Living the High Life...

I'm not sure about your city, but here in Kansas City people have slowly been moving downtown into Loft Condos. Sure, people have been living downtown for a while now. Lofts have always been available, but there hasn't always been that big of a draw. With the improved Freighthouse restaurants in the Crossroads Art District, the implamentation of First Friday's and more artists moving downtown, not to mention the Sprint Center and the ever-so-popular Power & Light District, people now have more reasons to move down there. 

Some of those people are Terry and Alan Antin. They bought a turret on top of the 909 Walnut building and converted it into a luxory condo. It took 26 months and more than $4 million to complete... but dang, that place is amazing. Now, I haven't been there myself, so I can't say for sure, but when they say a picture is worth a thousand words, they mean it. Or maybe these photos are worth a hundred thousand dollars... not sure.

Anyway, check out the links below to read the story and see the pictures of this amazing place. Be sure to check out my favorite photo, the one of their bedroom. I say it's my favorite because they don't have actual windows in there, so they built two window frames around two monitors that are hooked up to an outside camera that projects the outside on the TVs. Talk about having enough money to do whatever you want with!

'Empty Nesters' - article

Photos of the Loft

I like shoes...

If you know me pretty well, especially outside the office, you know I like shoes. I have 2 closets full of them. One closet is specifically for black or brown leather shoes and the other is for tennis shoes and flip-flops. 

I think my addiction started when I lived in NY during the fall semester of 2004. I had access to the best selection of shoes in the country. More importantly, I had access to designs and colors that you couldn't find in the Midwest... and they were CHEAP! My favorite shoe store was on Broadway, on the east side of the street, and about 5 shops north of the Canal Street intersection. I'd go there every other week just to check out their offerings. It was amazing. I bought too many while I lived there.

Fast foward a few years and a few dozen pairs of shoes later and we look at today. Now I've found a love of buying my shoes online. My latest addictions are Eastbay.com and Shoes.com. They both offer cheap shoes, a variety of colors and styles, all sizes (I have big feet), and most importantly, cheap/free shipping. And returns. 

Shoes.com has been the latest addiction. They offer free shipping and returns, so you can try them on when you get them and ship them back if you're not interested, and you get your full refund. They have plenty of sizes available, but they lack funky colors and styles.

That's where Eastbay comes into play. They have all the colors and styles that anyone desires. I got a pair of red and yellow Rod Laver adidas shoes and a pair of metallic pink and baby blue K-Swiss' from them. However, they lack the size selection that Shoes.com has, plus they charge for shipping, but not much.

So now I seek a beautiful blend of each site. One that has free shipping, great colors, plenty of sizes and cheap shoes! If you know of one, let me know and I'll be all over it. If you don't know of one but you've got the capitol to get one started, let me know... I think we could get it off the ground! Which would also mean free shoes for myself... hmmm, maybe I should start a business plan... Mike, want to build the site for me? Jk.

Anyway, check out their sites, they've got great stuff!

Shoes.com and Eastbay

I LOVE BBQ!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love BBQ? If I haven't, then here's your chance to read me saying "I LOVE BBQ!"

Today I hit up one of the best BBQ joints on the planet, Oklahoma Joe's. This place is wonderful. This place has the best food. This place is inside a gas station?

Yes, the famous Oklahoma Joe's started in a gas station, and still operates from it today. This place has all the qualities I look for in good BBQ. A great atmosphere, tasty sauce (I could drink this stuff... and I have), and of course, mouthwatering food. My personal favorite is their pulled pork sandwich. The pork is so soft, juicy and it crumbles in your mouth. This is by far their most popular fare, and is typically found on their daily special's menu. In fact, it was today's special, so naturally I had to have it.

Oh, and who can forget their fries. Anyone who has ever eaten there knows that these are the most addictive part of Okie Joe's. These things are amazing. I'm not sure what all is in the seasoning, but I have a feeling it might be illegal and could even hold a street value of immeasurable amounts. I could eat the fries as a meal... they're that good. There is one way to improve the fries however, and that's with the sauce. With a little bit of a bite and a sweet touch on the tongue, their sauce is simply the best. As mentioned in a previous thread, one of their sauces, Cowtown, was even rated as the "Best Sauce on the Planet" in 2001 at the American Royal.

