My Waco Trip

This post has been in the making for a long time (we visited Waco back at the end of July), but with moving back to Louisiana, taking the MPRE (the ethics section of the bar exam), and starting my third and final year of law school, I haven't exactly made time for playing around on the blog or reminiscing over summer photos. 

We only spent one night in Waco, but we sure packed in lots of fun into our time there! I honestly think a weekend trip is all that's really necessary to see all that Waco has to offer (but be mindful a lot of the town is closed on Sundays). We finished with the Silos in a couple of hours and we really took our time, so I don't know how people spend full days there. 

Our Trip Itinerary

• 7:30am  - Left the Woodlands, TX (The drive once we got off the interstate was so pretty! I didn't know there were rolling hills in Texas. You know, all rolling hills are pretty when you grew up in a place that sits well below sea level). 
• 10:30am - Arrived at Magnolia Table, put our names in for a table
• 12:00pm - Lunch at Magnolia Table, see below for a description of our meal + photos!
• 1:00pm - Drove to the Silos, explored the Magnolia store/grounds
• 4:00pm - Little Shop on Bosque (they close at 5!)
• 5:30pm - Back to the Silos for sweets at Silos Baking Co. + a golden hour photo shoot once the place had mostly cleared out
• 6:00pm - A trip to HEB to pick up picnic supplies

• 11:00am - Checkout of Airbnb
• 11:30am - Lunch at In-N-Out before driving back home

What We Ate

Magnolia Table

The homemade tater tots were delicious! 

Luckily, one of my best friends had visited Magnolia a few weeks prior to our trip, so she gave us tips that I'm now sharing with y'all! Her best advice was to go to Magnolia Table first to put your name in. We got there at 10:30am (obviously pretty early for lunch) but ended up with a fairly short wait time of 90 minutes so we decided to stay put instead of driving over to the Silos. We got lemonades from the outdoor juice bar and waited outside at the tables under umbrellas. The staff was so friendly, walking around with extra umbrellas, menus, and games to play while waiting. We also explored the Takeaway Market where they serve coffee and grab-and-go snacks and sell a handful of souvenirs. By noon when we were walking back toward the restaurant, I heard them turning people away saying there were no more tables left for the day (open for breakfast & lunch, 6am-3pm).

Our order:

• Peach Tea Lemonade and Lemonade (if you get the lemonade, you'll receive a souvenir milk bottle-style glass that you can keep to make the cutest flower arrangements when you get home)
• Appetizer to share: Homemade tater tots -- SO GOOD! 
• Appetizer to share: Biscuits with strawberry butter -- again, very tasty! I wanted to buy the cookbook just for this dish.
• Syd: BLT + housemade kettle-cooked potato chips  
• Jake: Burger + housemade kettle-cooked potato chips
• Total cost (for the sake of transparency): $53.59

While waiting for our texts that the table was ready, we sat outside under the fans drinking lemonade (with free refills!) and explored the Takeaway Market where they had coffee, juice, snacks, and a few souvenirs including the cookbook! 

Inside the Takeaway Market, the coffee bar 

Silos Baking Co.

Photo of Silos Baking Co. taken on our way out of the Magnolia compound after closing

There was more waiting in line at this location, too, but there were cute little Disney-World-style signs at the start of the line saying "20 minutes from this point." Jake and I both agreed they were quaint and kind of funny because waiting in line for twenty minutes for desserts is fairly silly. We discussed the amazing marketing department at Magnolia throughout the day and both agreed that Chip and Joanna's team is pretty incredible for hooking an audience the way they have. The whole place would make for a very interesting field trip for a business class. While in line, we looked at the menu and marked up exactly which sweets we wanted. Of course, my sweet tooth is my favorite tooth, so we ordered practically one of everything (a mild exaggeration). 

• 4 Cupcakes: If you know me at all, you know I had to try all the special cupcake flavors. We got lemon lavender, peach pie, strawberry lemonade, and shiplap (vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream). 
• 2 Cookies: (1 sugar, 1 chocolate chip) The cookies are way underrated in our opinion. Cupcakes were just okay, but the cookies were the best! LOVED the chocolate chip cookie! 
• 2 Bottled Waters (to be refilled at the water stations around the park since it was hot)
• Total cost: $24.36

Fair warning: these cupcakes had a serious amount of frosting, though it was not an issue for my massive sweet tooth. Jake did scrape some of his frosting off. The cupcakes weren't exactly my favorite, though; the cookies were much better!

