Are you a Fixer Upper Fanatic? Me too. Here's what we experienced during our first time in Waco, Texas. Is everything as epically amazing as it's portrayed on television or at least what you'd imagined it to be? Find out!
Waco Dreams V. Waco Reality
First off, was our Girls Trip to Waco, Texas worth the plane trip, car rental, hotel stay, and lack-of-sleep? Quick answer: Yes. Yes, it was. #Obvi but it wasn't without some concessions...
My Waco Dreams (in no particular order)
Meet the Gaines
Meet Clint Harp
Get a Silo's coffee cup (I kind of have a thing about coffee cups. I take after Dusty's Grandpa that way)
See/eat/shop at all the places: Magnolia Market, Bakery, Seed & Supply, Maggie, Magnolia Table, Clint Harp's shop, Clint Harp's house, Jimmy Don's shop, and any remodeled homes by the Gaines
Eat breakfast at the Silo's Bakery (and actually get a table so we could enjoy breakfast)
Get (at least 1) decor from the Silo's (prefer metalwork)
Don't spend more in shipping the decor back than I did booking the trip
Take dozens and dozens of photos
Sometimes Your Plans Don't Work Out Because God Has Better Ones
This Girls Trip originally had meant to be 1 day in Waco (To get our Fixer Upper Fix) and then spend the next couple days in Austin, Texas. Welp, shortly after we booked our plane tickets, BFF-B let me know that the Silo District Marathon, Half, and 5K was going on that same weekend we had booked our trip for.
So we did some recalculating and determined if we wanted to do the race. When I turned 21, I ran my first Half (I started my first bucket list when I turned 20 and this was on it) so I physically knew that I could finish a Half. But... it's been "a few years" since then and I hadn't run more than a couple of miles in the last four months, give or take. Plus, I tweaked my back and wasn't sure if my hinny could handle it. BFF-B had never run a race in her life so if she was going to do anything, she voted for the 5K.
But... if there was a chance that we'd actually meet any of the Gaines, it would be on race day. So we had decisions to make. If we wanted to run, the place would likely be packed that day, and our flights would bring us closer to Waco than to Austin. So we were looking at doing 2 days in Waco. Since we only had 3 days for this quick trip, we had some decisions to make with our planning.
Then we learned that this year, the Silo District was also sponsoring Brave like Gabe, a non-profit formed in 2018 to support cancer research. Gabe was the awe-inspiring Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald. This hell-of-an-athlete could run a mile in 4 minutes and 21 seconds. What made her even more remarkable was her perseverance to compete against the odds. She had adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer. In her final race, Gabe Grunewald ran 4:31.18 in 1500 m semi-final at 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships (placed 28th). Also, it was reportedly in 100-degree heat, she was in between chemotherapy treatments and just recovered from a fever days before. *source Wikipedia*
Along with Chip Gaines, Gabe would be running at the Silos District on April 28, 2019.
So, was waking up at 3 am on race day of the Silos District race, busing to the start line, running our little hearts out? Yep. Without a doubt.
Before the start of the Half, both Gabe, Chip, Jojo and a few of their kids stood up and speak to the runners, the crowds and the volunteers. Hearing them all speak resonated with me. They charged me up, as many great leaders do. I remember being quite psyched to see them and even though I can't recall a single thing they said, I was ready to run. The excitement of the runners was all around. The place was humming with adrenaline. The excitement was contagious. We were all jazzed. Myself included. Despite having only trained for 20 days, thrown out my back and being a solid decade older than the first time I'd run my first Half (when I was in college Track & Field btw) I ran the best time of my life.
Total Run Time: 2:05:47 (My time when I was 21 was 2:10)
Pace Time (min/mile): 9:36
Overall Ranking: 411/ 2048
Female Ranking: 229/ 1552
Age Ranking (30-34): 52/ 282
What was also epic was the BFF-B also ran her first 5K in the hot Texas heat and totally rocked it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime race. What made it more bittersweet was that Gabe's battle with cancer ended June, 11. She was 33.
It was an honor to have run beside such a courageous woman.
The Day Before The Race @ Waco
P.S. BFF-B: We really should record Episode 2 of the BNS Show lol!
We decided to hit up the shops and stores on Saturday because we'd discovered many places were closed on Sunday (understandably so) and because the Silos District was on Sunday. So we figured the place would be jammed packed. Even so, we figured it would be pretty busy on Saturday since people would be coming in for the event.
The Good? Get There Early. Like Early. What We Did Good - Like Really Good.
