What was a trip planned for four, my mom, mother in law, sister and I, turned out to be a trip for two. Unfortunately my mom and mother in law came down with unexpected illness! Don’t fret, I believe they are both doing better now! While my sister and I missed them, we had a wonderful trip, plus it means we get to plan another trip back soon! 🙂

Leah and I visited Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Home to Ree Drummond also known as the pioneer woman.

Friday evening after a LONG road trip, we went to the Mercantile for dinner. The food never disappoints, and the service and atmosphere is friendly and fun! I ordered the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, Leah ordered the chicken parmesan, and we split an appetizer of cowboy fries! We both tried each others entrees, and I have to say while my chicken fried steak was good, it does not compare to the chicken parm!!! The chicken parmesan was amazing! The portions were huge, way more than we could eat, and so we ended up taking home leftovers!

The next morning we went to the lodge where they film the television show The Pioneer Woman. It was beautiful!!! I was very excited to take this tour as I did not get to when Andrew and I went three years ago. The open fields of Oklahoma are stunning! It’s like looking out over an ocean of fields and prairie grass. There are not words to properly describe the beauty and serenity, it’s one of those things you just have to experience. Even pictures don’t quite do it justice, but here is some anyway! 😉

After taking in the beauty of the outdoors, Leah and I began touring the inside of the lodge! Looking around inside where they do all the filming, seeing familiar settings from watching the tv show, peeking inside all the drawers, cabinets, and spaces was so much fun!! 🙂 We may have gotten a little carried away, as you can tell by the overload of pictures! 🙂

I love the open shelving on the walls. They are so beautifully staged. I also loved seeing what was inside the bottom cabinets! They are filled with all kinds of baking utensils, cake decorating stuff, flatware, etc. One had band-aids :), and there were sticky notes everywhere from guests such as ourselves! (I wonder if Ree found the note Leah and I left?) The two pull out drawers on each side of the sink are dishwashers, and a couple on the opposite side of the counter are crispers with apples and brown sugar inside! Probably my favorite part however, was the prop closet. It’s literally filled with all of Ree’s props! I loved seeing all the different colors of stand mixers, insta pots, crock pots, and every kind of dish, baking pan, and kitchen doo dads you could imagine!!

After the lodge tour we went back into town to do some shopping! We toured a lot of the boutiques down town, and then went for lunch at P Town Pizza! One of the top dishes I ate all weekend was the delicious Not Knots that we ordered for an appetizer! They are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, covered with a garlic butter and parmesan cheese, served with ranch and a marinara sauce. It’s making my mouth water as I type! I have to learn to make these!

We went shopping at the mercantile after lunch! We needed to walk off a few calories! 🙂 I went with a list of things that I wanted to buy for my own kitchen at the mercantile, and found most of them plus some. We had an amazing time! Then, as if we needed any more calories, we went to Charlies sweet shop. It is such a cute and sweet little place. The ice cream is smooth and wonderful. I had cookie dough and birthday cake. (I’m celebrating early;) )

We went later that evening for one last dinner at the Mercantile. I decided to go a little lighter and just order a few side dishes. I ordered the fancy mac n cheese (okay, maybe not so light! 😉 ), blistered green beans, and the whiskey glazed carrots! They were all stunning, and I can’t wait to try making them at home! However, I’m not sure I will ever be able to make mac n cheese taste that good. (they brought the green beans later, and I forgot to take a picture)

Leah and I had a blast, and one of the best parts of the whole trip was spending time with my sister! We are both busy people, and while we talk on the phone, our phone conversations more often than not go something like this. “Leah, I have to call you back, Emma just fell and busted her lip.” “Hi Leah! How are ya?…, we’re fixin’ to eat dinner.” “Hey sis, how was your week… Brandon and I are fixin’ to go out on the town”! 😉 So it was good to spend some quality time together! We spent over fourteen hours in the car together this weekend, and we still LOVE each other! 😉

I also want to point out that my wonderful husband survived a weekend all by himself with the kids!!! He is amazing!! And although a little worn out and slightly frazzled by Sunday evening, he did an amazing job! 😉 I missed them all very much, and was happy to be home and give them all lots of hugs and kisses!

Love,

PK