Weekend Getaway in New York

This past weekend we celebrated our 1 year anniversary New York style.

Yes, it’s been an entire year since we’ve been married. And no, I still cannot believe it. This year flew by- between getting married, traveling, work and all of life in between- we wanted to make sure we took the time and space to reflect on how much has changed and how much we have changed since we became legally wed.

Truthfully, it’s easy for us to fall into a routine at home, and while we didn’t have the budget or the time for an elaborate trip, we felt a change of scenery and some good company would do us good. Less screen time, more (real) face time.

Sometimes a change of pace is all you need to refuel.

Outside of the hustle and bustle of New York City, I was pretty unfamiliar with what else New York had to offer. Luckily, our brother-in-law spent the day with us and showed us around town.

The energy was different from what I had experienced in the city. Central Park was filled with families, activities and chatter that spoke to its diversity. Creativity ran wild, dreams did not know limits and endless inspiration lurked around every corner.

On Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at Manny’s on this cute little, plant-filled patio and soaked up some sunshine. You really can’t beat fall weather in the North East. It doesn’t hang around for long, but if you can catch it- there’s nothing like a cool, crisp fall day.

We made sure to fill up our Hydroflask every chance we could get to save money and waste and stay hydrated, of course. I was pleasantly surprised by how many places had water jugs or fountains for us to use.

VEGANDALE FESTIVAL. 

It just so happened that this vegan festival was taking place the same weekend we planned to visit NY. And since I have been experimenting with a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle for quite some time now, I wanted to see what it was all about.

There were over 125 vendors, ranging from fresh fruit juice, to vegan burgers, to ice cream and everything in between. Throughout the day we had some fresh pineapple and watermelon juice, kombucha, buffalo cauliflower, a vegan burger, 2 drool-worth scoops of cookie dough and peanut butter cup cashew and coconut-based ice cream, BBQ jackfruit and some fries (because, yum.)

We spent most of the day walking around, waiting in lines, and eating our little hearts away.

I was over-the-moon excited about my watermelon juice (as you can probably tell) & my ice cream. I actually was really excited about everything, period.

Food, ILYSM <3

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Van Leeuwen ice cream.

This was undoubtedly the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Made with cashews, coconuts and cocoa butter, I would challenge anyone to tell me it wasn’t the tastiest thing on the planet. Should’ve gotten three scoops… or four?

And the cherry on top… Van Lee ice cream delivers NATIONWIDE. It’s seriously only a matter of time until I make my first order.

We ended our weekend with dinner in Williamsburg. It’s just a short Uber from Brooklyn with tons of shops, restaurants and 24-hour bars. Williamsburg definitely seemed like the place to be.

New York, thanks for showing us your magic.