In this article, the author shares the Menu Writing project, designed to promote a meaningful, real-world connection to mathematics with the lives of students. The rationale for developing this project was two-fold: (1) to connect school mathematics to students' lived experiences to encourage and sustain students' interest, motivation, and positive self-efficacy about learning mathematics; and (2) to promote students' engagement in the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP). Specifically, asking students to think abstractly by contextualizing mathematics knowledge in a real-world, problem-solving scenario as well as building constructive arguments to support students' reasoning (i.e., SMP 2 and SMP 3, respectively [NGA Center and CCSSO 2010]), were the mathematical practice standards targeted when implementing this project.