I am sooo excited that I get to share this blog post with you because last week I got to visit a place I've been wanting to go to for a long time!!

The day after Christmas, my dad and I woke up before sun-rise and drove all the way from Houston to visit Magnolia Market at the Silos, in Waco, Texas. It's the well-known creation of the also well-known Chip and Joanna Gaines, from HGTV's Fixer Upper and - IT. IS. AWESOME!

We arrived before the doors even opened despite it being about a two hour drive from our house. There were maybe 50 or so people around the Silos, which meant we got some awesome photos of just the property before the crowds started rolling in.

Joanna has "an eye for design," which we all know from watching her and her husband's show on HG, and it comes to life at the Silos. It's amazing to actually step inside her designs here.

The grass is crisp green, the buildings are a soft eggshell white, and each structure has stunning black details to frame and highlight her designs. She has a garden nook with the fairy houses that she talks about planting with her daughters. The Seed and Supply houses fun things to begin your own garden and fairy homes. There are food trucks along the back of the property, so you can try some of Waco's best foods. There is a lawn with open space to play, swings, and a toy box with footballs, soccer balls, and more to play with.

The decor sold inside the Silos is a lot of things you have seen on the show. There are metal signs which have adorable quotes cut into them like, "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be." Her signature Magnolia wreaths are hung all around and much much more!

If you haven't read the Magnolia Story, you need to do that right now! All this is here today because God encouraged Chip and Joanna to follow their dreams and help each other accomplish them.

My dad brought his Hasselblad camera which he used, back in the day, when he was a wedding photographer. Dad showed me how to use a light reader, which something you rarely have to think about with newer cameras.

He asked me to take aa few photos of him and, at first, I didn't even know how to look to see what I was going to be taking a picture of. You have to look down into the camera, not out, like you do with new cameras. After he helped me figure that out, I was all set up and just about to take the picture when I realized I didn't know where the trigger was either! It was so funny to me how helpless I was with this old camera. My Dad had to come help me figure out everything about it!

Dad and I had a complete blast that morning, we even came back later that afternoon just to hang out some more on the green lawn with hundreds of other Fixer Upper lovers! Thank you SO MUCH, Dad, for taking me to Magnolia!

As we say goodbye to twenty sixteen, I can only say how truly blessed I am to have experienced so much in one year! From Canada to Hawaii to Waco, Texas: I've been all over and seen some amazing things.

I am blessed the most with my wonderful family and friends who encourage me in everything I do. I really felt the love this year and I hope I can show you all just how much you mean to me this next year and every year after that!

If you've been stopping by my little space on the web, thank you so much! It means a ton to me to know that you're reading what I've been working hard to produce. I hope to continue to create worth-while things for you to see and read! Please let me know what you'd like to see in the future!

Have a Happy NEW Year!!

Thanks for stopping by!