Dumpster Diving - Fab Find

On Monday, I was leaving my apartment to head into work when I swung by the dumpster to drop off a bag of trash.  As I was driving up, I saw a girl walking that way with a big glass vase in her hand.  When I got closer, I saw that she had set three big glass vases and one tall wooden vase beside the dumpster.  Hello DIY project!  I loitered around until she left so she wouldn't think I was a nutso, then I swooped in and picked those puppies up.  I'm not a fan of the color / design of them (they just wouldn't go with my decor), but I like the shape of the vases - with a little DIY upgrade, I think I can make them into something great!

Here's my loot:

I'm pretty sure they're all Pier 1, because one of them has a Pier 1 price tag on the bottom ($45!) and they all match (except for the random wood one).  Score one for me on the dumpster dive!

I have no shame that I pulled these from beside a dumpster.  It's not that bad if I saw the person actually put them there, right?

Stay tuned for what I decide to do with them!

Tasty Tuesday: Salsa Turkey Burgers

In an effort to make a healthy dinner one night last week, I went in search of finding a turkey burger recipe that actually tasted good.  I found a nice base recipe then added my own little twist!

Salsa Turkey Burgers

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey breast
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
6 tbsp salsa (use chunky if you want bits of veggies in your burger)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide into 4 patties.

Cook either in a frying pan (spray with non-stick cooking spray and cook approximately 10 minutes, flipping once), or on an indoor or outdoor grill.  (I did mine on a George Foreman type grill indoors, and topped it with a slice of provolone cheese - delish!)

Makes 4-5 burgers.

I have to be honest, I was skeptical of the turkey burger, because when I think burger, I think RED MEAT...huzzuh!  But, there were really good.  I ate one for dinner and one for lunch the next day, then I froze the other two patties for eating later.

Try it, even if you are a turkey burger skeptic - I promise it's yummy!

To buy or not to buy?

To buy or not to buy...that is the question.  For the past few months, I've been seriously turning over the idea of buying a house.  I've lived in my current (one-bedroom) apartment for almost three years, and while I absolutely love it, I'm starting to feel a little cramped and I'm getting the itch to own.

The lease on my apartment is up at the end of May, so I need to make a decision in the next couple of months on what I want to do.  Obviously, the real estate market is shaky at best right now.  But, if I were to find a place before the end of April, I would qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit, which would be a nice plus.

Let me back it up a bit...I've always kind of had it in my head that life would work out like this: graduate from college, get married, buy a house, have kids.  That's just what happens, right?  Well...I'm learning that life doesn't always work out like you planned (and that's ok).  I haven't really blogged about it, but I got out of a (very) long-term relationship about 7 months ago.  I'm in a really good place right now, and happier than I've been in a long time.  But, I'm nowhere near getting married.  So, at 25 with the likelihood being that I won't get married for another several years at a MINIMUM, I hate to think about throwing away money on rent for who knows how long while I wait for my perfect marriage-then-house scenario to come along.  The thought of buying a place alone is scary, but if it's something I can do financially, then I think it might be the wise choice.  And, if I should end up getting married and needing to move in with a hubby in the next several years (trust me, I'll pulling for this scenario!), then it's smarter to go ahead and buy now so I can maximize my time in the house and have the best chance of recouping my costs, rather than wait another year or two to buy, and then have to sell a year later because I'm getting hitched.

At this point, I'm thinking townhome over single-family home, becasue a) they're cheaper b) I wouldn't have to maintain the outside lawn, etc., and c) as a single female, I think I'd feel a little safer in a townhome than in a single-family home.  I'm still wrapping my head around everything and keep going back and forth on what I want to do...it's a really big decision.

Any advice on buying a first home??

February is the new January

Ok...where the HECK did January go?  I am absolutely flabbergasted that the month of January is over.  Really...how did that go by so fast??

I obviously have not been holding up my resolution goal of blogging regularly, seeing as my last post was on January 5th.  Shame on me.  What about my other goals?

Read at least 2 books per month - this definitely did not happen.  Still slogging through Julie and Julia.  It's a book that's easy to read in "pieces", so you can put it down for a week and not be on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next.  Which means I'm less motivated to read it than something with a more gripping story line.  That's my excuse, as least.

