Waco, Texas

One of the reasons why we wanted to go to Texas was to go to Waco and go to the Magnolia store at the Silos by Johanna and Chip Gaines.  If you have never heard of them, they started as house flippers and were picked up by HGTV and created the TV show Fixer Upper.  They would help home buyers find homes in the Waco and surround areas of Texas find homes and then fix them up.  Johanna has a great sense of style that is simple but classic and Chip has a quirky personality.  The two are so fun to watch and to see what they do to homes that often times were considered ready for demolishment is nothing short of amazing.   The show blew up and from that sprung a home-line at Target, Books, and they even restored and converted a space in there town that is now home to food trucks, Home Decor, Clothing, Bath and Beauty products, and so much more.  Waco is located about an hour and forty five minutes north of Austin.  When I told my husband that we were going to Waco, he asked me if we were going to go see the compound of the branch dividians.  He had no idea who Johanna and Chip are as he doesn't watch much TV and if he does it isn't to watch a TV show on flipping houses.  Given how far Waco was from where we were staying in Canyon Lake, we decided to visit on our way home.  I was pretty surprized at how busy the facility was given that it was early Friday morning and it wasn't a holiday; but don't let that put you off.  I asked a lady who worked there and she says the best days to visit are Monday-Wednesday.  We stopped at the Bakery and got cupcakes which were so good and then after shopping we got some lunch from the food trucks.  If you like grilled cheese sandwhiches the Gouda with bacon and pesto was so yummy.  It was a fun little exursion and I am glad we went.