Magnolia Market
January 11, 2017
Waco, TX, USA
oooh my! i can't even tell you how excited I was to go to magnolia market. i was trying to play it cool and tell blake that there was other super cool stuff to see in waco like the new baylor stadium!
keep in mind he has no ties to baylor, or texas and has seen many a football stadium... oh well!
we got to waco and took the dogs for a long walk along the river and the closer we got to town i kept getting peeks of the silos from the trail. just the tippy tops of them - but i knew they were close and i decided i couldn't wait to go. i thought i would contain myself and that we would just spend the following morning there and then move on with our days like normal people - nope.
it was a zoo! an absolute mad house! the lawn when you walk into the gates is so pretty though. they laid down astroturf on the larger side of the store front for yard games and picnic tables. they had these neat bean bags chairs and corn hole for kids (and dads) because they must have known that half of almost every party would get fed up and go outside while mom was still sniffing all of the $35 candles. i'll admit that i sniffed them all too...
the whole place was an instagram gold mine, as i'm sure you noticed from my own instagram. but it was so funny to see everyone line up near the large christmas tree display and wait their turn. in the back by the lawn they have a big open space where 5 or so food trucks are lined up in the afternoons. they have to have been made specifically for Magnolia because it didn't look like they left often and they matched the whimsy of the place perfectly. i really wanted to just stick my head inside the store front and look around for a minute but they are pretty good at getting you all the way in. the door greeter saw the dogs and offered us treats... and that gets me every time.
we did a quick loop and decided it was a little too crazy. bringing the dogs was just too much and even though they got at least 15 treats they also got their toes run over by strollers and i felt too bad for them. we were able to stay pretty close by, at the dr.pepper museum (yes thats a thing you can see in waco too!) so the next morning we packed up our camera bag and went over right when they opened so we could try to get some cool pictures before it got too busy. the bakery is a separate building but it's adorable. there was a line outside at 7am! we went inside to check it out and everything looked so beautiful. the cupcakes looked fake and smelled amazing! i was pretty tempted to have one for breakfast.
once we were inside the store again we wandered around and looked at all the little corners that are perfectly decorated. its overwhelming how much stuff there is to see there. she put the store together just like she does houses, so everywhere you look there is a throw pillow inside of a basket with blankets and books next to it and a sign above and cotton and yadda yadda. they even have a shipping center inside because they know you probably wont be able to control yourself. its outrageous.
we got out of there with just a little gift for my mom and a coffee mug but i thought it was so cute. its not even necessary my style - i like things a little less cluttered - but it was still perfect. we spent the rest of the day walking around town and seeing the rest of the silo district. we met some really nice people while we were there and i'm glad we went even with all the craziness and the people. i mean... just look at those shelves. beautiful!
if you even find yourself within an hour of waco its worth it to stop by! just to say you've been there and eat a cupcake!
HOUSE BLEND + FIKA
January 09, 2017
If mismatched tables and chairs, peeling floral wall paper, vintage swede green couches, funky light fixtures, outdoor patios and groovy tunes get your attention, then you are a lot like me. Thankfully all of the aforementioned items can be found in a the same place in almost every town that we have come across in our travels, this place is a local coffee shop.
Making time to spend in local coffee shops has been a unique experience that has turned out to be one of my favorite family activities. Don't get me wrong, anyone can drive through a Starbucks and know exactly what product they will be recieveing on any given day, there's no question about that. Which is great, and convenient for the majority of people with super busy schedules. But unfortuneatly they are missing out on a real coffee shop experience that can only be had by setting foot in the shop itself. Let me paint a picture of what a my favorite kind of coffee shop looks, smells, tastes, sounds and feels like.
Upon arrival, we scope out the patio situation because we travel with our two mutts. Based on if the patios available, we have to either have them tethered to something on the patio or have them set up in the van that needs to be parked close (within seeing distance) so we can check on them periodically. Once the doggy challenge is taken care of, one of us selects a place to veg out while the other gets a couple cups of coffee. Typically the order is quite simple- two mugs of the house blend and maybe a pastry if we are feeling like participating in a sweetish term called "fika" that day. After choosing a place to sit, it's time to relax and enjoy all of the wonderful things that make a coffee shop unique.
