Jalapeno Turkey Burgers

A few weeks ago, Chelsea linked up this fabulous cheddar jalapeno turkey burger recipe and I knew I wanted to try it out asap! So, I made sure to pick up all the ingredients on my next grocery run and grilled up the deliciousness for Sunday football.

Ingredients

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1/4 cup of cilantro

1/3 cup of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Garlic salt and black pepper to taste

Guacamole

Reduced fat sour cream

Burger buns

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, making sure everything is evenly distributed. Don't be afraid to get your hands in there and get them dirty!

Form into patties, and chill in the fridge for about an hour so they don't fall apart on the grill.

Grill until fully cooked all the way through, serve on lightly toasted burger buns and top with guacamole and sour cream.

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Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes! 

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Rainy Weekend

The sunshine state hasn't been very sunny lately.. and that's an understatement. Unfortunately, it looks like the next several days are going to be the same, but thankfully it should be sunny again by the weekend.

The only good thing coming out of all this rain, is the excuse to finally whip out my Hunters which I wore out for dinner with my fav neighbor-friends on Friday night.

Finally tried out a local German restaurant which was a fun little spot with live music and delicious food and German beers. Thankfully, I wasn't talked into trying out das boot as I'm sure I would have spilled it everywhere trying to choke it down. 

Originally, all I had planned for my rainy Saturday was running errands and snuggling up to watch college football, but at the last minute we were given free passes to the Oktoberfest downtown. Admission included unlimited beer and food samples so even in the relentless rain we ventured out to try out some great samples. So many pumpkin and blueberry flavors, and there was even a tent serving root beer floats made of chocolate flavored beer and coffee or vanilla ice cream which was absolutely delish! I nicknamed the event from beer fest to mud fest because after all the rain over the past week and during the event, the field was a mud pit. Everyone was soaked and/or covered in mud and there were even a lot of people who had given up on their sandals and were walking barefoot through the mud... it was that bad! But I honestly feel that it made it more fun.

I also picked up some wall art at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and scored some great deals. I wanted to get something to hang up in the home office, and got what I feel was an amazing deal! The piece was originally $59.99 then marked down to $19.99 on clearance with an additional 33% off. I then used a 20% off coupon (never ever go to BBB without a 20% coupon!) and only paid $10 for it. I also picked up a beachy piece to go above the soaking tub in the master bath and used another 20% off coupon. Great savings!

Joining Leeann and Kimberlee for Monday Morning Gossip 

and

Biana for Weekending

and

Lisa and Bella for Weekend Recap

Hunters Boots

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A Tad Emotional this Friday

Happy Friday! I'm still just a tad emotional after watching Jeter's last home game last night... still so surreal. But I'm looking forward to a great weekend with dinner out tonight with my fav neighbor-friends, working on the house, and the final NYY vs. BOS series this season. Now onto my top favs from this week:

1. Some evenings just call for some Skinny Girl Margarita... even better was the fact that I scored this bottle for only $6 on sale! Now if I could only find their new Sparkling Margarita...

2. My brother sent me this pic of Jeter at one of his last home games, I'm sure it's zoomed in a lot but I thought it was a great shot! So proud to be born into a NYY family...RE2PECT!

3. The amount of rain we've been getting this past week has been no joke! The roads were flooding and it was an absolute mess! Our pool even overflowed onto the patio... ugh. But one good thing that comes from all this rain are the beautiful rainbows...

4. Had an impromptu neighborhood get together last night which included some fireball and catching up with several neighbors I hadn't seen in a while. Always a good time...

5. Loving these fabulous finds on Pinterest from this week:

Linking up today with Lauren for High Five on Friday and Amanda for Friday Favorites. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday! 

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In love with LUSH

I have heard a number of you rave about LUSH for a while now, and had never had the experience of stepping into one of their fabulous stores until my recent trip to Chicago. I was walking to the Hancock Building, and as I was walking by Macy's a LUSH display caught my eye and I turned around and went inside to check it out.

I was immediately in awe of all the pretties and my nose was happy with all the amazing smelling products. Plus, I knew I wasn't walking out of there without one of their famous bath bombs! 

I had a complimentary skincare consultation which led me to purchase the Fresh Farmacy Face Soap for my acne prone skin, and of course I picked out a bath bomb to try out in my soaking tub at home. I'm excited to try more of their products the next time I stumble upon one of their fun stores. 

Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb

Fresh Farmacy Face Soap

What are your favorite products at LUSH?

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I've also teamed up with the lovely ladies below to give away some fabulous prizes... good luck!

