If you are a Fixer Upper super fan then this post is for you!  As most of America has heard by now, Chip and Joanna Gaines are the sweethearts behind the HGTV show Fixer Upper where they show how to transform your home with the help of shiplap, french doors and farmhouse tables.  You may think I am joking but seriously – that is their recipe for success and when something ain’t broke, don’t fix it 🙂

I have blogged about this power couple before that seemingly does it all while still looking fabulous, cooking with their four kids and manages to find time to open their brand new shop in down town Waco Texas.  I am such a huge fan!  I love that they work together and so happy to watch their heart toward fixing up older homes!  So it was only natural for me to twist Jeremy’s arm into visiting their new Magnolia Silos during a recent trip to Texas.

Now that I am back and downloaded the 1.3 million photos of The Lone Star State, I can’t wait to share the details of our recent trip and give you the low down on this particular stop!

If you follow Magnolia store on instagram, then you have seen the photos before but honestly it did not prepare me for what was actually there.  In reality, the store wasn’t huge….and that is the only area that was open to the public.  You don’t actually do anything with, in or on the silos themselves.  So that was something to note.  They are there just as sort of a large landmark right now.

The number one question I have gotten so far whenever I tell family and friends we visited is “did you see Chip and Joanna?”….um no.  They weren’t there.  They don’t work behind the counter.  And if my friends are any indication of how super fans act – they should probably go into hiding because people are NUTS about this couple!  If I did see them, I probably would have gotten all fan-girly myself and asked for JoJo to autograph my bra or something.

Anyway….back to the point….

The coolest thing about the entire place was that just beyond the store (the white building above with the words MAGNOLIA on it) is that there is a giant ‘lawn’ area.  It is evident that they were trying to make this area as family friendly as possible and still be able to transform it into more because there is nothing better than a wide open space for kiddos to run, jump and play.

They even had these large storage bins next to it that held a bunch of toys and balls and corn hole game boards.

You can see how close the lawn is next to the silos here…

And after driving the 45 minutes to visit, the kids were so happy to see a place where they could go nuts!

And Grammy did too 🙂

The best part about the lawn is that it was fake grass….and so literally we could roll around in it and nobody got dirty or messy or ended up with a bunch of grass in their mouth.  I’m talking about Max but sometimes it happens to Jeremy too 🙂

Hands down that was the best part of the trip and the venue.  I bet in the future, they will use this for other things as well, but I like to pretend that JoJo and I were having telepathic conversations about being moms of four kiddos and the need for indoor-outdoor grass 🙂

Also having conversations about the things our husbands do that make us laugh 🙂

Also as far as I know (I scour old episodes of Fixer Upper for details on the building), the offices for the Magnolia Homes stuff is up those stairs behind Grammy…I didn’t want to embarrass anyone so I didn’t attempt to go up there 🙂

And of course, my little Munchkin had to challenge the status quo and found some dirt to play in while still obeying our instructions of ‘stay in the grass’.

Okay – so this is what it looked like from the other side.

Just beyond the grass are some tables to eat at and then around the edge of the property is space for food trucks to come in and park and provide lunch.

Out of seven food trucks, there were very limited options when it came to kid-friendly items.  I don’t know if it was because we went on a slow Monday morning or what but a lot of the food trucks didn’t even have their full menu.  Jeremy ended up getting a burger at Milo’s and that was the only meat item they had available.  Also nobody had french fries, nonspicy chicken in a sandwich or burrito or anything, and we were limited to drinks of water, Diet Dr Pepper or Diet Coke.   We also were surprised that nobody served Gaines’ favorites like ham sandwiches, cupcakes or shiplap.  Point being – I think we just went on an off day and if you have a picky palette then just bring a lunch 🙂

Jeremy did say that his burger with an egg on top was delicious 🙂  And I had a stir fry dish that was strange and amazing at the same time.  

On the far corner of the property was a quaint little garden area with an outbuilding.

I don’t really know what this space was for exactly but it was well-kept and looked nice and LJ loved the little wooden mushroom house…

Isn’t he just the cutest?!

Grammy said “Look they don’t even have weeds in their gardens!” which I feel is a pretty accurate representation of what the show is all about.  But it did get me thinking….like yeah, the gardens are beautiful and I want raised garden beds with winter greens growing perfectly spaced out and without weeds but….isn’t that what Fixer Upper is all about?  Taking an unused space and turning it into something beautiful?  But really, who is gonna harvest and eat all those heads of cabbage?

