Summer Throwback: Magnolia Silos

As I was checking out at Magnolia Home, I thanked the cashier for such a great experience and told him the whole day had felt like I was at Disneyland. He was appreciative and casually said, “yeah, we get that a lot.” 

And I wasn’t exaggerating. Visiting Magnolia really was like going to Disneyland for me… someone who’s obsessed with home decor and all things cozy, and who has watched Chip and Joanna’s show since the beginning. 

Magnolia offered everything you needed -- coffee shop, food carts, refreshing drinks and snacks, baked goods, picnic areas, playground areas, and lots of great shopping. One other similarity to Disneyland: there were only two ways out (that I noticed), meaning you were a fish swimming in a school all going with the current in the same direction, hitting up every last shop along the way. It was a money trap, but in the best way.

We ended up going to Magnolia a bit last-minute. After getting vaccinated, we felt more comfortable traveling and finally made it out to see Tim’s parents’ new home near San Antonio, Texas. We flew into Austin and had an amazing time with them and his brother’s family; we even got to meet our cute little Godson for the first time 🥰 We explored San Antonio a few nights, grabbing some food at an amazing brewery and pizzeria and exploring the San Antonio river walk for an evening out on the town. We also hit up a lot of cute little towns right around them, filled to the brim with antique shops, farmer’s markets, outdoor concerts, and coffee shops.

We both had to work almost the whole trip, so our adventuring was limited to the evenings and weekends, but I’d say we really made the most of it! We actually did quite a bit of exploring even with the limited time off.

So Friday evening rolled around and after we met up with his brother’s family, ate some delicious Texas BBQ, and said our goodbyes, we drove 3 hours to Waco for our big Magnolia adventure. I’m not kidding when I say I was so excited the night before I almost couldn’t sleep 🤣

We booked the cutest Airbnb TWO BLOCKS away from the Silos -- and we only booked like 4 days in advance! That was definitely a sign that we were meant to go 😉 The house was fantastic; way too much room for just the 4 of us, but the location was perfect and it was everything you would have thought it would be being so close to all the goodness of Magnolia -- very similar style to Joanna’s (because why wouldn’t it be?!). If you’re looking to go to Magnolia, I highly recommend the Avenues of Waco.

So we arrived on Saturday morning at Magnolia Press around 8 a.m. Most of the shops open at 9 a.m., so we decided to grab coffee and breakfast at the coffee shop. We heard Magnolia Table is amazing, but that the wait is horrific, so we decided to skip it this time around. The coffee shop and grounds weren’t too busy when we got there, so we relaxed for a bit in the coffee shop and outside in the patio area and wandered around for some photo opps 📸

After coffee and breakfast, we hit up Magnolia Home first, walked around, took everything in, and browsed. There is so.much.good.stuff! But I felt like there was still so much to see (and their furniture is a pretty penny) so I decided not to buy anything quite yet.

We explored the cute little row of shops. I went into all of them and bought at least one small thing from each -- jewelry, clothes, beauty/skin care, kids gifts, birthday gifts, etc. These were fun because they had such uniquely curated items.

At this point, it was getting pretty hot and humid out, so we sat down for a bit and had some refreshments -- lavender lemonade for me (so YUM)!

We then made our way over to the Magnolia Market which has a ton of kitchen stuff, plus even more souvenir-y gear. After shopping to our heart’s content, we grabbed lunch from the food carts and drank the yummiest sweet tea I’ve ever had.

We made two last stops before leaving the Silos: 1) Magnolia Seed & Supply and 2) Magnolia Bakery (how could we NOT?!). Magnolia Seed & Supply was a cute, quaint little shop. I didn’t get anything related to gardening, but I did find a cute baseball cap 😉 And the bakery cupcakes were amazing (see mouthwatering photo below).

We spent a good half day+ at the Silos and then went home to rest up for a bit before heading out to do some more exploring. We couldn’t leave Waco without swinging by Joanna’s very first home store, the little shop on Bosque. It was adorable! So small, but they had a cute selection of stuff (+ sale items) and definitely worth going if you’re a Joanna fan like I am ☺️ I bought two latticed shutters that are now hanging at the top of our stairs - forever a fun memory piece.

There are sweet non-Magnolia antique and home decor stores around the Silos that you won’t want to miss -- we went to The Findery, which also has a warehouse a few blocks down. Lots of good finds there. 

And how could I forget -- we also just happened to meet THE Jimmy Don -- the guy who makes all the iron signs for Chip & Joanna in Fixer Upper! It might be open by now, but when we were visiting he was building a shop right across from the Silos that wasn’t finished yet, so they had a trailer in front of it with some ready-made signs for sale. As we were walking up, I saw him standing there and basically whisper-yelled to Tim and his mom that I thought that was Jimmy Don himself. And, sure enough, yep! It was totally him and he was as nice as could be. We ended up buying a sign from him and he signed it! So fun.

All in all, I’d say our trip was a success. I’ve heard mixed reviews about whether or not visiting Magnolia is worth it, but I would say it definitely is -- just know what you’re getting into. You can do it in about a half-day, so don’t go for a week thinking that’s all you’ll do. If you love everything home, home decor, family, and fun, you’ll have a blast.

Hawaii Four-0

Tim and I visited Hawaii in January with my family for my brother's 40th birthday (Hawaii Four-0, get it? 😂). It was Tim's very first time visiting the beautiful islands and my first time staying on Oahu. Minus the missile threat hiccup 😫, the trip was absolutely perfect!

A video recapping our January 11-16, 2018 Hawaii Trip! We went for my brother's 40th birthday and stayed in Honolulu - my first time staying in Honolulu and Tim's very first time to Hawaii! It was one of our very favorite trips. Blog post coming soon!

