Once Upon a Birthday…

I am now fifteen!

I think I would rank this one of the best birthdays ever. Why? Though I’ve been having a tough time personally for a long time, and despite the fact that my problems are nowhere near being resolved, I was able to smile and enjoy myself for an evening. That means a lot to me. Of course, it also helps that the festivities were awesome, too.

The evening began with the most tasty chili and GF rolls I have ever tasted (no special birthday dinner, but it felt like one!), followed by the cutest cake I’ve ever seen:

Thanks mom!

I didn’t need elaborate gifts or decorations to make this birthday special:

My little sister’s gift of frozen berries was more than sufficient.

As were the picture printouts of the cookbooks I asked my parents to pre-order. They shall arrive in May, and I’m super excited for them!

“Vegan Desserts” Scrumptious Sweet for all Occasions, by Hannah Kamisky. And “Babycakes Covers the Classics” Gluten-free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles, by Erin McKenna.

But the thing that really blew me away was little more than a piece of paper– that happened to carry a huge gift within it:

No words, no words. I guess my relentless (non)hinting paid off– and everyone agreed it was time to adopt a rat pack. I have a lot of searching and preparing to do– I’ll be chronicling it on the blog, but I’m so excited to embark on this journey.

What was the best birthday gift you’ve ever received?