Check this out

I'll have my own post up soon, but in the mean time check out my friend's blog post about Max's nursery.  .http://life-love-sparrows.blogspot.com/2010/09/max-king-of-jungle.html  I'll tell you, having a kid puts a damper on blogging.

Gumbo New Orleans Style

Growing up on the gulf coast I grew up loving gumbo.  On a recent trip to New Orleans I decided to have a bowl of gumbo at every meal that it was available to see what a town that is know for its food could do.  We were only in town for a few days, so there were many great places that will have to wait for the next trip.

I'll be grading the gumbo on a one to five scale based on the following criteria: roux, spiciness, and freshness of the seafood.  Personally I like a bold roux and a good amount of heat so I don't need to use any hot sauce.

First up is House of Blues.  It was late and we were tired when we got checked into our hotel.  The House of Blues was only a short walk.  I wasn't expecting a lot from a chain, but I was pleasantly surprised. It did have sausage, which I didn't care for as I like my gumbo seafood only.  It was very tasty, but I could tell it wasn't "home made".  The presentation was slightly sloppy, but the ambiance of HOB made up for it.  I give it 3 out of 5 shrimp.

Our next stop was lunch the next day.  Again  we went to a chain restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. My wife's favorite movie is Forrest Gump so not stopping by wasn't an option  While our main courses were great, I was really disappointed in the gumbo.  It was very obvious that it started out prepackaged and was just heated up with no real flavor coming out.  It also had sausage, but the worst part was the fish they used which was tough and cut into squares.  I give it 1 out of 5 Shrimp.

The next day we took about an hour drive outside New Orleans to the Oak Alley Plantation.  Guys if your in the area take your significant other. http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/.  On the premises, they have a restaurant and the gumbo is excellent.  The spices are just right, with enough heat without being overpowering..  I know I'm setting a high bar, but 5 shrimp out of 5.

Dinner that night was for my wife's birthday so we were looking for a great place to eat that would be a touch of fancy without needing a suit.  We decided on G.W. Finns and it delivered.  First the service was top notch, just about every place we ate at in New Orleans had service ranging from so-so to so bad we walked out.  Not so at G. W. Finns.  Now on to the gumbo.  It can be summed up in one word: Rue.  It was excellent, it was very apparent that a lot of time and effort went in to the roux.  It was well textured and complex.  All the flavors complimented each other quite frankly left me wanting more.  The presentation was great and the shrimp was tender.  Again 5 out of 5 Shrimp.

Our last meal in New Orleans didn't involve gumbo, but is still worth mentioning.  Everyone should go to Sunday brunch at the Court of Two Sisters.

Make your own headboard

So my wife and I decided to build our own headboard after spending quite a bit of time searching for one and not finding what we wanted. As someone who doesn't do a lot of building and home improvement projects I was a bit skeptical about building a headboard that would be the centerpiece of our bedroom. How wrong was I.

Supplies:

Plywood (Lowes or Home Depot will cut to size for you)

Two 2x6's

4 bolts, washers, & nuts

Your choice of fabric

batting

Drill

Circular saw

Staple gun
Spray paint

Step one is deciding between mounting the headboard to the wall or to the bed frame. I chose to mount to the frame. First measure how tall the headboard needs to be and cut the 2x6's with the circular saw. Now it's time to drill the holes to mount the plywood to the legs. What I did was drill holes through the plywood three inches from the top and three inches from the bottom. Then I laid the plywood over the legs in the position they needed to be and just drilled straight through both. Repeat for the other holes.

Step two is painting the legs.  I chose black as it matched the bedroom furniture and wouldn't stand out.  Simply spray the legs in a well ventilated area and let dry.

Step three is attaching the legs to the plywood with the bolts. I chose bolts that had no screw slot, in hindsight I would probably choose differently. However they worked well enough. To have enough room for the nut I used a hole saw bit to enlarge one side of the holes on each leg. Then just screw the legs to the plywood.

Step four is adding the batting and fabric. I just stretched it across the plywood and staple it to the back of the legs. Remember to be very careful with the staple gun. Cut off any excess batting. Next, stretch out the fabric and staple it to the back of the legs as well. Again cut off any excess.

Your final product should look something like this.

Finally, position it behind the bed, you can now attach the headboard to the frame, or simply squeeze it between the wall and bed.  Enjoy your new headboard.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I have to start out by giving thanks to my wife for coming up with the title. So this blog will be my sandbox. I plan to talk about a little bit of everything, from travel and movie reviews to technology I find cool and crazy shenanigans with friends.