My Magnolia Story. A visit to Waco, TX the home of Fixer Upper.

Over the past 2 weeks my family traveled across the country to visit the national parks of New Mexico including Carlsbad Caverns, and White Sands National Monument. On the way home we drove through Texas and since the drive to Waco was only 15 minutes longer than to Dallas why not stop at Magnolia? Never mind the 90 minutes we added to the next day.

The stop at Magnolia Table and Magnolia Market actually allowed us to bring home a lot more than much of the trip provided. Maybe it was because it was our last stop, maybe because we literally listened to Chip or Jo all the way home via two audio books, maybe it was because other people could relate to our experience so far from home via TV more so than the national parks. Either way I wanted to share what I learned in Waco.

In my experience as a customer at Magnolia Table, Silos Baking Co., and Magnolia Market, the businesses are all managed very well for a true customer experience. Parking was free, and transportation from the lots was free too, unless you tried to park at one of the churches a block away, they were charging $10.  We parked close enough to walk but when it's 90+ degrees getting to the bakery via the free transportation is nice so you can spend your money there at the venue. 

Upon arriving at the bakery, although a long line there were tents to stand under and that was nice but a fan would have been extra nice, be prepared to be very warm in mid-Texas during the summer months.  We were just stopping in Waco it wasn't a destination per se so it would have been easy to skip some experiences upon seeing the lines but in actuality it was worth the 20-minute wait. 

You were given a card so you could prepare your order. You pay for your baked goods and your card is passed down the line for packing. The cashier chatted with us even though the line was long - it was quick but not rushed. She asked where we were from and was super kind while she wrapped our mugs. We received cute boxes for our cupcakes and you can eat on the patio like you see on the show. 

There are even photo ops. 

Around the market are food trucks, a space to hang out, play, sit, and clean restrooms. There is attention to detail and cute customer experiences including umbrellas to borrow for free for the sun or rain that you can return upon leaving. 

I would say the Magnolia shop was still difficult to navigate in some places with all the people even with the crowd control but very Disneyesque. If you've ever been to Disney World it is obvious they are trained to provide you, the guest, a positive experience and management has done a very good job of impressing that mood at Magnolia. Employees are kind and helpful. Chip and Jo provide a personal experience down to the card they include at checkout. 

We stayed at the Comfort Suites across the street from Magnolia Table and that was totally on accident but you can see a glimpse of our hotel in the episode. At Magnolia Table there was a similar experience at the coffee stand in the waiting area. I was asked where I was from, with an actual conversation to follow, and in the take away we held a conversation with the greeter. 

Everything was so cute down to the bottle of water. The restaurant had a really smart check in process and the area as seen on TV was really pleasant to wait in down to the area for kiddos to play. I caught a glimpse of a little girl and her dad playing with the block tower. There are even water stations and that's just one more attention to detail that left me impressed.

Although I spent more on my Take Away lunch than I would have at other places, the pimento cheese spread was awesome, and the idea that they didn't charge you for that water on the patio, or the parking, or the experience made it OK.  

I was really impressed with the experience and the details included in this short stop - I left really inspired. My husband and I (the kids had headphones for their own entertainment) listened to The Magnolia Story via our local library audio book and Capital Gaines via Audible on the ride home. I learned about how much I had in common with Jo like for instance, I too created carnivals for my sister's friends in my yard, had an invisible friend, and spent more time playing alone than seeking friends. While my husband laughed at the risky behaviors he could relate to with Chip. 

I think most of all after visiting Waco and listening to the books we left with an appreciation of positivism, looking at others' differences as gifts, and an extended appreciation for loyalty and hard work. 

My Magnolia Story.

Working Mom - Tips for Balancing Home/Work Life

I was talking with a friend today who said, "I'm not a good mom." 😭

Now come on, we've all seen those commercials with the parent on a couch sleeping and they say "you don't have to be perfect to be the perfect parent" see some of this series below.

How many of us are really satisfied with this though?  The idea of not being the perfect parent does not seem illusive because Jenny's mom makes scrapbooks, Olivia's mom decorates cakes, and Anessa's mom bakes every meal from scratch. Tyler's mom packs his lunch and Evan's mom checks all his homework EVERY night and he's 16.  I'm sitting over here like I put food in the fridge, and sorted it into food groups certainly you can pack your own lunch. And oh, you don't have homework tonight? OK clean out the cat litter, empty the dishwasher, and help fold towels. Maybe I'm a bad mom.  I don't have pictures of crazy hair day, I haven't packed a lunch since my kid was 9, is icing and sprinkles enough decoration for your cake?  I made dinner tonight, I put chicken wings in the oven, threw some baby carrots on the plate, and set out the apple sauce and cottage cheese. I'm sure you got enough carbs between your frozen waffles for breakfast and the Ritz crackers you packed in that lunch. 

