Penny's Passion

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

A Weekend in Pawhuska: Exploring the World of the Pioneer Woman

Hello! Thanks so much for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday. This is where I share a little of what’s been on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same. Today I’m thinking about a fun little getaway Eric and I took to Pawhuska, Oklahoma to soak in all things Pioneer Woman.


Visiting Ree Drummond’s Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma had been on my bucket list for years. The eight-room Boarding House books up quickly, and every time I looked, reservations were already gone. Then one fall day, while I was down a rabbit hole searching for Thanksgiving weekend getaways, I spotted an unexpected opening at the Boarding House. I grabbed it immediately, and just like that, the trip planning began. We were only able to book one night—Sunday—but I figured one night was better than none. We planned to stay elsewhere for a few nights before checking in, and it all came together perfectly.

Eric and I were up early the Friday after Thanksgiving and hit the road for our six-and-a-half-hour drive. I knew being away all weekend would put me a little behind on Christmas decorating, but it was a trade-off I was more than happy to make. Spending the entire weekend together—plus taking Monday off—and kicking off the holiday season in the charming town of Pawhuska sounded absolutely perfect.


We rolled into town late Friday afternoon and checked into our bed and bath just a short distance from downtown. We had snagged dinner reservations at P-Town Pizza and were excited to finally see in person a spot we’d only ever watched on TV. The pizza did not disappoint—it was amazing!



Saturday morning, we couldn’t wait to have breakfast at the Mercantile restaurant. Shortly after we ordered, fresh biscuits and jam were brought to the table ahead of our meals. Honestly, I could have stopped right there—the biscuits alone were absolutely delicious.  But when the food arrived, it was so delicious I continued to eat!

After we filled our bellies, we took a leisurely stroll through the Mercantile shop, soaking in all the fun wares on display. We also picked up our “ticket” to visit the ranch where The Pioneer Woman is filmed. The shop was absolutely adorable!


Visiting the ranch was something I was especially excited about! We made our way there using the directions we were given at the Mercantile, and once we arrived, we were free to wander and explore every nook and cranny. I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy standing in the very spot where Ree Drummond cooks her masterpieces.  If you visit Pawhuska, going to the ranch should be high on your list of things to do!








After wrapping up our time at the ranch, we headed back into town and popped in and out of several adorable shops along the streets. Since it was a bit chilly, we decided a return trip to the Mercantile—this time to the bakery for hot chocolate—was in order.




With some time to spare before dinner, we visited the National Osage Museum, located just a short distance from the main street area. It’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in town.


For dinner, we found ourselves back at the Mercantile restaurant once again. Afterward, we headed back to our rental to relax and get ready for the next day, when we’d finally check in to The Boarding House.

On Sunday, we planned to visit a cousin of mine who lives in the area—someone I hadn’t seen in decades. I was so grateful for the chance to reconnect, and spending time with her and her husband was truly one of the highlights of the trip. She even made a homemade pecan pie that Eric and I are still dreaming about!


Later that afternoon, we checked into The Boarding House and settled into the Boudoir Room—and I have to say, it was absolutely fantastic. 


Since most of the restaurants in town are closed on Sundays, we had preordered room service for dinner. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave the room! The bed and pillows were heavenly, and for anyone who loves a bath, the soaking tub was perfect for hours of relaxation.




The amenities alone made the stay completely worth it. Shortly after we arrived, we attended a complimentary happy hour, and later, around 8:00 pm, fresh cookies were delivered to our room. When we checked in, we submitted our personalized morning coffee order, which was delivered at the requested time along with a muffin and scone—a perfect start to the next day!



On Monday morning, we woke up to falling snow—it looked absolutely magical with all the Christmas lights twinkling. By the time we headed home, the roads were clear for most of the drive, only getting tricky as we neared our town. But we made it safely, bringing home a weekend full of wonderful memories!


Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 14, 2026


Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers, including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that, as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.
MEET THE HOSTS
  1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
  2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
  3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
  4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
  5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
  6. Angie – SALT PRAIRIE | IG | PINTEREST 

HIGHLIGHTS LINKS
LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way, your entries will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

We are going to be taking a little break from doing the blog hop for the next two weeks.  Our next blog hop will be on January 7.  Enjoy your holidays!

Let’s Party! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Friday, January 9, 2026

Five on Friday - January 9, 2025

Wow - it's finally Friday!  This was my first week back to work since before Christmas and it was a long week!  I had dinner with a friend last night and I didn't think Thursday was ever going to get here.  Now I'm excited to get the weekend started because we have a guest for the next few days and I can't wait to catch up with her!  Before all the fun begins, let me share my Five on Friday post with you ~

1.  Lay's Baked Potato Crisps
Keep an eye out for Lay’s new Baked Potato Crisps flavors—Loaded Baked Potato and Roasted Garlic & Herbs. They officially hit store shelves on January 5, and I already know a couple of bags will be coming home with me. PepsiCo also announced last year that they plan to remove all artificial flavors and colors from their products by the end of 2025, so it’ll be interesting to see how that change tastes in these new flavors.


