MAGNOLIA MARKET

We are back on the road for about 2 months.  We are excited!  California, here we come.  However, we will make a couple of stops along the way.  So, stay tuned!

Who doesn't love Fixer Upper?  I love that show! I also love Chip and Joanna.  If you read anything at all about them and their lives, they are great people.  I know someone who had a friend who bought a house in that area and appeared on Fixer Upper.  This person said that what you see on TV is what you get with them in real life.  Refreshing.

We left March 19th and decided to stop in Waco, Texas to see Chip and Joanna's Magnolia Market. They bought 2 abandoned silos in Waco and turned them into a "market" compound.  It really was pretty amazing and it definitely had Joanna's touch everywhere.

We went on a Monday hoping to avoid it being crowded.  We arrived around 1:00 and we had to search for a place to park.  They have free parking on 8th street in a parking lot that is attached to the silos.  However, you don't see the sign for the free parking until after you have passed the silos and you can't see the parking lot from the front.  So, if you go, don't pay in the parking lots close by.  Drive to the one on 8th street.

When you go through the gates, there are food trucks all around the perimeter of the grounds.  I didn't know they had these so we ate lunch before we went.  The prices of most of the food was pretty reasonable and they had a pretty good variety.  There was one truck that sold "Alabama Sweet Tea".  There was a l-o-n-g line waiting there when we got there.  While I was shopping, Mr. W checked it out.  They were selling ice tea (sweet, unsweet, half/half) in the small size mason jar (they were plastic) for $8. What???? Obviously, most people did not have a problem with that because the line was not much shorter when we left.

I had heard that most of the merchandise in the silos was over priced and it was.  There is a sale table which always saves the day. :)

The transformation of the silos was amazing.  I loved it.  I don't think everyone else "got the memo" to have other plans and don't come here on a Monday.  There were a lot of people there!  I did find a few things on the sale table for gifts for Daughter and DIL and a few things for me.  Thank goodness they have a FedEx station set up right by the registers! And, if you spend $100, they pay for the shipping. They paid for my shipping.  But, ssshhhh, don't tell Mr. W.

Shopping always makes me hungry.  So, after shopping, I made a straight beeline to the bakery.  There was a line around the side of the building. Wow.  The line did move fairly fast.  They have 2 workers who pass out order forms and pencils to everyone standing in line.  The form describes each cup cake and a few other delicacies they offer.  You fill out what you want. When you enter, you give your order form to the cashier, pay for your order, and then wait for them to call your name.  They hand you your "goodies" and away you go. I ordered a cupcake, The Classic, which was chocolate cake with a vanilla butter cream icing and a cinnamon roll for myself and Mr. W ordered a cupcake, Toasted Coconut, for him.  The cinnamon roll was for my breakfast the next day.  They - were - awesome.

After the bakery, we decided to call it a day.  I had not been to Waco in 40 years.  It has changed.  It is a great size town and the land is really pretty.  It reminds me a lot of the hill country in Texas. I think it has been a well kept secret that is about to get out.  If you are in the area, go visit..

Look at all those shoppers!

The line around the side of the bakery.

Yummy!

P. S. - We stayed at Midway COE Park.  It is a very nice park on Lake Waco.  They have some full hook-up sites, but most were water/electricity only.  We reserved ours early enough to get full hook-ups.  With our senior discount, we paid a whopping $14 for the night. The water/electricity sites would have been $12. It does pay to get old in some cases!