So I thought I should give you an encouraging speech right now…..please excuse my soapbox moment…..Those homes at the end of the episodes are staged to look beautiful and new but those furnishings don’t stay there.  That isn’t a knock on Fixer Upper….they do a great job to produce a final beautiful product for television.  But in reality, six months later those homes do not look the same.  They might have mismatched decor and have non-Magnolia-approved art up and gasp! WEEDS!  And that is OKAY!  Your homes do not need to be perfect or live up to anyone else’s tv standards.  I think it’s a wonderful thing to be inspired….to feel like you can transform your home into a safe haven….but not at the expense of joy!  Don’t let someone’s lack of weeds make you feel less than.  Because they might be growing something you don’t even love.  I mean seriously….nobody eats that much sauerkraut.  Long story short – and I think Joanna and Chip probably feel this way too – let Fixer Upper & Magnolia inspire you with great ideas but never let it make you fall into the comparison trap.  Ok.  Preachin DONE.  Let’s move on.

I’m obsessed with this large wood branch chair.  Seriously Jeremy this is now on my Christmas list 🙂

All this garden bed talk has me thinking that I need to go get some seedlings started!  Mama needs her Georgia peppers!

And some more gratuitous shots of that little outbuilding….

So that is whole outside area.  The area right in front of the silos they had roped off and were constructing a stage.  I imagine that Waco probably could host some pretty cool outdoor concerts with an area like this.  Also – there is a bakery going into a little tiny white building that is next to the silos but it wasn’t open yet and they were still doing a lot of repairs on it.  I seriously watched this short dude repoint bricks for a solid thirty minutes just so that I could learn his technique.  It was amazing.

Now the store!

When I first went in, I was surprised by the size.  I seriously thought that this thing would be a million square feet but I would say that it was similar to the size of a large Old Navy store.

I could also tell they took a lot of cues from stores that boast cool displays like Anthropologie and Pottery Barn.  The displays were great and fun too!  Just check out these books that look like butterflies 🙂

The majority of the space had very limited decor items and it was priced similar to a Pottery Barn or Anthropologie.  It’s not a Home Goods.  Keep that in mind.  Like you can buy one of the ship-lap tshirts and it will cost $28…which I think is a little high for a tshirt.  Or you can buy a faux flower bloom for $12-$28.  Like I said…a little pricey but beautiful.

Some ideas that were adorable were the lampshades with the moss on them.   I love that for event decor!  Also – I love that they did glass mirror type panels on the walls.  It did make the space feel bigger and brighter.

Another idea I loved were these wood dividers that held displays and could change the paths inside the store.  It was great for holding items like these blooms and you can set up a display table of goods in front and make an entire moveable wall.

I didn’t get a ton of time to shop but there was one area that the items were mostly kitchen related.  This seemed like the area most people were in and had the most breakable things so we tried to keep the kids out.  Someone said that most of the items in this section are also available online at the Magnolia Market website.

The check out area was great – they would wrap your items for traveling and the employees were all really nice!

Jeremy found Chips corner which I thought was hilarious and awesome.  I didn’t even see the hardware behind Jeremy’s shoulder until I downloaded these photos so I was bummed I didn’t get to sort through it all!

The best thing about the entire store is that you can go into the back area where they have more of those movable display walls and you can shop through the DISCOUNT ITEMS.

You know me.  I wasn’t about to pay full price 🙂

So some of the items were 25% off and some were 40% and I was attempting to find something small, metal and unbreakable to take home (let’s just say that I packed too many shoes!).

In the end, I settled for a slew of these metal numbers.  They also had letters but since nothing was sorted, I couldn’t find anything quickly!  I am planning a cute little simple craft and I think these are adorable!  I paid a couple bucks a pop 🙂

In the end, we are super glad we went…it was worth the drive if not just to play on that big faux lawn 🙂

And if you do end up going – go shopping first….they gave us a receipt and told us that you can get 10% off your food truck order with it!

Now you can officially say that you virtually visited the Magnolia Market & Silos 🙂  And stay tuned for more Texas adventures because dude – I am obsessed and literally ready at any moment to turn my four boys into little cowboys boots and all 🙂