Just a little weekend trip

It’s no secret ... I love my nearly 100-year-old house. I doubt there is a square corner through the entire structure. And I’m not a fan of the plaster and lath walls. But let’s be honest, once we hit a certain age, we’re all prone to get a crack in our plaster.

But none of that stops me from renovating or decorating the old gal — my house, not myself.

And to anyone that regards themselves a DIYer, the holy grail of all home improvement shows is “Fixer Upper” and yes, we’re avid followers of the Chip and Joanna Gaines program.

So last weekend Avery, Mick and I headed to Waco, Texas to visit Magnolia Market at the Silos — ground zero.

We left home at 6 a.m. Friday and arrived 12.5 hours later south of Fort Worth, where I’d booked a hotel for us about a month ago. Finding lodging much closer was tough that particular weekend, since Baylor University was hosting a home football game.

Saturday morning, we drove the additional hour to Waco and our first glimpse of the Silos could only be compared to Dorothy and her friends laying eyes on the Emerald City. Heck, we were even excited to see the ALICO building seen in every episode of “Fixer Upper.”

Yeah, I know ... we’re dorks.

Avery had done some pre-visit research to make sure we knew all the ins-and-outs of how to best utilize our time there.

We were so giddy with excitement, this was the grown up version of the proverbial kid in a candy store.

As we were nearing Waco, there were signs on the interstate letting us know the exit we needed to take was closed. We were soon to find out it’s because the it was homecoming for the Baylor Bears and the parade was merely two blocks from our destination.

Once we maneuvered our way through the sea of green and gold (Baylor’s colors), we landed right in front of the Silos Baking Co. What made this so fun for us was we had seen the building’s transformation to an adorable European style French bakery.

A few steps away was the Magnolia Market.

Entering the former mill turned merchandise store was exactly what you’d expect. As far as the eye could see were products from the Gaines’ and other craftsmen featured on the program.

I had vowed to Avery I would help curtail her spending, limiting her to a coffee mug, T-shirt and cupcake. That was stupid of me.

It was all I could do to get out of the store myself without calling in the debit card patrol. Even Mick was is full shopping mode.

We did finally make it out the door and on to the courtyard, which was surrounded with an abundance of area for families to relax — bean bags chairs for the younger generation, over-sized porch swings and picnic tables with adorable canopies for those of us who might struggle getting up from bean bag chairs.

Food trucks lined the courtyard, as well as beautiful landscaping and gardens. There was a soft breeze and calming music playing as all of us “Gaines Groupies” enjoyed our Saturday in Waco.

Eventually we did leave the Silos.

We rode a trolley around historic downtown Waco, took a driving tour of some of the homes renovated on “Fixer Upper,” stopped by the original Magnolia Market aptly named “Maggie,” and because we were in Waco, we also made our way out to the site of the Branch Davidian compound. Now THAT was an eerie experience.

Even though we actually only spent 8 hours of our 60 hour weekend shopping and sight-seeing and the remainder of the time sleeping or driving, I think all three of us would agree we’re up for another trip to the Silos!

Contact Dana King at dking@shawmedia.com