Find a church and attend regularly - I'm happy to report that I've been doing this.  I went to church 3 of 5 Sundays in January - I planned to go today, but had to skip because of the snow storm that blazed through NC this weekend - services were canceled and the roads were not pretty.

Get involved in new activities where I can meet new people - haven't done this yet.  Ditto for sewing, although I did get my new machine out of the box yesterday and played with a little.  Do I get half a point for trying?

To make things easy, I'll just lump all of my "health" related goals together....because NONE of them have happened yet.  None of them.  At all.  Not even bringing my lunch to work, and that should be an easy one.  Sigh. 

So...February is the new January.  Tomorrow is February 1st, and it's time for me to turn up the heat on these babies.  FOR REAL.

Get ready, because I am coming out of hibernation!

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

When it's cold outside, I absolutely love doing crock pot meals. I tried out a new recipe this past weekend, and it was super yummy!

Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1 - 8oz pkg low fat cream cheese
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
3 cups cooked white, long grain rice

Directions
Place chicken in crock pot
Mix together Italian dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.
Add chopped onion and garlic salt.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours OR low for 6-8 hours (recommended)
Mix together cream cheese and soup in separate bowl.
Carefully remove chicken from crock pot to plate.
Pour cream cheese/soup mixture into crock pot and mix together with dressing in bottom.
Return chicken to crock pot and mix gently to shred the chicken.
Cook on low until heated through.
Serve over rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Guilty Pleasure

I have a confession....getting massages is my guilty pleasure.  I don't indulge often, but boy are they FANTASTIC!  A friend and I headed to the spa this morning and started our day / year off right with a little relaxation.  Love love love!  What's your guilty pleasure??

2010 Goals

Welcome to 2010!  Instead of New Years resolutions, I like to do goals.  2009 wasn't the greatest year for me, so I'm optimistic that 2010 is going to be fabulous.  Here's a rundown of my goals for this year, in no particular order.  If I think about it, I want to check in on myself a few times over the course of the year to see how I'm doing and make sure I'm on track to reach my goals.  I've broken them down into mini categories, since some are related.

Self-Improvement

1. Read at least 2 books per month

This is a lofty one.  I'm a fast reader, but most nights when I hetad to bed, I just turn out the lights.  I want to make it a point to read before going to sleep more often.

2. Find a church and attend regularly

This has been something I've wanted to do for awhile now.  I grew up going to church with my family, but when I went away for college, I stopped going except for when I was home from school.  And now I've been out of school for almost four years and I still haven't made the effort to find a church where I now live.  I miss it and have decided it's time to make the effort to make this a priority in my life.

3. Get involved in 2-3 new activities / groups, etc. where I can meet new people

While I have a FANTASTIC group of friends whom I love dearly, I want as many opportunities as possible to meet new people and expand my connections.

4. Learn to sew

So domestic, I know.  I actually asked Santa for a sewing machine for Christmas, so now I want to know how to use it!  I want to be able to do basic clothes repairs, and also be able to sew cute crafty things...pillows, etc.

Health

1. Lose 10-15 pounds

I had a goal in 2009 to lose 20 pounds.  At my lowest point, I got 15 down.  I've gained some back (sigh), especially over the holidays (in fact, I'm too scared to get on the scale right now...I'm waiting until Monday morning for that!), so I think I kept off about seven pounds.  I have a goal weight in mind, and depending on Monday's weigh-in (which is going to be my weekly weigh-in day), I'll need to lose 10-15 pounds to meet my goal.  The next three goals play into this one.

2. Bring lunch from home at least 4x per week

Saves money and is much healthier than eating out...

3. Cook dinner at home at least 4x per week

Same concept as above.  (Boxed mac n' cheese does NOT count!)

4. Exercise at least 5x per week

I really need to get back on the ball in this department.  Even though I managed to get through a 1/2 marathon three weeks ago, I have barely been exercising the past couple of months.  And it's starting to show...

Lastly, as it's own category...

Keep up with my blog!

I've enjoyed starting a blog and have "met" some great people in the blog world.  I slacked a bit in December, and I miss it!  I want to regularly update my blog - it's an outlet for me, and just plain fun!

So there you have it...this is what I'm going to be working on in the coming year!

What goals do you have for 2010?