Cheers to 21 Years!

I officially turned 21 on January 31st. Since I am a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, the excitement of being able to legally drink alcohol or go gambling doesn't hold much sway for me. However, I am a bit excited that I can now buy certain wines for cooking and maybe stop at a karaoke or piano bar sometime. Not to mention, I could linger in a Vegas casino without being yelled at! 

The theme for this year's birthday was BLACK and WHITE - no specific reason, I just thought it could be pretty fun. The day started off beautifully as I gave myself the gift of fifteen extra minutes of sleep. I walked groggily out of my bedroom to the sight of an explosion of beautifully colored signs taped on our vanity mirrors. "Happy Birthday Jenny" and little signs of validation such as "Wow, that shirt looks great on you" immediately made me smile. 

Continuing into the Kitchen, I was greeted with our  "Complimentary Cereal Bowl," a bright ginormous green bowl that we put out for every girl's birthday to remind her how wonderful she is.

After delighting in my birthday cereal, I noticed a large sign above the kitchen sink. I am kind of a dish duty dork and find great joy when the dishes are done. Each of my roommates and I have a designated "dish day" where we are responsible for unloading the dishwasher. My birthday happened to land on my dish day. I laughed at this sign from my roommate.

The rest of the day went stupendously as I sported a bright pink bedazzled button with the words "Cheers to 21 Years" on my shirt. I received many phone calls, texts, and facebook messages to remind me that this was MY SPECIAL DAY! 

As another present to myself, I made Chocolate Chip Scones (a new favorite recipe from a new favorite cooking blog - www.skinnytaste.com) These are super delicious - I've made them twice just this week alone.

To top the evening off, my roommates and I got all dressed up in black and white garb and heading down to Spark - a lounge / restaurant in Provo that serves non-alcoholic beverages. We took all of our pictures in black and white to continue with this little theme of mine.  

Note my "21" button on my dress

My delicious three berry martini 

Cheers

The best part is my birthday did not end at midnight. A few days later my roommates and I indulged in some deluxe Ice Cream sundaes while watching one of my favorite Black and White movies "Naughty Marietta" and then I spent the weekend celebrating in Salt Lake with my Family. 

Birthdays are wonderful. I have a tradition with my family that on someone's birthday, everyone goes around and says what they love about that person. Sometimes funny stories and memories surface or my mother will pull out the video of the birth. I love this tradition because not only does it make me feel good, but I feel it is super important to tell people that you love them as often as possible. I would hate for someone to leave this life and not know how much I loved them. 

Another tradition that I started with my roommates is for the Birthday girl to say one thing she learned in the last year and one thing she is looking forward to in the upcoming year. My problem is I can never pick just one thing. But here's my best try...

#1 - This last year was the year I learned the most about myself. I went on a Study Abroad, which somehow instilled a deep passion and romanticism somewhere in my gut that just will not go away. I learned to love myself more through eating healthier, fitting into jeans I had given up on, and doing Zumba twice a week. I learned that family is all about love: No matter what!

#2 - I am excited for many things this year. There is a boy who I have not seen in 2 years and I am SO excited to see him again in March. My roommates and I are planning a road trip to California the day after Finals that is bound to be full of adventures. I will be returning to one of my favorite destinations - The Outer banks in North Carolina- to spend a week at the beach with my favorite people (My family). I will be beginning an Internship with the Utah Humanities Art Council and getting that much closer to graduating!

I am thinking twenty one is going to be super fun!