This post is in partnership with Popsugar. Spoiler alert: I have a discount code for ya!

So, by now surely you’ve heard the term “staycation”. The idea is simple, you pick a local place and make a budget friendly vacation by either staying one night at a hotel near your home or you may even pick several outings without any overnight accommodations. With this weekend being the official start to Summer I’ve been really wishing we already had our Summer vacay plans made. I’m not sure how much time and/or budget we’ll be able to devote to a beach trip this year so when my PopSugar Must Have Box arrived with all sorts of beach goodies, I decided to have a daycation in my own yard!

I’ve been an Emily Giffin fan for a while. And really, the term “fan” doesn’t really cover my love for all of Emily’s books. One of the things I love most about the PopSugar Must Have boxes is the element of surprise. I subscribed to the boxes for over a year. Every month felt like Christmas. And, I’m convinced that whoever picks out the lovely things to go in the boxes is stalking everything on my wishlist and things I haven’t even added yet. So, when I opened the June box and discovered a book from Emily Giffin I considered running off into a corner with The One & Only book and ignoring all other responsibilities for the day. But, being that I knew I needed to accomplish life things I decided to schedule a fun occasion to read and relax.

I used the goodies from my must have box, and added a couple of my own favorites to create a fun and relaxing daycation. Now that I look back, I could have also added headphones and some beach noises to round out the day.

5 Beach* Bag Summer Essentials

With the warm temperatures settling in, there are several items you can’t skip if you’re hitting the beach (*or a park, or you backyard, or… any other place you deem worthy of a pretend beach vacay). Here are five items to get you through the long, hot days this season.

1. Beach Reading

I am generally reading 2 or 3 books at any given time. One is usually a business book, the other something fun, and if there’s a third it might be food related. I find that I like to keep certain books for special reading. So, in this case I’d reserve The One & Only for my next vacation. But this time, since I decided to create a daycation in my yard this gave me an excuse to pop this one open!

On a real beach vacation I love to grab a copy of my favorite gossip or fitness magazines to read as I lounge around the beach. The magazines have substance but don’t require too much attention… so you can still people watch, or take a nap.

2. Beach Towel

You won’t believe how many people I know who forget to bring a towel with them to the beach. So pack one, or even two, for you and a friend.

This towel, from the Popsugar Box is a Turkish-T Basic Breeze Sorbet in Turquoise and White. The Turkish-T Basic Breeze Sorbet acts as a lightweight beach towel by day and as a glam wrap by night. It’s loomed from the world’s finest cotton. I know I’ll get a lot of use out of this, it’s really light-weight so it’ll be easy to carry. I’ve never considered the prospect of a towel also serving as a shawl, but I think the idea is genius!

3. Sunglasses

A pair of sunnies is definitely essential to keep the blazing sun out of your eyes. My shades were gifted to me from Chilli Bean USA. They have so many options that are fashionable, modern and complete any summer look. Who is surprised mine are pink? Oh, and this style is called Copacabana, which is clearly awesome!

In addition to my lazy weekend reading day, I wore these on our trip to Austin back in April!

4. Sunscreen

To keep you from burning and peeling, remember to bring sunscreen…and even some aloe vera while you’re at it.

5. Tumbler

Grab a cute Tumbler filled with your favorite drink to stay hydrated all day long. More about hydrating and my favorite water bottles here.

POPSUGAR provided me with a complimentary POPSUGAR Must Have box. The opinions I have shared about the box are my own and POPSUGAR did not tell me what to say or how to say it. Good news for you, you can get $10 off of a 3-month subscription with the code JUNESELECT10 at https://musthave.popsugar.com/. 

Here are some of the other fun things that were featured in the June PopSugar Box:

• SACHAJUAN Shiny Citrus Body Lotion: the smell… so yummy.
• Speaking of smells, there was also a box of You Smell Lemon Wet Wipes With Aloe.
• A set of Lollies Basics Hair Ties. I am excited about these, because I am forever wearing a hair band on my wrist.

Now, your turn. Any of you heading to a beach soon? Also, what are you reading?

PS: Here are 15 Beach Bags under $25 that I heart.

More H&M…