  Life According To Steph  Till Then Smile Often  Love Always Nancy J  Realities of Brandi

              Green Fashionista                   The Kay Times                    Martinis & Bikinis

Bonus Prizes: 

Blue Avenue - Online Clothing Boutique

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LUSH

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What I did all summer...

Oh summer where did you go? Yes, it'll still be warm here for a little while but I've noticed it's already starting to cool off and the water in my pool is starting to get chillier. I squashed as much as I possibly could into my summer, so let's see how I did with my summer bucket list

.

1. Go to an outdoor concert ~ Success!

Florida Country Superfest in June to see Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, and LUKE BRYAN!

2. Day at the lazy river ~ Success!

3. Baseball games ~ Success!

Saw my Yankees on my birthday

...and went to Wrigley Field while in Chicago

4. Fireworks ~ Success!

Watched fireworks over the lake from a friend's hot tub on the 4th of July

5. Outdoor movie and foodtruck nights ~ Fail

6. Go out for ice cream ~ Another fail

7. Boat ride ~ Success!

8. Check out more gulf coast beaches ~ half fail

Went to Treasure Island Beach again, but it wasn't "new" so doesn't count

9. Take another trip with friends ~ Success

Went to Chicago with Emily and K

...and H's best friend from CT joined us for dinner and roof top bar hopping.

10. Go river tubing ~ fail

Never made it over to the springs this summer, but there's still time. Hoping to go some time in October when things aren't as crazy busy. 

Were you able to accomplish everything fun you wanted to do this summer?

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Today is the last day to enter the Vine Vera giveaway!

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Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hands down the recipe I get asked for the most is for my buffalo chicken dip. It's perfect for parties, tailgating, and just a lazy weekend watching football. Every time I serve it at a party, people scrape the dish clean looking for more, and it's good enough to eat with a spoon.

Ingredients

~ 2 blocks of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

~ 1 bottle of Frank's Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce (I use about 10 oz. not the full 12)

~ 1 cup of reduced fat blue cheese dressing

~ 1 cup of fully cooked diced grilled chicken, shredded

~ 1 cup of shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Directions

~ Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

~ Shred chicken using a food processor 

~ Mix together cream cheese, red hot, blue cheese dressing, and chicken together until fully combined.

~ Transfer mixture into a greased casserole dish, sprinkle with cheddar cheese

~ Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until it bubbles

~ Serve with tortilla chips and cut up celery

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Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes! 

Only a couple days left to enter the Vine Vera giveaway.

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Recipe

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Tailgating & Birthdays

Weekends consisting of tailgate parties, birthday celebrations, and relaxing pool time should always be on the docket...

We had our tailgating mixer at work on Friday, and I'm so happy with how it all came together. All our hard work and planning sure paid off! We had our grill master outside and inside we had a keg, powder-puff punch, beer pong, flip cup, corn hole, ladder golf, and sports trivia. Everyone coming in received their "ticket to the mixer", got their picture taken with the cardboard cut out, and grabbed a personalized koozie as their door prize and were entered to win gift cards for playing the various games. We also had ESPN Classics on with our own team commercials we filmed which were a total riot. So.much.fun.

But we all know... after the party is the after party!

Saturday, it was time to celebrate my friend's b-day which called for an afternoon of food, drinks, and college football. We all dressed up in his favorite team's colors and wore beads and silly hats.

Sunday was for relaxing with BOGO Starbucks, football, a quick swim, and I tried out a new turkey burger recipe for dinner which was delish! I also was excited to dig into my new Rocksbox shipment which I can't wait to pair with some outfits this week.

Joining Leeann and Kimberlee for Monday Morning Gossip 

and

Biana for Weekending

and

Lisa and Bella for Weekend Recap

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Friday Loves

So much to love on this beautiful Friday!


1. I received a notification on my Starbucks app that they're offering BOGO fall drinks on Sunday from 2:00-6:00. I'd like my first PSL of the season and another Chai latte which was absolutely delish at the airport a few weeks ago... YUM!

2. My new Rocksbox is scheduled to arrive today, can't wait to wear my pretty new baubles. Just in time for the weekend!

3. The tailgating mixer I've been working on is finally happening this afternoon at work. All the planning, budgeting, and hard work will finally show how worth it-it all was! Ready for an afternoon of corn hole, sports trivia, beer, good food, and the unveiling of our team commercials.

4. Picked up my free coffee at Wawa on Thursday while they were celebrating more openings throughout the state. I'll never say no to free coffee!

5. Can't believe it's all coming to an end... such a class act. Yes, I'm getting emotional again over another Jeter ad.

Also, don't forget to enter my Vine Vera giveaway!

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Linking up today with Lauren for High Five on Friday and Amanda for Friday Favorites. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday!

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