We've Moved!!

In order to have more design flexibility and easier searching, Hilary Conyers Photography has moved to a new blog... visit us at www.hilaryconyersphotography.com/blog for the latest posts.
Don't worry, this blog will still be available for you to visit. :)

~ Hilary

Love It or Leave It: Vol 2 - Fortune Cookies & A New Adventure

We wandered up and down the aisles at Lowe's to pick up a few home improvement items... I bribed Jeremy to go with me with the promise of a new Dremel and lunch at Ming Shee. It took us a good 18 months to find chinese food in Peoria that we liked, so since we found out we're relocating to Greenville, SC for work, we've been at least 3 times... We love their fried rice...it's tastetacular and we highly recommend it. I thought about branching out and trying the Egg Foo Young that time, but not being entirely sure what's in it, I opted for my normal sweet and sour chicken.

I'm pretty sure time is has passed logarithmically since the day I bribed Jeremy with the Dremel! We've been house hunting, birthday celebrating (Happy B-day Da & Uncle Jerry), wedding attending (yay Joe + Stacie!!), and good-bye saying... check out a few pics of our favorite moments (and Stacie's fantastic centerpieces)...

I admit I cried when we first moved to Peoria ... but it has grown over the past few years to a place that has become home. We will miss all you our good friends here and our wonderful church family and H2H at Bethany ... but of course we'll be in touch with such wonderful inventions as social networking so let's not call it good-bye but a new adventure :).

LOVE IT...

Ming Shee Chinese Restaurant in Peoria
Wonderful friends at Bethany Baptist Church in Peoria, IL
Da & Uncle Jerry (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!)

LEAVE IT...

Preparing to show your home on a moments notice - actually, maybe this should go in the love it category since we've never made our bed this many days in a row...we can probably put that in the victory column.
Saying good-bye

Da & Uncle Jerry's Birthday Lunch ..... Yumm BBQ


Yay - a new pic of Jeremy & me - Thx Dad!

My fam @ the wedding

Audra Catherine | Newborn Session

Dear Audra,

We have all waited so long to meet you...and now you're here in all your cuddly softness! I hope you grow to know how much you're loved by your mommy and daddy and by the One who knit you together. You are so precious and special to them. Thank you for being such a patient model for us as we documented these these details of the beginning of your life. Welcome to our world, baby Audra!

Love,
Hilary

Audra Catherine | Newborn Session Sneak Peek

A quick peek at precious Audra's newborn session!! I'm so excited about Audra's pics, that I had to put one up today ... check back in the next day or two for more of this little angel!

Going Back in Time

Love It or Leave it - Vol 1

The first couple weeks in January are always full of New Year's Resolutions. I'm not sure you'd call them resolutions at our house, but we do generally try to get back on track in the new year...back on a budget, planning meals ahead of time, etc. I'm a terrible meal planner. Generally, the conversation when we get home is: J - "I'm hungry - What's for dinner?" H - "Umm" (scrounging through near empty cupboards) "cereal, cereal, or...cereal." Working full time makes grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking most difficult and leaves zero energy for meal creativity. However, thanks to a Christmas gift from my grandma, we may be conquering this problem (drum roll please) .............a new Crock Pot!! Yes, I can hear you all saying "hello, Hilary, this is not a new invention!" I have had a crock pot for a few years, and I've even used it several times, but it's gigantic, so it's a pain to clean and you have to cook for an army to fill it. My new crock pot is just right for about 4 servings (dinner today and lunch tomorrow!) and along with the Fix it and Forget it magazine, I'm all set. What an easy way to plan and cook ... or not cook...just come home and enjoy! Question: "What's for dinner?" Answer" " Not cereal!!"

So for the first round of Love It or Leave It...

LOVE IT

1. The little crock pot - reasonably priced at around $15
2. The return of Super Mario for Wii - I was always bad at that game 20 years ago ...and I still am today, but my sweet husband puts me on his shoulders and carries me through the levels. So much fun!
3. Jasmine Star...for her Kisses and Disses (Inspiration behind the new Love It or Leave It series)

LEAVE IT

1. Boring budget categories ... can you say Car repair?
2. Cereal for dinner
3. More Snow

Grace Upon Grace

I stumbled across one of those neat words that's written with photos a couple weeks ago ... like the ones from Sticks and Stones. Underneath the photos was John 1:16 "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another." Another translation of the Bible says "For of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." It really struck me at this season, we truly have received so many blessings ~ so undeserved ~ because of God's love for us.

This Christmas as we spent time with Jeremy's family, I am reminded of these blessings. Blessing upon blessing!


After a month behind closed doors, the unveiling Kelsey's New Room... Cathy did a fantastic job! It looks like it could be in a magazine!

More than the room, I think she liked the unicorn pillow pet. I made scrapped recipe books of family recipes for all the girls..

My precious niece who is so beautiful and so much fun...

We had fun opening presents and just being silly.

Cathy prepared the most beautiful table and yummy Christmas dinner (the boys fried the turkey).


And to finish it off, we got 7" of snow !!



Thank you, Lord, for another wonderful year to celebrate your birth!

Sew Excited for Christmas!

I'm getting sew excited for Christmas! (yes, pun intended...Jeremy would say it's a Mr. Bromley joke...my dad is the king of puns) With two decent snowfalls, Christmas cookies baked, classic carols on the radio, and feelings that our next car should be 4-wheel drive, I'm in the Christmas spirit! And with Christmas right around the corner, it's time to finish up some of the gifts - and this year, I'm going homemade.

Back in high school, I tried sewing a pair of pajama pants. Not that hard, right? A couple straight seams and you're good to go. Not for me!! A couple serious blunders and I turned it over to my aunts for them to finish, accepting the fact it just wasn't happening for me.

Thanks to my friend Sarah, I gave it another try... mostly motivated by the fact that the selection of curtains out there is seriously slim. I've even learned a little bit of "sew-speak" along the way. So this year, some of you on my Christmas list will be receiving the fruits of my labor (TBD whether that's good for you or not). Please be forgiving and don't look too closely :-).

~Hilary

Joe + Stacie : Bridal Shower

I love parties ... actually, I love planning parties. I get that from my mom. She does an amazing job! She and my grandma put on this amazing shower for my cousin Joe and his beautiful bride-to-be, Stacie, over Thanksgiving. Everything was perfect, from the cake (Cakes by K Renee) to the venue (Cascades Manor House Fireside Room) to the favors (Braun Family Christmas Cookies). By the way, the cookies are fantastic, so I included the recipe below - I think it's the nutmeg that makes the difference. YUM!

So anyway, way to go Mom and congratulations Joe & Stacie!! I'm so thankful to have you both as family!!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookie (Braun Family Favorite)

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1/4 c. sour cream
3 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter & sugar. Add egg & sour cream & mix well. Sift together dry ingredients. Stir into mixture. Kneed thoroughly. Chill 1 hour. Roll out 1/4" thick. Cut desired shapes, and backe at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting:
3 c. confectioner's sugar
1/3 c. softened butter
3 T. cream
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend together first 2 ingredients. Then stir in cream and vanilla.

Enjoy!!

Holly's Blog is Up...

Follow Holly's new blog ...

www.hollys40thadventure.blogspot.com

Call Me Adventure

Holly is a blast ~ and truly one amazing lady!!! Beautiful inside and out, she is full of adventure and spontaneity. She's up for anything (even in a dress), so we had so much fun shooting some images for her upcoming blog on 40 things to do in her 40th year...