2. The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
The sequel to Laura Dave’s hit The Last Thing He Told Me is finally here! I really enjoyed the first book and am eagerly waiting for this one to become available at the library. That said, I’m not sure I’ll have the patience to wait my turn—I may end up giving in and buying my own copy.  Here’s the summary ~
Five years after her husband, Owen, disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them.

But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again.

Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.

A gripping, rich, and deeply moving novel about the power of forgiveness, The First Time I Saw Him picks up right where the epilogue for the “genuinely moving” (The New York Times) The Last Thing He Told Me left off, giving readers the eagerly awaited and absolutely exhilarating sequel to Dave’s global blockbuster.
3.  Collar Extenders
Have your collars gotten a little tighter with all the holiday feasts?  Here's your solution - collar extenders!  They attach in seconds without sewing. Slip the loop over your shirt button and secure the extender’s button through the buttonhole for instant neck size increase.  My husband has been using them for years and loves them.  Even if your collar isn't too tight, it makes button-up shirts so much more comfortable!  


This little gem is on sale right now, and the timing couldn’t be better. It dries all kinds of footwear—boots, cleats, and sneakers included. The adjustable drying posts fit a wide variety of shoe styles, and its compact size makes it ideal for mudrooms, entryways, or even tucked away in a closet.  I really wish I had had this when my son was little.  It seems like his shoes were always wet from playing outside!  



5.  Exercise Plan...


In case you missed it this week on the blog:

Have a great weekend!  I hope to see you back next week!

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

What I Read in December 2025

Hello and welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  This is a time when I share something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm reflecting on the books I read in December.


The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole
This was a sweet book to read around Christmas!  It was a bit sappy, but overall a great holiday read.  
One Dress. Two Women. The Magic of the Holiday Season.

When hopeful fashionista Meg Julliard must return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her late father’s apartment building, she thinks her dreams of making it in the fashion business are over. Add in her father’s eclectic roster of tenants who all need Meg’s attention (ASAP!), a host of building related disasters, and a handsome handyman she keeps embarrassing herself in front of, and this has all the makings for the worst Christmas she’s ever had.

Ellie Wade, one of the building’s longtime residents, is also not feeling the Christmas Joy this year. She is preparing to move into a nursing home (reluctantly), and is in the process of sorting through her belongings to downsize. Every corner of her apartment holds memories, some good, some bad. But there’s one dress she hesitates to pack up as it represents both the best and worst night of her life.

Ellie and Meg strike up an unlikely friendship and the story of Ellie’s dress comes out. Ellie gifts the gorgeous dress to Meg, hoping that it will bring her more luck, on the condition that she wear it to the building’s Christmas party.

The dress magically fits, and while it eventually leads to the best night of Meg’s life, it also acts as inspiration for Meg to follow a life-long dream of her own, a dream that will help save the crumbling Parkview West, and restore it to its former glory, and keep it as a safe home for all of the current tenants.

The dress and the magic of the holiday season helps both Meg and Ellie find their own happy endings.  A touching holiday read. Perfect for fans of uplifting winter romances.
A delightful Christmas gift.


The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand
I'll be honest, this was not one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand stories.  It was filled with high school drama and dysfunctional parents.  Maybe my view of it would be different if I had been sitting on a beach, but to read it during the holidays it just fell short in my opinion.
It’s move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It’s a seventeen-spot jump – was there a typo? The dorms need to be renovated, their sports teams always come in last place, and let’s just say Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. On the other hand, the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef. And they do have fun—lots of parties and school dances, and a piano man plays in the student lounge every Monday night.

But just as the rarefied air of Tiffin is suffused with self-congratulation, the wheels begin to turn – and then they fall off the bus. One by one, scandalous blind items begin to appear on phones across Tiffin’s campus, thanks to a new app called ZipZap, and nobody is safe. From Davi Banerjee, international influencer and resident queen bee, to Simone Bergeron, the new and surprisingly young history teacher, to Charley Hicks, a transfer student who seems determined not to fit in, to Cordelia Spooner, Admissions Director with a somewhat idiosyncratic methodology – everyone has something to hide.

As if high school wasn’t dramatic enough...As the year unfolds, bonds are forged and broken, secrets are shared and exposed, and the lives of Tiffin’s students and staff are changed forever. The Academy is Elin Hilderbrand’s fresh, buzzy take on boarding school life, and a thrilling new direction from one of America’s most satisfying and popular storytellers.
The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
This book had been on my TBR list for a while.  It didn't disappoint!  
Jess Capodimonte Baratta is not living the life of her dreams. Not even close.

