As ya’ll know, I love everything Chip and Joanna Gaines! My mom was visiting from Illinois the week after Thanksgiving so I had to take her to Waco to visit the Silos. Of course right? I love taking any chance I can get to go to Magnolia! Haha!

We were able to make a few stops in Waco that Mr. RCGG and I hadn’t done yet. We went to Magnolia Table for lunch and stopped by the Silos Bakery for a cupcake. We also went to JDH Ironworks. When we walked in the shop he was standing right there! He is the sweetest man! It felt like you had known him forever! So as of right now, I have met two people in Waco that have major connections to Chip and Joanna Gaines! When we went to Spring at the Silos I met Clint Harp from Harp Design Co.

Before we left I stopped in Magnolia Press for a coffee mug to giveaway on RCGG’s Favorite Things Holiday Edition.

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What are you waiting for? Go enter NOW!

Every year I try to do a holiday series! In the past I have done 12 days of cookies. That one was lots of fun and we had cookies all over the place! I think it was one of my favorites so far! This year I wanted to do something different though!

Do you like Starbucks? Of course! Who doesn’t love Starbucks! I love their Pink Drink and during the holiday season I get a peppermint mocha coffee or frappuccino. I usually don’t drink coffee but I love the peppermint mocha because it doesn’t taste like coffee. Especially when I get four pumps of peppermint! Haha!

Well, I’m giving away a $20 Starbucks gift card! All you have to do is click the link below and follow the entry form! I can’t wait to spread a little Christmas cheer with ya’ll!

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Starts on November 20 and ends November 26!

In my last post Cami told you about Chester’s passing. Well we weren’t a dog less house for long. A few days after he passed Mr. RCGG went to Illinois to pick up our new little ball of fur. We weren’t even planning on getting a puppy so soon but it we felt Chester was telling us we needed a new puppy to spoil just as much as we did him.

I’d like ya’ll to meet Charlie. He is a six month old long haired dachshund. He’s full of energy. Like A LOT OF ENERGY! He’s such a sweetheart though and has stolen our hearts.

He loves his toys and running around the house playing. He grabs a toy out of the toy basket every time he runs past it during his zoomies. He has figured out how to jump on the couch and likes to run from one side to the other. He also loves when I throw a toy for him. He will run to get it and if I’m sitting on the floor playing with him he will jump into my lap before letting me throw it again.

Charlie is doing great sleeping through the night. He wakes up when Daddy gets up for work and some days he goes back to sleep right away and others he’s ready to start his day at 4:30 AM! Mommy has had to adjust her schedule to his! Haha! I’m ready for a nap by noon!

Hi Mommy’s blog friends! Cami taking over the blog today! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind in our house recently! I’ve been a little sad because my big brother Chester went to what Mommy and Daddy have called the Rainbow Bridge.

It all started on a Wednesday morning. Mommy was sitting at the table doing her schoolwork and Chester was laying beside her on his blanky on the floor. He was finding his spot and Mommy said he let out a yelp and it looked like he had hurt his paw. She called Daddy and he came home as soon as he could. He seemed to recover from it throughout the day. That night he couldn’t stop panting and didn’t want to fall asleep. Mommy didn’t sleep that night because she was worried about him.

When Daddy woke up he took my brother to the emergency vet. The doctor said it looked like he may have had a stroke or a heart attack the day before. The left side of his heart was beating very weak and even if they could have given him something to make him feel better he would have been on medicine for the rest of his life. So Daddy asked Peachy to come get him.

Chester was my best friend and even though I may have driven him completely crazy sometimes I know that he loved me and I was his best friend too! I learned so much from my big brother. I learned that no matter how much you bug Mommy she will always love you. You taught me that going to the vet isn’t as bad as I thought it was. Even if I thought Dr. Clayter was evil because she was! That’s not the point though! Chester taught me that going to the vet meant that Mommy and Daddy care enough about us that they wanted us to be healthy.

I miss my Chester man. I know he’s in Heaven running around with Peachy and Ollie though and that’s what’s important. He’s a puppy again.

You were such a great little brother to Chester, Cami cat. He loved you so much and you always kept him on his toes.

On September 1st our Chester passed away. We miss him every day but we know he will always be with us. We feel his presence every day and know that he is still with us. Chester was the sweetest dog! He loved everyone he met and loved to eat! He loved everything except potatoes. It didn’t matter what kind of potato because he wouldn’t eat it! His favorite was cheese. Every day when Mr. RCGG came home from work he gave Chester some shredded cheese. He also loved our nightly bowl of ice cream before bed. He slept with his daddy every night and loved laying on his blanket by mommy during the day while she was doing schoolwork.

We miss you buddy!

Have you ever written a letter to yourself as a way to look back on things you wanted to do? I wrote this August 31 2019 after finishing Girl Wash Your Face by Rachael Hollis. She suggested writing a letter to your future self from your persistence and this was what I wrote.

