Fabric, economics and chocolate.

Tuesday June 11th, 2013.

OK so let me first explain myself (ourselves).  Last weekend Cameron and I averaged a bedtime of 2:00 am because Miranda was in town and no one sleeps when that party animal is around!! JK Miranda:)  But seriously we wanted to wait up for Miranda to come home from CMA fest and then when she got home we just wanted to talk all night long (totally worth it). And of course we were up early working/studying/sewing/packing.  OK so Saturday night we slept on the plane.. Sunday night we went to be around 2am (because that is about 8pm nashville time) and then woke up at 4am to head to work. And on top of that I have been so nervous about working in a different country/hospital that I have NOT been able to sleep well at all.  phew. Now maybe we wont seem quite so lazy when I tell you that we slept in until 11:30am! I mean it wasn't like we woke up then went back to sleep.. nope we flat out zonked at around midnight and didn't make a move until nearly 12 hours later....!!! Cameron and I just started cracking up when we found out what time it was.  I guess we were a little bit tired.

Starting your day at 11:30 is craazy! I mean do you eat breakfast? or just fast forward to lunch? I don't have an answer for that.  We ended up doing neither.  We hurried and got ready and went straight for the fabric market in London.  I thought we would just peak through the stores and then move on to food (food must always be a priority when married to Cameron Lowry) but I was totally lying to myself.  We spent like three hours there.  Poor Cameron.  He was such a good sport about it. He brought a backpack and every time I bought a new fabric he would figure out some ingenious way  to fit it in the backpack without making the backpack look bigger at all.  I can't quite explain it but it was pretty impressive.  Cameron didn't even know I knew how to sew when we got married so Im still in awe at what a good sport he is with all of this.  In every fabric store I would say about 50 times "honey what do you think about this one?"  and Cameron would always tell me straight up "oh wow that is really spectacular" or "hmm I dunno thats a little weird but if you have like a vision for it or something then go for it".  Love that hubby of mine.  It was a perfect morning/afternoon and Cameron and I laughed harder than we have in a long time.  After the fabric escapade we ate dinner at a chinese restaurant that was disgusting. Totally grossed us out.  I wont go into much detail about that experience.  And then we hit up a dollar store and bought loads of candy.. If you haven't eaten a happy hippo I would highly recommend it.  I was skeptical at first too.. and now I've eaten about 5 of them.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around aimlessly.  We have a list of so many things to do and see but everytime we walk out of our hotel we just keep walking and we can't stop.  We say we are going to head somewhere else but then there's something just ahead that we just have to check out!  I must admit I'm taking full advantage of not having to be anywhere at any certain time right now.  It has been so much fun to just wander around and find hilarious and interesting things to see on the way.

Wednesday June 06/12/13

Wednesday was another day that began with fabric shopping (I know I have a problem) but Cameron had lots of homework to do so I was able to run from shop to shop while he sat at the cutest cafe drinking hot chocolate and studying Economics (doesn't that sound like a dream).  Ok if I thought Tuesday's fabric escapade was amazing...Wednesday's blew it out of the water.  Berwick Street is only a couple blocks from us and there are probably 5-7 beautiful fabric shops.  We are talking top of the line shops with fabrics that go on up to 300 pounds!!  But luckily in every single shop I went in there were remnant pieces for very cheap.. I'm talking silk remnants, shirting remnants, fur remnants, every kind of fabric you can imagine in every color and every pattern for less than we can get in the states.  And then you walk a couple blocks and there is Klein's.. a notions store (or haberdashery as they call it here-such a fun word) with beading, ribbon, buttons and zippers.  It is pretty inspiring just dreaming of all the things you could make with the beautiful pieces you see in these shops.  Its all just such a dream!  I feel very blessed to get to see such creativity at such a perfect time in my life.

The rest of the day was filled with more wandering.  After another backpack full of fabric we were headed home when we decided to walk down one street to see what was going on...well 4 hours later we finally made it back to our place.  One turn literally turned into four hours of us looking around and saying Wow lets look at that... oh Wow I want to see that.. haha we couldn't get enough of the area (Reagent Street/Oxford Street/Bond street).  We literally did a complete circle and ended right back at that same street four hours later.  It was an amazing day.  We did eventually make our way to see good ole Big Ben and the London Eye.. and then headed to Phoenix Theater to see "Once" which had some incredible music! Cameron and I weren't completely in love with the plot but the music and the beauty of the theater made the show for us.

