A Little Fixer Upper
Yesterday my friend Holly and I headed to Waco for an event we have been anticipating for weeks and it did not disappoint! If you are not familiar, Joanna Gaines is wife to Chip and star of the HGTV series Fixer Upper. I absolutely love this show! She has a great eye for design and the style fits my taste but beyond that they are just a fun couple living a full life and being grateful everyday for their blessings. When Holly suggested we purchase tickets I jumped at the opportunity.
We stopped by the Magnolia home store but it closed 10 minutes before we arrived…..definitely will be stopping by next time I’m in the Waco area. I just love those letters!!
Due to Halloween tomorrow we knew staying the night would make for a Cr-AZY Friday so we decided to make the drive back home afterwards but that meant we had to do a quick change in some bathroom before the event. Let me just tell you that nothing can stress me out more than not knowing what the heck to wear. I emailed the event coordinator thinking that maybe I should check the dress for the event. The response….it is a nice event, but not formal so I would say dressy casual or maybe a little nicer. Eek….this totally freaked me out. We wore casual comfy clothes for the ride and then sat across the street and stalked saw others walking by with what I consider casual and thankfully we did not have to try and change in the restaurant bathroom!
Shop our look here!
Gingham Button Down worn by Holly here
Striped top here & here
Black Ponte Pants here
Kimberly Necklace here
We were super excited to see Chip as we were waiting in line and he was working the crowd!
The event was held at the Phoenix Ballroom in downtown Waco and the venue was very fitting for Joanna’s style. Joanna talked about how Magnolia homes store and business came to be and shared some of her philosophies on making a house truly a home noting that having a house that is well lived in is the most important. She added that being intentional about creating an environment that is not just beautiful but also has meaningful design and used the example of families choosing to convert a formal dining area into a playroom…..do what works and don’t apologize for it. I love that!
There were several items on our table that were for us to take home and while we listened to Joanna talk we were able to decorate the nest like wreaths used as chargers on the tables. She touched on entertaining and using simple things like chargers that can add a special touch to a table when entertaining a small group of 6-12 people. Carving out time to be intentional about reaching out to others and opening your home to honor friends and family will make them feel special.
And lastly these “thankful for” cards to make a banner of things your family is thankful for or to create a thankful tree. This was perfect timing as we are going to work on participating in 30 Days of Thanks and Giving starting November 1st. You can read more about this by visiting Holly’s blogpost here
Finally we had our time to actually meet Joanna. She is as “real” and welcoming in person as you would imagine after watching her show. Her faith was evident in her talk and it was clear that she and Chip have turned their dreams over to God and trusted His timing to unfold the plan for their lives. It was inspiring to hear her talk about taking a leap of faith to start a business.
If you want to find out about future events hosted by Magnolia Homes the best idea is to follow Joanna’s blog or follow her on Instagram. That is how we found out about this event and it was sold out fairly quickly.
And now….it wouldn’t be Halloween without a few flashback pix from my some of my fave Halloween memories!
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| My sweet baby brother (throwing it all the way back to Sigmond the Sea Monster) and me and this crazy witch costume that I actually chose two years in a row?? |
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My sweet pumpkin Jordan at 2 years old…..everything was so exciting with my first baby! Note…chambray shirt was in style and so was ombre hair evidently just the opposite of today’s style. Ha!
 Riley never was much into dressing up for Halloween with the store bought costumes..too itchy, too hot…so not 100% sure what he was this year but he was loving on his sweet kitty sister!  Go-Go Girl and her hillbilly brother |
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| This sweet boy loved everything cowboy and he made the absolute cutest! |
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| My sweet baby spider…I loved this costume and this may have been the last time she actually let me dress her. |
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| Always deciding at the last minute to go trick or treating….Riley was a good sport when I came up with this one on the fly! Oh yes…yes he is! |
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| Harry and the Peacock! |
Happy Halloween Friends! Keep Calm & Be Scary!
Ah, friend – your writing about the event was fabulous! Brought a smile to my face all over again! "dressy casual" = jeans! whoo hoo! who knew?!
And a couple of things about your retro Halloween pictures (which I LOVED!!!) – 1) Carly was the cutest spider I've ever seen, and 2) how have I never seen Riley dressed up as a gift?! That is hilarious!
Someday we are going to learn to just go with our gut and rock what we feel comfortable wearing!
Oh wow, you are so lucky!!! I would have loved to have attended that. I love the show, too, and their sweet relationship. I can't wait for new episodes.
I'm glad you had so much fun!
They are just as adorable in person! Have a great weekend Kathy!
Sigmond the Seamonster! I loved that show!
Me too Kimberly!! What happened to good Saturday morning tv!