I’m hesitant to write this Texas travel guide because I’m not a travel blogger and don’t intend to be. However, since you landed on this blog and most of my content revolves around home-y things like decor, renovations, gardening, etc. you might be interested in planning a trip to see the famous Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas created by Chip and Joanna Gaines. In this post I am sharing every detail of our trip to Dallas Fort Worth and Waco Texas along with my reviews, suggestions, and things I would do differently next time. I hope this Texas travel guide helps you plan your trip!
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Before we booked our trip I intensely researched every Texas travel guide vlog/ blog to DFW and Waco because planning trips is honestly so overwhelming to me, and I wanted to make sure we had a loose plan of what to do when we got there. We spent a total of 3 days (well, technically 4 because we missed our flight home) in Texas and I think a long weekend is perfect for a trip to Magnolia Market/ Texas. Here is everything we did from start to finish:
Saturday
- Direct flight to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (arrived around 10am)
- Picked up our rental car – we used the Turo app and we had an awesome experience! Turo is a car sharing marketplace (think of it like AirBnb for cars). Kevin picked out a BMW and it was about the same price, if not cheaper, than renting a basic car from a commercial rental company.
- Drove to Sundance Square in Fort Worth. We ate lunch at the Flying Saucer on their shaded outdoor patio. The food was really good and the ambiance was cool. We walked around and saw tons of stores but we actually didn’t do any shopping.
- Drove to the Fort Worth Water Gardens. This was a really fun experience and something I’m really glad we took the time to see! We walked down in the fountain and took a picture then sat at the top to watch for a few minutes. The sound is so relaxing! After we left I realized that there were more fountains to see but I’m not sure where they were.
- Checked into our hotel at the Hilton Double Tree – Market Center in Dallas, TX and went to the pool. So many weird things happened when we were staying here so I would not recommend it, but the room was decent.
- Got ready and went to dinner – we wanted to eat at a restaurant called The Rustic but it was going to be a long wait and I was worried we wouldn’t have time to go explore some other areas in Dallas, so we headed over to the Bishop Arts District instead. This is a really cool place to check out but if you’re planning on eating dinner there, definitely make a reservation! We ended up eating at The Last Stand which is a walk-up taco and burger hut with outdoor seating. I wish we would have had a reservation to eat at Paradiso because the menu looked delicious and it was absolutely gorgeous inside! They have a whimsical garden area that would be so dreamy at night. The Urban Owl was a really cute Anthro inspired gift shop that we walked through and we ate ice cream at Azucar.
- I really wanted to walk around the Kyle Warren Park too but we ran out of time. I read that they have food trucks there everyday so you could plan to grab lunch (or dinner on the weekends) there too!
I wore my Rothy’s sneakers the entire trip and I was so impressed! There is no break in period and I didn’t get any blisters. My favorite part is that they are washable so you don’t have to worry about getting them dirty. They are seriously my most comfortable shoes! Use this link for $20 off!
Sunday
- FYI Magnolia Market is closed on Sunday so make sure to account for that when planning your trip!
- We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards on this day and I’m glad that we did! I feel like this is something you should experience when visiting Texas. I would make sure to get there 20-30 minutes before the cattle drive to park and find a spot to stand. The actual cattle drive only takes about 5 minutes but it’s fun to walk around the area.
- We tried to eat lunch at Joe T Garcias which is highly recommended and very close to the Stockyards but the line was wrapped around the building and we decided not to wait since it was so hot outside. We drove to Torchy’s Tacos for lunch instead and the food was really good. I would describe the atmosphere as an elevated fast food restaurant.
- After we ate lunch we drove to Waco, which was about an hour and 45 minute drive.
- When we arrived in Waco we drove to the Heritage Creamery Ice Cream shop, which is right next to the Common Grounds coffee shop on Baylor’s campus. Kevin got a cookie skillet with ice cream on top and I got a waffle cone with the Common Grounds coffee flavored ice cream. It was good but I probably wouldn’t get that flavor again.
- Next we went and checked into our hotel. We stayed at Home2Suites by Hilton and it felt clean, we liked the pool area, and the employees were nice.
- We went to 900 Degrees Pizzaria for dinner and the pizza was good but I would just get it from the food truck at the Silos because the actual restaurant isn’t very exciting.
