Kelly Purkey

Maman NYC

There are two cookies in NYC that I often think about getting on a plane just to eat. One is the chocolate chip walnut at Levain's. I lived next door and when I slept with the windows open I could smell them baking in the morning. The second is at the recently opened Maman, which has one killer nutty chocolate chip cookie. They've even been named to the list of reasons to love New York.

Last winter my friend Sara told me about Maman and after going once, I was hooked. It's now in my required list and I go just for the cookies. When you can get them fresh out of the oven, it is pure heaven. The inside of the little cafe is so beautiful, it just might be what heaven looks like.

I'm a sucker for cute little touches and there's no shortage of them here. Starting with those take-away coffee cups. Ending with the tiles in the bathroom.

Be sure to stop in and get yourself a nutty chocolate chip cookie. But be warned, may lead to browsing daily for flights to New York City.

Maman
239 Centre Street
New York, NY, 10013
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Brooklyn: Julianna's

There's no shortage of amazing pizza in Brooklyn, but one of my favorites can be found down in DUMBO. Right under the Brooklyn Bridge you can eat at Grimaldi's or Julianna's. They've got a long related history (along with Patsy's) and when Grimaldi's moved out of the tiny space to a large building on the next block, Julianna's moved in.

Julianna's is one of those places that has endless two hour waits, especially in the summer when everyone comes down to hang out on the waterfront. But on the coldest day of the year I was the first person in and when my friend Jodi met me, we had the place all to ourselves for quite a while. I'd never seen it empty. It was unreal.

Julianna's serves up classic New York style pizza with a thin crust and light tomato sauce. I like to get just plain pepperoni and my favorite part is how it curls up then almost snaps when you bite into it. 

So now your know the secret to getting a seat at Julianna's... coldest day of the year plus come ten minutes before they open. I'll meet you there.

Julianna's Pizza
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Milk + Roses on Common Table Co.

I'm excited to be contributing to some posts over on Common Table Co. - a website dedicated to gathering friends around a table. You know there's nothing I love better. You can see my first post on the Brooklyn spot Milk + Roses here. I was lucky to visit back in December for brunch and the light could not have been better. More of my photos can be found on their blog. Happy Monday!

Brooklyn: Diner

Last week Amanda and I celebrated our five year Friendiversary back where it all started at Diner in Brooklyn. Here comes the blessing of being a memory keeper / life documenter / scrapbooker / blogger / obsessive about recording everything in life. I wrote about our first dinner together in this blog post here five years ago. Little did I know back then that she'd become one of my best friends in life and we'd get to share so many good things in life.

And here's a layout that I made using the photos that I took that night, it was published in Creating Keepsakes magazine:

We were just babies back then. So young + innocent.

One thing that hasn't changed is Diner. It's still delicious, still full of hipsters. One of the most noted things about Diner is that they don't give you a menu, they write it onto the paper on the table.

The burger is famous (hence the exclamation point from our server) but we opted for the sea trout + beef. And we started with a salad because we're now grown, responsible adults. Ha. 

Three cheers to more dinners at Diner and many more years of celebrating / documenting Friendiversary's! 

Diner
85 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11249

Website | Blog

Happy Bones

Lately I have been falling head over heels for coffee shops (maybe it's part of my Portland obsession) and spending a lot of time seeking out really exceptional ones. Happy Bones is an itty bitty one in New York City that I popped into for the first time on my recent trip.

For being so small, it packs a big punch. Number one, the coffe is delicious. Number two, they have Dough donuts!!! Which are my favorites in NYC. Number three, it's so ashtectically cool inside with all white walls and the sunlight streaming in brightly mid-afternoon.

Number four is that the cool kids hang out there. I happened to sit down at a table next to Emma Kepley, who is one of my favorite Instagrammers - her feed is amazing. She was there meeting Tiffany from Oprah's new show Love in the City. Tiffany was gorgeous and seriously hilarious as we all chatted, I definitely will be looking forward to seeing her on tv. 

Happy Bones' name definitely speaks the truth. When I left and went out into the sunshine, I felt happy down to my bones. And fueled by a really great donut + caffeine. 

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