Confessions of a blog slacker

I can't believe the entire month of October went by without any posts. Sorry about that folks. Life has been busy, but good, here at the Babendure household. I'm going to try to update the blog either tonight or later this week, but wanted to let you know that we are alive and well down here!

Delicious Fall Recipe

I made this tasty dish last week and we both loved it! Enjoy : ) Pumpkin Bread Pudding 15oz pumpkin (canned) 2c half & half 2c & 2T brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 t cinnamon 1 1/2 t vanilla (I also added some allspice & cloves) 1 loaf bread Whisk all ingredients together. Add to 16-20 slices bread cut into 1 inch cubes. Mix until all bread cubes are coated. Put in a 9x13 glass pan and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Hope you love this as much as we did!

Boise + Family + Friends = Love

Last weekend we headed up to Boise for our friends Matt & Lisa's wedding. It was sooooo nice to be home. I loved seeing our families and friends. I can't wait to move back... (but that's a whole different post). So we got there on Friday and Casey hung out with his friends while I went over to my mom's to lend a hand. She did ALL of the catering for this reception for 250 guests! My mom is so amazing. It was actually really fun working on the food Friday night. My aunt, grandma, Katie, my mom, and a few camp friends spent the evening chopping veggies, mixing sauces, and doing a million other food-prep things. It was great to just relax and talk and enjoy spending time together. I miss hanging out with my fam : ( Saturday morning we woke up to thunder and lightning. The wedding was inside, but it was an outdoor reception. Uh oh. Luckily, Lisa was able to get a rental company to come out and set up a tent at the reception site. It actually cleared up and got sunny during the (indoor) wedding, but then the thunder, hail, and pounding rain resumed right about the same time the (outdoor)reception started. We were all there to celebrate Lisa & Matt, though, and we weren't about to let a little rain stop us. We moved the food under the tent, ignored our personal space and crammed together under it's shelter. The bride and groom looked so happy - what a great pair :D It was so great to see so many people we have not seen in YEARS at the wedding. We caught up with lots of old camp friends and enjoyed some post-nuptial merriment at P.F. Chang's. Good times. Saturday we managed to make time hang out with our friends Andy and Amber. It was really great to see them and catch up. We enjoyed going out to breakfast and playing some super amazing Mario Kart and Guitar Hero. We got to see Mike too which was a nice bonus. Sunday we spent the morning up at Casey's parents' cabin in Garden Valley. They have built it from the ground up over the last 20+ years and it's so neat! It's still a work in progress and will be even better when it's completed. Sunday evening we had a huge family meal with my entire family and Casey's entire family, and Daniel brought his girlfriend Emma. It was great to finally meet her and I love that she makes Daniel so happy! Having dinner with everyone was a blast. I enjoyed constant chatter, delicious wedding leftovers, and lots of laughter. All in all it was a fantastic weekend and we got to see a lot of people we love. But as always it just wasn't long enough.

Autumn...

I absolutely LOVE fall - it is by far my favorite time of year. I love the crisp feeling in the air, the leaves changing colors, and the opportunity to wear jeans a little more often. Unfortunately, none of those things happen here in AZ in the fall. While I appreciate the slightly less inferno-esque temperatures, it's just not the same. We are headed to Boise tomorrow for a weekend wedding and although it's still a bit early in the fall, I'm hoping to enjoy some cooler weather and to see some beautiful trees begining their transition.

What's in a name?

I am so tired of being called Holly! It has always happened every now and again, but more people have called me Holly this week than in the last 25 years. Aghhhhhh! I see nothing wrong with the name Holly, other than it's not my name. My name is not very common, and I know it, but come on people, is Molly really that hard to say?