In blue-collar Lake Como, New Jersey, family comes first. Recently divorced from Bobby Bilancia, “the perfect husband," Jess moves into her parents’ basement to hide and heal. Jess is the overlooked daughter, who dutifully takes care of her parents, cooks Sunday dinner, and puts herself last. Despite her role as the family handmaiden, Jess is also a talented draftswoman in the marble business run by her dapper uncle Louie, who believes she can do anything (once she invests in a better wardrobe).

When the Capodimonte and Baratta families endure an unexpected loss, the shock unearths long-buried secrets that will force Jess to question her loyalty to those she trusted. Fueled by her lost dreams, Jess takes fate into her own hands and escapes to her ancestral home, Carrara, Italy.

From the shadows of the majestic marble-capped mountains of Tuscany, to the glittering streets of Milan, and on the shores of enchanting Lake Como (the other one), Jess begins to carve a place in this new/old world. When she meets Angelo Strazza, a passionate artist who works in gold, she discovers her own skills are priceless. But as Jess uncovers the truth about her family history, it will change the course of her life and those she loves the most forever. In love and work, in art and soul, Jess will need every tool she has mastered to reinvent her life.

Fed by the author’s cherished Italian roots comes a bighearted, hilarious novel of the moment: the story of one woman’s determination to live a creative life that matters, with enough room left over for love. With a one-way ticket to Italy, Jess is determined to write a new story on her own terms--this time, in stone.
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
Each December, our library book club selects a holiday-themed read, and this year’s choice was The Christmas Bookshop. It was generally well received by the group, and I felt the same way—a pleasant, enjoyable read for the holiday season.
Laid off from her department store job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life does not appeal.

Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job.

Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping? What will happen when a famous and charismatic author takes a sudden interest in the bookshop—and Carmen? And will the Christmas spirit be enough to help heal her fractured family?

I was on the hunt for a biography to recommend to our book club.  I thought maybe this one by Dick Van Dyke would be a great selection.  I'm going to keep looking.  I've always loved Dick Van Dyke, but he revealed some things in the book I wish I just didn't know about him.  I'd hate to be the one to change anyone else's view of him.
Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Now, as he’s about to turn 100 years old, Dick is still dancing and approaching life with the twinkle in his eye that we’ve come to know and love. In 100 Rules for Living to 100, he reveals his secrets for maintaining your joie de vivre and making the most out of the life you’ve been given.

Through stories of his pivotal childhood, moments on film sets, his expansive family, and finding love late in life, Dick reflects on both the joyful times and the challenges that shaped him. His indefatigable spirit and positive attitude will surely inspire readers to count the blessings in their own lives, persevere through the hard times, and appreciate the beauty and complexity of being human.
I also completed my third full read-through of the Bible! For the past three years, I’ve followed The Bible Recap, and if you stick with it all year, you’ll read the entire Bible. Each morning while I’m getting ready for work, I listen to Tara-Leigh Cobble on the Bible app, and it’s been such a meaningful way to start my day. If you’re thinking about doing it in 2026, it’s not too late—just download the Holy Bible app and search for The Bible Recap under plans. Everything is laid out day by day, making it incredibly simple to follow.


Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 7, 2026

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers, including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that, as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS
  1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
  2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
  3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
  4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
  5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
  6. Angie – SALT PRAIRIE | IG | PINTEREST 

HIGHLIGHTS LINKS


LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way, your entries will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

We are going to be taking a little break from doing the blog hop for the next two weeks.  Our next blog hop will be on January 7.  Enjoy your holidays!

Let’s Party! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 


As the calendar turns and we step into a brand-new year, I just want to pause and say thank you. Thank you for being here, for reading along, for commenting, sharing, and supporting this little space of mine. It truly means more than you know, and I don’t take a single visit for granted.

There’s something so hopeful about the start of a new year. It feels like a fresh page—clean, open, and full of possibility. Whether you’re stepping into January with big goals, quiet intentions, or simply a hope to take things one day at a time, I hope this year brings you peace, joy, and moments that make you smile when you least expect it.


My wish for you in the year ahead is simple: may you find beauty in the ordinary, strength in the hard days, and gratitude in the small moments. May your home be filled with laughter, your heart with contentment, and your days with things that matter most to you.

Cheers to new beginnings, fresh starts, and all that’s ahead. Happy New Year, friends—I’m so glad you’re here, and I can’t wait to see what this next chapter holds for all of us. 

Feel free to link up and share what you're thinking about today.  I love hearing from you!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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