Beat the rush and you'll get the hours back 2-fold. Because we got to the Silo's so early, we had hit up all the stores in town by lunchtime. It was AWESOME! It definitely left us time for relaxing.
We got to the Silo's Baking Co for about an hour or so before the bakery opened. The line wasn't bad, which surprised me since this weekend was going to be packed due to the race the following day. But since we got their early, we were able to get some great pictures of the Silos area without a hundred of your best strangers and we were able to snag a seat, enjoy a perfect breakfast and it wasn't horribly hot.
Because we got there early, we got to the Bakery first and had a delightful breakfast and then was able to stand near the front of the line at the Magnolia Market. they had a lot of beautiful things I wanted, but I kept hearing my husband's voice in my ear reminding me not to spend a fortune and get everything, but only get things that were precious to me. I really wanted to get metalwork and there was a sign there that I loved (and they would ship from the store) but it was kinda spendy. I passed since we still had to hit up a few shops. We were able to get through the Magnolia Market and get through the Supply & Seed by mid-day.
After that, it was a hop-skip and a jump to Jimmy Don's metalwork. That was a little different since it was just this little pop-up shop down the road. I was honestly a little disappointed (not by the quality or friendliness of the staff) but because the metalwork wasn't my style.
After Jimmy Don's we went to Clint Harp's place. What was really cool about that setup was his store was in his original shop, which was right next to their home that Chip and Joanna fixed up on Season 1, Episode 5. It was beautiful from the outside. They rent out the rooms now and for only $500/night (at least the weekend we were there) you could stay overnight. :/
Anyways, I was feeling a little bummed because I didn't want to buy stuff from the Silos, Harps or Jimmy Dons for the sake of just buying something but I hadn't really found anything that spoke to me.
Until we went to Maggies - Jojo's first Magnolia's store. Stuff there was on discount either because it was returned, broken or discontinued. While they couldn't ship it to your home directly from there... we found some gems.
Traveler Tip: Go to Maggies! It is a precious place and there are FedEx/UPS places to ship all over. It's really not a big deal.
The Bad? The Magnolia Table
Was this really bad? Oh heavens no! The food was great. We got it at the Take Away. It was yummy. But how we made reservations at the Magnolia Table is the only thing I'd do differently if we'd go back to Waco.
Legit after we finished at the Magnolia Market, we drove by the Magnolia Table for a late big breakfast. We'd eaten a super healthy early breakfast of cupcakes and cinnamon rolls. We figured a late breakfast would be less busy than lunch. We just drove in the parking lot and saw a line. We decided to hit up Harp's and Maggie's place because if we were going to wait in line, it might as be for lunch.
When we returned for lunch, we went up to see how long the wait would be. It was unlikely that we'd even get in before they closed. However, that was when we found out that we could have put our name down an hour or so before we were done shopping and as long as we'd returned before they called our name, we would have gotten a seat.
So bummer.
The bright side? We got some delightful food from the Take Away at the Magnolia Table and they had a picnic area where we could eat under the umbrellas and take in Joanna's signature design style. We made lemonade out of lemons, and boy-oh-boy, it was refreshing.
The Fixer Uppers? These 2 Gems
I returned home with 2 treasures. A Silo planter that reminds me of my Mom's green thumb. Whenever I garden, I think of her. And the other is a beautiful metalwork sign. The saying reminds me of my Dad and how I try to live my life. #wonderlust
Both of these are actually Pinterest Projects (Fixer Upper Projects). The metalwork sign has yet to be completed. Stay tuned. But the planter is super simple and has probably saved that plant more times than I can recall.
So Did Reality Live Up To My Dreams?
The shops, stores, food trucks, etc in Waco is exactly how I imagined they would be. What I didn't expect was to have so many wonderful and unexpectedly good and hilarious memories... like the time BFF-B drove to Austin after the Silo District Race because I physically couldn't do it. And while I didn't get to check off every single thing from my "Dream" list, it was one of the best Girl Trips I could have imagined.
Overall Waco/Fixer Upper Travel Tips So You Have a Perfect Day
Plan your trip during the weekday if possible
Most stores are closed on Sunday
Saturday is one of their most busy days
Get to the Silo's Bakery about an hour before opening
The Magnolia Market will ship your purchases, Maggie will not
Plan on being in the Magnolia Market line for at least an hour
Put in a reservation at the Magnolia Table as soon as possible
Remember that everyone wants that perfect picture and will wait their turn for you to get yours so don't worry about rushing