- Next we went on a driving tour to look at some of the houses that Chip and Jo renovated on Fixer Upper. Here are the addresses of the houses we drove by:
- 822 N 15th St, Waco, TX 76707 (Harp House)
- 3601 Hillcrest Dr, Waco, TX 76708 (Hillcrest Estate)
- 2517 Wooded Acres Drive, Waco, Tx (Mid-Century Modern Home)
- 5517 Lake Highlands Drive, Waco, Tx (German Schmear House)
- 625 S 7th Street, Waco, Tx (Shotgun House)
- We accidentally landed upon the Magnolia Silos during our driving tour which was so exciting! Since it was closed, it was really quiet around the area and we were able to slowly drive by to see everything and plan out where to park the next day.
- By this time it started getting dark and we didn’t think it was worth driving to see anymore houses. We stopped at Tiff’s Treats and got cookies before heading back to our hotel for the night.
Monday – Magnolia Day!
- First, we put our name in at Magnolia Table and kicked off the day seeing Joanna’s mom!! I wish I would have asked her for a photo but I was too nervous. She ended up sitting with a group of women and taking pictures with them so if you happen to see her there, she seems really nice and open to taking pictures with fans. It was a short wait and the food was incredible! I got a flight of four different fresh made juices of your choice to drink. We got the biscuits and strawberry butter as an appetizer which were so delicious! The recipe is in the Magnolia Table cookbook so I’m definitely going to make them at home now that I’ve tried them. Kevin got the french toast and I got the lemon blueberry pancakes. The meals are HUGE so you could definitely share them.
- Next, we drove to the little shop on Bosque which was Jo’s first store that she talks about in her book. The employee at the hotel suggested going there first because they have discounted t-shirts, slightly damaged items, and discontinued pieces on major sale.
- When we got the Silos we parked in the free lot across from the Dr. Pepper museum.
- We entered the market by the little shops. There are six boutique-style shops curated by Joanna Gaines with different themes. My favorites were Vie Bein Aimee (bath and body), Tried and True (leather bags and jewelry), and No. 16 (Chip’s store). They also have a children’s clothing store, women’s clothing store, and books and paper store.
- The Magnolia Home store is insanely gorgeous and smells absolutely amazing! This was my husband’s favorite store because he could sit on the comfortable furniture and cool down in the AC while I looked around at all of the beautiful decor.
- I was really excited to see the old church after watching the episode where they transported it on their show on Discovery+. It is gorgeous inside and a nice area to sit and cool down after being out in the hot sun.
- If we wouldn’t have eaten so much at breakfast we probably would have gotten lunch at the food trucks because everything looked so good! They have tons of shaded seating and tables, as well as a grass area for picnics or kids to play. We did grab a soft pretzel from the concession stand by the wiffle ball field which was pretty good! I also got a sweet tea from the Alabama Sweet Tea food truck. The tea was good but the glass jar it comes in reason enough to buy one.
- The garden and seed and supply store was my favorite part of the entire market! I just loved how calm it felt in that area and I bought a cute little garden sign from the store.
- Next, we walked through the Magnolia Market which is filled with kitchen decor, pillows, artificial flowers, vases, etc. Everything was beautiful and if I didn’t have to pack everything in my carry-on I probably would have done more shopping in here. You can have them ship everything to your house for free, but I figured I would just find the items I liked online.
- The grain barn is attached to the market and in there you will find souvenirs such as t-shirts, key chains, pins, mugs, etc. They also sell large signs in there as well.
- Next, we stood in line to grab cupcakes from the Silos Baking Co and we got the lemon lavender and shiplap flavors to go. We took them back to our hotel and ate them for dessert after dinner.
- Our last stop at the market was the Magnolia Press coffee shop and I got the Frozen 1905 which was a secret item I found on their Instagram. I wish I knew what was in it so I could try to recreate it at home because it was one of the best coffee drinks I’ve ever tasted!
- We spent about 3.5 hours at the market and we probably would have stayed a bit longer if it wasn’t so hot. After we left we hung out at our hotel pool and went to dinner at George’s. FYI it seems like a lot of restaurants are closed on Mondays in Waco.
Shop my outfit here
Tuesday
We thought about going to breakfast at Cafe Cappuccino but we ended up just sleeping in and driving to the airport. Sadly, we missed our flight and sat at the airport all day trying to get on a new one, so we totally could have spent another day at Magnolia Market!
If I were to plan this trip again I probably would only spend the night in Waco before visiting Magnolia. Since the market closes at 6 I would just drive to your next destination after leaving. I hope this Texas travel guide was helpful if you’re planning a trip to visit DFW and Waco. You will have so much fun at the Magnolia Market!
Thanks for reading!
Xo, Ciara
