Magnolia–I think quite possibly the only reason that people come to Waco, lol! If I hadn’t known that Magnolia was in this city, we honestly would have just driven through. But I’m so happy we stopped! You know why? Because it is the cutest little town and has so much character and is full of some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. If I happened to live here one day, I would hands down work somewhere in the Magnolia business! Talk about a fun (and super cute) place to work.
We stopped here on our drive from Austin to Dallas since Waco was in between and we stayed for just a few hours. I really wanted to eat at Magnolia Table, but we unfortunately ended up getting a late start to our morning and missed the opportunity. When we got to the place, the wait was only 45 minutes, which really isn’t bad–however we just didn’t have that time to wait due to our schedule. So, my point in telling you this is if you are on a time crunch, I suggest coming as soon as they open! Especially if you are coming on a weekend. Be prepared for a crowd! We came on a random Wednesday and the wait was a little under an hour, so I can only imagine how crazy the wait is during the weekends.
Tim ended up having a video pop up on his TikTok feed that suggested a restaurant in Waco, TX that happened to be right by the Magnolia outdoor market. We ended up stopping here for lunch after realizing we couldn’t do Magnolia Table, and it was perfect! Basically a pregnant ladies dream…good food, a place to sit and AC ha! You can browse the different options they have, but we ate at Roni’s Mac Bar and it was yummy! I recommend the Hawaiian bowl if you happen to stop by. 🙂
Now onto Magnolia! But before we get to the fun part…I must warn you. It is HOT, friends! And I mean hot–pregnant or not, please take my advice in taking frequent breaks in the shade and in the stores that have AC. You will need it. I brought this fan along with me (for the day, but also the entire trip–I used it here and in the airport/airplane mainly) to help cool me down. I think people buy it to help set their makeup, but I use it because I have anxiety and get hot flashes lol. Just make sure it’s charged before you leave! I also brought these towels as well. Get them wet and then wear them on the back of your neck. They stayed wet/cold for quite a bit.
Shops: There is about 8 little shops that look like tiny cottages, and it is the most adorable thing ever. I wanted to buy everything in all of them! Even if you aren’t shopping and planning on buying things, at the very least stop for AC and a break inside. It’s also fun to look around! Clothes, home decor, men’s goods, and more.
The Chapel: Another great place to take a break. Nothing is in here (at least when we went) but church-like seating. We took a few breaks for all of us to sit and get some cool air. A must! Make sure you grab a photo of it too. I’m so mad at myself for not!
Food: If the restaurant is closed or you can’t wait for the line to die down, not to worry! They have food trucks at Magnolia that offer some of the same foods that you would get at the restaurants. Just keep in mind that the food trucks are all outside as well as food seating! We were full after eating at the mac n’ cheese bar, but we did stop at Silos Bakery for a famous cupcake and also at the Iced Tea Truck for me. I got the Mason Dickson which was half sweet and half unsweetened–perfect for the sunny day we had. And a perk, I got to take the adorable glass jar home with me! Drinking out of it as I write this blog post. 🙂 For Tim we stopped at Magnolia Press and got the 1905. And can I just say…yum!
Outdoors: If you couldn’t tell…I don’t like being hot, ha. We didn’t spend much time outside here other than the few photos I got and walking from store to store. However, they have plenty of seating, outdoor bean bags, games and lots of photo opportunities. As Tim said–it really is like a theme park for Target moms!
Magnolia: Half of this was air conditioned and half of it wasn’t. Not much to say here other than be prepared to want to buy everything, redecorate your entire home (and wardrobe for that matter) and just want to eat the whole place up. There really is nothing NOT to love about anything here!
Magnolia Home: Imagine walking through a real life Pinterest board…that’s what this place was. I took approximately 1,000 photos to save for inspiration for our next home!
That pretty much covers everything! In terms of a “schedule” or “route” we followed–we really just walked through. We started in Magnolia, then went to the 8 tiny cottage shops, took a break in the chapel, went to Magnolia Home, grabbed an iced coffee for Tim, and then ended with the iced tea truck and Silos. I think total we were here for about 2 hours. If it wasn’t super hot, I honestly could’ve sat longer just to take in the atmosphere and enjoy the area. But I was melting, so we headed out as soon as we got those cupcakes lol.
I hope this post was helpful in giving you an idea of the layout and what there is to see! Feel free to email, comment or DM if you have any specific questions I didn’t answer.
XO,
Danielle Alana
