A "Falls Like Rain" Fourth of July

This year's Fourth of July was a good one. I kicked it off with John and my friend Christine on Thursday by grabbing several pitchers of beer at The Snakepit on Melrose Avenue, which is kind of perfect, because it's walking distance from my apartment. Such a convenient spot! I love the silly walks home after throwing back a few, especially during L.A. heat waves. They can be pretty dangerous.

The Snakepit is super small and divey. One of the reasons this place rules is that they keep their big windows wide open, so when you're in there having a few drinks, you don't feel like you're disconnected from the sunshine and interesting outside world of Melrose. You also get that killer warm breeze, which I'm a big, big fan of! During this hangout session, Christine introduced me to a band called Klangkarussell - just in time to have an anthem for the holiday weekend. The song "Falls Like Rain" would be on repeat from that moment on...definitely give those guys a listen! Seriously though - they're an Austrian electronic duo and their name means "Sound Carousel" in German. That information alone should earn them a spot on your latest playlist.



After waking up in my sweet and colorful Melrose 'hood the next morning (yay Fourth of July!), John and I and headed on over to Silver Lake. We grabbed some eggs benny at this old fashioned coffee shop called Millie's (it was built in 1926)! They're known for some pretty yummy vegan selections, and although we're not vegan, we're always open to new places with trusty reviews.

John's really into mixing up our meals, and it's turned me onto so many different things I'd never try otherwise...like Ethiopian food (the lamb is my fave), Sriracha sauce on EVERYTHING (I mean everything), and tacos 24/7. Don't get me wrong - I love tacos, but he could literally eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Long story short, if it weren't for him, I'd probably just eat cheeseburgers and sandwiches all the time.

Back to Millie's - this place was surprisingly packed for a holiday...but I really love sleepy, hot California days on the east side, especially in Silver Lake. Sunset Boulevard is lined with these insanely tall palm trees and so are the side streets, which are also comprised of big old houses on big old hills. I especially love how the glare of the L.A. sun makes it all look and feel so surreal when you stop to take it in, which I always do.

To celebrate that awesome American independence, we showed up to a friend's house party in Echo Park prepared with Leinenkugel. (Side note: I can't even remember the last time I went to a house party. It's been THAT long!) This one was complete with beer pong, flip cup, and a little live music from our friend's band, The Moving Pictures. That was a total bonus, because everyone knows that a little live music can go a long way, especially at a party.

Once the sun set, a few of us headed to Echo Park Lake for fireworks. They didn't actually take place at the lake, but we still had a really decent view of those pretty explosions over the skyline of downtown L.A. from the grass. Plenty of those little illegal fireworks kept popping up around us at the lake too, which was sort of a bonus? I'm posing that as a question because I feared for my limbs at certain points, since those babies were a little too close for comfort. We also bought and played with $2 lightsabers (seriously who wouldn't?), and then John and I drove home to attack some Talenti sea salt gelato before passing right out.

See?! Told you it was a good one! :)