lithuanian nation

Who knew how fun Lithuanian festivals could be? I went to one last weekend with my good friends Logan and Destiny. They studied abroad in Lithuania last year, and the Los Angeles Lithuanian fair is the biggest one outside the country itself. 

Lithuanian food is starchy, greasy, and carb-y. We had a "lazy" version of kepta duona, which is slices of rye bread fried with garlic and topped with melted mozzarella. Ours was more like rye croutons with some garlic salt, but they were still really tasty. Its usual companion is a white beer, which the Schreiners' said is so bad, it's good.

Culture festivals always involve dancing (praise the Lord), and the performers were a traveling group all from Lithuanian descent. Precious old man up there had that exact face the entire time. He loves Lithuania so much.

Destiny told me how amber is extremely popular. Almost every woman wears a necklace with a large amber stone, or bracelets or earrings, or well, anything resembling jewelry. There were booths set up throughout the fair and each had some sort of amber item.

As all good days should end, we went to a great coffee shop a couple miles away called Bru. Iced coffee after a hot afternoon was perfect, and we talked about writing and creativity and how to pursue both.

The conversation was sparked by a conversation I had with a stranger in a coffee shop (about writing) the previous day, and it might sound cheesy, but it was very inspiring. I'll share more next post.

This weekend I'm going to a wedding! Mack and Logan are groomsmen, so Destiny and I are going as well. This will the fourth wedding in 3 months that each of us have attended together. I don't even know how things like that happen.

What are you celebrating this weekend? (Nor-Cal friends, you better answer Fall, and send some my way. We had ONE beautiful Autumn day yesterday, but the sun is back again. Sigh).