Our day trip to Waco during our Austin vacation deserved it’s own post in honor of my love for Chip & Joanna Gaines.  Unless you’ve been under a rock then you know they’re the masterminds behind Fixer Upper on HGTV and have created an empire: Magnolia Market, a bakery and restaurant in Waco.  There’s also their Target line (while I got some items from last winter) and their books.

The show may be over, but they’re still creating and inspiring people all over the country, so it’s no surprise that their Waco spots have become tourist destinations.  We drove the hour and a half from Austin to Waco in the morning, parked and headed straight to the bakery for a snack.  I don’t think I could have smiled harder as we stood in line.

They’ve got efficiency down, so we were handed order cards in line and just handed them to the cashier who confirmed our order and our baked goods were ready in about 7 minutes from when we got in line. Lauren and & had cupcakes, while mom tried a cookie.

Once we had something sweet in our bellies, we started checking out the grounds, starting with a photo in their photo spot.  Then we walked around the Silos by the big green space with outdoor games, the food truck lot and over to the gardening area.

Now it was time to check out their store, Magnolia Market!  It was a larger store and we took our time wandering through the sections and checking everything out.  I loved the big flower displays made from book pages that were painted!  There was so much to take in and great inspiration – even quotes from Joanna on how to decorate your space sprinkled throughout.

I made some monogrammed oyster shells as a gift for Joanna and her daughters before our trip and dropped them off with a manager.  Kinda cool to know that someone who has inspired me will have a little piece of Charleston (if it really made it to her, haha).

After checking out the Silos & market, we walked over to Torchy’s Tacos for lunch and filled up on huge tacos.  Then it was back to Austin to meet the guys and finish our Texas trip!

Although I could have easily gone home with lots of items for our home, I was constrained by my carry on bag, so I was actually pretty good.   I got an ornament, magnet, small basket and #demoday hat.  Plus a cookie for the plane 😉

Planning a trip to Waco to visit Magnolia? I’ve got some tips for you:

• Go on a weekday: We were there on Tuesday and there were minimal crowds. After comparing the experience to other friends who had visited on a Friday and the weekend, we definitely avoided lines and tons of people going during the week!
• Get there in the morning: We arrived a little before 11am which was perfect timing before the lunch rush and the more popular times in the afternoon.
• Eat at an off hour: Most people didn’t want a cupcake at 11am which worked in our favor, so grab a snack before or after the high volume meal times.
• Order online: I looked at the online shop before we went so I had an idea of what was going to be in the store.  Walking around was more fun for inspiration, than shopping. If there’s something you have to have, order it online and you won’t have to worry about packing it in your suitcase!
• Have fun!  Almost everyone is there for the first time to check everything out, so enjoy the moment and take lots of pictures!  Maybe you’ll even get to see Chip & Joanna..

PS – If you liked my dress & purse, I got them on Amazon!  Here are the links: Striped dress with pockets + rattan purse (affiliate links)