The pantry shelves went in yesterday. Pardon the Doritos. But we have to be us.
I hadn’t touched base with the cabinet guy since Christmas, and quite honestly, I’d completely forgotten what I’d come up with. All I know is, I scrawled the design—one based on several different ideas you offered for the pantry; thank you—on a piece of paper and faxed it to him sometime in December. After that, we barely spoke until he called me this week to tell me the pantry was done and would be here Thursday.
I panicked a little, wondering if it was going to make any sense. I don’t think my mind was very clear in December.
In light of that, I was pleasantly surprised. The ladder glides really easily across the open shelves, which I hoped would look a little like the old mercantile shops in western movies. Or “Little House on the Prairie”. Or “The Color Purple”. (Remember when Celie and Sophia run into each other and Celie helps Sophie collect her groceries? I’m sorry, but that movie was Oprah’s finest hour—and she’s had many a fine hour since then.)
This was a great piece of advice many of you offered me: make sure the shelves are tall enough to store countertop appliances that you might not want out in the kitchen all the time.
Here was another great idea from our pantry discussion here: have a small workspace inside the pantry. That way you can carve meat, prep veggies, or anything else you’d like to do outside of the traffic flow if you have a bunch of people over.
This ladder is really something. I figure it’ll be about twelve hours before my boys figure out they can crawl on the top of the shelves and act like it’s Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Not that either of them knows about Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