Dear Cate,
This is your persistence! Here’s what I want you to know. Things in life get hard! Like REALLY HARD! BUT you will get through them. Some of them may be out of your control but you will get through them! As for the things that you do have control over YOU ARE GOING TO ROCK THEM! Not only through God’s help but through the help of others. They may not know it, but their prayers are lifted to God in your name! They may not know they are praying for you, but God knows.

God knows what His plan for you is before you were even born and He has a plan for you! It will come to you in HIS TIME. It may be with the help of other, but His plan will happen.

You will fight hard to pursue your dream of becoming a writer. It will not be overnight and will take months or even years to be a successful writer. If you work hard and think about how much this means to you, you can make this dream happen. Write that first draft! Write that second draft! Don’t think about it! JUST WRITE!

You will go back to school! You will work hard to get good grades and you will graduate! This is something you have wanted to do for a long time! Going back to school will help you learn more about writing so you can achieve your dream of becoming a writer! It will help you decide what you want your story to be about! It may be bad at first because what first draft is perfect, but it will get better!

You have so many people cheering for you! You are an amazing person, and they want you to know how much you are loved! You will get through all the bad moments you have had in your life! Lots of love, support, and prayer will show you just how to knock it out of the park!

Love Cate
8-31-19

Taco Bell has always been one of Mr. RCGG’s go to fast food places. He really likes the crunch wrap. While our niece was visiting last week, she showed us how to make them at home. OMG! They were so much better than Taco Bell!

1 lb ground meat

1 packet taco seasoning mix

6 burrito size flour tortillas

6 tostada shells

6 taco size flour tortillas

1 cup of sour cream

2 cups of shredded lettuce

1 diced tomato

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Nacho Cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

In a skillet or large cooking pan, cook and crumble the ground beef over medium-high heat. When it is no longer pink, drain the grease.

Place meat back into the pan and stir the taco seasoning mix as well as the water it calls for on the packet. Cook according to the package instructions.

Warm up the nacho cheese sauce in the microwave and set aside.

Place the flour tortillas on a plate and warm in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Lay one tortilla on a flat surface. Spread a couple of tablespoons of nacho cheese in the middle of the tortilla.

Place ½ cup of taco meat on top of the nacho cheese.

Next, add the tostada shell, a thin layer of sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and lastly, the shredded Mexican cheese.

Add your favorite taco toppings onto the tostada. Place the smaller tortilla on top of the extra toppings.

To fold into the actual crunchwrap, start with the bottom of the tortilla and fold the edge up to the center of the fillings. Keep doing that, folding as tight as possible, as you work your way around the tortilla.

Spray another skillet or cooking pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Place the crunchwrap supreme, seam-side down, onto the skillet. Cook for 2-3 min., or until golden brown.

Flip over and cook the other side for another 2-3 min or until golden brown.

Cook the rest of your crunchwraps and eat immediately.

We added refired beans, salsa, and nacho cheese to ours. Mr. RCGG and our niece also had cilantro and black olives on theirs. I don’t like cilantro or black olives! Haha! We will be adding these to our Taco Tuesday lineup!

CARYN DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!

Cupcake Mail is my favorite way to stay in touch with my BFF. We have been sending small packages and cards to each other for several years now! I’m not even sure how long it has been anymore!

There have been times that she has sent a package that came on a day that I needed a little pick-me-up. She always knows when something is wrong even when I don’t tell her. I guess that’s what 20+ years of friendship does to you! She also knows that peanut butter cups are my candy love language! Almost every package has a pack of peanut butter cups in it! Haha!

Today, I’ll be showing you how I created the first package I sent to her from Texas. This one took some planning because I had to get things from the places we visited.

We went to Magnolia in March for Spring at the Silos, but I was so in awe of being there that I forgot to get something for her there! When we went back earlier this month, I made sure to get her something! I got her a Magnolia shirt that is the same as mine because besties need to match! Haha!

We also went to Southfork Ranch where the TV show Dallas was filmed. I’ll have a post about this visit later on this summer.

Our niece was visiting so we took her to Buc-ee’s. She had never been and your first time at Buc-ee’s is quite an experience. While we there I got a couple things for Texas cupcake mail. I got these cute swim shorts for her son with the Buc-ee’s logo on them and some chocolate chip cookies because I couldn’t send a brisket sandwich in a package. Haha!

I also added the shirt that I got for her son from our trip in March. We stopped in West Monroe Louisiana at the Duck Commander shop. There’s a few things in the box for her husband too! Haha!

I love putting together special cupcake mail packages for Caryn! It’s a fun way to keep in touch with her and her family! I also added a fun surprise to this box from our trip to a cabin in Oklahoma over my birthday and our anniversary trip.

As you have probably figured out by now I love Joanna Gaines! I started making some of the recipes from her Magnolia Table cookbooks recently and we have loved every one of them so far.