How do we determine our parenting is good parenting?  What can we do to create balance?

The thing is, my first born was in daycare from 3 mos. - 5 years old. I either went to school or worked full-time. I would pickup my daughter every day around 5 - 5:30.  I would come home, make her something to eat, play, give her a bath, read a story, and put her to bed.  By 9:30 PM I could manage to wash some dishes, throw in a load of laundry, watch a TV show and sneak into bed around 11, 11:30, maybe midnight just to start the day again at 5:30 AM.  I was an awful mom.  That's what I thought.  I never had any time.  I've written about this in the past, about my full plate. The summer before she started Kindergarten I was laid off from my job.  Finally some time to spend at home with her, time to be a better mom. The summer, was well, summer.  Once she started 1/2 day Kindergarten I was able to make her lunch, and wash more dishes before 9:30 PM. ???  Play with her in the afternoon so that we were both bored with each other and watch more TV in the evening?  

Yep.  Sounds like my moming improved. 

I could go on and on and cycle through the series of events that I went through with the next child but the truth is, I always thought someone else was a better mom but KNEW I was a WAY better mom than THAT mom. Whether it was the days I was staying at home or the days I was going to work and even the days I was working from home I found that balance was the key to keeping it all together. 

1) Make mornings easier.  Pack lunches, lay out clothes, pack back packs, diaper bags, and sign papers the night before. When the kids are not old enough to do the packing themselves feel comfortable splitting these tasks between parents. 

2) Keep a calendar.  Look at the calendar the night before but also a few days out and make a list of have tos.  Do you need to stop at the store for something, is there practice, do you need to leave work early? Once again, allow yourself to split chores between parents and realize that the split may not be 50/50 depending on the flexibility of work schedules. 

3) Get a routine.  Don't be so stuck to a routine that you cannot be flexible but have a general dinner time, homework time, bath time, bed time.  Have a night time ritual.  Mom reads a story on the couch and dad tucks kiddos in.  

4) Meal plan/prep.  Just as important to plan ahead for mornings, plan ahead for the evening. Pre-planning or prepping meals tailored to that calendar will save so many headaches. On Sundays I used to (still should) prepare at least 2 meals for the week whether that was cutting vegetables or pre-cooking some chicken to later be used in a salad or chili.  Don't fool yourself into thinking going out to eat or running through the drive thru is faster. Ordering and waiting on food is not faster.  A drive thru just means you all will be spending more time on the toilet. Looking at the plans for the week is important when planning meals. If Tuesday is Scouts, then Tuesday may be club sandwiches or a pizza night. And that's fine!

5) Limit distractions. Put down the phone and turn off the TV.  OK, this has gone in waves in our house and you have to have all the adults on board and there are always distractions, but limit them.

6) Plan a family activity.  We used to pick one day a week to play a game after dinner. Everyone was tethered to the table playing Clue, Boggle, Cranium Cadoo, etc. Then on the weekend go outside and play ball or walk to the park. It doesn't have to be as regular as the routine bedtime story but choose a day and do it. 

7) Spend time with your spouse.  In that routine carve out time for your spouse.  If you spend time together then the guilt of splitting tasks, even when they're uneven is OK because you are connecting as partners. 

8) Drop the guilt.  Your job may be allowing for a class your kiddo wants to do, may be paying off the student loans you racked up to do that job before you had kids. After you drop the guilt give yourself some time. Spend a few days a week working out.  You don't have to go to the gym, you can workout at home.  But do go out--Get dinner with a friend, get your hair cut, or visit someone you don't see often.

9) Volunteer occasionally. By volunteering you will feel good about contributing to your child's ball team or school but by doing it occasionally you won't be overwhelmed by jobs on top of your job AND put the volunteer work on the calendar. Be OK with the volunteering to be volunteering to make cookies for the bake sale. 

10) Drop the extra jobs. Leave the mowing the lawn jobs for the 14 year old looking to make cash.  I know you have been mowing  Mo's lawn since high school and she thinks you're still a youngster but you don't need that job any more.  Visit Mo with your kiddo and don't give yourself another task. 

