cowbell

the gambit released its best of new orleans issue this week (aka the what to see and do in new orleans bible) and i have spent the better part of yesterday studying, taking notes and memorizing the food & drink section. interestingly, the best new restaurant winner was cowbell, where marty and i went just the other day for a end-of-the-week burger date. the restaurant is in an old gas station in the riverbend neighborhood on bustling and adorable oak street. everything inside is recycled - from the doors that make up the tables to the old metal food tins and mason jars that have been turned into lamps. and the burgers, with their homemade agogo sauce (mayo, sriracha, 900 cloves of garlic and some kind of addictive substance) were amazing.  

surfboard table

 marty and i moved into a new apartment - which should explain the recent choosing change silence as i have been working on putting together our new home. in an attempt to disguise the fact that the bulk of our furniture consists of hand-me-downs, items from my parent's basement and thrift store finds, i've been scouring blogs and hardware stores for repurposing ideas. marty and i both love mid-century modern anything (how original, i know), so that's where we've focused our attention. one of the first amazing pieces i found was this surfboard table at a thrift store for $30 - the catch, of course, being that whoever owned it had covered it with sticky contact paper to hide water rings, burns marks and who knows what else. so, marty sanded it down, we stained it a gorgeous chocolate brown and [in my opinion] we restored it to its former glory! 

before:

 

 after: