I would guess that the Fourth of July probably ranks up there as one of the top holidays for most Americans. I have fond memories of Independence Day, back from my childhood and right up until today. This year we spend most of the day relaxing at home. It was a hot sunny day here in the desert, somewhere around 108 degrees, with about 16% humidity, so fairly dry. In the evening we went to a friend's house for a desert BBQ. I say desert BBQ because there was no way we were all going to sit outside in the 108 degree heat and hang around by the grill. So we grilled outside and ate indoors! 
above: Plenty of traditional July 4th fare: cheeseburgers, potato salad, green bean casserole, and a fresh green salad with strawberries and blueberries. Mmmm!
above: check out this cake with the stars on it. One word: WOW.
above: Dessert was plated out- the chocolate cake was amazing, served with vanilla ice cream and a sugar star cookie. I ate way too much but thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
above: Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs was adorned with festive banners. Click on the pictures to biggify them.
24 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful time, Rick! I bet the Desert Fireworks were awesome!
It was quiet here and I saw some firworks in the evening...Not great, but then, some were better than none! lol)
It was very cold out on my deck!!!!
This is Summer??
rick i had cake too!!!
smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Yes, Rick -- dry or not anything over 90* is hot! I imagine the temperature drops pretty dramatically when the sun goes down?
The food looks great!
We'll have our brisket and sides today. Last night I made a white pizza with gorgonzola, mozzarella and fresh basil, and a nice salad with greens, cranberries, mandarin oranges, fresh cucumber and yellow cherry tomatoes from our garden.
I'm glad you had a great day. (I should have told you to save me a piece of that cake!!)
Bee- I made a point of taking a photo of that cake with you in mind!
Kathy- In the winter months it does cool off considerably in the evening, but in the summer, not so much. When we got home around 10pm it was around 98 degrees still!
How pretty! I was in Palm Springs last year in the summer and almost passed out walking from Casa Cody to Sherman's at night! Ah... the heat was intense. I learned after that to always take the car! Nevertheless, I'll be at Casa Cody again this August. I just love Palm Springs.
WOW! It all looks SO good! but I don't blame you for eating indoors. I was in Phoenix a fw years back and it got up to 105* about 3 days in a row. Ye4s, the humidity was low - but it was opressive nonetheless.
I was at a BBQ and ate outside- we were pestered by bees, ants and all sorts of bugs it drove me crazy. I kept thinking, why are we doing this? We had fun but it was a battle with the humidity and bugs!
That sounded like the most perfect feast!!! YUM!
Yup, we were at a desert BBQ as well. The kids swam while one adult grilled the steaks, chicken, and asparagus. The rest of us stayed inside where the food and beer were. We ate ourselves silly, and then came home and crashed. No fireworks for us.
That food looks amazing...all of it, but for some reason the cookies are my favorite. So clever! :)
Looks like a wonderful holiday.
Mine was great too! :)
I love those cookies. I spent the day with old friends and family. Nice. I spent the night inside with a friend. We saw fireworks last week at Myrtle Beach and that was enough for me.
we did a whole huge cook out thing with brats, burgers, steaks chicken and waayyy too much stuff to eat. My peach cobbler was a big hit too.
Gorgeous pics of the fireworks!!
Did you happen to see any clips of the amazing display over Hudson Bay? We were at a Thai restaurant in Bethesda and saw it on TV. Didn't really see any of the DC fireworks, ironically, though on Tuesday (oddly enough) the Chevy Chase country club put on a nice fireworks show that we enjoyed from our balcony.
I am honestly too full of dinner still to say anything about the burgers or the dessert - other than that fruits are becoming more popular in salads these days, I have noticed. Fruit, nut, and cheese. Nice combos. Do you have Corner Bakery? I love their Harvest Salad - mixed leaves, toasted walnuts, currants, crumbled blue gorgonzola, spicy vinaigrette, and whole grain black pepper croutons. YUMMY!
Sometimes you just gotta eat too much! :) Especially when there is star-cake. ;) I would have loved to spend the 4th in the desert!!
--snow
That cake is GORGEOUS! And that adorable cookie on top of all that?
Sounds like the perfect holiday!
Ours was filled with lots of food and family! I should probably be fasting today.
I was not in the mood for the Fourth of July this year. I know, I know, I'll try to cheer up.
I gotta say though your BBQ meal looks freakin' delicious. Glad you enjoyed the holiday!
We went to a parade then off to the picnic put on by the city afterward. We went to fireworks the night before and they were not as nice as yours in our midnight sun!
The day after, we went to church then swimming in the lake where my 7 year old got a leech on her little knee and was traumatized!
Kellie- a leech? oh how utterly gross!
my 4th was independent and proud and quiet. proud to have served my country in the armed forces. I love my USA
I'm visiting from Real Live Lesbian's site and loving your blog right now. This post has left me hungry and wanting to party.
That cake.
WOW.
Sounds pretty darned good. We grilled steaks but like you, cooked out and ate in. Walked down the street where baby Nic saw his first fireworks (other than White Sox ballpark fireworks).
Loved that cake! Here in Canada, we celebrate Canada Day on July 1st. The celebration is very much like yours...hamburgers and cake or pie, and fireworks.
I'm glad you had a great time!
Fireworks on barge right in front of my balcony, on a lake. AMAZING
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