Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tired of your turkey leftovers??


Then you should try this amazing soup...


Two Poots Chicky/Turkey Dump Soup

* 2 1/2 cups broth (chicken or turkey depending on the meat you use)
* 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey
* 1 cup veggies ( 1/3 corn, celery, carrots)
* 1 tsp seasoned salt (we use herbamere)
* 1/4 tsp pepper
* 1 cup milk
* 3 Tbsp cornstarch
* 1 cup rice dumplings

1. Heat broth, cooked chicken/turkey, and veggies. Salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
2. In small bowl, whisk milk and cornstarch until smooth.
3. Stir milkstarch into big pot, heat to just boiling.
4. Drop dumplings into pot.
5. Cook uncovered on low for 10 minutes.
6. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer.
Enjoy!!

Some hints/tips...
*we like to make a whole chicken or turkey and then make our own stock from the bones, etc. Just drop in the bones with some onions, celery, carrots, and some spices in a pot of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours. Disgard bones and veggies and you have some delicious broth for soups!! Poot always takes the bones from my parents at Thanksgiving and Christmas and we make big batches of this! We are big soup eaters!

*Since I am gluten intolerant we use these rice noodles, which we found at an Asian Market.

If you aren't gluten intolerant, these really are very good dumplings. We have made two double batches of this soup and I still over half of the package left. They were super cheap too!

*You can make your own dumplings for this soup or you could buy some frozen ones like mentioned above.

What have you been making with your turkey leftovers?

XOXO
Amber

Monday, November 29, 2010

A Two Poot Thanksgiving Weekend...

Thanksgiving this year was a blast! It was filled with:

**Good Food**




**Surfing the Friday Ads (even though I did NO shopping)**


**Playing games**




**Movie Watching**
We saw Burlesque and the boys were being so silly!



**Reading**
I wanted to find some inspiration for holiday decorating.


**Cuddling with this cutie**

**Watched a reading of The Christmas Carol**



**I also managed to sneak in a few hours of crocheting while watching Six Feet Under! We have decided to start the series over and watch it from the beginning with our friend Jeremy. I am so excited. It is so addicting!

**Did some "winterizing" around Poot Manor and some cleaning/organizing.

**Started spreading Christmas Cheer throughout Poot Manor

**Picked out the perfect little christmas tree!!

I will be back with a post of our christmas decorations and tree soon! How was your Thanksgiving weekend? I hope it was a good one!

XOXO
Amber

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Thankful Tuesday...


In honor of Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, I thought I would do a list of 25 things I am thankful for!

1. My amazing hubby...Poot!!
2. My family
3. The freak squad (This is what we call our group of friends)
4. My job that allows me to have my weekends free!
5. My health
6. Delicious gluten free food
7. Poot Manor
8. My very own room to craft...or better yet store my craft supplies
9. My yarn stash!
10. A car that runs and is paid for!!
11. My blogging friends
12. Pandora to get me through the work day
13. My cute little gatos(kitties)
14. Netflix...to allow me to watch anything my heart desires
15. Etsy!!!!
16. Silly songs that Poot I make up and sing to each other
17. Blogs to inspire me daily
18. Red Wine
19. My work family
20. My record collection. I love coming home and cooking dinner while listening to some vinyl.
21. Hair dye...to wash those grays right out of my hair
22. Skype so we can talk to my brother who is living in Spain
23. Craft nights with my Mom and Aunt Paula
24. Coffee
25. Pumpkin anything...Pie, bread, creamer, pasta, cookies...Oh my!

What are you thankful for this year??
Happy Thanksgiving Day Eve! I can't wait to make my annual gluten free stuffing, eat some pumpkin roll, and watch the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade
XOXOX
Amber

Monday, November 22, 2010

Another fun filled weekend!!

This past weekend was busy busy busy...but a lot of fun. I was able to:

*do some christmas shopping

*buy more yarn...I can't believe how much I have right now!


Ms. Babakeenya is the keeper of the yarn!

*start a new afghan


*and finish two more!!



*watched Poot twice in A Midsummer Night's Dream




I am so glad to have my Poot back at night, but I am going to miss seeing the sweet blue fairies and the mechanical boys! Such a great cast! And of course I love watching Poot in his element. His performances always blow me away!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is in a couple days! I can't wait to eat all the yummy food, play games with friends and family, and watch movies! I don't think I will be venturing out on Friday! What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Are you heading out amongst the crowds??

**I must confess that I finally turned on the Christmas music tonight on my drive home. It made me smile and dance all the way home!

Happy Monday!
XOXO
Amber

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Strumpets Crumpets Ornament Swap....



It is going to be so much fun. Becky will pair you up with a partner and all you have to do is make one ornament. In return you will get one back!! Sounds perfect to me!!

Go here to sign up. The deadline is this Friday, November 19!!!

XOXO
Amber

P.S. I have been gathering up my Christmas Wish List items and will post them soon!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Thankful Tuesday

Sometimes it is the little things in your day to day life that end up making you the happiest. For me that is the mail! Ever since I was little I have loved getting the mail, even if there was never anything for me. These days it is mainly bills that we get here at Poot Manor, but every once in awhile there is a nice suprise.

