Breakfast Bar: 21 & Under

I'm happy to report that my 20th birthday was an outstanding success. It fell on a hump day this year, which proved to be the best way to break up my week. Not long after the semester started came a night when my body was exhausted but my mind just wouldn't agree. As I tossed and turned, the party planner I didn't know I had in me concocted the idea of a midnight breakfast bash for my birthday. The vision became a reality on the eve of my birthday, which just so happened to fittingly fall on Fat Tuesday!


The main course was an assortment of cereals to choose from. I tried to include most of the kid-friendly favorites, as I wanted the evening to be an ode to childhood since I was making my departure from my teenage years.  Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Honey Nut Cheerios, and my personal favorite, Life, all made the cut.


All the sugar-coated cereals were poured into large bowls with scoopers and several pitchers of milk (chocolate and regular) were spread throughout the table.


Since cereal is one of the few foods almost anyone can make (right there with toast and PB&Js), I insisted we take this basic snack up a notch; I supplied a variety of mix-ins like an assortment of berries, bananas, crushed birthday Oreos, marshmallows and chocolate chips.


We relished the "Fat" in Fat Tuesday and offered powdered donuts, Cinnabons and Sister Schubert sausage rolls to all--which were the first to go as I predicted.


Sweet Caroline was nice enough to bring me a "birthday pancake"



complete with twenty colorful candles!


Just before the guests began to arrive, these flowers (featured here) arrived from Mollie in Dallas, so I naturally made them the centerpiece next to the...


mimosa bar! Some of these plastic flutes ended up being filled to the brim with chocolate milk or


straight-up champ with frozen raspberries.


The guests were first greeted with a menu highlighting all the yummy treats that were promised to them on the (Facebook) invite.


And in the middle of a stressful school week for many, I was happy to bring all my friends to one place


for some good eats and from what I can tell,







some late night fun.


While I've always respected the tradition that your birthday is your one day to don a tiara and celebrate you, I found just the opposite this year. I received so many thoughtful gifts like this balloon bouquet from Hannah and Michelle (they take good hints!),


a lovely array of sweet and sassy cards all with touching notes inside,


and heart-warming words from everyone I love. I guess they love me back, and the whole day was a wonderful reminder of that, which is all I could have asked for and more. This sentiment was just in time for Valentine's Day which I got to spend with Merl and her parents (who I like to think are my Austin parents.)


Some claim your twenties and thirties brings a drought in friendship. I have every confidence in the world I will never be in short supply of the extended family I have in each one of my wonderful friends.