What's In Your Beach Bag!?

Currently, I’m sitting in my living room, looking every so often out the window at barren, dead trees that are blowing haphazardly in the Tennessee wind. I’m dreaming of my vacation to Cabo San Lucas in the next few months and all I can think about, is walking out the automatic double doors at the Cabo San Lucas airport and the warm air hitting my face. Looking up at the sun while it beats down and the sound of the whooshing palm trees swaying in a beautiful, careless breeze. I’m dreaming of a place that is still a few months away, BUT, I’m constantly making a packing list in my head of things I need to bring…and even more specifically, things that will go into my beach bag for the pool. 

If you’re like me and my family, our entire vacation revolves around relax time. During the day, it’s finding out which pool is the best to suite our needs, and at night, it’s which restaurant will be the yummiest. The only things we worry about are: which pool chairs we’ll be using for the day and when our next meal will be—it’s really the life haha. But, because we revolve so much time around being outside during the day, I always come to the pool prepared with an entire beach bag of goodies. While most people put together outfits before they pack, I put together swimsuits. It’s the first thing I pack, since I know that I’ll be in a suit 70% of the time. Next, is my beach bag. I’ve got to have all the things so I don’t get bored, sitting outside. Which, let’s be honest, if I’m near a pool or beach, what’s there to be bored about!?

Right then, beach bag goodies, let’s do this (in no particular order):

Sunscreen: I buy two kinds. One goes on my body; the other on my face. I use mineral sunscreen (peep my last blog and I will tell you why). For my body I use, Bare Republic SPF 30 because it has a great coverage and gives me 40 minutes of water resistance. I have pale skin and this works great for me. For my face, I use TiZo Age Defying Fusion tinted Ultra Zinc. The TiZO is a great product everyday because it gives me a more matte look so I actually don’t feel like I need to wear face makeup. I can also feel the difference when the sun hits my face—this was recommended by my dermatologist.

Aloe: My family always gets a little red towards the end of our vacation and we use this religiously.

Lip Balm: I use Burt’s Bee’s Flavor Crystals Tropical Pineapple. This is like a lip scrub and moisturizer all in one. I like a little grittiness when I’m putting on lip balm because it makes my lips feel more smooth in the end. This stuff smells amazing and feels great, on.

iPhone: I don’t think it’s possible to enjoy a good vacation without ‘doin it for the ‘gram!’ Haha, but I need my phone to play music while I nap. I listen to piano classical music while I lie outside.

Airpods: These things are the best since sliced bread! They have their very own charging case and I can skip ahead or use volume control just with taps of my finger. These also turn the music off if you need to remove one from your ear.

Book: I mull over books to take, because it has to be light enough that I can put it away and not obsess but heavy enough to keep me interested. For this trip, I have two books I’m going to take: Nell Scovell’s Just the Funny Parts is the first book. It came highly recommended on Instagram by a songwriter I follow haha. The second book is “PS. I love you”—I’ve seen this movie, but I heard that the book is on another level, amazing!

Shades: I’ve had my polarized Ray Ban aviators now for about four years. They’re my favorite to wear because I can still see vibrant colors and not be blinded from the sun while I read or walk the beach.

Magazines: I need all the magazines. Give me all the fashion, home interior design, and gossip you can find. Magazines are the best, most mindless things ever and we pass them around in our family, like hotcakes.

Baseball hat: Because I do like to read so often or go for walks to break up my beach days, I need a hat to help keep the sunlight always off my face.

Aspirin: I get headaches frequently if I’m not hydrated, so this is always a ‘given’ in my bags.

Snacks: I’m not sure why, but I LOVE salty snacks to eat around the pool. I never crave chips until it’s hot out and then I want them along with a large ice cold water. I usually keep these to a minimum because many things don’t keep well, in the heat.

That’s it! Pretty basic over here and all the essentials are covered! What’s in your beach bag? Do you take anything out of the ordinary or is there anything you can’t live without while you’re posted up in the sand or near an infinity pool?! Let us know! Until then, I’ll keep dreaming about the beach, those palm trees, and that warm sun on my face.