The crowd that we sit amongst might look a little something like two cheerful old farts in the corner shooting the breeze, the picture perfect family doing their thang, the guy reading a newspaper (yeah a real newspaper), the stressed out college student that has been cramming for the past 72 hours or just two mutts, a beautiful blonde and a me- or maybe none of the above. But you never quite know what you are going to get and thats the beauty in it. Plus coffee shops are a great place to chum it up with the locals. They usually have the best suggestions for activities to do, places to eat and other miscellaneous facts about the area that you wouldn't find in articles or websites.
The crowd isn't the only part of the experience that makes it worth your while. It appeals to all of your senses. For example, every local shop has it's own feng shui that stimulates your eyes. Contemporary, modern, industrial, western, chic, whatever it is, we aren't biased. After soaking in all of the eye candy, take a deep breath - don't forget about the smell of a coffee shop. It's always inviting and warms your body. Moving on down to the lips, the taste of each house blend deliciously varies. It's nice to mix it up, rather than downing the same old daily cup-o-joe. And what's that you hear? Is it something to snap to? Something to dance/sing to? Maybe just the sounds of the baristas clanking around their utensils and machinery - whatever the noise, it's part of the overall atmosphere.
I'm betting that you are craving a cup of java right about now, aren't you? Well hopefully after reading this you might think twice about the next visit to grab a cup of java. If so, maybe I'll have to pleasure of bumping into you down the road in a coffee shop that neither of us has ever heard of.
Cheers!
- Blake
I'm betting that you are craving a cup of java right about now, aren't you? Well hopefully after reading this you might think twice about the next visit to grab a cup of java. If so, maybe I'll have to pleasure of bumping into you down the road in a coffee shop that neither of us has ever heard of.
Cheers!
- Blake
Welcome to Texas + Baylor University and Waco
Hey there!
We made it to Texas! They aren't lying when they say everything is bigger here - including temperature swings and flags ('Merica!) Leaving Arizona we knew we has about a 9 to 11 hour drive ahead of us to get to Dallas. We try not to drive for more than a few hours at a time but after doing a little bit of research we knew we didn't really have a reason to drag it out over several days. We could be overlooking some hidden gem but west Texas isn't that exciting.
I drove until about 2am and finally quit when we got to Midland. What a delightful place! Just kidding - we woke up to frozen tanks and negative temps! Not quite what we were expecting so we hit the road!
The rest of the trip to Dallas we were all really antsy and by the time we got there we needed out of the van. We were in those moods where someone sighs kind of loud on purpose but then when you say "what!?" they say "nothing! whats your deal?" and then you both roll your eyes. Buuuuut we had read about this cool trail that goes right through Uptown Dallas and it did not disappoint! After a 7 mile walk in the cold we were in better moods and ready to explore a little bit. I really wanted to stay inside the city so we could be close to everything but there aren'y many places to camp in downtown Dallas so we ended up in a Walmart - womp womp.... there was a cemetery on one side and a highway on the other so Blake was not thrilled but I loved it! We walked the dogs down into town and the houses and apartment buildings there are adorable. It was the cutest little ritzy neighborhood and I wanted to buy myself a townhouse and move right in! I just love the style of homes in Texas.
The next morning we woke up and did the Katy Trail again before heading into town to do an architecture tour. The Performance Arts buildings there are really neat and a lot of the museums are free. There is this huge park above the highway with statues and giant chess boards. It's a really neat town. Blake liked it was after three days he was ready to get going.
From there we made the 2 hour drive to Waco! The exciting part (Magnolia Market) is going to be its own post but we actually really liked it there! The old town part of town is pretty cute and Baylor is a really beautiful University.
The grounds are so well kept and its a huge campus! Their new football field is their pride and joy and you can tell they spent big money on it. We spent several hours there and then made our way to a little coffee shop for a few hours to get some work done and some charging in. There is a lot of history there and we had a lot of fun walking around.
So! Get excited for Magnolia! Up next....
The next morning we woke up and did the Katy Trail again before heading into town to do an architecture tour. The Performance Arts buildings there are really neat and a lot of the museums are free. There is this huge park above the highway with statues and giant chess boards. It's a really neat town. Blake liked it was after three days he was ready to get going.
From there we made the 2 hour drive to Waco! The exciting part (Magnolia Market) is going to be its own post but we actually really liked it there! The old town part of town is pretty cute and Baylor is a really beautiful University.
The grounds are so well kept and its a huge campus! Their new football field is their pride and joy and you can tell they spent big money on it. We spent several hours there and then made our way to a little coffee shop for a few hours to get some work done and some charging in. There is a lot of history there and we had a lot of fun walking around.
So! Get excited for Magnolia! Up next....
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