Last week was an absolute whirlwind of dinners and birthdays. As I mentioned last time, the beginning of March is full of birthdays in my family. We had a lovely dinner on my dad's birthday last Sunday, and then I went to Cooper's Hawk with my parents for my mom's birthday on Tuesday night. Cooper's Hawk is one of my favorite restaurants in the the Chicagoland area. I've talked about it here, here, and here. 

As always, we started with their pretzel bread. (Sorry in advance for taking pictures with the iPhone. I should know better than that!)

We drank our wine from a decanter. 

We ordered caprese-style flat bread to share.

For my main meal, I ordered the buffalo chicken sliders. I know that fried chicken smothered in buffalo sauce and ranch dressing isn't the healthiest decision, but there is usually no stopping me once I decide that I want buffalo chicken. Plus, sliders are adorable. 

Each of my parents got a complimentary dessert with chocolate-covered strawberries, a truffle, whipped cream, assorted chocolate-less berries, a piece of chocolate that said "Happy Birthday", and some raspberry sauce. I helped them eat it. 

My mom also ran 20 miles on the treadmill at her health club on the morning of her 60th birthday. No big deal!

Now, here is the great news. I just found out that I was accepted into University of Illinois at Chicago's Masters in Nutrition program. Remember when I first revealed my goals last year? As long as I pass the remainder of my prerequisite courses, I am all set to start in August! I've been celebrating by eating and drinking a whole bunch of crap. That will have to stop soon. I not only have to practice what I will preach someday, but I also have a wedding in a few months! How crazy!