Keep busy and make the most of your time while finding time to relax.  This mom sums up the day in 3 minutes and it's the truth.  You cannot expect to be perfect when there is so much to remember but you don't have to be perfect to be the perfect parent. 

Smoky Mountain Vacation

Below I’m going to share our week in the Smoky Mountains via Pigeon Forge, TN.  The pros, cons and gimmicks we participated and what I would do again. 

Activities

Something to note is there are several activities that are the same but different.  In different places or with different owners.  First, I would note that we stayed in Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountain Vacation could mean anything from Sevierville – Cherokee.   I would suggest a longer vacation than 3 nights if you want to see the mountains, Pigeon Forge AND Gatlinburg. Our activities probably could have been configured differently if we wanted to make the most of each daily experience.  I probably would have planned to eat in Gatlinburg for example, on the day we went to the aquarium or visited a coaster in Gatlinburg but we just did activities. 

The mountain coaster was recommended for us.  We didn’t know which one so we picked one.  Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster cost $13 per person with a coupon.  Coupons can be found just about anywhere.  If you purchase your tickets from the Blue-Green vacations tax is factored in so there is not additional tax so that’s nice.  Our group was ages 13 – 39 and we all enjoyed the coaster. This activity was in Pigeon Forge.

Ripley’s Aquarium – was a nice indoor activity.  We took our time and was in the aquarium for about 2.5 – 3 hours. There were a lot of unique aquatic life but I’m not sure it fits with the Ripley name so much.   They were not abnormal as much as fish we wouldn’t see in our lakes and streams. They were mostly ocean fish and then some penguins and I don’t know how they fit.The hands on activities are limited.  It’s an aquarium!

  This activity was in Gatlinburg.

 

Cade’s Cove – this was recommended by several.  I personally felt that I could see the same view of the Smoky Mountains from anywhere. Since we were visiting on a Wednesday we choose to bike.  We rented bikes from the camp store.   

The road is closed to vehicles from 7 AM – 10 AM.  It was a difficult bike ride and biking the 11 miles and trying to see stuff was difficult.  I was an awesome experience and the only place we saw real live black bears.   

But…it was a challenge to see anything off the road and get the bikes back before vehicle traffic started to flow.  There were a lot of places we walked our bikes and sometimes we had to walk the bike because we agreed to walk down certain hills in our rental agreement. We were too exhausted to see anything when we finished but the camp store had ice cream so that was awesome!   

Overall, I will probably hike or see a different part of the Smoky Mountains next time I visit but this was an EXPERIENCE.

 

We toured The Island.  It was also recommended and a good place to shop but they were mall stores and had mall and tourist prices.  They were not the souvenir shops so it was a bit more expensive.  There was an arcade and Ferris wheel that we chose not to do, nice to shop around but very touristy and expensive.

Something not recommended for us and I wish I would not have found on accident was The Old Mill Historic Site.  It was like a little town hidden behind $9.99 or less and As Seen on TV stores. It was Tennesee and I liked it. 

There was scenery, a mill, a distillery, shops, art galleries, and restaurants.  Totally an attraction, not on a brochure, didn’t require tickets and some place I’d like to spend more time at. 

Finally, we visited MagiQuest.  Somethings I wish I knew about MagiQuest.  You can go back and the adventure is different.  There was golf, a mirror maze and laser maze inside.  The $19.99 loaner wand package included 4 activities that came out to $5 each.  Instead of doing it all at once, we could have gone each of the days we were there and did an activity because they give you tickets that are good for a year, although I would pair the laser maze with the mirror maze.  We all enjoyed it and thought with the dragon on the outside it was for little kids but that 13 – 39 crowd enjoyed all the activities.   

Definitely a great value!

Lodging

While visiting our state fair in 2014 we happened upon a booth and “won” a Smoky Mountain Vacation.  Just to be clear, we won nothing.  What we did was pay for a 4-day, 3-night vacation at a reduced rate.  For $199 we “upgraded” to a cabin and agreed to visit a time-share presentation. This particular presentation was with Blue-Green vacations, yet the cabin was managed by a different group.  The cabin titled Absolutely Fabulous was just that!  See my pictures for the current furnishings.   

