Unlike Easter, or Halloween, Independence Day is a holiday whose appeal has yet to lose its luster. Part of this is doubtless due to the holiday's perennial summer date, part to the history behind it, and the rest lies with the ageless appeal of the day's activities. Parades, BBQ's, and greased-watermelon contests will never go out of style, but my (and most people's) favorite tradition has a little more sizzle.

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I think if you detach the suspenders, this wouldn't be so bad, but the suspenders are the focal point of the suit. Judging from its color -"birkin green," the designers are going for a classy equestrian undertone, but I think waves and whinnies are of the oil/water category, though the model is doing her damnedest to prove me wrong. Am I?

[Image via Shopbop]

• Route 110 motorists witness to Hawks vs. Doves battle royale. [Newsday]
• If Westhampton Beach Deputy Mayor James Kametler's affairs continue on their downward spiral, there's always Marco Island...[On the Beach Blog]
• LIRR shuttle shuttered, for now. [Hamptons.com]
• Dan Rattiner thinks the Hamptons have real history, as opposed to, say Great Neck. [Hamptons.com]
• The piping plovers are coming, and they'll take no prisoners! [The Independent]

Oh how those twenties roared. Don't get me wrong, I love me my technology as much as the next girl, but seeing get-ups like this really makes me yearn for a time period I'll never know. Feathered headresses, sequins, and seersucker make for a pretty heartening combination, and judging by their expressions, this couple agrees.

After last weekend's benefit and nightclub-blitz, I was more than ready for something slightly different. I grabbed a friend who maintains her profile under the radar (ie: you can’t find her in a PMC search) and we rented a Ford Focus from Action Car Rental. If you want to remain anon in the Hamptons, grab a Focus.

Getting lost in Patchogue had its rewards when we stopped to ask directions at Carvel. My friend and I got “Carvelanches” which are the DQ equivalent of a Blizzard – we highly recommend. Creeping into Southampton around 9pm, we saw something that peaked our interest. A carnival with rides, games, cotton candy and locals. HIT the breaks!!!

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This one comes from a tipster, and while it looks a bit heavy for a beach read, it does take place in Aruba. Thanks buddy.

In his debut novel, An Island Away, Daniel Putkowski takes us far from the sparkling beaches and glamorous hotels of his small caribbean isle, to a waning refinery boomtown of barroom brothels, flexible morality, and one tourist trap known as Charlie's Bar.

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Go HERE for more photos of this event by Zev Starr-Tambor.

When our Quogue connection Annunziata Sahid told us about a certain roaring twenties gala being one of the parties of the season, we were intrigued. Quogue is where the real preppies are, she told us, and real preppies know how to party like no one's watching. Hmm...we thought; a pretension-free evening might be just what we needed, especially when it'd be benefiting such an incredible organization.

The East End Hospice provides need-blind care for the terminally ill and support for their families. Additionally, every summer the hospice hosts a week-long camp, Camp Good Grief, for children who've lost a loved one.  So we left the  Diamonds and Denim benefit and the Nature Conservatory's Beaches and Bay's Gala to everyone else to cover....we were headed west to Quogue.

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Quogue's reining renaissance man on liberal arts colleges, teaching writing vs. writing, and why he loves south shore winters.

Roger Rosenblatt has been the essayist for TIME and the New York Times, and a correspondent for PBS' NewsHour. He was the New Republic's and US World Report and News' senior editor. He's written 12 nationally acclaimed, often best-selling books. He's amassed a Peabody, an Emmy, and two Polks. And he does not use email. I ask how such a feat is possible in our age of round-the-clock virtual connection. "A combination of inborn stupidity and laziness," he tells me.

The people he cares about communicating with, and the people who care about communicating with him (me), have to pick up the phone. So Rosenblatt, then, is somewhat of an old-schooler. A hyperobservant, savagely witty old-schooler, as evidenced by his newest novel, the new-school satire Beet. More»

Song: Sly

Aussies making wild, sax-heavy, G.Love-esque music. "Nuff said.

[On the quest for the perfect lobster rolls with Luigi Tadini]

Go HERE for more photos from our adventure with Luigi.

When we tried Sam Talbot's much-lauded lobster roll, we were mighty impressed. Still, we couldn't help but wonder how it stacked up against the south shore's many celebrated crustacean stations, so when we were offered the chance to tag along with Plum TV and Luigi Tadini on their joint search for the perfect LR, we happily complied.

[Grosman's Roll (left) vs. Surf Lodge's Roll (right)]

Our destination: Gosman's, which is also in Montauk, but faces the ocean instead of Fort Pond. To get to Gosmans, you go through this quaint, albeit slightly touristy pier, filled with fish shops, boat docks, and trinket booths. The restaurant itself has nothing on Surf Lodge with regards to atmosphere, and while the wait staff is lovely, the owner doesn't seem to have realized it. But what of the lobster?

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First, I don't cook. Second, no one in my immediate family really caught the cooking bug (until now, that I've moved far away, as both my sister and younger brother seem to have picked it up), Third, EVERYONE thinks I know how to cook and have been doing so for my whole existence when I make this recipe (which has been twice). It's.that.good.

You can make it without the chicken and substitute organic peanut butter. etc. and the leftovers (shown in this photo) are almost better than the original batch.

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[Zev fueling up his rover in East Hampton]

A car is only as cool as its owner behind the wheel. And, this combo of car/driver is hands down the "coolest" one I've seen so far this summer. I met Zev Starr-Tambor on the Jitney. He was impressed with my blackberry skills and pointed completely unnecessary ramblings of directions to interns regarding our gofg photographers for that evening's events....Zev's a photographer....yadda yadda yadda....3 weeks later, Claire and I are dancing to a rendition of the Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be" under a white party tent miles away from home with people in paisley print suits, pastels and bowties....

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