Where We Stayed 

photo via Airbnb 

We stayed at this tiny house Airbnb, to round out the HGTV-style weekend. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Waco! It was a little ways away (only 15 minutes) from the Magnolia compound, but since we were only there for the night, it was perfect. After our day at the Silos, we were exhausted so we stopped at HEB to pick up all the fixings for a picnic and ate on the rooftop deck. 

It was my first time in a tiny house, and it was such a cool experience. Even though Jake felt a little cramped, I thought it was cozy. Props to any couples who can live together in tiny spaces like that; in a 20' shipping container, it was around 160 square feet. The hosts really had thought of everything and utilized all the space perfectly. I was most worried about the size of the shower and the bed, but the shower didn't feel cramped at all, and the queen-sized Murphy bed was very comfortable. If you're going with a friend instead of a boyfriend, though, I might recommend one of the host's two-bedroom tiny homes to give yourselves some more space to move around. You can see all his listings in the tiny home "trailer park" here. Our one-night stay ended up costing $168.84 after the Airbnb fees and taxes (this is the busy season price). 

If you've never used Airbnb before (this was my first time!), use my link to get $40 off your first booking and I'll get a little cash back, too! 

What We Bought

Inside the warehouse/souvenir section of Magnolia Market

Ah, souvenirs... One of the best parts of any trip. I have to say I was a tiny bit disappointed with the Magnolia Market itself. I expected it to be a little bigger with a wider selection of home/kitchen/garden decor. After seeing the show and knowing that Joanna designs the front section every season, I was surprised by how small it felt. I felt like I was in a really crowded pottery barn in the front section, and the back section was cute but full of only "souvenir" products like hats, shirts, bags, etc. However, that didn't stop me from making a few purchases. The photo above is in the back part of the warehouse. 

Items that made their way home with me:

• Magnolia Seal T-shirt
• Greenhouse scented candle for Jake's mom (these candles smell so good; however, the "summer" scent was not my favorite)
• Magnolia Yeti Mug (Jake bought this because I was trying to pick between the shirt and the mug, but he didn't want me to settle. He tricked me and bought it on the other side of the store while I was waiting in line to buy the t-shirt!)
• Chuck's Gourmet Popcorn A bag of kettle corn to bring back to my mom (I wish I would have tried the Cinnamon Toast flavor!)

I was surprised by the size of Magnolia Market and a tiny bit underwhelmed. I was expecting some sort of farmhouse-Mecca and though it is a large warehouse converted into a store, it didn't exactly feel grand. It's possible that the sheer number of people there affected my impartiality, but I felt like I was in a crowded Pottery Barn with overpriced Target items. A little harsh, but I have to be honest. I think the Magnolia stuff is quaint, yet overpriced. We did go to the Little Shop on Bosque in the afternoon and it was even smaller than I expected (very little room to move around), but the prices were much more reasonable! Make sure you go to Magnolia & the Silos first because they gave me a $10 discount for showing my Magnolia receipt!


While everything in the Magnolia Market was pretty, I did think I expected more from the Gaines family. It was lovely, but not exactly as grand as I expected. 

The attention to detail on the Silos grounds was pretty impressive. There were these umbrellas when you walk in to protect yourself from the sun, strategically placed water stations to keep you hydrated, and fans with misters throughout the park to combat the heat. 

I loved the little garden on the grounds. I can't wait to have a yard of my own and a sweet little garden, too!

A peek inside the greenhouse in the garden on the grounds

The cutest little garden shed outside the Seed and Supply store on the property

Outfit details:

• Dress - Madewell (actually a cover-up/pajama dress but works fine with a nude half slip)
• Shoes - Lucky brand (SO comfortable!)
• Bag - Longchamp
• S-Necklace - From a local boutique, but similar linked
• Sunglasses - My favorite Amazon purchase of the summer!

