lemon blueberry frozen yogurt

I love ice cream but I am still trying hard to eat a little healthier when it comes to eating sweet treats. This summer I have been making simple frozen yogurt with seasonal fruit and thankfully it satisfies my sweet tooth! My current favorite flavor is lemon blueberry (with a hint of mint).

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint of frozen blueberries

1 lemon squeezed

1 dash of fresh mint diced (optional)

1-2 tablespoons of honey

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend together until creamy.

Server immediately OR transfer yogurt to a airtight container and store in the freezer.

doodled dishwasher

As I shared yesterday, we are in the midst of working on transforming our kitchen into something that is a little more our style and part of that style is incorporating creative little touches. After looking at our budget, we decided that replacing all of our appliances with new ones just didn't matter that much to us. The only appliance that needs to be replaced is our stove, the dishwasher and fridge are GREAT- no they are not top of the line stainless steel but they work just fine. The dishwasher is dated so I decided to use my love of drawing pattern to transform a dishwasher from the 80's into a fun piece of art!

While I could have drawn directly onto the surface of the dishwasher I decided to go with something a little less permanent (I tend to change things so I wanted to be able to take my drawing off and make a new one someday!) so I used white contact paper.

I cut the contact paper to size (I covered all the areas except the panel of buttons). 

The next step I gave lots of thought and planning- while I could have doodled on the paper before sticking it to the dishwasher, after some experimentation, it was pretty challenging so I decided to go ahead and stick the blank paper to the dishwasher and then draw. 

Then I went to town doodling! I work pretty fast on creative projects but this one wasTIME CONSUMING- it took me an entire day (about 9+ hours) which for me is a long time. It was hard on my black and my hand but the end result is SO cool!

In one day and for about $10.00 our dated dishwasher was transformed into a really cool and unique statement piece in the kitchen! So much better than stainless steel (in my opinion).

For those who will ask- yes, we have run the dishwasher a couple of time and the contact paper is holding up just fine!

kitchen updates- open shelving

We have a long list of changes that we want to complete in our house and the biggest project has been our kitchen. While we are happy with the layout and are blessed with lots of space, the kitchen needs a little updating but more than anything we want to incorporate our style (colorful, cottage, quirky with a twist of boho) into the kitchen.  However, we are on a massive budget! Instead of sharing a BIG final reveal of our kitchen, I want to take you along with us as we knock out different projects. The first was to create opening shelving along one of our walls.

Our kitchen is the darkest (and most outdated) room in the house and we wanted to lighten things up a little. We actually don't mind the white cabinets at all- they are simple and in great condition but there are A LOT of them! So the first change we made was removing two of the cabinets and replacing them with open shelving. Open shelving is not for everyone but we both love the look and thought that some simple white shelves would lighten up the main wall and enable us to get a little more creative with pops of color.

Andy and I love DIY and decided to tackle this project over a weekend! The first step was to take down our cabinets (we have plans to upcycle them in another room in the house). The most time consuming part of this step was emptying the cabinets, everything else was fast and simple.

Next, we went shopping for our supplies- thank you Home Depot!  We wanted to keep our shelves simple, large and as functional as possible (no embellishments or trendy brackets). We bought some simple white brackets and wood that we cut down to measure 12" x 60".

I patched and touched up the paint on the wall (in my pajamas). I also painted the shelves white and then Andy got to work hanging them. 

The last step was to put everything back which was the hardest part of this entire project because all the cabinets and drawers in our kitchen were in major need of organization. What started as a simple shelving project turned into me reorganizing our entire kitchen- it needed to be done!

We are BEYOND happy with this little update and for under $100 we were able to completely change the entire look of the kitchen over a weekend.

The next project to tackle is replacing counter tops on a budget!  We REALLY DISLIKE the green laminate counters and are ready to get them out of here.  I can't wait to share the creative solution that we are working on!

