GIRLS TRIP to The Silos at Magnolia!

I've been dreaming about taking my Mom to The Silos for a few years now, and I thought what better time than her 60th birthday?  So, in July I teamed up with my family to surprise her with a plane ticket to Texas, along with a 4 night stay at one of the houses renovated by Chip and Jo from the show 'Fixer Upper'.   

 I invited the annual shopping trip crew and we all boarded an 8am flight out of Toronto to Dallas / Fort Worth.  We picked up our rental car and headed straight to a Target because Ashley, my brothers fiancé, has never been to one!  We also wanted to grab a few snacks for the 1.5hr road trip down to Waco.

This is where things got interesting, somewhere between loading the car with our Target purchases to driving to a shady spot in the parking lot to have snacks, my mom's carry on bag got stolen right from our vehicle.  It had her passport, iPad, cash, and some of her clothes in it.....huge bummer.  We reported it right away to the cops and worked with the store security in an attempt to get it back, but no luck.  We drove back and forth to Dallas over the next few days to work with the consulate to issue her a temporary passport.  Luckily that all worked out and we were able to fly home on our original return flight, but it was a pretty crappy way to start the trip.  

Anyway!  We looked on the bright side and thankfully mom had her wallet with her so we carried on with the trip. When arrived in Waco we went straight to the Air BnB to freshen up and drop our bags before dinner.  The house was featured on season 3 of Fixer Upper, it's called the 'Baby Blue Cottage' (check it out on Air BnB here). The house was super affordable and only about 8 minutes from the Silos. 

We heard the best day to explore the Silos is Wednesday because it's not as busy / fewer lineups. That was proven true, we didn't have to wait in a single line and there was lots of room to roam.  When we arrived we were instantly overwhelmed with all there was to see and how beautiful it was (even the bathrooms).  The grounds are much bigger than I expected and there were more shops than we thought! We started at Silos Baking Co. to get the seasonal box of cupcakes.  

The next stop was the Magnolia Market, *gasp* it was beautiful.  When we walked in my mum got emotional and kept saying 'I can't believe we're actually here!'- that moment alone made it all worth it!!!

 

After Magnolia Market (home decor and apparel) we went to Magnolia Home (staged rooms and furniture).  My goodness it was so beautiful, I loved the mix of farmhouse and industrial styles (think exposed brick, arches, mixed wood and metals, vintage art, etc.).  If it weren't for being restricted by the size of my suitcase, I would have left with a whole new bedroom set hah.  

 

 

 

After Magnolia Home we explored the rest of the grounds including the several cottage-style stores and the original silos themselves! 

Overall, The Silos at Magnolia was a 10/10 experience.  We were fortunate it wasn't busy, and it seemed like all the stores were fully stocked and had lots of different price ranges.  The staff / employees were all very joyful and happy to help (this was much appreciated because customer service is tanking everywhere else on the planet?!).  

Throughout the day, we asked around for dinner recommendations and the general consensus was a place called 'Georges', so off we went!  It was a very casual environment with lots of college students... but the margarita options were insane and the food was pretty good (lots of deep fried stuff and huge portions).  

To start day 3, we got coffees at Magnolia Press (my second fave location at the Silos, next to Magnolia Market) then explored the gardens on the grounds.  I bought a bag of coffee beans from Magnolia Press to bring home to Spencer, and I hugely regret not getting a few of the mugs.  They were so cute!

When we felt like we fully soaked in The Silos, we checked out a few other spots in Waco including The Findery, Spice Village (we LOVED it here .... a highlight for us!!), Ramble & Co. (cute witty tshirts and hats with awesome graphic design / branding) and of course Target, Kohls, and Hobby Lobby.  

We eventually made it to Vitek's for some Texas BBQ, mostly because Chip Gaines publicly talks about how much he loves the 'Gut Pak'.  A few of us tried it and agreed it's really good.

Somewhere in there we also checked out Chip & Jo's latest renovation, the 'Cottonland Castle'.  They weren't offering tours when we were there but I believe they recently started them again.  I would love to see inside!!  

 

We finished the day with a stop at the popular Waco Suspension Bridge for a beautiful sunset and to read up on the history of the area.  

 

If you've been following along for a few years, you know every year the ladies on my mom's side of the family go on a shopping trip to the States in the fall.  On the last night of the trip we always do a little 'fashion show' in the hotel with drinks to show off all the things we bought!  Although we were missing a few of the ladies on this trip, we kept the tradition up and put a new spin on it called 'the fashion show walk-about' LOL.  Basically, each one of us laid all our purchases out on our beds, we made a big pitcher of margs, and then walked to each room in the air bnb to see what we all bought!  Ash and I shared the sunroom so we covered one whole side of it with our finds, spot all of Ash's gourmet mac & cheese boxes on the floor hahah.... gotta love Target!

All in all, the trip was one for the books.... despite the passport debacle.  If you're considering a trip to Waco yourself, here are my top recs / takeaways:

• The Silos at Magnolia is much bigger than I thought, with lots to see / eat / shop. 
• We went for 4 days / 5 nights and it was the perfect amount of time without feeling rushed.
• Spice Village was SO fun... its a multi-vendor market with some really beautiful handmade items, fun clothing boutiques, and tons of gift ideas. 
• Fort Worth felt a bit sketchy in places, keep your important stuff on you at all times.  
• Skip the paid Fixer Upper tours and do a self-guided one instead.  There are lots of addresses publicly posted online.  Although, if given the opportunity to do a tour of the Cottonland Castle, take it! 

That's it, that's all!  If you end up going to Waco please let me know so we can gush about our trips to each other!!  

xo