Meg Goes Nom Nom

Last weekend was my birthday, yo. I did lots of cool stuff.

Tin foil on the head like it ain’t no thang.

Free Birthday-eve dinner at Mongolian Grill. They have kale on the veggie bar now, for the win. Loadin’ up on those green veggies.

Birthday breakfast at McDonald’s. One of my greatest guilty pleasures in life. Sausage biscuits are THE best breakfast sandwich offered by McD’s, hands down.

For my birthday, the huz took me to a French Macaron cooking class at Sur La Table which was pretty neat.

I’ve had a fascination with French macarons since our trip to Paris in 2012:

The class was hands-on and we prepared three different flavors, allowing each of us to take home a box of macarons after the class:

• Lavendar with Dark Chocolate Ganache
• Pistachio Macarons with White Chocolate-Rose Ganache (favorite!)
• Hazelnut Macarons with Espresso-Chocolate Ganache

My only critique of the class was that I wish we had dyed the macarons because in my opinion, half the fun of these pastries is the mixing and matching of vibrant colors. But, they still tasted delicious and it was great fun learning how to make these at home!

Cookies made in class:

As is customary on my birthday, we also paid a visit to one of my favorite places in Ann Arbor: the conservatory at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

Plus smoothies for lunch, then a fantastic dinner at Mani Osteria.

Pickled tomatoes = best dish at Mani. Love love love.

Polpette pizza is always a winner. We had a Puttanesca pie with anchovies as well.

And a trio of desserts (cannolis, gelato, and cupcakes) after gallivanting around town redeeming my free birthday goodies.

And finally, a movie! What an A+ day. Oh, and the next day was fun-filled with family as well!

Here’s to a great year.

And guess what? This month marks the 5 year anniversary of Meg Goes Nom Nom.

Thank you for your support and readership over the years!