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Friday, July 28, 2017

What's in My Beach Bag

What's in my bag blog posts are one of my favorite to both read and write.  I always find it fun to explore what people take with them for different occasions. It's neat to learn about different products, habits, and what people consider to be their essential items. This weekend is the last weekend in July. There are so many people I know who are planning to head to the beach, are away on vacation this week, or are packing to head out for a vacation in the next few weeks. I thought this would be the perfect time to share this post with you all! 


I have loved going to the beach ever since I was young. According to my mom, even when I was a baby I loved hanging out and playing in the sand.  Growing up, my summers were always filled with day trips, weekend getaways, and an occasional full week spent at the beach.  We are lucky enough to live about two hours away from Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey beaches, which makes short trips more than doable.  It's pretty easy to wake up, pack up, and head out for a two hour car ride to spend a day on the beach.  

Last week I was lucky enough to do a girls' weekend at the beach with several of my friends from college.  Spending time at the beach with three other people made me realize how different each person's beach routine is. Everyone seems to have a different beach philosophy when it comes to how  they spend their day at the beach...

Getting there early and leaving early vs. Getting there later and staying later vs. Getting there early and staying later

 Bring snacks with you vs. buy something from the snack shack or boardwalk

Spend the day laying out on a towel vs. hanging out on a beach chair

 Bringing water in plastic bottles vs. a swell bottle

Applying sunscreen vs. tanning oil

Spending the day on the sand vs. in the water

Lounging around all day vs. being up and active

Umbrella vs. no umbrella

Beach blanket vs. beach towel

Beach naps vs. staying awake all day

I think you are starting to get the point. Anyways, I feel like what people pack in their beach bag is pretty reflective of their beach philosophy. 

 My beach philosophy includes a long day whether it's going early and staying later or going later and staying later, a beach chair, a beach towel, bringing snacks, bringing a reusable water bottle, applying and reapplying sunscreen, spending most of the day on the sand and dipping my toes in the water, spending most of the day in the sun with maybe an hour under the umbrella. and definitely a few short beach naps throughout the day. So how does my beach bag reflect my beach philosophy?



Cover Up
I have a slight cover up obsession. I am a huge fan of sporting a cute cover up to the beach and on the beach rather than a pair of shorts or an oversized tee. Cover ups are great because they are airy, easy to throw on, and they are adorable.  If it gets chilly, then I throw it on top of my bathing suit, or if I feel like I'm burning up I will put it on to prevent my skin from getting burnt. My favorite cover ups have come from JCrew Factory. You can usually find them during a sale for $30 or less!

Sun Glasses
What's a day on the beach without a pair of sunglasses. I'm sure they are a must in your beach bag too! My current go to shades have been these Ray Ban Classic Clubmasters that I got last Christmas as a gift.

Snacks
Whenever I go to the beach, I spend a long time actually on the beach. Part of the reason I'm able to do this is because I pack so many snacks. Some of my go to beach snacks include cheese and crackers, fruit, chips and salsa, chicken salad and lettuce, popcorn, trail mix, chips/ veggies with hummus, and pretzels.  Last weekend my go to snacks were grapes, cantaloupe, and popcorn.

Sun hat
This summer my sun hat has been a new addition to my beach bag.  I have pretty fair skin, so I burn rather easily.  I have tons of freckles, and I'm not trying to get too many more if I can prevent it.  Since my mom had cancer, my awareness of sun protection has increased. Wearing a hat is a great way to keep the sun off your face while looking fashionable.  This year we found adorable hats that have UPF 50 in them.  They come in a wide range of colors and are very flexible, which makes them easy to pack in any tote.  You can check out my hat here.

Water bottle
This is such a beach essential.  Spending all day in the hot sun puts you at risk for dehydration.  It's so important to stay hydrated while basking in the sun on the beach. I always bring my 32 oz. Hydro Flask to the beach. I fill it half full with ice and the rest with water. It stays cold all day regardless of how hot it is.

Book
One of my favorite things to do is read on the beach. I never spend a day on the beach without a book. Sometimes I can read an entire novel while other days I read a few pages before dozing off. Regardless, I always have a book with me. If you're looking for your next beach read, then check out my summer reading list. 


Wet Suit Clutch
I found this little bag at the outlets this spring. It is lined, so you could put your wet swim suit in it or it could protect your belongings you don't want to get wet at the pool or beach. This pouch holds all the random things I don't want free floating in my bag.  I usually keep bobby pins, hair ties, sun screen, lip balm, headphones, money, my ID, hand wipes, tylenol, and face mist.

The hair accessories are great because you never know what kind of hair day you're going to have with the humidity at the beach.  As far as sun screen goes, I usually bring two types- a face cream and a spray. I always apply sunscreen before heading to the beach, so the spray allows me to reapply without getting too messy. I recently discovered a tinted lip balm that has SPF 35 in it. It smells great and adds a little color.  I like to bring essential oil lemon hand wipes to the beach. They are useful for wiping sand off, washing your hands, or just freshening up. Face mist is an essential for me because it cools me off without having to go in the water.

Other Random Items
Some other random items that I always have at the beach include a hair brush, a beach chair, and a beach towel. I like to bring a brush to tame my messy hair.  I pretty much spend all day in my beach chair, so I couldn't imagine not having one. I use a cheap backpack chair, but I'm thinking about splurging on a Tommy Bahama chair for next summer. This year another new discovery of mine was a beach blanket that doubled as a towel. One side is terrycloth and the other is cotton. It's perfect for the beach or the pool. I found mine at Nordstrom Rack but this is a similar one.

I'd love to hear what your beach day essentials are. Be sure to share with me by adding a comment.
Have a fabulous weekend!

XOXO


2 comments:

  1. I'm a "get there early and leave as soon as possible" person because our beach gets so packed so quickly! I have a clutch that I use for wet items, too. I usually use it for travel so I can put my hair towel in there without worrying about it. I actually don't have a swimsuit coverup, which is kind of crazy since I live 10 minutes from the beach! You would think that I would have several.

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  2. That wet suit clutch is so cute! And L.L Bean boat n' totes are always a classic, I love the green one :)

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