A #silobration...

When you're driving from Denver to Atlanta, it makes perfect sense to go through Waco, Texas, right?

Ok... it legit does not, but several months ago when SunStars and I went into overdrive trying to flip his condo, we got totally hooked on "Fixer Upper" and kind of became groupies. We chatted about how fun it would be to check out Magnolia Market and the silos in Waco, but didn't really have a plan... until we decided to take a summer trip to SunStars' homeland in Georgia.

This adventure kind of took on a life of it's own (and as I write this, we're still not in Georgia), but it's been super fabulous and I'm glad that we ended up going way out of our way. As we travel, I've decided to include some tips on how to best navigate the places that we've visited, along with some wardrobe tips.

Here's the deal with Magnolia Market and the Silos:

1) Arrive early! We ended up getting a bit behind schedule on Day 1 of our trip, so we only made it to Ft. Worth and instead of setting an alarm to get an early start to Waco in the morning, I totally overslept. We arrived at Magnolia around 10:30 and the free parking lot was totally full and the whole place was packed!

2) There is a free parking lot, but like I said, unless you arrive early or want to drive around in circles until someone happens to leave, plan to park a few blocks away or in town. There is a free shuttle that will take you from town to the Silos.

3) The amenities are fantastic. The garden is surrounded by all sorts of food trucks, the bathrooms are adorable (think subway tile and farmhouse sinks), there is a water fill-up station, and there is plenty of seating both in the shade and in the sun. The garden outside of Magnolia Seed and Supply is absolutely lovely with lots of fun nooks and crannies to enjoy. They even provide umbrellas for sun/rain just as you enter the property so you can maximize your enjoyment. With the exception of the bakery, the property is also dog-friendly (and they have puppy water available).

4) Give yourself a ton of time. We were there on the Friday before 4th of July weekend and were much later than we'd planned to be, so we were stuck in crowds. We had to skip the bakery because we had the dog with us and we were trying to make it to NOLA by sundown. Magnolia Market was also a bit tricky to navigate with the dog and the crowd, but I was still able to find a lovely birthday gift for my mum.

5) Wear layers. When I woke up in Ft. Worth, I was super stoked to be wearing a denim jacket, but by the time we arrived in Waco, I was super glad to be wearing a lightweight and very swingy sleeveless dress. It was close to 100 degrees and we were trying to see everything as quickly as we could in the crowd, so we didn't spend a whole ton of time in the shade. The main building for the Market was air conditioned, but the back building was not. The line for the bakery was also covered, but it was still super sticky, so I'd factor this in to your plans.

6) Enjoy! It's a fun little spot to explore. The empire the Gaines family has built still retains a really cool feeling of small-town charm, even though it's kind of taken on a life of its own!