Happy Birthday, America!

Muh festive fashion: Sandals, Payless. Shorts, Target. Tank, PacSun. Cardigan, VS. Headband, DIY. 

Our hillside vantage point. 

Fireworks OR the end of the world. Take your pick. 

Things that make for a wonderful Fourth of July:

BBQ, ice cream, festivals, friends and fireworks.

Things that threaten to ruin your wonderful Fourth of July:

Cars that do not start.
(I'm lookin' at you, Pala)
Wednesday morning we got all ready to head to El Segundo
for their Fourth of July festival. We piled into my car, stuck the key in the ignition and...
Nothing. Nadda. Zip.
I could have drop kicked that car right then and there,
but I was determined not to let her ruin our first Independence Day in California.
After all, I've been looking forward to this since last summer when we were
in Missouri, watching the fabulous fireworks display set off at the Arch
and I was thinking, "This is sweet, but next year I hope
 I'm watching fireworks shot off over the ocean."
So we back tracked and headed out in Ryan's truck while I silently cursed my stupid car.
Our day was a busy one.
We shared a super tasty red velvet whoopie pie,
had ice cream for lunch (because we're adults and we can do that)
and went to a BBQ for dinner (Friends! We're making friends!).
And I waited very patiently (yeah, right) for the fireworks to begin,
anticipating all the amazing photos I'd capture from the secret spot
atop Palos Verdes hill where we planned to watch.
What I didn't quite realize was just how high our hillside spot would be.
Holy crap, we were up so high, most of the fireworks were blips below us. Oops.
But with our view of L.A. we were able to see fireworks being
shot off all across the city, and thanks to my zoom lens, I got some millions of neat pictures.
Next year, we'll probably suck it up and join the crowd on the beach for a close up
view on the Fourth of July, but I'd say that our first was definitely a success.