Jake was definitely the shining star of the trip! He did his best to make sure I had a blast the entire weekend, including encouraging me to buy as many souvenirs and sweets as I wanted, taking approximately 10,000 pictures of me, watching HGTV reruns of Fixer Upper in the tiny house after a full day at the Silos, and overall keeping a great attitude despite the heat and crowds.


Other Waco guides that I used when planning the trip:

• Jessica's (Hello Gorjess) Guide to All Things Magnolia and the Ultimate Waco Experience
• Erin's (Cotton Stem) What to do in Waco, TX (besides the mothership Magnolia)

My best advice based on our experience:

• Go to Magnolia Table first thing to put your name in! (90 minutes was a long wait, any longer and we would have left to go do something off-site instead of waiting there). 
• Try the tater tots! 
• Go during the week if you can to avoid the worst crowds (we didn't!).
• Wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen.
• Go to the Little Shop on Bosque after you do your shopping at Magnolia Market and you may get a discount (ours was $10 off!).
• Be mindful of your surroundings when you're not at the Silos (Waco isn't exactly the nicest town).
• Bring your own water bottles into the Silos with you and refill them at the water stations.
• Don't go to Silos Baking Co. at the end of the day (they were sold out of some items).

Have you been to Waco? Let me know in the comments!

Astros Game Recap

So last weekend, Jake and I finally made it to the Astros game, a day we had been talking about all summer but hadn't quite pulled the trigger on making the plans.

A Much Needed Coffee Break

How on earth has the time flown so quickly?! One of my New Year's Resolutions was to write more, and though I've kept a journal mostly up to date, I thought it would be fun to revive this poor neglected blog. I like the idea of using the blog as a live journal with pictures and stories, so here's another update. I've just poured myself my second cup of coffee of the day and will attempt to fill you in on what's been happening since my last "Life Lately" post (last year!).

Life Lately

Wow! I'm surprised I even remembered how to log in and write a new blog post! It's been quite a while, hasn't it?

Fourth of July + Florida Picture Party

I've been on the go for what seems like all of summer, so I've decided to wait to post recaps of my different trips. I'm planning on going in reverse order starting with this most recent trip: Florida. 

My aunt and uncle live in Melbourne Beach, aka one of the cutest Florida beach towns ever. We go every few years because it's a solid thirteen hour drive from home. (For reference, their house is about an hour or so southeast from Disney World). 

Because this was a family trip, it was pretty chill. We mostly just visited with our family and didn't go on many "adventures" besides to the beach or on the boat. 

We went to the beach almost every day. It's a little different from the beaches here (I don't know if Grand Isle, LA is really the grandest of beaches). 

Currently reading The Cuckoo's Calling. It's a little slow-moving for my taste, but it's okay. 

Under normal circumstances, I would have just stopped reading and switched to another book by now, but anything by J.K. Rowling deserves to be finished. 

(Side note, is anyone else really excited for Harper Lee's new book?)

On the Fourth of July we went out on the boat and set up next to a little island in the river. 

My festive headband is from @OhHeyItsSarahJean on Instagram! She has an Etsy shop! 

Paddle boarding isn't really as hard as I thought it would be, but boy did I feel it in my legs after! They were like jello! I guess it's time to get back to the gym. 

Even mom did a great job on the paddle boards! 

We only stayed out on the boat for a few hours before the rain came. Once we were back on land, mom and I ventured to an adorable little shop called Mica and Molly's. 

It was full of Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, Jack Rogers, KJP, Lauren James, and pretty much every other preppy brand you could imagine! Basically my favorite store ever. 

My souvenirs from this trip included one of these pearl bracelets along with some Lilly wine glasses (because birthday number twenty-one will be here oh so soon). 

I wanted to buy all the Lilly shorts, but settled on trying them on to get my size for the After Party Sale that's coming up! 

Still wishing I could wrap my own Jeep in Lilly prints! (Flashback to the Nantucket Lilly Jeep!) 

Maybe not the most flattering picture, but this was such a great day so I don't really care ;)

This was probably the most relaxing trip I've taken all summer. Lots of sand, sun, and salty sea air! And, perhaps the best part: I finally have a tan! (And I didn't even get a little bit burnt! Winning!)

