I Looked Like a Dork on My December Summer Break

December repeats, underwater edition

Jan 09, 2026

I feel greedy tasting a second summer. It’s satiating, bobbing along with the waves, diving under foamy barrels, corners of my mouth stinging from salt. And it feels right starting the year in the ocean, letting her current guide me to new shores.

*blue bottle jelly washed up in a tide pool*

*low tide means a treasure trove of pearly shells under your toes*

*doesn’t the bush look prehistoric? nice to think it’s always been there*

Leaping onto unbroken waves at the best moment is an art form. You’re working in milliseconds as they begin to crest, right before they fold over into themselves and roll you back to shore. If you blink you’ll miss it.

My body is the paintbrush, the waves my canvas, and the remarkably dorky UPF shirt I wear to protect my skin under the searing sun is my apron.

But how could I give any thought to how I’m being perceived? Lifted in the air by the peak of a wave — suspended weightless for one perfect second — it’s impossible to be stuck in your head. Touching sand is a lot like touching grass.

All to say I’ve had a pretty offline start to the year, paying little attention to social media or style chatter or my own clothes, aside from sniffing the armpits of t-shirts in my suitcase or checking to see if my swimsuit has dried in the sun yet. The t-shirt is usually dirty and the suit is usually damp.

This month’s repeats list is what’s left when I’m just an animal in the water trying to catch a wave: the best beach bag $14 can buy, Australia’s (superior?) alternative to Aquaphor, an analog game to play drinking your morning coffee, and more.

(Happy 12th repeats letter btw. A full year of outfit repeating and obsessing over products we already own. Yay! Cheers to not fixing what ain’t broke.)

I packed three suits for this trip but have only reached for this flirty fuchsia Left on Friday one piece. High cut on the legs, crisp square neckline, dainty straps that never slip off my shoulders, and a taut compression in the double-lined fabric that feels like a lover’s embrace.

I love the extra midriff coverage under harsh afternoon sun, and it doubles as a bodysuit for out-of-water wear. (Which I wrote about for June’s repeats letter too…)

Swimsuits Can Be Clothes Too

MacKinley Jade

July 10, 2025

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My Baggu reusable totes are seasoned travel companions. She’s an expert chameleon in the most crucial moments — e.g., as a carry-on friendly and sand-resistant beach bag.

What’s in the beach bag(gu)…

four kinds of sunscreen, just in case
goggles
this Kavu bucket hat
vintage cotton button-up
baby baggu tied extra tight for the phone/keys/wallets/etc. even a beach bag should be a toteducken

As kids, my brother and I fought over the Speedo brand goggles when we swam in the pool. Second-rate non-Speedo pairs littered the bottom of our towel bin making friends with dried out pool noodles and sun-bleached torpedo toys. A few years ago I bought my own pair (that he is not allowed to use) when I realized I had a goggle-shaped hole in my summer fun preparedness kit.

The water in Sydney is really mf salty, so I’m more than willing to sacrifice coolness and mystique on the beach for un-stung eyes and the ability to spot small stripey fish in the shallows.

I stopped in aisle six of Chemist’s Warehouse to admire the packaging of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment — shiny and red, a Mac trap — and chucked it in the cart when my partner informed me it’s actually a beloved Australian healing ointment.

*bonus repeat: TJ’s chewable melatonin is perfect for flights when you don’t time your sleep perfectly with the drink cart and always end up having to dry swallow three chalky pills*

It seems nearly identical to Aquaphor in texture, purpose, and ingredients (aside from Papaw’s special hero ingredient, fermented Queensland papaya). But there’s one crucial difference that means the world to me as an avid Aquaphor-carrier: this tube has a slanted squeeze top for direct lip application. No finger middleman required — huzzah!

This month I was introduced to a new love of my life: the wordy nerdy tile game, Bananagrams. A friend pulled it out of her bag on a weekend trip upstate in early December, and I haven’t been the same since.

I bought my own set as soon as we returned home, and I’ve loved playing solo while drinking my morning coffee. It feels so good to go analog before caffeine hits — the weight of the tiles, their glossy finish between your fingers, click-clacking together on the coffee table. Flipping them over to reset the game is almost meditative.

In this peak summer season, I’ve developed an expensive lust for blackberries. They taste like Otter Pops — bursting with a sweetness so addictive you’d imagine it could only have been manufactured and dyed pink for child consumption. At last we can confirm that blue raspberry flavor is indeed found in nature.

Last month I was looking forward to “ocean dips and watching the kangaroos pull Santa’s sleigh.” Didn’t see Santa, but I have seen quite a few roos! I’ll take it.

In January I’m hoping for bearable winds in the city (unlikely) and reunions with friends I haven’t seen since last year. I need to squeeze them all. What do you have on the docket this month?