It's Me, KP

A Beautiful Mess App + PerAnnum

Last week I was beyond delighted to receive a party in a box from friends Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess blog to help celebrate their new app. You don't need me to tell you what incredible + inspiring people those two ladies are.  That's already a well known fact.  And their creativity has gone to the next level with their new A Beautiful Mess app.  It's pretty awesome and extremely fun to play with. I added the type and the doodle onto the photo above with the app.

The type on this Instagram was also done using the app... there are so many fun things you can add. Careful, it's addicting!  I took a little trip to Austin earlier this week and as you can see I had some Texas sized fun. I have some photos to share that I'll have to get up here on the blog soon.

What I Wore: Gatsby'd

Tuesday's date night this week was to one of the city's premieres of The Great Gatsby along with an afterparty and I was excited from the moment I got the invitation. I am not a big fan of Halloween at all but give me another excuse to play dress up and I am all about it.  

Dress: similar Forever21 | Necklace: Forever21 | Headband: Forever21 | Shoes: BCBG Holmy pumps

I was able to put together my outfit quickly with a sweep through Forever21 that afternoon.  I love the style of the 1920's and found the perfect swingy dress complete with a pleated skirt. They must've known I was coming.  It was fun to see the costumes that everyone at the theater put together - I'm not the only one who really got excited to get dolled up that night.

As for the movie, Robert Redford will always be the Gatsby for me but this remake definitely had some style. Are you seeing The Great Gastby this weekend?  Hope that you enjoy!

Bang Bang Pie Shop

In case you haven't heard, cupcakes are out and I've been saying for a while now that pie is THE NEW BIG THING.  Not that pie hasn't always been high on everyone's list of dessert favorites, but I think the time has come for it to really have its rightful day in the sun.  If you want to dig in and help celebrate this hot trend (and don't we all?) I highly recommend a visit to Bang Bang Pie Shop, in my neighborhood of Logan Square.

We hit it first thing Sunday morning and let me tell you, it was the best way to start the day.  The banana cream was definitely my favorite and perfectly topped with brown sugar. And in a span of the next 48 my friends and I had multiple conversations about their homemade biscuits.  We marveled.  We devoured. We want the recipe.

That one is still a secret, but the very friendly owner Michael did share the fantastic thick cut bacon recipe with me.  He promised that it was something that I could make at home (I only balked slightly) since we arrived an hour after they opened and the famous bacon was sold out.  

The shop is fairly small but now that it's warm they've got a big backyard open with lots of seating and just might be the perfect place to spend the day eating pie.  As we walked away we pondered just how early we'd have to get up to make sure we got some of that bacon.  And as a girl who doesn't roll out of bed on the weekends til the sun is pretty high in the sky, I'm thinking Bang Bang is just the place to get me up and running at the crack of dawn.  That pie.  Those biscuits. The frosting on the cinnamon roll. That promise of thick cut bacon.  Yes, please. 

Smorgasburg: Back and Better Than Ever

When I was in New York a few weeks ago we spent Saturday morning doing one of my favorite things in life - Smorgasburg!  Most of my weekends last year included a trip to either Smorgasburg or the Flea.  Addicted.

They've expanded this year which means even more vendors and tons more to choose from.  I want one of everything.  If you are going, I recommend checking out: Red Hook Lobster Pound, DuMont Burger, Milk Truck, Pizza Moto, Porchetta, Brooklyn Piggies. And of course Dough - which I cannot live without.

Amanda, Sara, and I also hit up The Good Batch which was pretty incredible.  We had to sample them all and not a loser in the bunch, I am happy to report.  Until next time, Smorgasburg!

More trips to Smorgasburg blogged here, here, and here aka hanging with Mario Batali. 

Speaking of food... I shared a little sneak on Instagram the other day of some new badges that you'll see soon at Simon Says Stamp.  Get your grub on, my friends.  

We've been working hard on a lot of new and exciting products that are coming soon.  There are some great things that I'm excited to use and see YOU use.  We're also working on the upcoming June/July Project Kit which will feature some products that I'm really pumped about.  We learned a lot from the first kit sales and there are some changes for the better that will be made in the next one.  For example, the stickers will be more matte which will make them easier to stamp and write on. Look for more info on that to come.

