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I get eager as March approaches as I can feel spring just around the corner.  I love the renewal and rebirth of nature. As a family, this is our first spring season in Texas and we are seeing signs of spring earlier than we are used to from springtime in the Pacific NW.   I’ve always dreamed of having lots of yard space to grow a garden for flowers, trees, vegetables and herbs, and yard space for the kids to play.  Now that we have the yard space at our Texas home, it was time to make it all happen.  We spent the past couple of weekends starting a new gardening project that involved installing raised garden beds, selecting seeds and fruit trees, and getting the seeds and starts in the soil.  I would eventually love to have a greenhouse, but I’ll save that goal for a later time and focus on starting small with raised beds and a few fruit trees.  We planned and plotted the northern portion of our property that receives full sun to place our garden.

Our gardening project consisted of three phases over two weekends:

  1. Phase One: Inspiration, planning and and plotting
  2. Phase Two: Select trees, seeds and space, and install raised beds
  3. Phase Three: Add soil, sow the seeds, plant the starts

Phase 1: The Inspiration

We recently returned from our first trip to Waco and the Magnolia Silos and what a better time to visit and get a burst of inspiration as we were in the beginning stages of our gardening project.  The gardens outside of the Seed and Supply store truly inspired me to get my garden dream going and #gardengoals accomplished.

Not to mention, reading up on my Magnolia Journal with a cup of coffee led to me plot out where this garden would go and what would go in it.  I’m still not sure how all this will turn out, but I will give it a try and enjoy the process and hopefully be rewarded with a beautiful harvest.

Early morning reading and inspiration to start a garden (January 2018)

 

 

 

First rough sketch of where the raised beds and trees will go (February 2018)

 

Phase 2: Tree and Seed Selection

We got our fruit trees from Guerin Nursery in Granbury. This is a great local nursery that carries many native plants and varieties of annuals and perennials, with the largest selection of fruit and flowering trees. We knew we wanted apple trees and peach trees for their spring blossoms and of course for their fruit! We were thrilled to find Honeycrisp Apples (our favorite) and Fuji Apples.  We let the boys each pick out their own trees. For seeds, Eden Brothers offers one of the largest seed and flower bulb assortment available in the United States from heirloom, rare and hard to find flower seeds, vegetable seeds and herb seeds.

Nursery with the boys to pick out fruit trees that will be planted in the garden (February)

 

Seeds I selected, thanks to Joanna Gaines’ inspiration from her Garden Shed episode on Fixer Upper: Hyacinth Beans, Sweet Peas, Zinnia, and Wild Flower seeds

Vegetable and herb seeds for John’s salsa garden

 

3L x 6W ft cedar wood raised beds installed by John with Baron’s help :). (March)

 

Adding a water seal on the exterior to protect the wood from the outdoor elements

Lining the interior of the beds with landscape fabric to prevent weeds from growing into the soil and plants

 

Phase 3: Add potting soil, sow seeds and plant starts

I wanted to involve the kids as much as possible in the process of planning and creating our new garden.  They had fun choosing the fruit trees at the local nursery that would be planted in the ground, along with what types of fruit and vegetables they wanted to grow.  Jonah chose strawberries and Baron chose carrots!  The boys will have their own dedicated garden bed that they will tend to, while John and I will share three garden beds dedicated to growing ingredients for his salsa garden and my very own cut flower garden.

Jonah’s strawberry starts

Jonah and Baron sowing their first seeds in their garden bed

Jonah’s sweet pea seeds

Baron’s hyacinth bean seed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we wait for the grass and trees to turn green and bloom again, and let Mother Nature take its course.  I can’t wait to see how everyone’s gardens will grow: my cut flower garden, John’s salsa garden, and the boys’ fruit and vegetable garden. My hope is that gardening with our kids teaches them to appreciate nature, the virtue of patience, and to celebrate wonder. The past weekend with my little gardeners, we planted the seeds of hope—which is what a seed is and what a garden is—a promise of what will come.

 

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My little family and I have lived in Texas for almost 6 months now! We still can’t believe it, but we’ve been making the most of our new lives here and embracing all the amazing opportunities and fun adventures that have come our way.

On my bucket of things to do, see, and try in Texas has been a trip to Magnolia Market and Silos in Waco. As most of my family and friends know, I’m a huge fan of the hit show Fixer Upper and all things Magnolia and Chip and Joanna Gaines. Their brand and vision is such an inspiration to me through their creativity, humility, kindness, and hospitality, not to mention Joanna makes everything beautiful!

Luckily for us, Waco is only an hour and a half away from Granbury. Why haven’t we gone sooner?! Now that the weather is no longer in extreme freezing temps or extreme scorching 100+ degree temps, and the madness of the holidays are over, we took advantage of a quiet leisurely weekend in February to visit Magnolia. Note: Magnolia is usually closed on Sundays. They hosted a private event this weekend to celebrate the spring issues of Darling Magazine and Magnolia Journal, and we had the opportunity to capture some photos of the exterior grounds, the vegetable gardens, and plaza features which are amazing and really the highlight of the entire venue.

