Hello, Texas & a “Silobration”

This last weekend. Friends, I’m so excited to share this with you. I might share a lot of details that you don’t care about. That’s ok. Enjoy the pics. But if you’ve got a few minutes to spend with me, I can’t wait to tell you all that you’d ever want to know about our Texas adventure…and living the dream of a visit to Magnolia Market.

Can you SEE the excitement on my face? Couldn’t believe we were at the airport, ready to go. A few months ago, I got the email about the Magnolia Market grand opening and the limited tickets that would be available. I called my hubby that rainy morning, from the side of the road. “Babe! What do you think? Wouldn’t that be the MOST fun??” He gave me the green light to buy tickets….and then, NO. Sold out. I. Was. So. Bummed. I told myself we’d go some other time. That night after dinner, my husband and I went out to the garage to play ping pong. Don’t judge. It’s a great stress reliever. Just as we were setting up to play, he asked me to look at a weird e-mail he got on his phone. Ummmm, it was the confirmation for the tickets HE BOUGHT for us to go to the second night that was added to the Magnolia Market grand opening. HUSBAND. OF. THE YEAR.

Sooo, back to Texas. Thursday night when we arrived we hit “Uncle Julio’s” for dinner. Couldn’t get enough of these light fixtures. Or the guacamole.

Friday morning, there was a HUGE storm coming through. Rain that was more like someone spraying us down with a fire hose. But not as subtle. As Oregonians, we pride ourselves on being accustomed to rain. No big deal, right? Texas rain = not like Oregon rain. Nevertheless, we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out to a day of working with 3 awesome clients all across the Dallas area. These people. Wow. A huge thank you to these 3 clients for welcoming us into their homes and allowing me to style up some fun areas, borrow their ladders, take items from all over their homes, and walk on counter tops in my stocking feet. Don’t worry, I’m a professional. 😉

Stop #1. This sweet girl was headed to Magnolia Market on Friday night, so we hit her house first. Tackled the tops of the kitchen cabinets. So much fun and she had awesome stuff to work with.

It’s pretty much impossible to photograph cabinet tops and really capture the look with my iPhone. But my camera crew was busy. 😉

Stop #2. This fun client had the most amazing collection of antique books. EVER. If you know me at all, you know that’s my FAVORITE thing to style built-ins with…favorite. I took tons of gorgeous old books off of the shelves, and reworked each one to incorporate some of her beautiful accessories as well, and to break up the heavy look of the books. I was in styling heaven.

It was fun to incorporate items from their travels and cherished family pieces.

After that, we took a quick break and had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful and talented Caroline of Vine + Branches (do you follow her on Instagram @vineandbranchestx?). Caroline has been an “Instagram friend” for awhile, and it was a complete joy to meet her. She is just as sweet and wonderful in person, and then some. I love it when “Instagram friends” become your “real life” friends. Caroline, I will TREASURE this beautiful “gather” sign!!

Stop #3. This sweet client has been an e-design client for a couple months, as she’s been working on a renovation in her home. It was so much fun to meet her after many emails, FaceTimes, and phone calls. The goal here was to style some gorgeous new built-ins that were just installed. Unfortunately the painter hadn’t made it out yet, so we decided I would style them up, the client took pictures, and she will recreate the look after they’re painted a beautiful, clean white! I can’t WAIT to see the finished product!

New stone will be added to the fireplace, the mantel will be stained dark, and the shiplap and built-ins will be painted a fresh white. This room will be stunning! What a fun way to wrap up our whirlwind day of styling all across Dallas.

As we drove back to the hotel, my heart was full. The unique opportunity to travel and do what I love is just sheer, absolute joy. Meeting people, hearing about their lives, being welcomed into their homes, what a privilege! I’m already dreaming about what location we might hit next.

Ok. Here we go. Are you ready? Buckle up. Saturday arrived, we packed up for Waco and headed out. I was almost sick, I was so excited.

Ohhhhhh myyyyyy goodness. As we walked up to the silos, it was almost like my eyes couldn’t even take it all in.

Oh hello, Magnolia Market. Wait, WHAT??? Someone pinch me. PINCH. ME.

I quickly took a pic of our feet by the “welcome” sign on the floor…but let’s be honest. It’s pretty hard to look down when you’re standing in the doorway of Magnolia Market. Wow. It’s everything you think it will be, and more. The displays. The farmhouse treasures. The lighting. The high ceilings. The gorgeous floors. Did I mention the displays? Rustic, chippy, industrial, straight-out-of-the-barn, in a great way. It was pretty packed with lots of eager shoppers, so great pictures weren’t really possible, but I’ll show you what I managed to snap! And if you were there, I’m sorry if I captured your back-side on film. 😉

This is just inside the door. I mean, can you even deal with this genius wall?

Everything in this pic. Yes. Just yes.

Gorgeousness overload. And Chip’s Corner…so cute. I noticed a lot of men hanging around over there. 🙂

Now that I’m looking at these pics, I’m noticing things I didn’t even SEE when we were there! And that clock? Yes, please!

Once we finished our first round of shopping, it was time to find the end of the line. Uhhh, where might that be? Whoa! The line was long, but you know what? It didn’t even matter. Everyone was so nice, it was fun just standing in line chatting.

We ran into our friends Jolia (@farmfreshhomestead on Instagram), Jamie, and Jessie just outside…we were all excited and talking about our finds, and where to go next!

Ryan and I decided to take one of Jo Jo’s recommendations for lunch…Cafe Homestead. Probably the BEST cheeseburger I’ve ever had in my life. I wish I had a pic, but apparently I inhaled it before that was possible.

Next up was Harp Design Co., as seen on Fixer Upper. Clint makes all of those gorgeous farmhouse tables, etc…amazing!

We hit a few more cute shops on LaSalle St., including Junque in the Trunk, and I was wishing I had more than one suitcase. 🙂 After that I was ready to put my feet up for a bit before the “Silobration” at Magnolia in a couple hours. We checked into our hotel, and I tried to sleep off that cheeseburger. 😉

The rain finally gave way to a beautiful evening. We arrived at the grand opening #silobration around 6:30pm. We joined other anxious attendees in line, and let me tell ya, the air was electric. So much excitement. I love how people traveled from all over to come celebrate this big moment with Chip and Joanna Gaines. They are so warm, so relatable…I think we’re all so happy for their success because we just LIKE them! They’re great people, doing beautiful work, raising an awesome family. All of it. Just love it.

We found a good spot to stand and wait for “Johnnyswim” to come out and perform. It was an absolutely perfect night at the silos. No rain, not too hot, not too cold…and there was just a fun sense of anticipation in the air.

What a great concert. Johnnyswim was amazing. It’s an absolute thrill to watch people do what they love. It became a whole night of that…Johnnyswim, singing their hearts out and telling their story through music, and then…well, I’m sure you can imagine that Chip Gaines would not come to the stage in an ordinary fashion…

Ya, see that middle pic? That’s Chip, getting ready to rappel down the side of the silo. Of course. So Chip. 😉

Hearing from Chip and Joanna was the BEST. You know how they make you feel like you know them, just by watching them on TV? So personable, so down-to-earth…it was just awesome. It was like we were over at their house for dinner, sharing stories around the table. A perfect way to cap off the #silobration.

And I can’t wait to go back.