We live in the cutest city. . .McKinney, Texas. I LOVE LOVE it here. It is such a sweet town that is very family oriented, has everything you need and also the cutest small town feel. It has been voted the #1 place to live in America and I agree. We love living here and raising our family here. I get asked a lot about things to do in McKinney, so today I am sharing some great places to check out.

THINGS TO DO/SEE IN MCKINNEY

**THIS ALSO INCLUDES ALLEN & EAST PLANO. I WILL DO A SEPARATE POST ON FRISCO, WEST PLANO, ETC.**

DOWNTOWN | THE SQUARE

This is probably the area McKinney is best known for. It has the cutest downtown area. It is a square with the old courthouse in the middle. If you come to McKinney you have to come to the square and walk around. You also have to drive around the area. There are the cutest historic homes built all around it. Here are some top places to check out:

FOOD:
- SPOONS: Cutest little cafe. Amazing for breakfast, lunch, brunch. Cute vintage decor inside and the food is so good
- SUGAR BACON: Fun trendy restaurant on the square. Great for date night or girls night.
- HARVEST: Another great restaurant for girls night or date night. The decor and food is amazing. It is a farm to table restaurant that supports local farmers. You must get the Deviled Eggs! OMG
- MELLOW MUSHROOM: Pizza chain that is yummy and great for family dinners.
- CADILLAC PIZZA: Such a great place. Love the atmosphere and the food is delicious. Great pizza, salads, etc
- SQUARE BURGER: Great burgers and beer
- RICKS CHOPHOUSE: Love Ricks for a fancier dinner and brunch. Amazing steak and great atmosphere. Rick owns this steakhouse and Harvest above.
- MOM & POPCORN: This is a must stop for us when we go to the square. It is an old fashion candy store with all the vintage candy from your past and amazing current candy. It is the CUTEST and the kids LOVE it. They also have the most amazing popcorn. If you hit downtown you have to stop in here.
SHOPPING
- MY FAVORITE ROOM: The most beautiful store. On the expensive side, but WOW. So much inspiration and beauty
- ANTIQUE COMPANY MALL: One of my favorites on the square. I buy TONS of vintage finds here. This is my favorite antique store
- PATINA GREEN: This store is so cool and run by a Husband, Wife and her mom. I love that. It is so beautiful and they have a cafe that is delicious. Robert is an amazing chef
- LANDRY KATE: Cutest clothing boutique. Lots of great clothes and decor at wonderful prices.
- BIRDS & WORDS: This store is so beautiful. Tons of great home decor and furniture. Inspiration is everywhere in this store!
- HOMEOLOGY: High end interior design store.
OTHER:
- DUMPSTER DIVA: Just off the square this shop has lots of amazing farmhouse finds. The owner Melissa and her husband refinish all kinds of furniture and make the cutest stuff.
- OLD RED LUMBERYARD: The 3rd weekend of every month (Fri & Sat only), the Old Red Lumberyard has an amazing vintage, antique, junk sale. It is a few blocks North of the downtown square. You can find lots of treasures here. I used to have my barn sales in this location.
- HOLIDAY HOME TOUR: if you are in town the first weekend in December you have to go on the historic home tour. I go every year and LOVE it. So many amazing homes with incredible decorating ideas.
- There are TONS of festivals in downtown McKinney so be sure to check out the event calendar. They shut down the square and have all kinds of entertainment. We love going to these festivals.

Avery in front of Spoons

Avery at Mom & Popcorn

WATTERS CREEK

This is a great area in Allen that we spend a lot of time at. It is beautiful! Shopping, dining, kids play area, live music, etc. Anthropologie, Kendra Scott, DSW, Sephora and Francesca’s are just a few of the fun stores here. The shopping center has a huge pond and stream that runs through it with a large grassy knoll play area that my kids love! Our favorite restaurants are Cheesecake Factory, Mi Cocina, and Grimaldi’s. They all have great patios with a beautiful view. We also love PF Changs and grabbing ice cream at Paciugo. During the summer they have a concert series on the lawn and you can bring dinner a blanket and enjoy the live music.

DOWNTOWN PLANO

I don’t come down here a lot, but it is a cute area. When we do come down here it is to go to Urban Crust or Urban Rio. They are both great restaurants. Yummy pizza and yummy Mexican. It is a fun place to go for something a little different.

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS

We eat out a lot and I mentioned some great restaurants above. A few other places we love to eat are Kelly’s and Mio Nono. If you go to Mio Nono you have to get the Fonduta Italiana for an appetizer. This stuff is incredible. You can take kids there, but these are places I like to go with girlfriends or date night.

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS WITH KIDS

Since we do eat out a lot with kids we love finding places that they are entertained so the adults can have some adult time too. Here are some of our favorites.

HAT CREEK BURGER: This place has great burgers & beer and has a fun kids play zone off the patio. You can sit and eat while the kids go play and they are all contained so it is very safe. We love going here
WILD SALSA: Yummy Mexican food that has a huge patio that is contained with corn hole, swings, etc so they adults can sit and eat while the kids are entertained
GLORIAS: This particular Glorias in Allen is located right by a huge splash pad. We like to sit on the patio and let our kids play in the fountains.
JOES CRABSHACK: This one is OK….but I mention it because there is a play zone. It is off the patio, but it is sand and I don’t feel like the kids are as contained. It is good, but not my favorite option. Still nice to know about if you are looking for variety
MI COCINA: I mentioned this when I talked about Watters Creek, but there is a huge grassy area off the patio that is pretty contained. You can eat on the patio while the kids play. We go here a lot when the weather is nice.

KIDS ACTIVITIES

While we are on the topic of kids, there are so many fun things to do with kids in McKinney/Allen.

PLAY STREET MUSEUM: We love it here and go all the time. . .probably weekly. It is great for younger kids. Tons of fun stuff to do and very clean. It isn’t really a museum, more of a play space. There is one in McKinney called On the Farm and one in Allen called On the Go. They are both amazing
CELEBRATION PARK: Huge park in Allen that has tons of play stuff. My kids love going here. It also has tons of baseball/soccer fields so it is nuts on the weekends. I like going during the week the best
KID MANIA: Ok, this is not my favorite place to go but my kids love it. It is a HUGE indoor maze playzone place. It is like the McDonalds playzone on steroids.
TOP GOLF: Fun place to take the kids
HEARD MUSEUM: 289 acre wildlife preserve. Pretty hiking trails, animated dinosaurs on the trails during certain times of the year, etc
NATATORIUM: Huge indoor swimming area. Slides, kids play water zone, lazy river, etc.
VILLAGE DEPOT: Fun little park in the Shops at Allen. It is completely closed in and has a few little play houses, a train caboose and a maze the shape of Texas. There are some tables so we like to grab food or dessert and let the kids play there. There are lots of food places (Freebirds, Mooya, Which Which, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cold Stone Creamery) around so it is easy to grab something everyone will like.
WATTERS CREEK PLAY AREA: I mentioned Watters Creek above, but they have this great area for kids. There is a huge grassy knoll with duck statues the kids love to play on and also a slide, bridge and other fun kids activities that look like a huge playhouse
APEX: So many fun pool activities. There is an indoor kiddie area, slide, lazy river and a HUGE outdoor pool with lazy river, slides, kid area, etc. Tons of Summer fun here.

I hope this list helps you if you are visiting McKinney. I cannot say enough about this town. It is an amazing place to live and visit. There are also so many great surrounding areas that are very close. There was too much to mention in 1 post so I will be doing separate posts on visiting Frisco, Dallas, etc.