Upon arriving, Joanna Gaines’ design presence is immediately felt. There are details that you can pin point and recall from specific episodes on Fixer Upper when they first started the Silos project in 2015/16 and the bakery addition in 2016 such as the wooden flower boxes outside the bakery windows.  The exterior building is a beautifully painted brick white with her signature black shutters, black window trim and black door. In an older Fixer Upper episode before they demo’d space which would become the bakery, Joanna said her vision for the bakery would have an old world charm feel to it, and she achieved just that.  The Silos is located in an industrial part of Waco taking up no more than a few blocks. I can see how crazy and packed this place can get on a typical Saturday, which I recommend to try to avoid if your schedule and situation allows. Coming here on a Sunday really allowed us to enjoy every design element and landscape feature of the space.

Black metal planters never looks so good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Magnolia Seed and Supply feature is beautiful as it is functional. It features raised garden beds that have been meticulously maintained.  One of my projects for the backyard this spring is to install similar raised garden beds to grow vegetables and herbs, and a little place for the kids to help grow and tend to their own veggies and fruits of their choice. I love the protective awnings that double as filters for the produce and protection from critters!

The main open pavilion space is dotted with adorable picnic tables and benches with stylish black and white stripe awnings. These awnings for shade are so needed during Texas’ harsh sun and heat in the summer and fall months. They look great year round and also come in handy if it rains. I love how the Magnolia team installed faux grass or turf on one side to accommodate lawn games or folks that just want to relax on a blanket and have a picnic and people watch.  I also love the contrast of keeping the other half of the grounds raw with gravel.

My favorite feature has to be all the magnolia trees that have been planted along the sidewalks of Magnolia Market and Silos. There are also a cluster of magnolia trees strategically planted against a trellis wall that serves as a backdrop, perfect for those instagram shots! The grounds are going to look even more gorgeous in the spring when all those magnolia trees bloom! We can’t wait to go back.

The boys also had fun wandering the grounds.

 

Obligatory bakery photo

 

A funny story I shared on my Instagram post:  a couple eagerly approached us and said they saw us from the road, pulled over to try to get an autograph thinking I was Joanna Gaines. I literally lol’d, thanked them and apologized to have disappointment as I wasn’t THE Joanna Gaines.  I don’t think we look anything alike but I’ll take a Joanna Gaines reference any day! Haha. Our styles may be similar, we have long dark hair, and our ethnic backgrounds are of Asian decent, but that’s about it.

 

It was a great visit and provided a backdrop for inspiration.  We can’t wait to return when the flowers are in bloom and when their new restaurant Magnolia Table opens!

While in Waco, we also took some fun photos in front of the floral wall mural by Tyler Kay, then ended with a picnic at Cameron park and let the boys play and run off their energy at the playground.

 

Tips for visiting Magnolia Market and Waco:

  • Come early! Arriving before opening is ideal, or even on a Sunday when it’s closed to the public if you want to take some great landscape photos without people in the way.
  • Start at the bakery and visit the rest of the market and silos after.
  • On busier days, you can park your car and take the free trolley that drops you off at the front entrance.
  • Save money by packing a picnic lunch or some snacks to enjoy in the pavilion.
  • Enjoy the little details that makes the space so beautiful and charming.
  • Visit during the different seasons as the landscape and gardens will look different throughout the year.
  • Take lots of photos and have fun!

What are some of your favorite things to do or places to check out while in Waco?

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At the book fair!

Outfit details: Blazer:  A New Day, Target  | Shirt:   Who What Wear | Pants: Mossimo, Target | Boots:  DV

Jonah and Baron’s Outfits: Blazers: Shirts and Pants H&M Kids

 

This Valentine’s Day is one I won’t easily forget. Like any other day, I look forward to waking up to our normal daily routine of kissing the boys good morning, seeing John off to work, and getting the kids and myself ready for school, work, and the day. Jonah’s school had “Lunch with Loved Ones” where parents, guardians and family members could join their student at lunch and accompany them to the book fair.  I excitedly dressed the boys in their matching Valentine’s outfits and looked forward to spending time and sharing a meal with both boys together. Baron was especially excited to get to go to “brother’s school”.  What made this Valentine’s Day different was coming home to the news of the tragic shooting in a South Florida high school where 17 people (students and staff) were killed, just after Baron and I returned home from Jonah’s school.  It made me think that this violence could have happened anywhere and to anyone at any time. Just as the previous school shootings that have taken place , it could have happened at Jonah’s school while we were there and I would not have known how to react or protect my own children and life in a moment’s notice.  Without politicizing the tragic event, I do believe that solutions are needed once and for all. What those solutions are I do not know. But I do know one thing, that no matter what political beliefs or political party one belongs to, we need to come together as a nation and as a community and come up with concrete solutions that can be implemented locally and on a global scale to keep our children and our nation’s future safe.

