One Woman's Junk is just a Crafter's Treasure.... for $25!!!

So a few years ago in 2010, I hijacked some unused furniture that belonged to my Mom that my Dad no longer used.  Unfortunately,  my brother's wild labs chewed up some corners and let the furniture get water damage on top!  None the less, I was so happy he allowed me to take it before he threw it out!  It meant a lot to me to be able to have it.  I will never forget how happy my Mom was to get the furniture years before.  It was her first matching set she ever had in her life and now I had my first matching set also!  

Here are some pictures of  the set..... unfortunately I do not have many before pictures.

After many saturdays, tons of sanding, painting, distressing, I had my gorgeous redone bedroom suite!
(sorry for the awful cell phone pics!)

The huge dresser!  It has a matching mirror.  Of course my dogchild Winston is in the picture!

So I said that to say this........My husband bought this huge 60 inch tv about 2 years ago, and for 2 years this huge tv has been sitting on an antique coffee table!! The bonus little side table (from his ex-girlfriend) holds our blu ray, cable box, and xbox! ugh!!  So I shopped around and the only decent tv stand that was big enough to hold this bad boy that I liked was right around $1100!  Which I didn't have and didn't feel comfortable spending that kind of money on a tv stand... ummm no.... So for two years I sat like a bachelor and looked at this mess!

Scary isn't it???

One day, while on Pinterest, I noticed several pins on how to change an old dresser into a media cabinet.  This beautiful yellow provincial dresser below on, The Bungalow Blog, caught my eye, and right then and there I knew what I must do!  

photo credit: www.thebungalowblog.com

My next decision was....what color should I paint it? Yellow really isn't my color.  My absolute favorite color is purple, and since my brand new moraccan rug from www.rugsusa.com is purple, I thought I would spare my poor hubby the allover purple experience.  Even though he said I could pick whatever I wanted.  I had been so obsessed with turquoise since our wedding, so that made my decision very  easy.  I  saw tons of pins on how to glaze furniture to give an antique finish and I love the look of the bright turquoise.  So turquoise with a dark glaze it is!  I saw this beautiful turquoise piece here. 

photo credit: www.faceliftfurniture.com

My favorite DIY glaze how to is here on All Things Thrifty, which is an adorable blog!!

So here she is in all her fabulous glory!  She is solid wood and $25!  I pick her up tomorrow! This is my first time ever to purchase something on Craig's List.  Since I am an avid watcher of the  ID (Investigation Discovery) channel, I have irrational fears of strangers and serial killers lol.. so Brandon will be with me while I pick up this dresser from this supposedly "old lady".

Stay tuned for my post on how my DIY Media Center turns out....Wish me luck with the "old lady"!

What's for Dinner....Healthy Turkey Sausage with Veggies and Whole Grain Pasta

So I have been on a health kick lately.  I have been working out 3-5 days per week, eating out less, cooking more, and really watching what exactly I put in my mouth.  My husband's new favorite healthy meal that I make is a pasta dish that I make with spicy turkey sausage, veggies, no sugar added pasta sauce, and whole grain pasta.  Sometimes I change it up a bit and ex the pasta sauce and pasta and use whole grain brown rice instead and add carrots!  It is so delicious, satisfying, and has all healthy ingredients!

I love my cobalt blue kitchen canisters!  I am obsessed!  I just picked up the starry polish pottery one from an antique mall for $10!

First Gather your ingredients.  This cost about $12 and we will have about 6 servings.

• 1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey  (I like the lean Jenni-O brand)
• 1bell pepper (any color)
• 1 squash
• 1 zucchini
• 10 ounces of mushrooms
• small onion
• garlic cloves
• Jar of regular pasta sauce (I like the no added sugar kind)
• Box of whole grain pasta (I like the rotini, but ziti or angel hair will taste great also)

Start cutting up your veggies.  I would start by chopping the onions and garlic first and put them in a pan with your sausage.  While your sausage and diced onions/garlic are cooking on medium heat, finish cutting up your veggies.  Set them aside in a bowl until the sausage is browned.  Season your sausage to your liking.  I normally do not add any seasoning since the sausage normally has seasoning and enough flavor.  However if you are using ground turkey you may want to add maybe some salt and pepper.

I got the colorful spoon rest from Puerto Morelos on our honeymoon!

