6 Items I Keep in My Beach Bag…

6 Items I Keep in My Beach Bag…

I’m still thinking about our wonderful beach vacation and oh how I wish we were back there right now, especially with the weather being a hot 95 degrees today! While on vacation my crossbody tote bag that my sister gave me came in handy for all of the things I wanted to take to the beach with us. When you have three kids you really need a good bag that will hold up strong and one you can wash after getting sand in it! Here are 6 of the items I keep in my beach bag, what do you keep in yours…

6. A Good Book…

Photo: Emily Giffin via Barnes&Noble

When you’re on the beach just relaxing and tanning it’s always a good idea to bring a good bookwith you to help you relax and pass the time. I recently heard about Emily Giffin’s books and realized she is the author of the book turned movie “Something Borrowed”. A lot of brides-to-be had her on their blog’s summer reading list, but now that I’m married I was looking for something that would relate more to who I am now. That’s when I found “Baby Proof” and “Heart of the Matter”, both wonderful books for someone who is married and thinking about who they are and what they want out of life. What’s on your summer reading list?

5. A Great Camera…

Photo: Google Product Search

I love taking pictures and I love my awesome 35 times zoom Canon Powershot camera that my husband bought for me last Christmas! As I sat on the beach blanket I took photos of the kids enjoying the waves on their boogie boards without even moving, thats how cool this camera is! It also takes amazing photos of fireworks, which I was grateful for as we were down there for the 4th of July. What kind of camera do you have?

4. Music Playlist…

Photo: Amazon

When I’m reading a book and relaxing on the beach I need to have my iPod to listen to all of mytunes. When you are just laying there in the sun with your book listening to songs from The Band Perry, Jason Aldean, or Blake Shelton you are taken away to another world where you day dream and drift off! Music is a great way to relax and it’s the only way I know how to. So what’s on your music playlist?

3. Cellphone…

Photo: LGMobilePhones

I don’t need my cellphone on the beach because I’m waiting for a call, I have my phone with me to take photos and share them with all of my facebook and twitter friends! I love my new LG Vortexcellphone and never thought it would matter to me to have facebook or twitter access on myphone, but it just makes it fun! Now I don’t have to wait till I get home from vacation to share my photos with everyone, you can now enjoy the vacation with me while I’m there!

2. Sunglasses…

Photo: Zappos

Though I usually wear prescription glasses to see, I take those off and put on my sunglasses when I head down to the beach! I just really need something to shade my eyes from the sun and it doesn’t hurt that my sunglasses look cool too! I can still see pretty well and read my book when I’m not wearing my regular glasses and I’d rather not get any scratches on those. Do you take off your glasses while on the beach?

1. Sunscreen…

Photo: Walgreens

If there is only one thing in your beach bag please make sure it is sunscreen with at least a 30 SPF.  I always make sure I put on sunscreen when going out during the summer, especially at the beach or pool. It’s just not worth the dark tan to not protect yourself from skin cancer. Withsunscreen you can still get a nice tan, so why worry about getting burnt along with the chance of skin cancer.

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8 Swimsuit Hints …

8 Swimsuit Hints …

Uh-oh! It’s that time of year again! Most women are staring into the mirror right about now groaning about that new years diet resolution that crashed…again. But not you! You are going to be ready to hit that beach, whether you have a few extra pounds or not! These 8 swimsuit hints will have you prancing that beach with confidence and swag! Are you ready to knock those other girls out of the water? Are you ready to shine?! Well, keep reading this article for the 8 swimsuit hints you need to know for what’s in style and what’s flattering to YOUR body type!

1. Know What’s In Style

No one wants to hit the beach in last year’s fashions. When choosing your suit, keep in mind that you want to stand out for your brilliant smile and your bouncy personality, not your neon flashing bikini. The “It” styles for this year are stripes, florals, and all things with retro and vintage flair. The advantage with retro is that it covers a lot more and still looks fab! Grab a suit with cutouts for an extra sexy vibe. When it doubt, reach for that LBB. (Little Black Bikini)

2. Find A Happy Medium

Ever walked down the beach and see a girl wearing what looked like nothing more than a few strings? Yep. We’ve all seen it. Then there’s the other extreme, so much fabric that you could make a tent with it if it started raining! Find your happy medium and stick with it. You don’t have to show it all, but you also want a suit that is flattering to your body and still allows the sun to kiss your skin.

3. The Instant Slenderizing Suit

Yes, there is a suit that can instantly slenderize you! A one piece suit is much more structured and fitted than a little bikini. Don’t knock it because you think one piece swimsuits are out of style. As mentioned before, retro suits are totally in right now so pick up a cute little fifties vibe swimsuit and you’ll be the star of the show!

4. Test Run Your Suit

One of my top swimsuit hints for you is to test run your suit at home before wearing it out at the pool. Dressing room lights can be harsh and deceiving. It’s best to try on your suit in natural lighting. Walk around and move in it so you can make sure it doesn’t ride up or slide down in embarrassing places. It’s always a good idea to take an extra suit in your beach bag just in case!

5. Shoes Matter

Flip-flops, move over! This year we have a new beach shoe, espadrilles! You will look like one hot mama stylin’ a pair of funky espadrilles with your swimsuit on a hot summer day at the pool. Whether you are going to socialize or simply soak up the sun, these shoes will make sure you arrive in style!

