Pawhuska Pioneers

If you live in Oklahoma and haven't yet made the trek to Pawhuska, Oklahoma for the infamous Pioneer Woman store, then it's time to save a Friday for the occasion. If you live outside Oklahoma and are going to be in the Midwestern vicinity, I still highly recommend. 

My mom and I decided to make the journey last Friday and it was such a fun day!

From OKC the drive is about 2 hours depending on traffic and time of day. We headed north just after 7:30 AM and didn't hit a bit of traffic. We parked across the street from the Mercantile and dashed inside the restaurant just in time for breakfast and on schedule for our planned arrival time of 9:30. We were immediately seated and decided to split the bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich on sourdough toast with breakfast potatoes. I added an Americano to my order because it was approximately 10 degrees in the building. Bring a light jacket, even if it's summer! The service was quick and efficient and the food was reasonably priced. We barely left anything on our plate! 

don't mind me, just being a tourist

We headed into the store portion of the Merc next and meandered around the items for sale. Everything was adorable, of course, but many items were more frivolous in nature or would require an entire kitchen makeover to coordinate. The only thing I needed was a coffee mug so I could enjoy a small town cup of coffee every Saturday morning. I also picked up a little something for Nat's upcoming September birthday package (no spoilers!). While standing in line to check out, we received our ticket to The Lodge and tucked it away for later. It's important to note that you cannot visit The Lodge (Ree's filming location on their ranch) without a free paper ticket that is picked up at The Merc. 

We ventured upstairs to check out the pastry selection because it's never too early for a macaron. Shari had been to the Merc before and had loved the macaron selection so I was disappointed to learn that they only serve macarons in the fall. Schedule your visit accordingly!! We gazed at the other offerings longingly before deciding it wasn't worth sacrificing our carb loaded lunch plans (stay tuned). 

Though it may seem that way on the surface, Pawhuska isn't just a Pioneer Woman town. We didn't have enough time to dive into the Native American heritage of Osage County, but history was definitely made in that tiny town. However, we did have time to stroll the main street and pop in and out of a few shops:

• Sister's Attic is a consignment store right next door to The Mercantile. We walked into every nook and cranny, but didn't uncover any treasure. 
• Tallgrass Prairie Flowers and More is named a florist on Google Maps, but the majority of the store is an boutique antique shop. The floor is conveniently marked with paper feet to mark the correct path in the maze of booths. Shari bought a pair of druzy earrings for a mere $6. 
•  The Buckin' Flamingo is a super fun shop that sells outdoor and indoor metal decor. I came close to buying Tanner an early Christmas present for his man cave/garage. The extra good news? If you can't make it to Pawhuska they'll ship to ya! Check them out. 
• Mudpies caught our eye on the way into town and their selection of jewelry, home goods, and gifts did not disappoint. 
• Prairie Cottage had a larger selection than Mudpies, but some of the same items. Overall, both are worth a stop on your day in Ptown!

true stairway to heaven

Speaking of Ptown...after our wandering, we were famished and ready to scout out lunch. P-town Pizza is directly west of The Merc and our pizza decision was affirmed when we saw the ghastly lunch crowd line out the door of the Pioneer Woman store. The establishment only opening in mid-June so it's likely that the general public hasn't yet discovered it's delicious existence. P-town is also owned by Ree Drummond and family, so we knew we wouldn't be disappointed and we only had a 20-30 minute wait. They had a great waiting area, complete with couches and a TV tuned to Ree's show, of course!

no regrets

We were seating in an open dining room with brick walls and the unmistakable scent of garlic. We wasted no time in ordering the Not Knots and a small pepperoni pizza to share. Trust me, you do not want to skip the Not Knots. Deep fried pizza dough rounds covered in butter, grated Parmesan, and TWO kinds of garlic. I didn't even know two different kinds of garlic existed?! But then again, I'm not a kitchen magician like Ree. The pepperoni pizza was perfect for us to split and we even had leftovers because the Not Knots were such a generous serving! 

still annoyed that Bed, Bath, and Beyond didn't offer that exact KitchenAid option for my wedding registry

We rolled ourselves back onto Main Street into a straight monsoon. The unexpected downpour put a damper on our plans to locate The Swinging Bridge outside of town, so instead we turned the car in the direction of Drummond Ranch. The directions provided at The Merc were on point and we soon witnessed Ladd's fleet of mustang (the horse, not the car..) galloping across the fields. We pulled up The Lodge, where Ree films most of her shows, and I was instantly envious of her domain. Can you say #KitchenGoals? This lady has not one KitchenAid mixer, but FOUR! Her pantry comes complete with a ladder on a track a la Beauty and the Beast library style to reach ingredients on the top shelves. 

tale as old as tiiiiime..

When Ree isn't filming, The Lodge is also a guest cottage and the bedrooms were spacious and gorgeous. Every single one opened out onto a killer porch with views for days. We signed our names on the guest sheet, which already had 5 pages full just from THAT DAY!, and turned the wheels toward OKC. 

It was a fantastic experience and I'm willing to go back ANYTIME, friends! Just promise me we'll make time for Not Knots and I'm so there, it's insane.