In my book Oklahoma Joe's is one of the best BBQ places you'll find on the face of this planet. But, you don't have to take my word for it... however, I do take the word of the American Royal BBQ Competition... the World Series of BBQ and the largest BBQ contest in the world, where Oklahoma Joe's has been the Grand Champion. Oh, and a little group called Zagat gave them one of the few "Excellent" scores that they hand out in the BBQ category.

Anyway, I'm going to go fall into a food coma and dream of BBQ. Hopefully the rain will hold off this weekend so I can get back to the grill and whip up something good!

Tax Day Tea Party

Today is the big day of the Tea Party. These "modern" tea parties are popping up all over the country. They're happening in over 2000 cities, towns and counties across the US and I have to say, I support them.

Traditionally I'm a conservative, but have been known to be 'green' when it comes to recycling and not trashing our earth, but stick pretty close to party lines. I'm not a whacko conservative, although I can think of a few coworkers and friends who might disagree. I believe people should be taxed fairly, no matter if you make $20,000 a year or $2 million. Estate Tax is a joke and Big Government is killing this amazing country that we call home.

I say these things, yet you won't see me out there with my signs... even though I really like one that I printed off yesterday...

Well, I probably would go, but I have a softball game right in the middle of the thing. If I did go, it would purely be to observe. I'm not edumakated on the whole bailout/tax bill, so I don't feel that I have the right to be out there, even though the First Amendment grants me that right.

I'm quite interested in the masses that have been gathering. I've been following a few FoxNews and CNN "local reports" from the different locations, and things seem to be peaceful thus far. There are rumors that the losers from ACORN are going to try to crash a few of the protests, but that's yet to be seen.

Anyway, I'm just glad to see people speaking up again. It seems like a lot of people have just sat back and taken the abuse from Big Gov't for the last few decades. No matter your take or your party affiliation, I'm sure you're a little peeved at what's being done with our tax dollars. I hate seeing companies fail, but sometimes you just have to learn to let go and let freedom ring.
http://taxdayteaparty.com/

Williams-Sonoma

For those of you who know me, you probably know that I work at Williams-Sonoma part-time. I work in the stock room and typically only work a few hours a month, but it's a great part-time job. I mainly work during the holidays, so it's a great way to make some "Christmas Cash" as I like to call it, but it also allows me to have access to some of the best culinary tools on the market... not to mention my ability to buy them at a discount!

Recently I've been focusing on our spices/rubs and trying to experiment with them. My new favorite, even though it's out of season, is the Smoked Turkey rub. This stuff is heaven on meat!

My use for the rub was on pork tenderloin. I dry rubbed the loins and put it in the fridge for about 24 hours in a zip-lock bag. The next night I placed the loins in a pyrex dish and poured a liquid mixture of BBQ Seasoning, OJ and Cowtown BBQ sauce in the bottom. Cover lightly with foil and bake for about 20 minutes at 350. After those 20 minutes are up, flip the loins over and cook for another 20. Lastly, fire up the grill and cook over medium flame for a final 30 minutes.

The loins come out smoky, moist and super tasty. Slice it up and serve with a baked sweet potato and you've got yourself a tasty, filling, health dinner.

(To increase the smoky flavor, try grilling the loins on a cedar plank that you've soaked for about 4 hours. This will increase the smoky flavor and let's face it, cedar smells great!)

Cowtown BBQ sauce - "Best Sauce of the Planet" - 2001 American Royal

http://www.cowtownbbq.com/

Finally Launched!

Well, I've finally launched my blog. I haven't blogged in quite some time... you could even say it's been years. Sure, I've done the corporate blog thing at the office, but I haven't done anything on my own since college.

The goal of my new blog is to post tips and reviews of my homeowner experiences. I've been in my house for about 3 years now and I've done odds and ends throughout the house and in the yard, plus my fair share of testing in the kitchen, so hopefully some of my successes will be helpful to others.

Welcome and hopefully you'll find something you like here!