Today is my 21st Birthday!!!!!!!

YAAAAAY!!!!

WOOOOO!!!!

YAAAAAAY!!!

If you know me then you know that I LOVE birthdays. Everyone's birthday. Not just mine. I love yours. My dogs. That guy over there. Birthdays just make me happy. Birthdays just scream "Congratulations on being alive another year! We're so happy you're still around! Enjoy this very special day!" And who doesn't love being alive another year? I know I sure do!

In celebration of my very special day - I'm going to do this post a little (well...very) different than usual. You will not find the usual featured restaurant, curly head, or kitchen gadget here! You will only find a little curly heads trip down Birthday memory lane :)

(These were the only pictures i could find...i'm missing a few birthdays - but this should suffice!)

I always take a photograph at my kitchen table on my birthday. It's kind of our thing.

I'm sure some of you've noticed that over the past ten years or so I've had pie instead of cake. Why? Because I like pie better than cake. (Not to mention I attend about 10-20 birthday parties a year, and at every single party I eat either cupcakes or cake - why would I want to do the same thing for my birthday? I have to be unique of course!) Depending on my mood on the given year I'll either eat pecan or pumpkin. What am I in the mood for this year you ask? PUMPKIN!! Seeing as I've had pecan the past few I thought it was prime time to pull out the ol pumpkin. It is my favorite after all :)

You will also come to find that every year I don't eat store bought pies on my Birthday- only homemade. Who makes me these delicious homemade treats you ask? My mother-that's who!!! Ever since I was a baby my mother has made me absolutely whatever my little heart desires for each of my Birthdays. It is no secret that my mothers love for baking - and the fact that she always bakes my very special cakes/pies for my very special day - has been a HUGE contribution to why I'm going to be a chef, and why I love food. I will keep this tradition alive when I have my own children. Never store bought. Only homemade. It really makes a big difference in my opinion.

On a curly haired note: It's clear to see that my curl pattern has changed so darn much over the years - it's been super curly, then wavy, then slightly curly, then super curly again. I've had a love hate relationship with the mop atop my head for as long as I can remember. Looking at these photos really shoots me back in time to the days when I hated my hair. I of course love it now. But when I was younger....I hated it lol. How sad. Embrace your curls people!!! EMBRACE IT!!

Birthdays are extremely important to me and I believe they should be celebrated as such....which is exactly why I always seem to turn my Birthdays into week long events. My birthday actually started yesterday morning and I fully intend on it ending next Sunday night!! Why force myself to stick to a single day of celebration when I have this big long week ahead of me???? This birthday is particularly important because it means 1.) I am no longer a child 2.) don't have to sneak into bars anymore to hang out with my friends and 3.) I don't have to worry about being kicked out of the aforementioned bars for underage drinking.......not that that's EVER happened to little ol Jenna before ;)

Throughout this weeks CCH posts I promise to upload photos of every birthday festivity that I partake in including photos of my friends, family, drinks, and of course - MY FOOD!!!

I hope you all have just as special of a day as I am!!!!

And I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane ;)

<3