After the sausage is cooked all the way through, drain any fat and properly dispose.  Pour the chopped veggies over the meat and fold in.  I reccommend covering the pan with the lid, this will help the veggies cook faster.  While the veggies are cooking boil your water for your pasta.  Remember to use cold water, add a little salt, and cover with a lid, this will make the water boil a lot faster.  (don't forget to stir the meat and veggie mixture!) Pour the uncooked pasta in the boiling water and cook for about about 10 minutes or until al dente  (read instructions on back if a different brand).

I love these little boots!  So cute!  This mixture (without the sauce) would be so good over some wild rice! 

When the veggies have softened some and cooked all the way through (approximately 7 minutes on med-low heat) add the sauce and cook covered.  Stir constantly since the sauce may boil up. When it starts bubbling turn the heat to low.  At this time the pasta should be done.  Carefully strain the noodles over the sink using a colander.  Pour or spray cold water over the noodles to stop them from continuing to cook.  I normally dump the pasta back into the pot (after straining all water) it was cooked in and add about a tablespoon of olive oil  and stir to help keep the noodles from sticking to each other.  

So here it is.  Our lovely dinner in cobalt blue fleur de lis dishes with some of my Valentine's Day flowers in my cobalt blue vase from Hobby Lobby! 

I like to serve our meals in bowls.  I read somewhere that if you serve your meals in bowls it helps you eat better portions because it appears to be more. 

Less than 400 calories and so delicious!!!

Almost 30 years! Just in case you were wondering that is three whole decades!!

I can't even believe I will be 28 in just a few weeks!  I will officially be in my "late 20's", 2 years away from 30, and officially feel like I should be a grown up!  That being said, in order to make myself feel a little better about the 8 now in my age I plan to live it up and celebrate!  Years ago, in my "early 20's" my friends from college and I would go to a Karaoke Club at least twice a week.  There I would sing my signature song, Break Down Here by Julie Roberts, and have the time of my life!  Call this an early "late" 20's crisis, but I want to relive the glory days where we had the time of our lives!  I plan on trying out a newish club located in one of my favorite places, Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth, called The Lonestar Night Club.  Years ago it was called City Streets, (I think I actually went there on my 22nd birthday!) but after a remodel and change in management it has been revamped to a whole new hot spot.  It looks pretty nice!

The last year of my life was just so amazing and special, and I just have to celebrate what a wonderful year it was.  I had my fairytale wedding with the love of my life and we definitely had a wild ride leading up to it all.  I feel so blessed and makes me think back to where I was, as a "know it all" 18 year old. If only I knew then what I knew now!  I actually recently found an old journal and when I was 19 years old I wrote out a list.  The list was titled 5 year goal. The list consisted of things like finish my degree, get skinnier, quit smoking, get close with my brother again, grow out my hair, etc, but at the top of the list was to find my happiness.  I may not have achieved every item on my long list of 20 things, but I definitely did succeed in most, and the most important one was finding my happiness!!  So this year I am going to celebrate a new year and try to make a list of goals for this next year/5 year plan.  Does anyone else set goals on a 5 year plan or when another birthday passes?  I would love to hear your goals!  Here are mine....

Goals (deadline 2018) not in any particular order

1. Purchase a home and establish roots
2. Get healthier
3. Have children
4. Fall more in love with my husband
5. Go to Washington D.C.
6. Go to Europe
7. Get my wisdom teeth finally taken out (I've been putting it off for years!)
8. Continue my blog
9. Better my career
10. Have a better relationships with God, my family, and friends

Hey 18 year old self.......(no not a perm!)

Meet almost 28 year old self!  Looking more like my Mom everyday!

Howdy!

Well hello everyone!  First and foremost thanks so much for stopping by!  This is my first blog since well XANGA was cool in 1999!  I am really excited to start The Purple Paisley and share my thoughts and ideas with more than just my friends and family!  I have to say I was inspired by a woman that I am lucky to call my friend.  Her name is Amberly and actually has her own beautiful blog page A Slice of Glam!  Please check it out and subscribe and leave comments!

I am a lover of DIY, cooking, "pinteresting", and trying out new hair and makeup styles!  So please be sure to subscribe and check out my posts! 

Amberly photo credit A Slice Of Glam