My mom & I are huge Fixer Upper fans and we wanted to plan a get together (she lives in Florida & I live in New England) so what better place to meet up but Texas! This was both of our first times to Waco and boy were we impressed!
Do we look a little disheveled? You are correct my friend! We had just flown in from Dallas. We did a midway stop to the town of Waxahachie and then drove to our hotel Residence Inn Waco after dropping off our bags we walked over to the Magnolia Shop & Bakery which is just a few minutes away. We were so excited to see everything but definitely had some jet lagging going on.
The grounds are just magical. You can feel Joanna & Chips presence everywhere. I fell in love with the garden area where there are flowers blooming all around. I saw a caretaker taking care of all the fresh flower beds. I was so inspired I may plant a flower garden in my own yard. Maybe a new career Garden extraordinaire. What do you think?
Spring is the best time to visit before the hot Texas heat takes over.
How cute is this vintage flower towels display inside the garden shed? At this point I started thinking of ways i could fit more items in my luggage. They had the cutest items for sale.
They have a free shuttle right out front which takes you over to The Magnolia Table the new restaurant that just opened. Everything is so organized and everyone is super friendly! Magnolia employees are all around if you have any questions.
Inside the Magnolia Shops is truly magical. Everywhere you turn there is a new display that draws you in. So now I am thinking forget about being a gardener what about a visual merchandiser & stylist? They must love their jobs with each changing season they get to design such aw-inspiring displays.
I loved all the little quotes in the shop. Everywhere you looked there was magical pixie dust that really made you feel good inside!
I eyed this vintage icecream sign right away. I love how it looks so worn & rustic. To my delight they sold them in the shop with Federal Express having an in-house location (genius idea!) I was able to have it shipped directly to my house. My luggage was breathing a sigh of relief at this point. Shipping is free if you spend $100 you just pay for packaging.
I love this jackie o inspired photo of us inside the magnolia store. My hair was beyond frizzy at this point! Chip & Joanna if you are listening perhaps a Magnolia Beauty Salon could be your next venture! I mean who can argue with the King & Queen of hair perfection!
I love this old jeep they restored with the bright green paint. Everything they do at Magnolia is such a perfect picture photo op. I hear the employee offices are somewhere on the grounds. Hey chip can you see me?
Outside they have these great picnic tables where you can grab a bite from the many food trucks or enjoy your treat from the Magnolia Bakery.
This sign made my day. Being from the northeast I can attest to the un-sweet loving of our ice-tea and sometimes our personalities! The people from the south really seem to love their sweet tea! I think us northerners could take a little advice from our southern neighbors by being and drinking a little more sweet!
The Magnolia Bakery oh my talk about a slice or should i say cupcake of heaven! Everything was so fresh. I was shocked when we went inside the bakery is really tiny. It looks so huge on TV! I recommend you go on a Thursday afternoon like we did and there was just a tiny little line. Saturdays are crazy over there! The icing was so divine. They change up some flavors by the season & the packaging was just gorgeous.
How cute is my mom? She is just so beautiful inside & out just like all the treats at the bakery!
Here we are at Magnolia Table. We went on a Friday morning and the wait wasn’t too bad about 1 hour. They gave us these cool beepers which you could update and see how much longer until your table would be ready. Saturdays I believe the wait can be over two hours and Sundays they are closed. We took the free shuttle over from Magnolia and the bus driver gives you a tour of the area on the way there!
It was really overcast when we came so unfortunately the pictures didn’t come out that great but you get the idea.
Who takes a picture of a bathroom? When its this beautiful I do! They have literally thought of every detail!
The food did not disappoint. Did you ever think otherwise? I mean its Chips dream right? French toast with strawberry butter. Can you hear my stomach growling now?
Remember this sign from the show? Jo found this at a local antiques fair and it is even more beautiful in person.
5 things to know before your visit:
Tip #1–Getting to Waco: I flew into Dallas Forth Worth Airport which is about 90 miles from Waco, We arrived early in the day so we beat any traffic. Also consider spending the prior night in Dallas so you can check out the city.
Tip #2–Where to stay: We stayed at the Residence Inn Waco & also ate next door at the Hotel Indigo where the food was amazing! Both hotels are located within walking distance of Magnolia Shop & bakery which really made it very convenient.
Tip #3–When to visit the Magnolia shop & bakery: I think it really depends on what day of the week you go. I highly recommend coming in on Thursday and checking out the shop & bakery that afternoon or early Friday am. We did not experience any crowds going at that time which enables you to take a few photos without a million people in the background.
Tip #4–Tours : We did a local tour with Waco-Tours. I highly recommend them. Our tour guide was a former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. How cool is that? She was extremely knowledgeable and we were able to learn alot about the history of Waco and see many sites from Baylor University to some of the homes featured on The Fixer Upper show and even Clint’s shop.
Our fun little Waco tours group.
We didn’t get to meet Clint at Harp Design. He was not in the shop the day we visited. We did see his former house next door though. They have since moved and rent out the house now to visitors. The shop was full of all kinds of creative wood pieces. Did I buy anything you ask? Silly question, of course! My mom & I both got beautiful hearts made out of wood.