All in all it was another wonderful day that we are so grateful to get to experience.  I know this time won't last forever so we are just trying to soak it all in as best as we can.

Cheers
-Brooke
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Stripes on stripes on stripes

Of course I had to make a dress (very quickly) to take on our trip. So I whipped this one up just before we left. It is a fairly simple bodice (no darts because I wanted to keep it quite simple and not take away from the width of the stripes) and the skirt is just gathered panels pieced together. Turned out to be perfect for bumming around town all day...comfy.. stretchy (great for this chocolate diet I'm on right now) and I def didn't see anyone else wearing it today. But I can tell you that stripes are in!! Everywhere I turn I see amazing fabric lined with stripes.. All diff colors all diff sizes. And in all different directions! Such a fun trend! I might need to make myself a few more... Hmm...

(Testing it out before our trip.. Oh the lengths we go for a picture when the hubby's not around)

It's so fun to be able to wear clothes that you make yourself but there's just something special about making clothes and taking pics of other people wearing them. In other words I am pretty excited to get to work on my line and other custom orders I have been getting lately. Until then I'm grateful to spend this precious time with the hubby in an absolutely charming place. 

Loves. 

Brooke 

Collie

Monday 06.10.13

Monday morning we woke up at 4 in the morning to head to Ashford, Kent which is two hours outside of London.  I had to work there for the day and Cameron was nice enough to make the long journey with me and patiently do homework in the hospital lobby while I was at work.  Luckily Cameron ate the best breakfast sandwich he has ever had in his life (he seriously keep talking about it) so I think that made it all worth it for him.

Our commute started by walking to the bus station then taking the bus station to the train station then an hour and half train ride to then take a taxi and finally we were at the hospital!  Probably our favorite part of the trip was Collie.  He took us to the hospital and we loved him so much we called him when I was done working and he took us back to the train station.  Collie was seriously so legendary.  He told us all about the town of Ashford...and how it used to be a quite pleasant town but when chain grocery stores knocked down local groceries and took down farms the town became quite bloody boring (according to collie that is).  When we asked him if there were any good places to eat he told us he didnt know because if he was hungry he would head to the river and catch himself a fish and filet it up.  We are conviced that if we kept this conversation going we would be sitting at Collie's dinner table eating homemade caught and fried fish---biggest regret of the trip so far!!  Cameron told Collie that he was from Utah and Collie commented oh lots of mormons there.. funny people those mormons.  Do they preach to you all the time? (imagine all these converstions in a british accent it makes the story much more funny).  Wish you all could get a chance to meet that hilarious and wonderful man.

I wore this boy out! He says I am the first person ever to exhaust him. If you know Cameron you know that's probably true. #winning 

My work experience was like out of a movie.  The hospital was tiny and charming.  And the staff were both hilarious and incredibly sweet to me.  I just couldn't get over their accents!!  They were so thick I could barely understand them sometimes.  One of the guys that I worked with (a larger man) said that he would love to come back to the states with me because he would be nearly anoroxic in America with all of those big mac eating Americans!  Another guy told me that England is wonderful although the weather is just dreadful and disappointing.  He said your life consists of an endless series of planned and cancelled barbecues.. it really is such a shame.  Hahah. love those English workers.  Oh and I have I mentioned that they are OBSESSED with Britains got talent..I saw so many ads on tv and on the streets before we got to the hospital and then of course the first conversation I heard among the lab techs was "Did you happen to catch britian's got talent last night?". Bloody brilliant.

Our dinner every night..mmmmm it's so good! 

After work we headed to Canterbury.  OK I LOVE CANTERBURY.  I was in thrift shop heaven!!!  Seriously where else can you find shoes for 5 pounds.. ahhmazing!  We ate empanadas and bought bread and cheese and chocolate at the local grocery store YUM YUM YUM.  And walked around the town just taking in the cobblestone and architecture.  It was beautiful! 

I'm a little bummed we didn't have this cake for our wedding.. So sad.

Poppa Lowry this is a shout out to you! Cameron was trying to be just like his pops:) 

After Canterbury we headed back to London and took the underground to Picadilly Circus.  The crazy thing about England is that it never gets dark!  Seriously we were up at 4am and then out again until about 10pm and it was still light outside!  Its amazing!  So we just bummed around town checking out the amazing Nike and Ferrari stores and finished the night with an amazing italian meal!  There is so much shopping here I can't even stand it.  I just love taking in all the styles and fashions here in London. Its fairly similiar to the styles we see in NYC but with a certain edge to it.  It has given me a new vision for my line I'll show in October.  I can't wait to get moving on it.. Oh London you are a girl's dream come true.