In the meantime you can find my current products here and please keep posting what you're making using them. I love seeing your photos on Instagram in particular.  If you tag them with the hashtag #kellypurkey we're able to easily find them - so keep on sharing!

I have a strange addiction to cookbooks.  It's not just limited to cookbooks, I buy Bon Appetit every month, Food + Wine almost every month, and Saveur on occasion.  I save a lot of recipes from different magazines and have a pumpkin pie one from Locanda Verde in NYC that I'm dying to try.  But the thing is, and you probably know this by now, I don't actually cook.  It's like love... I am enamored with the idea and the look and the sound of it.  But I don't actually use these cookbooks.  I joke that the only thing I make is dinner reservations, not dinner.

Enter I Love NY.  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, but a book full of "ingredients and recipes" and some truly beautiful photos.  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, was written by Daniel Humm + Will Guidara, who run Eleven Madison Park which I had a most pleasurable dining experience at last year.  Truly top notch and "very New York."  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, might just be the one to make me actually cook something.  It is really inspiring.  Inside are recipes for New York classics and if there's anything I can get on board with it's a New York classic.  You can look inside the book right here on Amazon.

And so, coming from a girl who does not yet own dishes in her new Chicago apartment, I have been pouring over I Love NY deciding what my first conquest will be.  Soon.  I will cook soon.

Please leave any recommendations for cookbooks that you think I must also pick up to add to my collection.  The prettier the pictures the better.

I've lived in Chicago for three whole days now. There have been moments when I am really, really happy and moments when I miss New York like crazy.  Like ache in my chest crazy.  But give me more time.  And more sunshine... this city has been awfully gray lately.

One thing I do feel is that I am at home.  Back in a familiar setting with places and things that I love.  Spending time already with wonderful friends who make me laugh and feel very glad to be here.  And my apartment.  My apartment!  I am full of adoration for my apartment, even though it's empty and needs a good Swiffer-ing.  But it's huge and kind of amazing and it's all mine.

The building above is right outside the entrance to my EL stop.  I think it's a sign.

My home in-between homes is at home with my parents in Michigan.  When I got here there was this much snow.  Woweeee.  I was impressed considering it has snowed real snow only about two days this winter in New York and it melted within hours.  I like snow but I definitely like it more when I don't have to go out in it and most especially when I don't have to drive in it.  Is there snow where you're at?

While I was at home and in Chicago over the holidays, I kept seeing my Instagram feed being filled with photos from people back in New York going to Ann Hamilton's The Event of a Thread.  Everyone I knew in the city or that was visiting the city was going to see this installation piece... I knew it had to be something else.  So when I got back, I snagged tickets for last Sunday, which was the final day of the exhibit.

Photos don't do it justice.  This beautiful white sheet was suspended from the ceiling with lots of swings in the room.   You could swing or lay under the sheet.  Laying down and looking up was pretty mesmerizing, it was like looking at waves coming in and out on a beach.  

The swings provided fun for everyone and you could not help but feel happy in that room seeing everyone experience so much joy just from swinging.  Old people and young kids.  Everyone got to swing.  When it was my turn I had some great pushes from this very sweet little girl and we both didn't stop laughing.

There are some great photos posted on this blog right here.  The exhibit has closed but you can find more information here and if you're able, be sure to check out the photos that were geotagged on Instagram - it's a very happy feed.

Every year I want to make a video of all the gorgeous holiday decorations in New York City... it really is magical.  Every little twinkle light puts an extra spring in my step.  And the small brass band playing Christmas carols in the subway station at 59th street, well that just lifts my whole heart.  The video didn't get made this year but I did take a few Instagrams to share:

There are so many things I love about the city in the winter - the tree lots on every block, the beautiful wreaths on the doors in the West Village, the musical stars at Columbus Circle.  There is a feeling in the air.  A big, wide feeling of love.

In the Works

Speaking of food... I shared a little sneak on Instagram the other day of some new badges that you'll see soon at Simon Says Stamp.  Get your grub on, my friends.  

