LETS GO TO THE BEACH, EACH

With our upcoming beach break, we are, (I say we are, I think we all know I mean me) in that furiously writing two hundred lists and trying not to forget to grab everything we need. It's inevitable somethings will be left by the side of the door as we turn the key and dash for our airport bound taxi, but there are a few essentials that I've been sure to remember thanks to Simply Swim & Simply Beach. If you didn't know we're headed of to the brand new Mark Warner resort, in Foca, Turkey, I'm counting down the days till we've got the sand between our toes and some real Turkish sunshine, quite frankly it's a liberty that I haven't downloaded an app to remind me every single day just how long it is till we fly.

Flashback to our first holiday of 2017 last year, we headed out to my parents villa in Javea and had an absolute whale of a time, I wont lie though it wasn't all snorkels and sand dunes, with a toddler and a baby under one, it was a juggling act 99% of the time, but we made it work. We did need our own holiday afterwards to recoup, hence why we took ourselves off sans children for a long weekend in September - it was bliss. But now we're ready again to brave the shorelines with our tribe in tow, though is Mark Warner ready for us?

When Simply Swim & Beach reached out to ask if we'd like to take part in a few campaigns, I jumped at the chance, we'd reviewed their services last year so knew that their standards were high and ones that we would have loved to jump on board with again. And that we did. We firstly popped onto their Simply Swim site and grabbed a few pieces for the boys, both of them are complete water babies and adore nothing more than gallivanting in the waves so we know that we're going to need something robust given the amount of usage we want out of it. I know before we've even touched down on Turkish soil that getting those boys of mine out of the swimming pool will be harder than trying to crack Fort Knox, believe it or not swimming lessons since they were eight months do have their downsides - ha. Last year we opted for simple swim suits, but this year I wanted something a little bit different, having seen a plethora of flotation devices here, there and everywhere I decided I wanted a swimsuit for them both with the float aids in them. I know you can buy separate jackets but for me I felt like it was going to add excess stress to the poolside situation and honestly, take up too much room in our suitcases. I chose Splash About costumes for both of them, and having had a quick scan over they look pretty nifty, with the longer legs giving that added bit of SPF protection - I just can't wait to see them bobbing around in the water. I also grabbed some swimming caps for them, more so Noah than Patrick as his hair gets really dry when we're on holiday as he's forever dipping in and out of the chlorinated waters, I thought giving a swim cap a whirl might just help protect it that little bit more.

I then headed over to another branch of the Simply umbrella brand, to Simply Beach and I wont lie I spent a long, long time eyeing up almost everything - I didn't realise beach chic could quite reach the level they offer, but alas I am wrong. Top of my list to pick up for myself, were some beach dresses, it's the one thing I always neglect to really think about when I'm shopping for beach breaks which, in itself is quite silly given the amount of time I'll be wearing them. There is such a huge range I was completely spoilt for choice, in the end I opted for a shirt dress as I knew I could swap it up for a second day and team it with a pair of shorts. To go with it I opted for the beach bag of dreams, and one I'm sure most travel bloggers own, a round basket bag, which I've been unable to resist and have given several outings already weeks before we board the plane. It's so versatile and while it'll be perfect for poolside hangs, it can easily take me off into the town at night without a second look. Is it possible to be in love with a bag? The best thing for me about both websites, was the super speedy delivery, those guys really do work fast and within 36 hours of ordering, I had the products in my possession. So if you're anything like my other half who leaves it till the day before travelling to pass me his shopping list, you'll be covered by the fab guys at Simply.

With a large chunk of my to-buy list ticked off now, I'm joyously dreaming of our break away. Having either ventured for all inclusives or villa breaks in the past, a full board / half board break away is completely new territory for us but we couldn't be more excited.

*We were given the opportunity to select some items from the Simply sites, in exchange for our honest review. As always, all opinions are entirely my own and you'll see every product in full action at the end of the month on our family holiday.