Cameron and the Russian lady trying to talk me into these shades. Probably not gonna happen. Just sayin. 

I think this is Cameron's very favorite pic. He wants those sooooo bad! 

Best wall in the world! A wall full of sewing machines. The only thing that could make it better is if it were lined with fabric!

Chao
-Brooke 

London Calls

I wanted to document (for Cameron and I) our London trip.  Because quite honestly it has been the biggest miracle and most amazing opportunity for us at this time and I never want to forget how blessed we are.

Lets start from the beginning.  A couple of weeks ago I got an email from my manager asking if anyone was interested in going to London to cover cases for our company for a few days while the UK team held their first countrywide conference.  I just happened to be sitting at the computer when that email was sent and yelled out to Cameron "Should I go to Europe to work for a few days??" his response was "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  If you ever get asked to go to Europe DO IT!" haha (just another reason for loving my hubby) so I quickly emailed back and well here I am!  Cameron and I debated back and forth as to whether he should come with me (tickets are EXPENSIVE! and so is school!)  But because my company would be paying for my airplane ticket, hotel for a few days, and my food for a few days we decided to chalk up the money and go for it.  We found out a day later that my company would not just be paying for a few days of my hotel they would be paying for our hotel for the ENTIRE time (blessings blessings blessing).  I am thoroughly convinced I have the very best job in. the. world.



So after three straight weekends of family in town, a week at the beach (hard life I know) and finishing four dresses in a week.. we packed up and were off to London.  The flight over was hectic.. like always.. if you know the webbers you know that no one in our family takes international flights with out some kind of drama.  I was hoping since I am now a Lowry my luck would change but alas it has not.  Picture Cameron and I running in a full out sprint for about 5 miles while carrying three bags in heels uphill in the snow (jkjkjk) through the Dulles airport to make our London flight (otherwise we would have to wait until the morning to leave which would throw off our trip and my work etc etc etc.)  We might have sat on that flight smelling bad and all sweaty from the sprint..poor guy sitting next to us... but we made it. Can I get a hallelujah. 

Our first 24 hours in Europe has been pretty epic.  We pulled into our hotel and I swear my mouth dropped to the floor.  I have been to Europe with my family before so I know how the hotels can be in Europe (small.. or lets say cozy..most closely relating a dorm room from the 60's).  I kept telling Cameron no you dont understand this is AMAAZING!!!!  We have tea tree shampoo and conditioner in our bath need I say more?  Thank you again to my wonderful job.  We spent the day feeling like zombies as we walked around the town.  Goodness that time change is a beast!  But the town near the Marble Arch is so charming!  Oh the accents, the shopping, the bread and cheese its absolutley BRILLIANT (heard that one on the train today.. wish I could get away with saying that and sounding wise like the English do). 

(Our amazing hotel-minus the two twin beds..oops! Haha. We fell asleep holding hands #newlywedsforever)

So here we go!  I will try to keep up on this for the next week as almost a way to journal.  Feel free to read if you are interested!  I Should be getting pictures soon.  Love and chao to our friends and family back home.

--Brooke

the whirlwind..

goodness how do you even blog about such a dream come true.  the last few months have been a whirlwind.  words seem to fail me when i try to explain the perfect-ness of the events cameron and i experienced.  it seems like so many details have been on my mind since august 26th when cam first proposed.  and when the week of the wedding came knocking at our door details didn't seem to matter at all. i just wanted to marry my love.

more family than expected flew all the way to our paradise (nashville) to join in on the festivities.  we kicked off the celebration with a "love is sweet" party hosted by the critchlows.  divine is the word that comes to mind when I think about the delicious desserts we enjoyed and the beautiful company that surrounded us.  the next day the ladies took over a nail salon (and when I say we took it over i mean we owned that place for a few hours...yummy food..30 girlies getting nails done...and dave barnes playing in the background.. yah we owned it:) while the men did what men do best.  They drove nice cars and ate great food. The morning activies transformed in to a night of cowboy boots, cowboy hats, southern drawls, and wrangler jeans.  we ate a dinner at franklin mercantile where the mashed potatoes are still being talked about throughout the hills of tennessee and the mountains of utah.  and close friends sang tunes that should be played on the radio.  we were blessed to have several friends and family members stand up in front of the crowd to give the two of us advice, express their love, and of course warn us of eachothers embarrassing stories. the night was beautiful.

