Beach Essentials & a $350 Giveaway!

One of my favorite things about summer is heading to the beach! I listed it as one of my goals this summer to make sure I get to the beach because I haven’t been to the beach in FOREVER. Well, I guess I should count when we went to Disney’s private island when we went on our Disney cruise… but that was a day for only a few hours. I’m talking about spending a few days or a week at the beach. Watching the sunrise in the morning. Beach walks at night. You know what I mean! I am counting down the days until our beach trip in August.

Anyway, in anticipation of our beach trip coming up in a few weeks, I’ve been creating my packing list of beach essentials already. What can I say? I’m a planner. I don’t like to forget anything! And since Lilly is coming on this beach trip, I gotta make sure I have everything that she will need, too!

So, here are a few of my beach essentials (in no particular order): 

1. Baby Beach Tent

I got this thing for Lilly and took it on the cruise with us and it was AMAZING. She played in it. She napped in it. And it kept her shaded and cool. It pops up and is super easy to transport and was a LIFESAVER on the trip. I DEFINITELY will be bringing this with us!

2. Sunscreen. Duh.

FOR ME (and John): I use the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Sunscreen on my face – it is BY FAR my favorite face sunscreen. It’s lightweight, smells good, and doesn’t feel overly greasy which is something I really can’t stand about facial sunscreens usually.

For my body I usually use either a spray sunscreen or Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration with SPF 50. I burn easily, so I need some goooood protection.

FOR LILLY: I really love the Babyganics sunscreen. I used that on her on the cruise and she didn’t react to it and it protected her skin well. She’s fair skinned like me, so I want to make sure I’m protecting her from the get-go!

3. Swimsuit. Duh.

There comes a time in your life when you have to decide: should I still be wearing a two-piece swimsuit? For me, the answer has been “no” for quite sometime. BUT, that doesn’t stop me from looking cute by the water! A lot of y’all have asked me where I got my vintage-looking polka dot one-piece suit. Sadly, I got it a few years ago and it’s no longer sold online, BUT, here are a few of my favorite modest, or one-piece swim suits:

4. A good book.

I’ve had so many books on my “to-read” list and I’m hoping to tackle a few at the beach this summer! Confederacy of Dunces is on my list, and I also really wanted to read Fault in Our Stars. A heavy read, but I’ve heard really good things. I’m looking forward to cracking it open. Any books I should add to my summer reading list?

5. A cute koozie!

You can NEVER have too many koozies in my opinion. And when you’re at the beach and have a cold Diet Coke in your hand, you need to protect it from the sand. And how better to do that then with a KOOZIE?!

6. A cute tote. To TOTE all the stuff to the beach!

Gotta have a huge tote to carry your towels, sunscreen, sunglasses, books, beach toys, beach tent, etc. I loveeee the ones that Stephanie from Ooh Baby Designs makes. I have one and it is AMAZING and holds everything under the sun.

7. A KITE! 

Okay, this isn’t really an essential, but I LOVE flying kites and it’s one of my favorite things about going to the beach. I can’t wait to show Lilly how to fly one. Am I the only one out there that loves flying kites? I know I’m not!

Now, of course things like towel and sunglasses go without saying as far as beach essentials, but I’d love to know – what items are on YOUR beach essentials list? Are you a beach fan? Planning any trips this summer?