K&N Air Intake For Ann

In my attempt at capturing my man card back from my table runner post. I've recently installed a K&N Air Intake system for my truck.

Thanks to YouTube, I was able to slowly walk through this. The disassembly was a lot easier than putting everything back together.

If you have the idea to do the same and install your own, make sure you have an 11mm wrench and/or socket. Every single nut and bolt was 11mm, and I had a 9mm and 13mm that clearly wouldn't work.

After a couple of scrapped knuckles, I was finally able to use some pliers enough to piece the kit together and have it fully installed.

I read multiple reviews saying it will not only increase horsepower, but will also add 1-2 miles per gallon for your gas. I haven't driven it enough to confirm or deny that it does, but it's at least shiny and that's what us guys like, right?

Who Needs A Store Bought Table Runner ...

We purchased a new table earlier in the year, and since it's so much longer than our previous table, we've had to buy new everything.

We started looking for a new Christmas runner and quickly noticed a problem. The longest runner we could find (that we liked) was 72", but our table measured over 90+ inches. So, we built our own.

We saw this really nice Santa runner that we liked, so we decided we'd mimic that design for our. First we bought a ton of red velvet, 2 6" spools of white fur, a roll of black ribbon, and some silver glitter paper.

Measured the velvet out to a foot and cut ... and cut ... and cut ...

... and cut.

Got the exact lengths we wanted on the table and cut it down to size. Then took the ribbon and glued it down 5 inches from the center, above the end.

We let that sit for a few hours to dry, and then started on the fur. We wanted the fur to be reach wider than the 12", so we glued it half way onto the velvet.

As much as we love Rhett, he struggles understanding why he can't jump on mommy and daddy while they're in the floor, so we had to put him up ...

We were doing this in our office, and weren't sure if the glue would run through or not. Luckily, Dawn had the idea of putting the trash bags down, because it did run through, and actually bled some of the red onto the bags.

I cut down the glitter paper to the size I wanted it to be, leaving 9/16" on top and bottom of the belt and 1/2" on the sides.

Cut out the inside and glued the buckles down.

It's not 100% perfect, but for some first timers ... I'm pretty happy with it and our guests have already been oohing and aahing.

Review: Memphis Barbecue Co.

Memphis Barbecue Co.

We had tickets to see Eric Church in Gwinnett, Georgia on December 11th, so since Dawn's birthday was the next week, I planned a little preshow excursion for us. She's a big Atlanta Braves fan, so the day started with a tour of Turner Field. Since me and Melissa Cookston are BFFs ...

see :-)

... I figured we'd check out her new restaurant in GA.

As soon as the door opens you get that real pit smell of burning wood and smoking meats. Yeah, that smell you just imagined in your head that smells so amazingly awesome. To be honest, I think the exhaust for the smoker is funneled through the ceiling and is carried to the entrance. Another step through the 2nd set of doors and this beauty is on the wall beside you.

How can you tell a great BBQ joint from a crappy one? If they have a monsterous pig on their wall (disclaimer, I cannot confirm that a BBQ restaurant will be any good if they have a large pig on the wall).

We sit down and one of the most magical things ever happened. Some places will give you a basket of rolls, hush-puppies, or cornbread. Well not Memphis Barbecue Co. You get a basket of delicious, freshly-made pork rinds.

To keep from the debate of what to ordered. We went with the Pitmaster Sampler. Then Dawn throws a curveball and orders a salad ... at a BBQ restaurant ... a salad.

As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by a salad, we ordered the Pitmaster Sampler. It comes with a half rack of ribs, brisket, pulled pork, cornbread, and 2 sides, which we picked mac 'n' cheese and beans.

It was a daunting task, but with my heart pig shirt on, I was ready.

It's not often that Dawn and I will both, for lack of better term, pig out, but when we do, it's usually just one of us and the other will proceed in laughing at the misery it has created.

Well, we were both oinkers, and absolutely cleaned the plate. I'm not sure if I felt embarrassed, or a sense of accomplishment, when the waiter came over and said "wow, I didn't think ya'll would come close to finishing this."

And now, the misery sets in ...

Although I was hating life at that time. I did notice on the menu as we were ordering that they had pork rinds to go for $4. I figured, we'll be on the road driving back home the next day, so it'd be a good little snack for the car. Little did I know that $4 got me, what seemed like, an entire pig worth of pork rinds. Don't get me wrong, I was NOT complaining, but wow what a healthy portion for the price.

If you're taking a trip to Atlanta, Gwinnett, Georgia, America ... hell, if you're reading this ... take a trip to Dunwoody. It's worth trip alone.

Review: Gary's Barbecue, China Grove, NC

Gary's Barbecue

On our way up to see Eric Church in Greensboro, NC, we were running a little later than we had planned, so we decided to grab lunch on the way. Dawn grabs the GPS and starts looking for BBQ places. We find a couple places on the way, but they all seem to be a good ways off the interstate, so we kept looking. She then finds Gary's Barbecue. It's in this place called China Grove, that neither of us had even ever heard of, but it seemed close to the interstate and had good reviews, so we said "lets give it a shot."

When you drive in from the interstate you have to go past the restaurant and do a U-turn to get in. This gave us the perfect opportunity to see if it passes the BBQ restaurant "eye test" ... You know, does it look like a BBQ restaurant? To be considered a BBQ restaurant, it has to be a simple, nothing too flashy, style building. It needs a stack of wood somewhere in the back/side of the build (if this is missing, you have to question what they're actually cooking with), and most importantly, you need to see some smoke rolling through the air somewhere other than above the bathrooms. Now, there may be some "fancy" places that serve pulled pork, ribs, brisket etc, but that's not a BBQ restaurant.

As soon as we pasted it I knew, this is going to be good. If the building itself didn't tell that story, the completely packed parking lot did.

The second we walked in I could tell this was a pretty cool place. They have all kinds of nostalgic ads, memorabilia, and cars in this place. The story of the building and how much they've grown in their 40 years is really cool to read on the menu, too.

Ok, so on to the most important part, the food.

We each ordered the chopped (we're in NC remind you) pork plate, and they come out exactly as you'd expect from a good ol' BBQ joint. 

The pork came out with nothing more than smoke and pork. As I mentioned above, the way you'd expect from a good ol' BBQ joint.

With that said, if you're going to have "plain" pork, your sauce better be amazing. Gary's sauce ... is amazing. It has that very tradition taste, but with a lot more flavor. If you're wondering about the fries, throw a dash of salt and pepper on them and chow them down.

When we do our random restaurant stops it's a hit and miss. We basically have to go off of pictures and reviews offline, and unlike mine, those reviews aren't always 100% correct :-)