Tune in tomorrow when I share why and how I transformed our dishwasher into a piece of art!

fashion friday- my summer uniform

My summer uniform- all day everyday is a comfy maxi dress (I've got too many to count!), my trusty denim shirt, a fedora hat and a big pair of black sunnies! 

color inspiration- raspberry truffle coneflowers

Echinacea purpurea or Raspberry Truffle Coneflower is one of the big, double-flowered Echinacea varieties and one of my favorites from the garden! I feel some sketches coming on!

wood slice coasters

After spending months landscaping our backyard we ended up with lots of branches that were trimmed from trees and I've been saving them for future projects. Recently I had andy cut some slices for me that I transformed into some colorful coasters. 

I obsessed with color which means I am obsessed with the color wheel so I painted my own loose interpretation of the color wheel on each wood slice. Optional: coat wood with a clear polyurethane.

a peek inside Lucy's playroom

Recently I had enough of Lucy's toys scattered all over the house, it was starting to feel like every room belonged to her so I decided to do a little organizing, consolitating and bringing the major play things into one room. Since we co-sleep (you can read about it here and here) we don't need a bed in her room and while this will absolutely change, it's not happening any time soon so I decided to decorate and organize her room like playroom. 

Our house has a huge master bedroom and two TEENY TINY bedrooms so we are limited with how and what to put into Lucy's room because we are working with about 100 square feet. Before were just throwing all of her stuff into the room and letting it be a catch all. 

I decided to really get the room set up to maximize the floor space for playing and then use the perimeter walls for all her things. Now that Lucy is two, she is noticing everything so it was important to put some creativity into everything.

I painted one of my favorite quotes on the wall (by E.E. Cummings), I created a fun little gallery wall with her art (she LOVES THIS!) and rearranged the things on her walls and shelves. I kept the colors light and airy with bright pops of color. (See tutorial for faux antlers HERE and handmade family dolls HERE)

I used those canvas storage bags (see tutorial HERE) that I made a while back for her stuffed animals.

We straightened up the book wall (see book wall tutorial HERE).

We hung a new picture above her coat rack (rack made from a piece of wood found on the beach)

Lucy and I selected some of her favorite toys created a display on her dresser and shelves that will be rotated out.

The kid is obsessed with stuffed animals and she has SO MANY so I hung a shoe rack on the back of her door as a place for all the little ones- SO MUCH BETTER!!!

While a clean room won't last, I'm just happy to have things a little better organized!

bring it to life online class

You guys I am excited to share that my next online class is ready to go live this Friday, July 25th! It's a little different because I am teaming up with husband Andy- we have created a class all about bringing your art to life. From drawing people to painting abstract to doodles and pattern, we have put together a class full of our favorite tips, shortcuts, techniques and inspiration for breathing life into a variety of subject matter. I've got a little preview below!

bring it to life online class from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

FACTS:

Bring IT to life is a "mini class" that is structured into 3 large lessons.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CONTENT: This class is focused on tips and tricks for bringing all kinds of subject matter to life- not on how to draw and paint specific subject matter.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SUPPLIES: This class like all of my classes, does NOT have a required supply list. Instead I will be sharing the supplies that I like to use and then give you a variety of options and inspiration to use supplies that work best for your process and your budget.

Head on over to my shop for all the class details HERE

fashion friday- birkenstocks 3 ways

I'm not sure if you got the memo but Birkenstocks are back in style! I actually never knew they were out of style because I've been a Birkenstock customer since I was fifteen.

While they aren't the prettiest of shoes- I just don't care! As a gal who's feet and back are destroyed from years of wearing heels, Birkenstocks are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. Today I am sharing three different ways that I style my Birkenstocks-

hat: swell.com,  kimono: forever21, t-shirt: from Disneyland, jean shorts: thrifted from WAYYY back in high school

Birkenstocks work really well with causal boho outfits. I love wearing them with my favorite cutoff jean shorts, a comfy tee and a flowy kimono.

slip dress: forever 21

During summer months I love wearing my Birkenstocks with slip dresses. Paired with colorful accessories you have the perfect outfit for a warm summer evening!

jean jacket: Old Navy, white button up shirt: Target, cropped pants: Target, necklace: PolishedTwo

Once in a while I throw together a casual but polished (and less boho) outfit when I have errands to run or have business engagements and my Birks are the perfect shoe for heading out and about.