving the 15-year old with us. And by considering, I mean we've signed the paperwork to be legal guardians for the next 3 months. 

Indianapolis with fellow Pardashians. Minutes away from hearing THE Michael J. Fox. Yep, we're spoiled. 

LOVED this "Hub" crawl in Indy. Each sponsor of ExactTarget sponsored a dj, food, drinks, etc. at 8 different bars/clubs around Indianapolis. So we spent the night dancing, laughing, and seeing the city lights of Indy.

Aaannnndddd we had a private concert with The Fray. Who we then met at the airport the next morning on their way back to Denver. Isaac Slade I love you. 

This was in Athens on our .7 mile walk from Benji's wedding to the reception. But naturally, we had to stop by 579 Pulaski. Otherwise known as "The Heezy." Let me know if you haven't heard that story, because it's awesome. 

With the groom at the MOST FUN WEDDING EVER. And I mean EVER. Praise God for Ke$ha and Gangnam Style.

Brunch at the Farm.

If you can see that journal I'm holding, Frankie made that baby out of a dryer sheet. And it's pretty incredible.

Life and Fall-ish things

My life has been pretty wonderful lately, which means I have a lot less to complain rant gripe blog about. And I love instagram... A LOT. And put almost everything there anyways. So in some ways I feel satiated and less needy happier with that outlet. Since instagram is so great about helping you feel connected to your close friends. 

But unfortunately, there are people who do not have instagram (gasp!). I know, I know, it's true. And that should be a crime against humanity. But alas, I am not the humanity police (officially) so I have no real pull in any life arena. But I can strongly state my opinion in hopes that it brings life to some poor, lowly soul who has yet to see 'the light.' 

So pictures of life as we know it.... this below is homemade tomato tortellini soup (and it makes excellent leftovers). If you are vegan, or anti-dairy, this soup is not for you. It has milk, some half and half, tomato soup, basil leaves and parmesan. So not really vegan-friendly at all. 

 These babies are our THIRD AND FOURTH banana peppers from our yard. I call them our 'secondfruits' instead of 'firstfruits.' I'd say they're from our garden (because that sounds way more domestic and organic), but really all it is is a plant in the midst of some pinestraw...where the flowers didn't make it. 

 Patrick's been perfecting his lemon martinis (bless him), and this one here was a winner. Real lemon juice, bottled lemon juice, triple sec, lemon vodka. Could have used a little sugar on the rim, but I'm not complaining. Just keep these babies coming. Nevermind that we primarily drink them on Sunday and Monday nights.   But hey, at least we're not alone? That's the sign of a real problem. 

 We're getting pretty obsessed (in an unhealthy way) with this gelato. Patrick hates caramel so this little guy is all. for. me. And anytime I go to take a picture of something to instagram, Lucy thinks I'm preparing a treat for her. So she positions herself calmly and quietly near whatever I'm doing, so I will see how good she's being and hopefully reward her. Sweet dog. How can you resist that face?

 My feeble attempts at summoning fall weather. Flats from Urban, coffee, and a golden yellow colored shirt. I look terrible in golden yellow, and my mom would probably tell me that (so I wouldn't be embarrassed when I went out in public later), but I couldn't resist. This color practically exudes fall and comfort and softness and colored leaves and lattes, right?

 Lola, LG and me at La Paz. In said golden yellow shirt (round 2). 

 And my sweet grandmother Annie. We call her by her first name, occasionally adding in 'Big' before Annie. Mainly because there is a 'Little' Annie that is now 17, but when she was born we had to differentiate. And yes, we call my grandmother by her first name. And yes, Big Annie is only 70 pounds soaking wet. So the 'big' is somewhat of a misnomer. But she's so incredibly precious, and I love her dearly. And pray that I am as generous, gracious, kind, hospitable, and passionate as she is. 

 Proof that I have friends outside my family that I actually hang out with. Jonathan, Liz, and Daniel in our backseat, on the way to a BA picnic. 

 I don't have a caption.

 And this picture here....is not an original. It came from Google. But it IS a picture of Indian Coffee, which I tried at small group for the first time last week. It is basically milk, coffee, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and a little bit of water. Its like coffee meets tea, but with a hint of fall. I guess that's the cinnamon and cloves. Or the cardamom and ginger? I don't know, I'm bad with herbal essences. But this was awesome. And I drank mine too fast to snag a picture. So if you want the real recipe, let me know and I'll send it over.

Sorry for the long picture posts. And the long commentary that says nothing worthwhile. But I like having you be a part of my day, so this is the easiest way to incorporate you. :)

A quick walk through my dream life...

Warby Parker

My vain attempts at finding the right glasses. And I HATE glasses. Mainly because I see what I really look like and kindof hate it. But then again they also hurt my head after a few hours because I have an abnormally large head that they have to hug (see Melanie, Jessica, or Patrick for references). So I also hate that part.

But lately I've had headaches because I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING. EVER. Patrick has to read me menues and anything on TV. And I've resorted to STANDING in front of the TV when I'm deciding what to watch because I can't see one word on the guide from my couch. #firstworldproblems (But praise God for digital cable). 

So here comes Warby Parker to the rescue. Think TOMS for glasses. Before TOMS doing their own glasses was cool. I picked 5 pairs I liked and they sent me the frames in a glamorous box. I think I like the ones in the top right? I wish the style in the top left looked better on me, but I'm fairly certain I'll be embarrassed that I ever owned them in 5 years. So I'm still thinking about them. 

Thoughts?

Charleston from Walter's Perspective