We were happy to stay in a place that was nestled in the hills, the view was questionable as there were trees blocking a lot of the mountain-view but being able to sit on the deck or sit in the hot tub, play pool, air hockey and even arcade games from the cabin on the rainy days was nice.  The negatives included the proximity to “things to do” the on-site pool was cloudy, but it had rained a lot, the indoor pool furnishings i.e. tables were broken and the putt-putt was flooded so staying on-site for the duration of our vacation would be fine for a couple but the family needed to get out and the 4-5 mile drive through winding roads was nothing short of 20 minutes to and from anything in Pigeon Forge. So staying in the hills was nice and relaxing, but engaging with either the National park or the activities of Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg was still a trek. Recall we stayed at this cabin for $199 +taxes.  Then we spent 3 hours at a presentation to get additional gifts*.  Note: We could have stayed in this same cabin for $600 without the hassle.

Dining

Dixie Stampede - We arrived on a Monday and decided our first Tennessee adventure would be the Dixie Stampede.  We attended the 8:30 PM show which was smart for us so we could hang at the cabin and freshen up.  Additionally, a pre-show begins around 7:45 (45 – 50 minutes before the dinner show).  The only problem with that was we were told to be there at 7:15.  They took family photos and we sat.  We had good seats but sat and they offered family friendly beverages in their souvenir cups for $4.50 and up.   

The preshow was good Tennessee entertainment and the dinner show was good, theatrical and humorous, and most importantly they served the BEST chicken any of us had ever had, but note, we had no choice in dinner.  It was chicken…and a few other things.

So on Day 2 we went to the Woodfire Grill Mega Buffet.  This was an awful idea! The food was not good, the place was not clean, and we got a burger off the hot plate and it was partially raw.  When we notified the manager her statement included “sometimes they don’t fully cook the burgers since they continue to cook on the hot plate and would become rubber like your shoe.” Ummm!  Shouldn’t that be a statement on the burgers then before you bite into it?  Then she said, “if that ever happens again take it back up to the grill and they can cook it some more for you.”  What?!  Happens again?! EWWW! @GordonRamsey needs to visit this place.

On day 3 we visited Dick’s Last Resort on The Island.  The food here was really good.  We had alligator bites and mozzarella sticks for appetizers. The seafood platter and crab legs were good.  The fried chicken didn’t seem to be a hit with the 13-year-old girls.  This place provides “rude” service as part of the experience.  We understood that but they still provided service.  Ya know?  So here was our problem.   

The drinks were overpriced!  Every drink came with a souvenir cup, not a choice therefore the drinks were 2 or 3 times what you would normally pay.  And specialty drinks were WAY over priced and prices weren’t listed so I’d ask how much that smoothie is before you actually order it because it was a bit more than $4 or even $8.  I mean like more than your meal.  Additionally, the “hats” they put on you were questionable specifically for the 13-year-olds.  I think it was still too adult of a place for our gang and the ages of our party weren’t really put into consideration.

Denny’s at Christmas Village was one of the best meals we had.  We had brunch, it was Denny’s so the Grand Slam prices were reasonable.  Everyone was satisfied the smoothie prices were reasonable, the wait staff was friendly!

On our way home we chose Pizza Hut.  We wanted to sit down and eat relatively fast.  The Pizza Hut on 66 in Sevierville, TN was not fast!  After waiting an entire hour, the pizza was OK, even for the pizza hut lovers it wasn’t great, but the salad bar was better than the Woodfire buffet.  Overall it took too long to get a pizza and get on our way.  The restrooms were dirty. :-(

*Dining Dough - At our time-share presentation we were awarded a “gift” of $100 dining bucks.  This was in fact a card to purchase gift cards via restaurant.com.  The Restaurant.com service was done well, the customer service was excellent but the offerings were not applicable to where we were located and one place we tried to visit was a bar for 21 and over and didn’t open until 4 PM.  Not adequate for a traveling family at all!  

*Blue-Green Vacations preview – if you consider the 3 hours (not 90-120 minutes) = $400 saved on our cabin it wasn’t bad but the addition gifts i.e. the Dining Dough and the 7-night vacation we earned was a joke.  The vacation requires us to register it within 30 days, then in 14 days we get a confirmation of registration, then we need to pay $100 for taxes, then when we actually schedule our vacation at least 45 days out we have to give two dates, they will confirm which date we get and tell us where.  Then they will pay the taxes from the $100 but if it’s more than $100 we have to pay the rest.  Then we have to take this vacation within 18 months.  It’s a lot of hoops.  We don’t have to go on another preview but it’s a lot of work and hoping you dotted all your i’s correctly for a “gift.”