Our Valentine’s evening still ended on a positive note at home.  John cooked us a gourmet meal (lamb and gnocchi – my fav!), we tucked the kids in bed, and finished a good bottle of wine with chocolate, reminisced about our first Valentine’s date and discussed and debated the day’s earlier events. We both agree that we all need to love our children, set good examples and recognize when someone or something is not right, and act accordingly.

John’s specialty: roasted lamb and pesto gnocchi

 

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Some of my favorite ways to update a space is to add plants and art. As we already know with plants, they purify the air, increase oxygen levels and remove toxins from the air. What I love most about plants is that they add instant style and enhance your décor. When you combine greenery and art to any room, the combo livens up the space and adds color and texture.

We’ve always had tons of plants in our previous homes, but when we were getting ready to move to Texas, we found out we were not allowed to travel with our large mature houseplants. (The years of investing in its growth!). Thanks to OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace, I was able to find good homes for our beloved Fiddle Leaf Figs and succulents. Now that we are settled in our new home in Texas, I’ve been slowly adding new plants to different rooms of the house.  The sun exposure and directional placement of the house is quite different from what we’ve been used to, so I often find myself moving plants around to different parts of the house to test where it might be most happy and thrive.

My favorite room of the house right now is our breakfast room. This is the space where we come together as a little family to eat most of our meals, where we share highlights from our days, and talk about our plans for the coming week and next day.  The breakfast room also faces windows looking out to our backyard and greenbelt and it is a beautiful sight in the spring and summer seasons. During the winter months, the bare trees and bare branches are hardly inspiring, so having something happy and beautiful to look at helps liven up the area even boosts our moods.  Enter Betsy the Cow and a Fiddle Leaf Fig. Two pieces I’ve added to our breakfast room since we moved here. I got so excited when I stumbled upon this Betsy art on a random HomeGoods run. I remember seeing a larger Betsy The Cow print a couple years ago, but I didn’t get it then and have regretted in ever since. When I saw this one, I knew I had to have it and I already had the perfect spot to hang it. The background color also match perfectly with my chairs. As for the fiddle leaf fig, you can never have too many fiddle leaf figs in your home. This one is the perfect starter height and grown in a tree form so it will retain its sculpture like shape.  I can’t wait for it grow!

Here’s a before and after shot of the breakfast room. The space before from the previous owners’ MLS listing was darker with heavier furnishings and fixtures.I really love how this little corner in our home feels now and has transformed with just the art and plant addition and furnishing updates.

 

More plants and art scattered throughout the home…

 

What are some of your favorite ways to update or refresh a space?

 

 

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Sources: Sectional: Target Similar Here | Rug: Target Threshold  | Pillows: Target Project 62 | Patio Lights: Similar Here   |

 

Despite the crazy weather that we must come to terms with as new residents of Texas (70 degrees on Wednesday and 30 degrees freezing yesterday!), I do have faith that spring and summer is on the way. We like to spruce up our patio early in the season so when the warm weather hits we are ready for morning coffee, impromptu entertaining, and grilling on a daily basis.

Our patio furniture has been left sitting outdoors all winter underneath a covered porch, however dust and other grime still gets to it. After deciding that this was the area we wanted to tackle first and busting out the patio décor from the garage, it was time for the refresh. Here are our steps for refreshing an outdoor space:

Step One: Wait for frost to melt.

Step Two: Remove outdoor furniture covers and clean off furniture (do this before cleaning off the patio since debris may fall on it). We love cushions with removable covers for easy machine washing and spot cleaning. All weather wicker cleans and wipes easily too.

Step Three: Clean off debris from the patio floors by sweeping or using a pressure washer.

Step Four: Clean outdoor rugs with a hose, scrub any stained areas and allow to hang dry.  Better yet, if your rugs are in bad shape or permanently stained get a new one. Target has some really cute outdoor rugs this season – love this one too!  They’re inexpensive, come in a variety of styles, pretty patterns and textures, and they pull together a space.

Step Five: Now for the fun part! Your patio is now ready to be decorated!  Add outdoor rugs to create defined spaces and arrange furniture. When coming up with a furniture layout, think about how the space will be used. Make sure there is room for ‘flow’ and movement in high-traffic areas. If possible, put seating in the shade and keep the grill area away from areas where kids may roam, etc. Add patterned pillows for texture and pops of color. Sprinkle in some fresh or faux greenery and plants for liveliness, and string some lights to create ambiance. Voila! You’ve got yourself an outdoor oasis.

The next area we will tackle of our patio refresh will be the pool area and garden storage/solutions which we will work on in March. Full post and photos coming soon!