summer essentials with THE brittany strebeck

I am so happy to share Brittany's summer essentials with you today. I'm sure you guys already know who Brittany is. If you don't, you will wish you did. She is not only an AMAZING photographer but also the most genuine person you will ever meet. She's the real deal. I met Brittany when we lived in Lubbock. Funny story actually. Bob was in his first year of Medical school and was a regular at Starbucks. And by regular, I mean he was there at 5am to help put the tables out. Brittany was working at Starbucks during this time. Bob would tell me how nice this Brittany girl was and how much he thought I would like her. So as any normal Starbucks customer would do, we invited Brittany and her husband Jordan over for dinner one night. I'm so glad they said yes cause now we are like family and I can't imagine my life without this girl! 

So without further ado, here is the fabulous Brittany (and her oh so cute fam) with her summer essentials...

I’m so excited to be writing on THE Lullaby Lubbock blog. I lived with Allison not too long ago, and I always heard the comments from strangers that went something like this… “Oh no need for introductions, I know all about you already,” and “I look at your blog five times a day,” or the ever so subtle, “I’m obsessed with y’all’s blog!!!” Love it love it love it.

Anyhow, I live in Lubbock, Texas, and my hubby and I just celebrated our 4 year anniversary. We have sweet baby Cooper, who is almost 4 months old. (I feel like I should say something else that involved the number 4… ). I was a full-time photographer for almost 4 years (there it was!!), so some of my summer essentials are geared towards that. Now I’m a full-time momma, and it’s the best thing ever.

Some good window light  - Yes, I know that’s a strange summer essential. But I take pictures all the time, and I love natural light. But since it’s hotter than the blazes outside, lots of pictures are taken inside these days. It’s amazing what some beautiful, ambient light can do.

-The first picture is front-lit, meaning, the window is behind me, and the light is directly on Cooper. And of course I caught him in the middle of a sneeze… Good stuff.

-The second picture is backlit, where the light is coming from behind Cooper.

-And in the third photo, the light is diffused, because I tilted the shudders. Since light wasn’t coming directly in the window, it made for a more even display of light.

Totally different looks, but all so fun to play with.

 

A camera that will EASILY fit into a diaper bag – It happens more often than not when I sacrifice that extra blanket and diapers, so I can fit my DSLR into the diaper bag… But it is pretty handy to have a camera that fits easily into the diaper bag. I have a Canon G10. It’s a great camera that won’t necessarily fit into your pocket, but it’s not a big daddy either.

I took my G10 (like a G10, like a G10… anyone?) to my cousin’s wedding last year… here we are, pre-baby.

 

The sun – Okay. Hear me out on this one. All of you mommas with breastfed yellow poopers will like this one. I guess Cooper is literally too big for his own britches… so he’s a blow-outer fo sho. So after trying every kind of stain remover on like half of his wardrobe, I finally tried a little method I read about a while back and totally doubted… Lay it out in the sun. THAT’S ALL! So I lined up all of his stained clothes in our backyard (that had already been washed and dried). Thirty minutes later I checked, and they were all poop-stain free! Super duper.

See for yourself!

 

Cute summer dress – There’s something about a simple, cotton dress that’ll make you feel like you can conquer the world that day. Or maybe just get out of the house. When I’m running low on sleep, makeup and sanity, I put on that cotton dress and suddenly feel like I can actually accomplish something that day. Old Navy is such a great place to go for such things.

 

A good all-purpose blanket – I think a simple, light blanket is totally underrated. We have one that we got from cassiemaebeloved.blogspot.com, and we use it ALL.THE.TIME. Inside to play on, outside to lay on once it cools off (you know, like 95… ), or just keeping it in the car for who knows what. By the way, Cassie Mae Beloved makes custom blankets that come in all different sizes and colors, and I have to hold myself back to not “need” every kind they offer.

Here’s Cooper chillaxin on his blanket.

 

Baby Bjorn – Cooper likes to get his cuddle on, so he LOVES the baby bjorn. It’s pretty great for me or Jordan, too, because we get to have two free hands while carrying our little kangaroo baby around. I’ve been known to vacuum with Coop hanging in the baby bjorn. So domestic, right?!

Here’s Coop and daddio.

 

Mix-Tape – What makes everything in life better? Music. For some reason, during the summer, I always want to listen to some laid-back acoustic goodness. Here are some of my Summertime favs.

NeedtoBreathe, Josh Wilson, Caleb Jude Green, Dave Barnes & The Weepies.