


My 25th birthday celebrations continued yesterday (on my actual day of birth) from the moment I woke up until my last bite of dessert post-dinner! Every year I like to commemorate my birthday in a multi-day event because I feel like one day is simply not enough and it’s usually overwhelmed by the busyness of the holiday season. Does that make me selfish and extra? Probably, but I am who I am! I love my birthday and I wanted my 25th to feel as fun as possible because it absolutely is. Luckily, my partner and family made me feel extraordinarily special and I had a wonderful day full of food, relaxation, and gifts! I took off from work and woke up fairly early to a living room decorated with pink balloons, streamers, and crinkly rose gold balls that my partner put up at 5 am. He also brought me my favorite acai bowl from Jewel or Juice because I didn’t want to eat too much before our huge dinner with my family later that night. We didn’t have a ton of activities planned for the day besides relaxing, filming some TikToks, making southern potato salad for my friend’s Christmas gift (and a separate batch for family dinner), wrapping more Christmas gifts, napping (my favorite activity ever), opening birthday presents, and getting ready for dinner. I asked my family to make different BBQ dishes for my 25th birthday dinner since our COVID cases are on the rise again and I don’t want to eat in a restaurant at the moment. I love having potluck-style dinners for my birthday celebration (last year we had a bunch of Mexican food!) so cooking isn’t forced on only one person. My mom produced her famous deviled eggs, dad smoked ribs, pulled pork, and sausage; Megan made cole slaw, my aunty baked mac and cheese, grandma slow cooked baked beans, and I brought some potato salad! We ate ice cream and oreo cheesecakes for dessert and after opening presents, we all went home full and happy. It’s been a great round of 25th birthday celebrations!