i expected to awake the next day full of jitters.  but instead i awoke full of peace, grateful that life had brought me to this moment.  at one point in life i was that little 8 year old girl dressing up in wedding dresses.  i was the teenager that dreamed about what real love was. i was the twenty year old that planned wedding color paletes, and the college senior frusterated with relationships and wondering if marriage would happen for me.  and in that moment, every piece of those years had fallen into place. and on february 18th, i remember thinking... i can't believe i ever doubted that my love, Cameron Dan Lowry, existed.

i felt like a celebrity sitting in my moms bathroom with friends and family gathered around as a professional artist curled my hair and put on my makeup.  i'll never forget my youngest brother walking into the room after the process was done while saying "wow brooke, you look legit".

cameron picked me up from the house, thank goodness.  i hadnt seen much of him that week and it was a relief to be whisked away in his car and contemplate the days events with my love. 

the temple ceremony was beautiful.  imagine a white and gold room filled with your closest family and friends in a ceremony that is untouched by movies...too sacred to be displayed across pictures or in magazines, free from any ounce of defilement that commercialism and popularity most often bring. i loved that about the temple.  it was truly special, more pure than i ever imagined..and will remain sacred and beautiful to me for the eternities.

after the temple ceremony the wedding festivities were in full order.  pictures with the fam, hundreds-if not thousands of congratulations, and hugs hugs hugs from nearly everyone i love.  life truly is funny how it works.. i have planned my wedding since the day i could talk basically. from colors to flowers to traditions..even down to the music.  and one of the most special moments of the entire day was one that was completely spontaneous.  it was a moment neither cameron nor I will ever forget.  a memory we will get to share between just us forever and ever.

when we got to the loveless barn's parking lot we sat in the car and watched as our guests arrived at the barn.  it was a little surreal seeing our friends and family walk into an event that was for us!  such a flattering and humbling experience. i leaned over to cameron and reminded him that we had to always remember that moment! when we are frusterated with eachother, tired from work/school/life.. remember how special this moment is and maybe it will help us go on.  and with that we opened the car door and began life as "the Lowrys". 

the reception is a bit of a blur. i remember walking into the party as our name was announced with my mouth wide open. i couldnt believe how beautifully everything had turned out. i couldnt believe how many people were on their feet clapping for us. i could not believe so many people had actually come for us.  i remember sliding during our first dance because i kept stepping on the beading on my dress.. and cameron kept telling me oh you've got this your amazing.

i remember giving hugs to so many people. feeling so grateful for their presence.  i remember breaking it down on the dance floor with all my friends.. and my incredibley amazing dancer of a husband.  i remember looking at my mom and both of us saying wow can't believe it all turned out so perfectly. i remember crying while i danced with my dad, then laughing hysterically at a few jokes we shared together on that dance floor. i remember cameron forcing me to eat
because he was so nervous i was going to pass out with so much excitement ha. 

i remember at the end of the night while everyone went outside to start lighting the sparklers i got to catch another perfect moment with my husband. the two of us stood in the middle of the empty reception hall hand in hand. both of us were a bit awestruck at how perfectly everything had turned out...at how quickly it had passed...but grateful that the best part was the future we had ahead. 

Cam grabbed my hand and we passed through the lines of friends and family holding their sparklers and cheering...got in the beautiful red porsche and we were off.

that is how our lives began.  it was a perfect moment. a perfect day. a perfect beginning. but it has been followed by some of the most fullfilling weeks either of us have experienced. thank you for sharing those moments with us. we are thrilled to experience all that life has to offer together. 

love,

the lowrys

life is good:)

confession. i enjoy a good blog. and to be honest with you i have read and browsed friends blogs a little bit envious of the cute family lives they are living. so you better believe that when the stars finally aligned for this girl...a blog would be born as well.  so here we go. this is our story. our lives are just normal, not nearly exciting enough to fill the pages of a blog (which is actually a blessing) but we are excited to experience the boring and the exciting together. the everyday simple joys, and the big celebrations. the ups and downs. the tears and the laughter...no matter what happens in our journey we feel completely blessed we get to spend it side by side. and why not blog about it along the way.  here we go. 

love, 

the (almost) lowrys.

(August 26, 2011-happily engaged. perfect proposal from the perfect man)