6. Mix Colors And Prints

A swimsuit hint that gets over looked many times is this; you can break the rules! It’s not necessary to wear a matching top and bottom. Mix those prints girl! You can do florals with stripes, solids with patterns or whatever you want! Just make sure your colors match and you will be super cute. Contrasting colors or monochromatic colors in slightly different shades can be beautiful too. For example, a bronze bottom with a gold top, or a lavender top with a deep purple bottom. For contrasting shades, I love navy blue and yellow, green and hot pink or royal blue with orange.

7. Pick The Right Suit

Learn your body type and dress for it. That’s what we’ve been told our whole life, right? Well, the same principle applies when choosing a bathing suit! The swimsuit hint that every woman wants to follow is finding which bathing suit flatters her the most. Between the many options we have these days in the way of swimsuits, you should be able to find the one that flatters your body type, accentuating what you love and minimizing what you don’t.

8. Cover-up Tip

When choosing a cover up, here’s what to keep in mind, pick something that can achieve multiple looks. A sexy little cotton dress could be worn to a party in the evening after you tire of swimming and laying out. A pair of cutoffs and a T-shirt can go to a bonfire after hours. A maxi dress is cute and comfortable and can be worn to run errands before you head home. Be cute and creative!

Summer is my favorite season because I love the beach and spending time near water. I hope now that you’ve read my 8 swimsuit hints, you will be full of confidence and know exactly which suit you need to get for your body type! Please comment below if you have any swimsuit hints of your own to share with us!

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7 Adorable Floppy Hats …

7 Adorable Floppy Hats …

Stylish, fun, useful and totally adorable, floppy hats are a must-have! They can make an everyday outfit look wow and they can make your beach attire look glam but one thing is for sure – they will prevent that pretty little head of yours from overheating and minimize the negative effect sunrays have on your hair and skin. Yup, adorable floppy hats are the way to go and these 7 right here are just too cute to be left out…

1. Natural Straw Bow Front Floppy Hat

Price: $65.00 at us.topshop.com
Posh, glam, refined- I’d say these three words describe this hat perfectly but, just in case you could use more details, I might decide to throw in and “elegant”, “expensive-looking”, “upscale” and “trendy”. So, if your style can be described as “classy”, you need not to look any further as this is the hat for you.

2. Kate Spade New York Boardwalk June Floppy Hat

Price: $75.00 at zappos.com
Fab black and white bikini, stylish tote and this Kate Spade hat are a match made in heaven. But before you say something like, “C’mon, that’s just boring!”, take a look at the yellow lining and think about all those fun accessories you’ll be inspired to wear. Like chunky yellow plastic bangles or necklaces, for example. Now, wouldn’t that be a fun and, not to mention, eye-catching and totally summer-appropriate combo?

2. San Diego Hat Company Denim Floppy Hat

Price: $54.00 at zappos.com
Next one on my list of adorable floppy hats is this casual and totally fun wide brim hat by San Diego Hat Company. This baby will definitely put your mind at ease, partially because you won’t have to worry about how to match it with other clothes and partially because you’ll give your head that much needed shade. So wear it with all your favorite jeans and tees and don’t forget to ruffle the brim enough to allow these cute floral patches to show!

3. San Diego Hat Company Floral Floppy Hat

Price: $60.00 at zappos.com
Our biological CPUs require a cool environment to work properly, too, so we’d better upgrade ourselves with a good cooler ASAP. Yup, I know a hat doesn’t look like much comparing to fans and air conditioners but hey, at least they are mobile and stylish! This coral shade and floral print will get you noticed on the beach or anywhere you decide to turn up sporting this fabulous piece of “sun-block”.

4. San Diego Hat Company Grommet and Scarf Floppy Hat

Price: $48.00 at zappos.com
City Diva coming through, move out of the way! Take a good look at this lovely hat, ladies, and next time you go shopping for some adorable floppy hats to wear this summer, do your best to come home with an interesting piece like this. I love, love, looove it and, since black is ao easy to combine, I’ll definitely have to start searching for something like this, too!

5. Grosgrain Floppy Hat

Price: $12.80 at forever21.com
Sweet, girly and not too over the top – if you don’t like huge, colorful headwear, this hat might be the perfect one for you. I prefer a bit larger, colorful ones so this one wouldn’t exactly be my first choice but I’m guessing my sister would fall in love with it immediately and I doubt she’s the only one out there who likes this type of hats. Am I right?

6. Basketweave Floppy Hat

Price: $12.80 at forever21.com
Romantic and kind of retro- if adorable floppy hats are must-haves than this one is a must-must-must-have! Wear it with jeans and espadrilles or raffia wedges for a more casual girly look or change into a linen dress and throw in a few pieces of stylish, eye-catching jewelry and you’ll have a perfect, romantic look to make you stand out and feel great this summer.

7. Sand Diego Hat Company Colorful Floppy Hat

Price: $52.00 at zappos.com
The last one on my list of adorable floppy hats is this huge rainbow hat that’s bound to score its wearer some major style points. Now, I’m not sure if this is your style but I’d wear it any day and, since it’s one of my favorites, I just had to mention it here. Sport this baby at the beach and you’ll not only enjoy your very own patch of shade but a ton of amazed and surprised looks, too!

Hope you liked these 7 adorable floppy hats, ladies. But tell me what are you planning to wear this summer. Will that be floppy hats, scarves or maybe even both?

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