Philly Phourth.

This year was my second year celebrating Independence Day in Philadelphia. Our good friends recently moved down to live with another good friend, so it was a great excuse to get out of Mass and head to the land of the broken bell. It was a much smaller shindig than last year, spent mostly with locals, but it was just what we needed on a hot weekend. 

Our first stop was an all-you-can-eat ice cream event on the water. I must say, the flavors weren't as varied as at Boston's ScooperBowl (yes, Mike and I attended two all-you-can-eat ice cream events this summer), but it was a welcome reprieve from the oppressive heat. After our indulgence, we headed to Liz's rooftop for a BBQ, sparklers, and bubbles.

We experienced our first "trinity," a classic apartment style in Philly. There is a floor dedicated to each room. They're kind of small and probably wouldn't appeal to someone with claustrophobia, but it was adorable and it felt like we were on a ship.

After we blew hundreds of bubbles and ate to our hearts' content, we headed to Voyeur where a friend got us tickets to see ?uestlove's PSK: Philadelphia Sound Konnoissuers. The venue was pretty awesome, with three floors of dancing and free hot dogs in the basement! (Sound shady enough? Our hostess ate one and she didn't die, so I guess it's fine.) We danced in the basement for a while to Stevie Wonder, about ten feet from ?uestlove! When the music switched to electronic music, we headed back up to catch the tail end of Jazzy Jeff's set. Diplo came on and we could only stand about ten more minutes of the heat before heading back out into the Philadelphia night. We got home and collapsed, sweaty and ready for bed.

Bubbles and improvised seating.

Waiting for SEPTA.

I love bubbles.

A great view of Philly.

Our fourth of July was pretty relaxed, hanging out by the pool at my friend's parents' house on the mainline. There was swimming and another BBQ and coconut cake. Mike managed to hurt his neck in the pool, which was the second time he's done that this year. (Well, the first time he hurt his neck brushing his teeth, and made it worse playing pool volleyball.) Of course, we got some obligatory sparkler shots as well. I took some with my Pentax, and I'm sending those rolls off today so hopefully I'll have some new (and some pretty old) shots to share soon!

We watched the fireworks on the night of fourth, and while we were on our way to meet up with the rest of our group, we experienced what I think was some version of this. Fortunately, we didn't experience as violent an event as those people did, but I did see someone get punched at one point. When the cops raced after the kids, they ran like a herd in the other direction. It put me on edge for the night and made me jones for the low-key fireworks we saw in Narberth last year. So, if you're in Philly (or anywhere else these might be popping up), be careful out there.

On a more sunny note: Sometimes Sweet is my go-to for a fill-up on beautiful tattoos, but this week she's been giving away a pair of shoes a day, and I'm loving it! So head over for today's giveaway: Big Buddha's Rilo Oxfords!