Here are some of my favorite pieces that my credit card wouldn't let me get at Mica and Molly's 

Coffee Catch-Up Session

Sure, it's almost 10pm, but in my house any time is a good time for a cup of coffee.

So, maybe you're asking yourself, "Where has Sydney been over the last month?" or "Didn't she say she was going to start blogging again?" or "I wonder if she's still writing." 

{I mean, you probably aren't really asking any of those questions. Why would you really care that I've been holed up in my bed catching up on recorded episodes of Dance Moms and the new season of Orange is the New Black for the last three days?}

But just in case you are, pull up a chair, pour yourself your own cup of coffee, and read on, friends. 

June marked the first trip of the summer! 

Please ignore my ghostly legs. I promise it was the filter. I'm mostly Italian with olive skin, I swear. 

Niagara Falls is officially off the bucket list! This trip desperately deserves its own post because it was full of exploring, wine tastings, and lots and lots of walking ("Finishing a half marathon" coincidentally also jumped off the bucket list on this trip). 

#ThrowWhatYouKnow!

My toes matched the flowers! 

I totally plan on writing about the whole trip, but just incase life gets in the way, make sure you visit the little town of Niagara-on-the-Lake when you visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Too quaint. So many flowers, bakeries, and ice cream shops. My favorite kind of town. 

The next adventure was Blessings on the Bayou, which has been one of my summer highlights for the last five years. It's so funny how even though we only see each other a few times a year, everyone picks up right where we left off. 

These are the amazing mentors of 2015. They are all such beautiful people. 

And that leads me to the latest trip: Washington, DC!

DC is seriously one of my favorite places. This was my fourth trip there, but my first time in the summer. It was quite a change seeing the city with sweat dripping down my neck instead of through frozen eyelashes.

My aunt spent the trip meeting with legislators at the capitol, so I got to "babysit" my little cousin and explore the great museums. 

My favorite day was spent in Georgetown (shopping, eating, etc.). More on that adventure along with my tour of Georgetown Law, aka the new dream school, when I do a more thorough DC post. 

Gotta love that #navyornothing action happening in Vineyard Vines. 

Because every day should feel this good. 

Now I know I always say I'm going to write and update y'all, but this time I really mean it (mostly because the next few posts describing the trips in greater detail are already written). Since I've been back, I've caught up with friends, read a new book, and actually caught up a little for my summer class #winning! 

If you haven't read Paper Towns yet, run to your local library!


I hope you all enjoyed our coffee date as much as I did! Keep checking up on the blog, new posts are coming soon, pinky swear! 

A Very Nola Day

Hey, howdy, hello! Welcome back to my abandoned blog. I've missed you, too!

I haven't been up to a whole lot besides reading books and watching movies. Gotta love summer.

However, last Saturday my mom and I drove into the city to spend a little quality time together. What we forgot was that Memorial Day weekend brings A LOT of people to the cool places. 

After driving around the French Quarter for almost 45 minutes, we were able to find a parking spot and we were hangry (you know, so hungry that you get angry and not much fun). We ran to the first restaurant we saw and split a shrimp po-boy -- I know, how very cajun of us? 

I'd give Mulate's a 7/10 for food and a 9.5/10 for atmosphere. I loved their sweet tea and all the Blue Dog paintings they had on the walls! The french bread was a little too crunchy for my taste. 

After eating and drinking enough sweet tea to revive our spirits, we walked into the French Quarter, where we spent most of our time strolling around Jackson Square picking out our favorite pieces of art. 

Mom and I are suckers for art, so when we saw a man doing portraits, we were like "ooh, that's pretty cool!" Naturally, we decided it was worth the time to sit and have my picture drawn. 

Please excuse the odd soft-smile happening here. 

One thing that we couldn't miss was Cafe Du Monde! Beignets and iced cafe au lait were worth waiting in the line (for over 45 minutes *monkey-covering-his-eyes-emoji*). But my mom, never a fan of lines, was hangry again by the time we made it to the front. 

Take note if you're going to play tourist: Waiting in the to-go line is not a smarter move than the actual line. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten a table sooner than we made it to the counter. 

But the sweet coffee milk and sugary french doughnuts were worth it. (Isn't the sugar always worth it?)

