I had the best time at a Galentine’s Blogger Retreat in Waco hosted by Four Columns Marketing this past weekend!
My first visit to Waco was a quick day trip after hitting the Dallas Total Home + Gift Market in 2018. My colleague and I had no clue what to do other than Magnolia Market. We hit a couple other places that I’ll recommend to you in a minute, but other than that we were clueless and not super impressed by Waco.
Don’t get me wrong – we loved experiencing Magnolia and getting to the bakery early enough to avoid the line and snag up a DELICIOUS cupcake! We just didn’t know there were other things to do, despite driving around aimlessly hoping for something awesome to catch our eye (which didn’t happen, btw…).
Now that I’ve seen what Waco has to offer after my visit last weekend, I’m excited to share my experience with you so you can be a little more prepared than I was the first time I visited!
GETTING THERE
You can fly direct to Waco Municipal Airport, but from what I’ve seen the flights are pretty pricey. Both times I’ve gone, I’ve flown into Dallas Lovefield via Southwest and driven to Waco. In my experience it’s more cost effective to do that and rent a car vs. flying direct.
ACCOMODATIONS
1. Gathering Oaks Retreat (hint: you might see Chip and Jo’s house on the way to this venue!)
This quaint lodging set back from the main road in Crawford, TX is about 15 minutes from Waco and well worth the drive. We stayed in the main house with 5 bedrooms called The Gathering House which was fun for our group of 11! There are several other smaller houses, casitas and suites to choose from on the property as well.
Photo credits for photos not watermarked: Our Signature Swag | Cuter Tudor | Nissa Lynn Interiors
THE FOOD SCENE
Waco has a really great food scene with several independently owned restaurants - which happens to be my favorite kind!
I wouldn’t consider myself a foodie, but I do love trying things that are a bit out of the ordinary (i.e. if it’s not a chain restaurant, I’m game!).
1. Moroso Wood Fired Pizzeria (Dinner, Sunday Brunch) – We enjoyed dinner here and they provided us with samples of a few menu items that were all delectable! We started out with fried artichoke, followed by two different salads, the most delicious handmade Italian meatballs I’ve ever tasted, four different types of pizza and finished it off with the most amazing salted caramel gelato topped with bananas foster.
2. Harvest on 25th (Breakfast) – every menu option looked absolutely incredible at this joint. I was trying to be as keto as I could on the trip (which didn’t end as well as it started) so I went with their least carb filled option and it blew my mind! They ferment their food and make their own kombucha – all aimed at gut health. Let me tell you, the food was mouth watering delightful!
3. Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant (Lunch, Dinner)
4. Hecho En Waco (Lunch, Dinner)
5. Milo All Day (Lunch, Dinner, Weekend Brunch)
SHOPPING
1. The Findery
3. Little Shop on Bosque (the original Magnolia)
4. Findery Warehouse (behind the Findery)
8. Magnolia, of course! ;)
COFFEE
A weekend in Waco was the perfect amount of time to sightsee and not feel like we missed out. Saturday was really busy, though – so I recommend going on a weekday if you can!
XO,
Christina
P.S. There were so many talented bloggers on this trip that left me inspired and motivated that they deserve a shout out!