Travel Guide: Dallas & Waco, TX

Every year my mom would take us back to school shopping in August, in Dallas. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories.

I’m thirty-something and no longer in school, so we haven’t been in forever. I decided this year we need to start the tradition back up. Especially with Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale is July/August every year – that alone is worth a shopping trip to Dallas.

It didn’t take much convincing my mom. She hadn’t been to Magnolia down in Waco yet so we decided to make a road trip out of it. After being quarantined pretty much this entire year, we were so ready to make a trip to anywhere.

I’m in Oklahoma City, so I drove to Tulsa, where my parents live, and stayed the night. Mom and I woke up early the next morning and began our road trip.

First stop, Nordstrom at NorthPark Mall in Dallas, Texas. Earlier, when I mentioned back to school shopping as a child, we always went to the galleria mall. It is huge! It has a large food court and an ice skating rink, not to mention the millions of shops. It was always a good time. The American Girl Doll Store is right next to the Galleria as well. I was older when it opened and unfortunately no longer interested in the dolls, but it would be a great trip for littles! It has a restaurant for tea time and so much more than shopping. At some point on one of our back to school shopping trips we discovered NorthPark Mall. The older we got, we enjoyed NorthPark over the crowds of the Galleria.

Back to the trip! We went straight to Nordstrom and landed in shoes first. If you know me – duh! Shoes! Haha. We found some great deals on shoes and moved up to women’s clothing. We didn’t have as much luck in the clothing as we did the shoes but it was a great sale and we knew that it would likely be picked over as it was the first day the sale was open to the public. This is after the Icons, Ambassadors, Influencers and Insiders have first pick. These categories are based on the Nordy Club and the cardholder benefits. You can learn more about that HERE.

After shopping we decided to grab a bite to eat at the Panera Bread nearby and get checked into our hotel. We were exhausted from driving all day and then shopping a good couple of hours.

The next morning we checked out early, grabbed Panera again for breakfast, (my mom would be a VIP if they had it) and ran back to Nordstrom to make a quick size exchange on one of the shoes I purchased.

Then we loaded up and typed in Buc-cee’s into the GPSs. I had learned about Buc-ee’s at my friend’s bachelorette party in Houston, Texas. It’s a gas station, but it’s also a convenient store filled with the most amazing foods and snacks. It has a bakery and they have brisket sandwiches! It’s also huge. It is such a large gas station. Plenty of pumps, parking and just space in general – perfect for stretching out and taking a much needed break on any road trip. Buc-ee’s is most known for their clean bathrooms. They literally have bathroom attendants on staff. Their jobs are to clean the bathroom 24/7. They have so many bathrooms too! I cannot stress how large Buc-ee’s is – you have to see it for yourself. Also, something I love about the bathrooms at Buc-ee’s is the privacy. It’s more like the European bathrooms, the doors go all the way up and down and the walls do the same if I remember correctly so there are no worries about peekers. They have hand sanitizer in each stall as well as a seat cleaner and protector. I mean they’ve really thought of it all. The store is filled with Buc-ee’s souvenirs, they put Buc-ee Beaver’s face on everything! They have home decor, children’s toys, clothing, men’s items such as clothing, grilling, outdoorsy items, etc. They literally have everything. The food deserves a blog all on its own but I’ll keep it short. They have a bakery as I mentioned earlier. It has cinnamon rolls, kolaches, breads, fudge, cakes and so much more. They have savory items like their own Buc-ee’s nuggets and snacks, beef jerky, every kind of nut – warmed or packaged. They have pre-packaged sandwiches, snack packs, crackers, cheeses, puddings and fudge. Mom and I tried a BBQ sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. I’m telling you, if you are traveling anywhere near a Buc-ee’s – make the stop. You won’t regret it.

After spending too much time at Buc-ee’s we decided to move out and head to Waco.

When we arrived in Waco we wasted no time and headed straight to the Magnolia Market. We couldn’t check into our AirBnB until later so that’s another reason why we went straight there. It was early morning, I want to say around 2pm, and there was a line in front of the bakery and the store. We went for the store first as the line was moving and not terribly long.

After shopping around and picking out a few items we decided to get checked in. After settling in and cooling off we decided to get some pedicures, shop some more and find some dinner. We found a great Mexican restaurant, La Fiesta, near the shopping center and pedicures. It was a long day of driving, walking, shopping and eating so we decided to call it a night early. We went back to the BnB and binged watched Hallmark’s Chesapeake Shores. I recommend it if you’re looking for a cute show to watch!

We stayed at a small AirBnB that was in a great location. It was the perfect size for my mom and I. It had a kitchen, dining area, living room a large bedroom and bathroom. If you’d like to check it out click HERE.

The next day we woke up and headed to Magnolia Table in hopes of getting in for breakfast. We got there around 9am and put our names on the list. They informed us it would be about an hour. They had our cell phone number so we decided to hit up the Silos Baking Company as it was opening soon and we were looking to avoid the lines.

Thankfully we did! We bought way too many baked goods but we wanted to try so many things and how do you choose?! We have no regrets! So we loaded up half the bakery and took it back to our AirBnb. It was nearly time for our wait to be up at Magnolia Table so we hurried back to the restaurant. It was nice waiting outside under cover and with the outdoor fans moving as the Texas heat was picking up. It ended up being about an hour and a half when we finally received the text that our table was ready. This was in August 2020, so they were only seating half capacity due to COVID-19 and that may have had an effect on the extra wait time.

Regardless, we made it in! I have to say it was 100% worth the wait and I strongly recommend you try it when you can. My mom ordered the breakfast tacos and I had the eggs benedict. We ordered some biscuits for the table and it was all just as delicious if not more than expected – and we had some high expectations for Mrs. Joanna Gaines. Well done!

After enjoying our wonderful breakfast at Magnolia Table, we decided to check out more shopping. We walked all around the Magnolia compound and saw Magnolia Press, Magnolia Home, Magnolia Seed & Supply and surrounding shops. They did have a large area marked off for construction. They are putting in a strip of small buildings for some shops and you can read more about the expansion HERE.

Magnolia Press was the picturesque coffee house. It was peaceful, even though it was crowded with lines and it smelled heavenly. My mother and I aren’t big coffee drinkers so we decided to skip going inside and avoid the lines.

Magnolia Home was exactly as expected. Elegant, simple, modern and natural elements made the entire shop feel like a high end home, but inviting at the same time.

After exploring the Silos, my mom and I decided to step out of the Magnolia bubble and we checked out the Dr. Pepper Museum just around the corner from the Magnolia Silos. My husband’s favorite soda pop just happens to be Dr. Pepper so we had to check it out. The museum had tons of information and fun facts about how soda water and pop came to be and I would recommend visiting if you have the time. After touring the museum, you get a free drink across the yard at the soda shoppe. We again chose to skip out on waiting in line, but I’m glad we decided to check out the shoppe! More fun facts and memorabilia and there is a gift shop too.

From there we went to the Little Shop on Bosque. It’s basically an outlet store for Magnolia now, but you do not want to skip out. They have some great deals on items that were either seasonal, or slightly damaged. If you are a bargain shopper be sure to check it out.

After that we decided to head back and do a little work, my mom and I are both realtors and it was nice that although we were trying to escape from work, we both understand how demanding it can be.

We enjoyed another lazy evening in, trying out all of the baked goods we bought, and rested up for the drive home the next day.