Yesterday we received a box full of delicious treats from Becky! If you can't tell, Poot was very excited...



I also finally received my Joshua Radin goodies!!!!



The adorable tshirt that I bought from James and Laura arrived just in time for me to wear over the weekend. Their new shop is amazing. I want one of everything...


Some other "small things" that I am thankful for:
*my morning coffee
*being greeted by my kitties every night when I come home
*sneaking in one more snuggle with Poot in the morning
*cooking dinner with Poot
*my work "family"
*being able to repeat the same song over and over on my daily commute if I want!


What are some small things in your life that you are thankful for??
XOXO
Amber

Monday, November 15, 2010

This weekend...

I started a new cowl...


and finished it...

I LOVE the colors in this yarn!!

I went and saw Poot in A Midsummer Night's Dream. I love this sketch of his costume when he is turned into a donkey...


Poot worked on a presentation for his German Drama class. He is ending it with this slide while a David Hasselhoff song is playing! It is never a dull moment around here with him.


My parents took me to see Mando Saenz in concert. He was amazing! And such a sweet guy too! If you haven't heard any of his music, go to his website now! You won't regret it. He has such a unique voice!



This awesome painting was hanging at the venue where Mando played...

Love me some Elvis!!

I also...
*worked on another giant granny afghan (almost done and then I will post pics)
*ate some KC bbq with Poot
*and did some christmas shopping!

How was your weekend??
XOXO
Amber

Saturday, November 13, 2010

A Midsummers Night's Dream

This week, A Midsummer Night's Dream opened at KU. Scott has been rehearsing for months, and playing the role of Nick Bottom. I went last night and was so impressed! They all did such a great job, and the show was so magical!!

To get the word out about the show, Nick Bottom and Puck recorded a little promo after their rehearsal Wednesday night. They seemed to be just a little tipsy...see for yourself.



And if you live in the Kansas City area, you definitely should come see the show. It runs through November 21, and you can order your tickets here. This production is the first fully staged production in North America to performed entirely in the original pronunciation (English as it was spoken in Shakespeare's Day)

I can't wait to see it again!! Congrats Poot on an amazing performance!!
XOXO
Amber

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Favortie Love Story


So now that it is getting down to the wire (only a month and a half left til Christmas) and I am crafting every night, I have to keep myself entertained with movies. I have been watching Northern Exposure (as you know) and Dexter, but when I am waiting for my next Netflix Disc to arrive I pop in old movies.

Last night I decided to watch The Notebook. As soon as the music started playing I got tears in my eyes. Ha!! I am such a sucker for romance and this movie just breaks my heart everytime I watch it. It is hands down my favorite love story.




I don't think I will ever get tired of watching this movie. I not only love it for the story, but I love the fashion. Rachel McAdams looks so beautiful. I love how put together woman were back then with their gloves and jewelry. I would love to have that headband she is wearing with her swimsuit.

So...what is your favorite love story?? I would love some suggestions. I have several more presents to crochet, which means many more hours on the couch watching movies!!
XOXO
Amber

I am so proud...


of my Momma! She always amazes me with her talent. Last year she signed with a liscensing agent and her first product is now available! These adorable cupcake coasters are available here.

These would make great stocking stuffers for all the cupcake lovers in your life!!

Congrats Mom!! They are so cute!


XOXO
Amber

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Thankful Tuesday...

Today I am thankful for:

*the beautiful warm weather we are having here in Missouri...even if it is doing a number on my allergies

*Northern Exposure on DVD...why am I just now watching this show? My mom loved it when I was in high school, but I was obsessed with 90210 and Party of Five! I am so glad she has the first two season on dvd so I can borrow them. I will definitely be netflixing the remaining seasons.

*cute and inexpensive Thanksgiving decorations


*funny hairstyles on cute babies...Doesn't Oliver make a cute punk rocker?


*yummy fall soups like this. I made it for dinner tonight and it is so yummy!!

What are you thankful for today?
XOXO
Amber

Monday, November 8, 2010

A Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend we dogsat for my parents at their house. We had a great weekend, which consisted mainly of eating, crocheting, and watching movies.



Friday Night we made grilled cheese sandwiches, tomatoe soup, and fried green tomatoes. We also had a delicious bottle of Chardonel in fancy flamingo glasses. We bought the wine in Eureka Springs and they had suggested pairing it with grilled cheese!! It was delicious!

I worked on a shrug that is going to be a Christmas gift.


I also made myself a cowl:


The finishing touches were also done to a couple of afghans for Christmas...



And now that those are done, I started a new one last night...


I did a lot of crocheting while watching:




With all the relaxing going on all weekend, we did manage to get outside and enjoy the amazing weather on Sunday. Poot and I took a little 4.5 mile hike around Watkin's Mill State Park! It was the perfect way to end the weekend.






I could do this every weekend!!
XOXO
Amber