I’m starting my Magnolia Table cooking series with the Blackberry puff. Joanna’s recipe in the Magnolia Table Volume 1 cookbook is a blueberry puff but I had blackberries, so I used them instead. In fact, in the recipe ingredients, she lists blackberries as an alternative. This puff was extremely easy to make. There are several steps, but it wasn’t hard at all! I think a lot of her recipes are like that. She says on her Magnolia Network show, Magnolia Table that she’s not an experienced cook but she loves to make simple and delicious meals for her family.

You will need:
12 cups large Croissants (I used a Pilsbury tube from the refrigerated section of the grocery store and rolled two of the triangles together to make four instead of six. It worked perfectly)
1 cup Buttermilk
2 cups Heavy Cream
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks unsalted Butter at room tempertaure
6 Eggs room temperature
2 tablespoons Vanilla
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Blueberries or Blackberries (I used blackberries)

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9x13x3 baking dish.
Spread the croissant cubes evenly in the dish and top with the berries.

In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cream, buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. The mixture may look curdled.

Pour over croissants and berries in the baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until a knife comes out clean about 35-40 minutes. Serve warm.

I made it the night before and warmed it up for about 20 minutes. We loved it! I think next time I will make it with blueberries.

I can’t wait to make more recipes from the Magnolia Table cookbooks! Joanna is amazing and I’m not obsessed with her at all! Haha!

We continued our day five with a trip about five miles outside of Waco Texas. We went to the Branch Davidian Memorial. If you are “old” like me then you probably remember this as the David Koresh siege.

When we got there we were surprised that it is still active. There are families that still live in the compound. The caretaker was talking about what happened there. It was crazy!

I can’t explain really what he said without getting political but what he said was eye-opening about the Clinton administration and the Jeffery Epstein thing. Wow!

This ends our Magnolia Road Trip! We had so much fun on this trip! In fact we fell in love with Texas so much that we moved there! We love our new state and look forward to all the new adventures in the Lonestar State!

This was the day I had been waiting for this whole trip! We finally made it to the Silos! I had the whole day planned out! We did sleep in a little bit but still made it out of the hotel by noon!

We door dashed breakfast from a local place in Waco called Butter my Biscuit. It was so good! They make everything from scratch and it’s all in a biscuit bowl! I got a biscuits and gravy bowl and Mr. RCGG got a southwestern omelet bowl.

Our first stop was to Little Shop on Bosque. This was the store where Joanna Gaines started Magnolia. It is now used as the shop where you can get scratch and dent, out of season and other clearance items. It was a cute store but really small. I can totally see why she closed it and wanted to expand.

Next we stopped at Harp Designs. I saw on Facebook that Clint Harp, the owner of Harp Designs and woodworking expert on Fixer Upper, was going to be at the shop at 2 pm. So I planned our time there around that! Haha! His shop is right next door to his old house. There was an episode of Fixer Upper that Chip and Joanna renovated a house for Clint and his family. He wanted a house that was close to the shop. Well the house they choose was literally right next door! The Harp family doesn’t live there anymore but they do rent it out as an Air B&B.

Anyway, not a lot of people knew he was going to be there because the line to meet him was so short. I think it tool maybe ten minutes to get to him. He was so nice and down to earth! I’m so glad I had bought something in the shop that he could sign!

I talked to him for a few minutes while he was signing the wood charger I bought and while we were getting the picture. He asked where we were from and I said Atlanta. He said he was raised in Dunwoody and graduated from Dunwoody High School in 1997. He has a show on Magnolia Network called Restoration Road. There was an episode in Creve de Cour Missouri. I told him that we would always go to the river at Grand Tower Illinois which is right across the river from Creve de Cour. He loved that I knew the history of the area.

I loved meeting someone that knew and worked with Joanna! It was like meeting her too in a roundabout way! Haha!

Our next stop was MAGNOLIA! I had finally made it! This was the moment I had been waiting for this whole trip!! Seeing the Silos towering up from the property for the first time was breathtaking! I had seen them on TV but there was something special about seeing them in person for the first time!

I met up with my friend Beth too. We had been in a virtual infertility bible study group together and she lives in Texas. So she made the trip down to Waco for the day. It was so much fun to finally meet her in person and spend the day with her. We had lunch at the Magnolia Table food truck on the Silos property and then did some shopping at the Magnolia Home store. She was so sweet and I can’t wait to get together with her again soon!

Chester has so much fun people watching at The Silos. He and Daddy sat outside Magnolia Market while Beth and I shopped! He would bark and everyone came up to pet him! He loves the attention he gets when we take him places because he’s just so darn cute!

The line at Silos Bakery was around the corner so we didn’t get any cupcakes but now that we live in Texas we will definitely be going to the bakery!

We also saw the Alico building that’s in the aerial views of Fixer Upper! It was just as exciting to see as the Silos were.

We also visited the Branch Davidian Memorial site. I’ll talk more about that in my next post but it was really weird and kind of creepy! This was where Koresh siege in 1993 happened.