We've been working hard on a lot of new and exciting products that are coming soon.  There are some great things that I'm excited to use and see YOU use.  We're also working on the upcoming June/July Project Kit which will feature some products that I'm really pumped about.  We learned a lot from the first kit sales and there are some changes for the better that will be made in the next one.  For example, the stickers will be more matte which will make them easier to stamp and write on. Look for more info on that to come.

In the meantime you can find my current products here and please keep posting what you're making using them. I love seeing your photos on Instagram in particular.  If you tag them with the hashtag #kellypurkey we're able to easily find them - so keep on sharing!

I Love NY

I have a strange addiction to cookbooks.  It's not just limited to cookbooks, I buy Bon Appetit every month, Food + Wine almost every month, and Saveur on occasion.  I save a lot of recipes from different magazines and have a pumpkin pie one from Locanda Verde in NYC that I'm dying to try.  But the thing is, and you probably know this by now, I don't actually cook.  It's like love... I am enamored with the idea and the look and the sound of it.  But I don't actually use these cookbooks.  I joke that the only thing I make is dinner reservations, not dinner.

Enter I Love NY.  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, but a book full of "ingredients and recipes" and some truly beautiful photos.  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, was written by Daniel Humm + Will Guidara, who run Eleven Madison Park which I had a most pleasurable dining experience at last year.  Truly top notch and "very New York."  This cookbook, which is not precisely a cookbook, might just be the one to make me actually cook something.  It is really inspiring.  Inside are recipes for New York classics and if there's anything I can get on board with it's a New York classic.  You can look inside the book right here on Amazon.

And so, coming from a girl who does not yet own dishes in her new Chicago apartment, I have been pouring over I Love NY deciding what my first conquest will be.  Soon.  I will cook soon.

Please leave any recommendations for cookbooks that you think I must also pick up to add to my collection.  The prettier the pictures the better.

Sweet Home Chicago

I've lived in Chicago for three whole days now. There have been moments when I am really, really happy and moments when I miss New York like crazy.  Like ache in my chest crazy.  But give me more time.  And more sunshine... this city has been awfully gray lately.

One thing I do feel is that I am at home.  Back in a familiar setting with places and things that I love.  Spending time already with wonderful friends who make me laugh and feel very glad to be here.  And my apartment.  My apartment!  I am full of adoration for my apartment, even though it's empty and needs a good Swiffer-ing.  But it's huge and kind of amazing and it's all mine.

The building above is right outside the entrance to my EL stop.  I think it's a sign.

Pure Michigan

My home in-between homes is at home with my parents in Michigan.  When I got here there was this much snow.  Woweeee.  I was impressed considering it has snowed real snow only about two days this winter in New York and it melted within hours.  I like snow but I definitely like it more when I don't have to go out in it and most especially when I don't have to drive in it.  Is there snow where you're at?

The Event of a Thread

While I was at home and in Chicago over the holidays, I kept seeing my Instagram feed being filled with photos from people back in New York going to Ann Hamilton's The Event of a Thread.  Everyone I knew in the city or that was visiting the city was going to see this installation piece... I knew it had to be something else.  So when I got back, I snagged tickets for last Sunday, which was the final day of the exhibit.

Photos don't do it justice.  This beautiful white sheet was suspended from the ceiling with lots of swings in the room.   You could swing or lay under the sheet.  Laying down and looking up was pretty mesmerizing, it was like looking at waves coming in and out on a beach.  

The swings provided fun for everyone and you could not help but feel happy in that room seeing everyone experience so much joy just from swinging.  Old people and young kids.  Everyone got to swing.  When it was my turn I had some great pushes from this very sweet little girl and we both didn't stop laughing.

There are some great photos posted on this blog right here.  The exhibit has closed but you can find more information here and if you're able, be sure to check out the photos that were geotagged on Instagram - it's a very happy feed.

It's Christmastime in the City

Every year I want to make a video of all the gorgeous holiday decorations in New York City... it really is magical.  Every little twinkle light puts an extra spring in my step.  And the small brass band playing Christmas carols in the subway station at 59th street, well that just lifts my whole heart.  The video didn't get made this year but I did take a few Instagrams to share:

There are so many things I love about the city in the winter - the tree lots on every block, the beautiful wreaths on the doors in the West Village, the musical stars at Columbus Circle.  There is a feeling in the air.  A big, wide feeling of love.