Watch out world! I'm TWENTY-ONE!

In the event you were unaware, I love birthdays. Last week I turned twenty-one and it was a wonderful day! My entire family made a trip down to Baton Rouge to celebrate the weekend before my birthday. We started off the day at Alex Box Stadium for an afternoon baseball game against Wake Forest. The only tickets that they had available were standing room only...but we were sneaky and got really awesome seats!

Then we checked into our hotel and got ready for dinner. For almost a year, I have been wanting to go eat at Juban's. It is a nice restaurant in town that is known for their seafood. It was delicious! The absolute BEST part was the banana's foster CHEESECAKE.

Awesome, right? Right.

It was super fun to get all dressed up for the night!

THEN, my sister and brother-in-law drove back for my actual birthday! I took them to the Chimes for dinner so they could experience a typical Baton Rouge restaurant. Then we went to a painting studio where they teach you how to paint a picture of your choosing. It was by far the absolute best way to spend my birthday! My mom sent tons and tons of food and decorations for the party. It really made the day super special (and the cupcakes were beyond delicious)

In other news...I failed to complete my list of "21 things before I turn 21." So now I am going to spend the next year attempting to check everything off that list by the end of my 21st year! So stay tuned!

#4 Dinner Party

Hostest With the Mostess

The next item on my list was to plan and prepare a dinner party for my friends and family. Due to the fact that I don't have a kitchen when I am at school, my knowledge of cooking is very limited. New Year's Eve sounded like a good night to have this little gathering. Everything turned out really great (Matthew had three plates...so I guess it was good?) I made my famous BBQ Chicken, green bean bundles, Nani's twice baked potatoes and homemade bread.

A few things I learned:

- It takes a really long time to cook an entire meal! At our house we have double ovens and I had something in each oven at all times for hours!

- Then there is the quandary of how to keep everything hot for when your guests arrive. Timing is everything.

- Always have extra. I made enough food for what I estimated was 12 hungry people, but I was really only expecting 9. At the end of the night all of the platters were completely empty! (But I suppose that means everyone liked it! ha)

- "Ideally, if you serve a fruit salad, you probably shouldn't serve a apple pie." — Lenae M. Scott, Founder of the Lenae M. Scott School of Hospitality

- "Cookies aren't an acceptable dessert for a dinner party." — Lenae M. Scott

Santa brought all of the girls matching aprons :)

Wonderful friends to celebrate!

(Yummy)

#3 Sista Date

When we were in high school we would occasionally go to the local paint-your-own-pottery place, Arts on Fire to spend some quality sister time together. Then when Leigh Anne went to college we continued the tradition when she would come home for holidays. So it seemed only fitting that when she and Matt came home for Christmas that we stick to tradition.

Leigh Anne painted a Christmas Light-shaped candy dish and I painted a tall vase that I thought looked cool. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and I think they turned out to be pretty cool!

#2 sitting in the woods (aka hunting?)

Thus far I have failed to accomplish any more milestones on my list of 21 Things to do before my 21st Birthday. So now that I have "free time" I feel like I should knock a few things off that list. One of those was going "hunting" with my dad and brother.

Chad asked me to go with him over thanksgiving break but I was too swamped with school. When he asked me to go again over Christmas I didn't really have a good excuse. So we suited up (head-to-toe) in camouflage and an awesome pink hat (compliments of my hunting guide) and we were ready to go! He taught me how to shoot, and I was actually pretty good at it!! ha.

(The top 4 shots...aka ones closest to the center...are mine. Chad missed his target and hit mine. ha.)

We climbed up into the stand and started hunting. After about 20 minutes I realized that hunting is far less exciting when there is nothing to actually hunt. Then Chad talked me into going the next day because "Bubba always sees deer at this stand. It will be a GREAT day to see deer!" You sure about that? hmm...

At the end of the day it was fun to hang out with the boys, and now I have obtained a greater appreciation for all the hard "work" that Dad and Chad put into bringing home that good meat ;)

#1: First Ad

So I am now approaching the next big milestone in my life . . . turning TWENTY-ONE. Weird right? Anyways, I've decided that I want to compile a list of 21 things to do before I turn 21! The list is still in fine-tuning process but I've got to get started. No time to waste!

The first thing checked off the list was to see the very first advertisement that I designed PRINTED in a REAL, PROFESSIONAL magazine :)

It was a so excited, it was almost surreal.

This is not the most attractive photo I've ever taken . . .

but I believe it captures my extreme excitement.

Bobbye was with us for the adventure!

inRegister Magazine, August 2010

Baton Rouge, La. Page 25 :)

I can't believe that the summer is already over. I have one more week at work, with LOTS of work to do. But then two weeks off for recruitment and then I start my NEW job! It is truly going to be an insane semester. But let's be honest . . . every semester is insane. with. out. fail. I'll be working in a similar position as this summer. But my primary job will be to design a 24 page magazine that is mailed to people who support the University. I am really looking forward to getting started on this project!

This summer has definitely been very busy, stressful and an adventure . . . but so incredibly worth it! I feel like I have finally accomplished something entirely on my own. I got this job based on my own merit and hard work and not someone pulling strings for me. It is nice to finally feel like I am on the right track and where I am supposed to be.