Happy Monday, everyone! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. These past few weeks have been some of the weirdest days of my life (as I’m sure for most of us) with everything going on with the corona virus. So today, I thought I would take a break from all of that to sit down and focus on something happy — My trip to Waco, Texas. Grab your coffee, and let’s get started!
Most that know me, know that I am a HUGE Joanna Gaines fan. Like HUGE. Actually, Fixer Upper is currently on via Hulu right now and has been all day 🙂 So when I asked Abe if we could visit Waco while I was in Texas, he was not surprised.
Once we arrived in Waco, we were so excited to just drive around and explore the city before we could check in to our hotel. Two things on our see Magnolia & find good food.. and that we did!
Let me tell you. If you go to Waco, please make a stop at Magnolia Table. Yes, it is a part of the Magnolia brand Chip & Jo have created, but this food was TO DIE FOR. We stopped at the restaurant for breakfast and we were very surprised at how good everything was. I ordered Jo’s biscuits and strawberry butter and OMG. I wish I could make this every day. TOTALLY WORTH IT. Abe got a platter that included bacon, eggs and tater tots and there was not a single crumb left. They also have a take-away area, where we purchased some Alabama Sweet Tea.
The restaurant also has a food truck that is parked at the Magnolia location just a few miles down the road. We also indulged there as well the day before. (I’m actually scared to check my bank account to see how much we spent on food…oops).
The actual atmosphere at Magnolia was amazing. Abe and I had talked about moving to the area one day, and while we have decided it would not be worth it for us, Magnolia would probably be the reason I would. They have an amazing garden area, market, and a place to hang out with your friends and family. They even had corn hole that you could use on the grass area! How cool!
Just past the silos, you will also find Jo’s garden. We were able to walk all around the garden, and it was beautiful. They also have a seed shop where you can buy your own for your home.
So we had to get SOMETHING from the bakery. Actually we did twice. On two separate trips. But when in Texas? If you are at Magnolia, the bakery is located right in front of the Silos. Be prepared to get there early in the morning to avoid long lines. We arrived both times 8:00am to avoid long lines. We had the best cookies and the cupcakes were amazing!
Magnolia Press is also located on the same block as the Silos. We stopped there for Abe to grab a coffee and some water for the road. We would definitely recommend an iced coffee (especially when it’s so warm out).
I was also geeked to see that Chip & Jo’s hand prints were located outside of the Magnolia Press entrance. I mean, come on, I was RIGHT WHERE they filmed this on Fixer Upper. Dead.
After visiting the Magnolia Market at the Silos, we were given the location of Jo’s first Magnolia Market location which was only about 10 minutes from the Silos in downtown Waco. We decided to take a look, it was so neat! They have all of their last season and discounted items located at this shop. The prices were great! They had decor and even apparel for women, men, and kids.
Towards the end of our trip, we had some time to kill so we decided to make the hour and a half drive to Austin. With everything going on with the virus (it was just starting to become known when I went), we decided to play it cool and see most of the city from our car, only getting out a few times for pictures.
These pictures were all taken in the South Congress area. There were so many cool little shops and restaurants that I would love to visit another time. They also had murals on what seemed like every building, so I was happy I got a few photographed while we drove around the city.
We loved how open and how many things there were to do outdoors. If I were to move to Texas, Austin would probably be where I would end up. There was a huge park near downtown that we visited briefly, and there were so many walking/running/biking trails. We even saw a few people out on the water in their kayaks…. not something we would normally see in Ohio in the beginning of March…brrr.
We decided to end our trip at the Domain. Unfortunately, all of the stores were closed, and we only found this one little restaurant open so that we were able to grab something to drink on our way out of Austin. It definitely had a cool vibe, and I would have liked to been able to shop and eat at the local restaurants. We even saw a few that would allow our pups! 🙂
In all, we had an amazing time in Waco and Austin! I would definitely go back again when we had more time and could experience more.
Have you been to Waco or Austin? What did you love about it? Was there anything you didn’t like?
