Family Time in New Jersey | Our Annual Trip

I have finally finished unpacking my bags and doing my last load of laundry from the trip. I used to keep my luggage sitting on the floor in my closet for days before unpacking, but watching Kyle immediately unpack and do laundry after a trip inspired me to do the same. Plus, I can’t let my husband be more organized than me. Now that everything is done, I can sit down and write about our weekend trip to New Jersey! I woke up on Thursday morning bright and early to get ready for the airport. My phone started dinging, which I thought was strange since it was only 5 am. Who could be texting me? It was United Airlines telling me they canceled our flight and moved us to a new one at 6 pm. I was so sad because we had matching pajamas and plans to go on the Polar Express Train Ride with our niece.

Later that evening, we finally made it to the airport, grabbed pizza and salad at 1897 Market (where I always grab food before a flight), and hopped on our plane to Newark. It’s only a one-hour flight, so traveling to see Kyle’s side of the family in Jersey is so easy.



We had the most fantastic time catching up and seeing our little niece for the first time since the wedding. It is incredible how much kids change each month, and that’s why it’s so important to soak up all the little moments. We had initially planned to spend a day in NYC doing all the Christmasy things, but we didn’t want to spend anytime away.

I loved our little mornings watching CocoMelon and building magnetic blocks! We even got put on babysitting duty Friday night, which put our skills to the test. Kyle learned how to change a diaper, and now he’s ready for his own! 😆

I have finally defeated all food aversions and am back to having a little coffee. The strange thing is that I can only tolerate it with cream now, which was not the case for many years. I make sure to keep my coffee intake very low and opt for decaf while visiting cafés. 
On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the American Dream mall. It’s the most incredible mall in the U.S. by far! Sorry Mall of America, but you’ve been outdone. The mall has an ice skating rink, waterpark, rollercoaster, mini-golf, live music, an aquarium, and an indoor ski resort. I could not get over all of the things to do! This would have been a dream world as a kid.

After doing some Christmas shopping, we stopped to have lunch at Carpaccio. I’ve never had such fine dining inside a shopping mall. We filled up on house bread, calamari, meatballs, pizza, pasta e Fagioli, Caesar salad, and more! We were all rolling out of that restaurant stuffed. It was one of the best pasta e Fagioli soups I have ever had, and I wish I had the recipe. I highly recommend trying out Carpaccio if you visit the American Dream Mall. 

Later Saturday evening, we headed up to Hackettstown, NJ, to spend the night at Kyles dads house.

We had the most delicious prime rib dinner and watched one of our favorite Christmas movies, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. We were up bright and early playing with their dog, Mayor, in the yard. He’s the sweetest labradoodle ever!
We headed to the River Star diner for breakfast early Sunday morning. I have been on the biggest bacon and french toast kick! We headed back to Kyle’s sisters later Sunday and spent the afternoon eating pizza and doing more blocks!

Kyle and I had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport Monday morning. After packing, we got bundled up and headed to Washington St in Hoboken to grab breakfast and shop.

We decided to have breakfast at Bluestone Lane. It had my name written all over it!



We both started with some cafe drinks. I ordered the beet latte, a shocker because I hate beets. The color kind of persuaded me, and beets are so good for pregnancy. It had dehydrated beet powder, steamed almond milk, and cocoa on top. It wasn’t terrible, but it had that earthy beet flavor, which some people LOVE. I was surprised that Kyle enjoyed it.

He ordered the draught flat white. It’s cold brew, oat milk, and infused with nitrogen to make it silky! I was obsessed with this one. If I weren’t pregnant, I would have ordered five of these to go.

The MUST-ORDER from our breakfast was the gluten-free cinnamon donut. WOW! It tasted like a snickerdoodle cake. It was the perfect treat to go with our drinks.
    I ordered the Brekkie Board. It had delicious multigrain bread topped with avocado smash, goat cheese, tomatoes, and a side of Greek yogurt with berries and collective granola. Kyle had the breakfast bowl with added chicken. It came with sautéed kale, cherry tomatoes, feta, avocado, warm farro grain topped with a poached egg. We also ordered their seasonal roasted carrots because I’ll never turn away from roasted carrots.
Our meal was delicious, and it was such a gorgeous cafe! I usually pick a restaurant 70% based on the food options and 30% on looks. This is going to be a must-go next time we visit.
 We spent the next hour walking down Washington St and picking up a few gifts in the shops.

 Before we left, we stopped at one of my favorites from our last visit, Bwé Kafe. It is the CUTEST coffee shop, and if I could open my own one day, I would want it to look like this. I ordered a decaf oat milk cappuccino and a selection of baked goods to take back to Kyle’s sisters. 
We love visiting the waterfront because it’s the best view of the NYC skyline.

We headed to the airport at 3, had a late lunch (turkey burgers and fries!), and then hopped on the plane to head back to Charlotte. It’s always sad saying goodbye to family, but the next time we see them, we’ll have a baby, and it’s going to be so special seeing the cousins together! I cannot wait.

Questions for you!

1. What helps you decide on what restaurants to eat at?
2. Do you have an annual trip you take every year?
3. Favorite food at the airport?