{Outfit details}

Seersucker Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Jack Rogers

Monogram Necklace: Lee Michaels 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban (mine are old, these are similar)

Purse: Antonio Melani, old (this & this are similar)

A Beginner's Guide to Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras... Fat Tuesday... Carnival... If you aren't from Louisiana, these terms might not be familiar to you. Growing up here on the bayou, this holiday is practically as big as Christmas. If you aren't from the South, I can understand how this might seem like a goofy holiday, but it's a season full of traditions, sparkles, and fun.

So let me try to break it down...

The season kicks off with 12th Night, which falls twelve days after Christmas (shocking, right?). The Epiphany is the day when the Wise Men made it to baby Jesus, and was always a big celebration with so many Catholics in the region. From the Epiphany until Ash Wednesday, everyone celebrates and feasts (since Lent is supposed to be a time of fasting). 

There are lots of parties leading up to the big day, and parades fill almost every weekend up until the big day, so that's why I say Mardi Gras is a season.

My dad and I share the same opinion on parades ("throw me something, mister" or "so done" ?). 

There are parades all over the state, in big towns like Baton Rouge and New Orleans and small towns like Thibodaux and Labadieville. Being a quiet shy child, parades were never my favorite (what part of waving and yelling and occasionally getting smacked in the face with beads is fun?), but now that I'm older, I can understand how the drive-thru daquari shops and open container drinking laws might have some appeal. 

But before the parades, there's the most sparkly part: the Mardi Gras balls! Almost all the krewes will pick a royal court and keep them secret until they are presented at the ball! 

My little was the queen of a krewe in Slidell last year! I'm so excited to see her crown the new queen at this year's ball. 

I was almost a maid senior year for the Krewe of Christopher here in Thibodaux, but decided that all that money (thousands of dollars, yikes!), would be better spent on something else. Do I regret turning them down? Not very much anymore. 

This is my roommate when she was a maid for Terreanians. Maids get to wear beautiful sparkly dresses and insane headpieces. 

My favorite part of the season? Hands down, the king cake. Second favorite part? The three days off of school! 

I'm already looking forward to the break and we still have a week left of our winter break! 

Mardi Gras is definitely a celebration in this town. Will you be celebrating this year? 

Massachusetts Photo Recap!

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that had an amazing Memorial Day weekend in Cape Cod and on Nantucket Island! We lucked out and avoided some dreary weather (but did get hit with a surprise cool-front!). 

I'll admit, I was a little sad about being back in Louisiana, but I'm working on being thankful and appreciative and that goes for my little hometown, too. Thibodaux can be beautiful… 

But Massachusetts was absolutely gorgeous! These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip :)

Nautical outfits with Mom at the Hingham Shipyard Marina. We stopped near Quincy to eat lunch at Walburgers. Apparently, there's a reality TV show that her friend watched and since it was on the way to the cape, we had to stop for lunch. The food didn't disappoint. 

Next stop, Cape Cod. We hit some serious traffic, but finally made it to our hotel. We stayed at The Hyannis Resort and Conference Center. It was really nice, and only a quick car ride away from the beach! 

This is at Kalmus Park beach; it's got a lovely view of the harbor. Since it was late in the afternoon and still early in the season, it was completely deserted. 

So much fun! 

#LoveMyJacks

It was Figawi Race Weekend, so we saw all the sailboats on the ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket! 

If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, "Where the Figawi?", I'd be able to take another trip to Nantucket next weekend! 

The whole island is absolutely delightful. 

The Lilly Jeep! If only my dad would let me wrap my jeep like this...

We attended mass at St. Mary's (Our Lady of the Isle). It was beautiful. 

Check out the serious cobble stone street. And I thought New Orleans was hard to walk through...

Mom snapped this as we were heading back to the ferry. Wishing we could have had another day on the island! 

I cannot wait to go back because this trip seemed to fly by.

I'll definitely experience another Figawi weekend again, hopefully with friends after we turn twenty-one so we can fully appreciate the experience: Mimosas on the ferry (the girls seated next to me seemed to be having a ball), Dark & Stormies, and all the fun at Cisco Brewery ;)  

To see a few more pictures from my trip, check out my Instagram!