GRAND OPENING AT MAGNOLIA MARKET SILOS

Raise your hand if you're a Fixer Upper junkie!! We at Love & Lion are total fangirls. We marathon the HGTV show and make our husbands watch too! Actually, it only took one episode to get them addicted. Chip and Jo are just SO SO GOOD. And such great people too!

I (Leah) was fortunate enough to attend their grand opening of Magnolia Market at the Silos this past weekend! My best friend from college got us tickets to go as a girls trip! Sometimes you just need those weekends away from our 5 combined children to actually get a whole conversation in, ya know? We met in Dallas on our layover, got on the plane for Waco and... it was cancelled. Torrential rain and strong winds meant that everyone was stranded! There were no rental cars left, so we had to cab it to a neighboring airport, rent a car, and drive in rush hour traffic to make it on time... well actually we got there after the party had already started! We were laughing the whole time about what a hot mess we were in- thankful to go through that with my bestie! We were Thelma and Louise!

In probably the biggest news in our little Etsy shop, we were honored to have our tattoos at the Silobration event! One of our sweet customers, Brittany Baker, hooked it all up --thank you!!-- We would like to say that we didn't jump up and down and call each other freaking out.... but we did.

Here are a few photos of my quick 24 hour trip! Not too many pictures of me, because after traveling all day in the pouring rain, I literally looked like I melted. Scary.

The silos were situated next to the shop and in between the two was a large space of turf and plenty of picnic tables. There's a large barn-like space to the left and a small building to the right of the silos... the sign said "Something sweet coming in 2016", so my only guess is a bakery? If that's the case, I could probably just live in this combined space and never leave.

Right at the front door was a "welcome" sign perfect for all of us instagramers! You can see everyone's pics at #magnoliawelcome. DYING to do this to my own floor at home!!

The shop is STUNNING, people! Everywhere you look, there's a well curated table of goodies you suddenly must have for your home! Gorgeous, thoughtful displays and beautiful fixtures in every corner of the shop.

One of the most impressive things about the shop was the PEOPLE! Every person was just so friendly and happy to help! I could not get over it! And I live in the south. It was like some wonderfully happy cult that I wanted to join. Magnolia Market knows how to do it right. Joanna's mom actually checked me out at the register. Love that it was a family affair!

Here are our tattoos! Eek! They set up a tattoo bar and had employees help everyone get tatted up!

When we sent the tattoos, we also sent these face tats of Chip and Jo... hope they didn't get too creeped out LOL!

On to the party! 

Johnnyswim (whom we are both HUGE fans of) performed and blew everyone's minds. They're also suuuuper gorgeous. And talented. And nice! What a combo. Then Joanna gave a beautiful speech and said Chip had hurt his back so he wasn't able to come. Psych! He repelled down from the silo, naturally. Chip and Jo were so sweet, humble, grateful, and funny together on stage. They sang a song (hilariously off key) with Johnnyswim and even brought Jimmy Don and Clint Harp on stage thanking them for their work on the show! I could not wipe the smile off my face. It's incredible to see such successful people be so down-to-earth and thankful of where they are in life.

My bestie, Meredith, and me trying not to look like we traveled for 9 hours in the pouring rain.

The next morning before our drive back to Dallas, we woke up early and hit Common Grounds coffee. The owners were on the show and it was one of our favorite home transformations! Common Grounds is cute as can be. It was eclectic, cozy, and even had a huge outdoor space in the back for concerts and parties! The coffee was out-of-control good. I got the "no bull" which had their chocolatey secret sauce. Again, if there was a cult, I would join.

Obsessed with this sign attached to Common Grounds! Verdict: YES. 

Waco, you are positively charming! Can't wait to visit again and see the rest of the sites!

-L