Friday Five {July 4th Edition}

The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday! The weather is usually nice, there is lots of delicious summer produce for healthy treats, you can dress up festively and not look completely rediculous annd, on top of it, there are lots of beautiful, glittery, explosions!! I cannot wait to spend the weekend poolside and catching up with friends. Here are some things I'm incorporating into my celebration this year....okay maybe not the DIY sparklers, but I plan on at least purchasing some.

1. This Paleo Friendly, Berry Tart!

2. These Classic Jack's in Red and White {And also on sale!}

3. Make your own Sparklers!!

4. Beaded Fringe Earrings! I wish my neck was long enough to pull them off!

5. With the beautiful weather I can't wait to spend today by this pool!

Summer Adventures Continued- Summer Nights

One of my favorite things about summertime is warm summer evenings. Growing up in the midwest, we had a lot more than we do in California. I remember the smell of bbq chicken on the grill, a baseball game on as back ground noise and having all the windows and doors open for the cool evening breeze just as golden hour began. This summer had its fair share of gorgeous summer nights, some highlights for me:

Favorite beligian beer, cigars and live DMB on the back porch. It was the first warm night of the season and was so enjoyable.

Watching 4th of July Fireworks in Atlanta...well half of them. Sitting out on the patio with a cocktail and some good college friends. The family at the table next to us swore we would be able to see them from the restaurant....they were only half right.

S'Mores with Griki and the rest of my California family in their backyard. On the other side of the hills you definitely get more of the 'warm' summer nights. These have been the ones that hit closest to home for me usually complete with home cooked meat on the BBQ and a Giants game on. I think only the Lakehouse would surpass this.

There was a drive-in movie theater in one of the {many} small towns I lived in growing up. I remember going to see a few movies there and have always wondered what it would be like to go back to one. I was intrigued when I heard about San Francisco's Movies in the park series and living closer to the parks I thought I'd take advantage. Even though its not 'warm' by any means, its almost more fun to snuggle up in your layers with friends and a bottle of wine and enjoy a classic movie, such as Clueless ;)

Of my trip to New York a few weeks ago, one of my favorite evenings was spent at a Jewish Deli near by the Empire State Building. We had been exhausted from a day of shopping, napped for a few hours at our hotel and then headed out for some pastrami on rye around 8:30pm. It was already dark, the city was quieter as they are on Sunday evenings. We enjoyed a casual meal, then strolled over to the Empire State Building where to got tea at the near-by Starbucks and just chatted. It was beautiful and relaxing.