We stayed in the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. It was fun being able to walk out of our condos to explore the beautiful park, shops, restaurants, and hotels right by us. When we arrived, we stopped by Nico's Pier 38 to get lunch plates - seriously so delicious - and then went to Costco to grab food for home-cooked meals (hello, saving money!).

That same night, we went to House Without a Key for cocktails, a beautiful sunset, and Hawaiian music complete with Hula dancers. It was ah-mazing. And it was my first time drinking a Mai Tai, which they're famous for! Once I tasted it, I could see why. It was dangerously delicious.

The next morning my family introduced us to Lanikai. Absolutely my most favorite beach ever. The water is crystal clear, it wasn't too packed, and the drive out there was beautiful. We packed a lunch and some good books and relaxed on the beach for a few hours. It was perfect. That night we celebrated my brother's birthday at Mariposa (though, let's be real, I think we sang happy birthday to him at almost every dinner 😉) and watched fireworks over the water. It was magical and the food was absolutely delicious - I ordered a scallop pasta with a white sauce and Manny (my brother-in-law) and I shared a few glasses of wine. 🍷

On Sunday morning, Shawn, Manny, Tim, and I conquered the Diamond Head hike. If you're in Hawaii and you want to find a way to achieve your steps and stairs/climbing goals, this. is. it. My thighs and butt were on fire. But it felt so good to get out in the fresh air and do one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever seen, inclusive of lots of stairs, tunnels, small caves, and awesome views!

Sunday afternoon, we headed to Ko Olina to soak up some more sun and fun. The grounds were unbelievable! So beautiful. And then there were the lava flows 😋 Those things are dangerous because of how delicious and refreshing they are! For some reason, our photos from that afternoon are blown out a bit, but it ended up making them look pretty vintage-cool.

The following day was our last full day in paradise. We lived it up by starting the day off right at Dean & Deluca ☕️, strolling around Waikiki, laying out on the beach, walking along the water at sunset, and enjoying dinner at Doraku Sushi.

The last morning we were there, Tim and I ate breakfast at Surf Lanai at The Royal Hawaiian, an amazingly beautiful resort. If you're ever in Waikiki, you must walk through this hotel! It's open and airy on the waterfront with a beautiful yard in the back. Plus, it offers cute shops (I got a super soft handmade blanket as my souvenir) and a few restaurants.

I couldn't have asked for a better trip or better people to share it with. It was absolutely one of my favorite vacations so far, filled with the best people and the most relaxation. We didn't want it to end! Tim and I decided that, if we can, we would love to visit the beach and sunshine in January or February each year. PNW winters are long and dark, and getting some reprieve from this winter was just what we needed to kick off the new year right.

38 Minutes

I never quite thought about my mortality the way I did in the morning of Saturday, January 13, 2018. It was our second morning waking up in paradise - Honolulu, Hawaii. We were there celebrating my brother's big 40th birthday. Tim was laying in bed next to me watching soccer highlights on his phone while I was writing in my Bible study journal. It was a quiet, peaceful first few moments of the morning before we planned on having breakfast with the family and venturing out into the beautiful sunshine.

And then Tim's phone started violently vibrating on the bed.

It was an emergency alert.

It read: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

Everything went black.

I said "Oh my God" and read the alert to Tim with hysteria in my voice. I couldn't breathe. I started having a panic attack. My mom came from next door and started frantically banging on our door to make sure we knew.

Tim and I threw shoes on and ran over to the other room where the rest of my family was to see if they had a plan or knew what we were supposed to do. I was hysterically crying. Everyone looked panicked. Manny, my brother's husband, ran downstairs to the lobby to ask if there was a plan in place and where we should go. They told us everyone needs to get down into the basement garage NOW.

So we ran downstairs and into the garage. Apparently that's the best thing to do - get as low as possible - if there's an incoming missile. But all I kept thinking is "what if this whole building collapses on top of us??!"

Then again, I didn't know what to think or even what the next 5 minutes held for our family. I just kept looking around at each of them thinking about how much I love them and how insane it was that we're all sitting down in a garage in paradise unsure if we're going to ever go home.

Time moved slowly.

After about 15 or so minutes down in the garage we decided to gather supplies (food, water, extra clothes, Tim even grabbed a knife) in case we did survive and there was looting after the fact. If there was looting, we knew we needed to bunker down and protect ourselves.

I don't think everyone realizes how far it actually got or how intense it actually was. The missile threat alert wasn't retracted for 38 minutes (THIRTY-EIGHT!). There are varying estimates, but I've heard it takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes for a missile from North Korea to strike Hawaii. We were positive we weren't going to make it.

Thinking about your death is a surreal experience - you don't go through something like that unchanged. I read stories of parents telling their children everything would be fine, that it was just a storm or tsunami warning and it would be over in no time, all the while knowing in the back of their mind that it could be the last minutes of their lives together. Heartbreaking. I read about people pulled over in panic on the freeways and a couple who just decided to lay on the beach because what else are they going to do? Might as well enjoy the last few moments of your life.

All I know about what happened is that someone hit the wrong button and they didn't have the retraction coded yet, so they had to code it on the fly (don't get me started on that). I read they're implementing a two-person verification process moving forward. The fact that so much panic and uncertainty could come at the hands of human error is unfathomable.

After the missile threat was announced as a false alarm, we all just sat there staring at each other with our well-deserved POG juice mimosas like "what in the world just happened?" Boy oh boy did we need those drinks ;)

We eventually got the energy back up to get on with our day and had a great rest of our trip. But, like I said, you don't go through something like this unchanged. I know I'm going to hold my loved ones tighter, stress less, live and love more, and make sure my priorities are always in proper order.