The Seaesta Surf Zine: Holiday Gift Guides, Hosting Tips, and Discount Codes (Nov 4)
1. Overview of the Newsletter
The Seaesta Surf Zine for November 4th is written by Julia Wheeler and sent to subscribers as a Substack email. Its theme is holiday gift guide season. The issue covers gifts for parties, hostess gifts, tips for preparing a home for holiday guests, favorite beauty finds from the Sephora sale, and seasonal decor. It closes with a long list of discount codes from brands she recommends.
Opening Update
Wheeler begins with a personal update. She had hoped to announce the launch of the brand's outerwear line for boys that week, but a factory problem will likely push the launch to the following week. She also points out that this falls right before Black Friday. To keep readers engaged, she announces that the Seaesta Gift Guides are now live.
Hostess Gift Guide
Wheeler presents a hostess gift guide built around items she likes. She is a devoted fan of Heather Taylor Home, and she encourages readers to shop the remaining inventory from the Seaesta collaboration with that brand. She suggests pairing:
- Napkins with fresh bread from a local bakery and a bottle of olive oil. She names Wayfarer and Izola as options for San Diego readers.
- Tea towels with Koala Eco cleaner.
- The wine bottle tote bag with a bottle of olive oil or wine.
She also recommends a butter dish filled with good French butter and fresh bread, or a cheese board with a selection of cheeses, with the board itself serving as the gift. Her final suggestions are a Flamingo Estate candle or an East Fork dish.
Holiday Hosting Guide with All Modern
In partnership with All Modern, Wheeler put together a list of eight items for preparing a home for holiday guests:
- Ceramic dish
- Gingham napkins
- Cocktail shaker
- Martini glasses
- Marble cheese board
- Serving bowl
- Ice bucket
- Candlestick holder
What She Is Cooking
Wheeler shares several meal ideas. She has been eating a couscous salad with quinoa and lentils for lunch. She plans a simple night with a favorite Trader Joe's pizza. Her husband is smoking pork for carnitas, and she is making the black beans for the meal, since she is vegetarian. She also praises a minestrone soup she made on an overcast Sunday.
What She Is Shopping For
- A checker rug on sale at 30% off, and possibly a holiday rug for her kitchen.
- Christmas inflatables from Funboy, including a shot ski, a sled, and a Santa air mattress.
- Pink holiday ornaments and nutcrackers.
Sephora Sale Picks
- Two lip glosses she rotates between, plus Tower 28 lip gloss minis as a gift for tweens.
- Touchland hand sanitizer, which she recommends as a stocking stuffer for tweens. She also mentions a Sanrio-themed version for fans of that brand.
- Summer Fridays Jet Lag Eye Patches as a gift or stocking stuffer for teens.
- Rhode pimple patches in strawberry shapes for teen girls.
- A tinted sunscreen from Ilia, which she says does not make her eyes water.
- A hair mask for dry winter hair, a daily face lotion that does not cause milia, a Mane leave-in conditioner her daughter loves, and hair ties for stockings.
- Bike shorts and a sports bra for her workouts.
Discount Codes
- Ruggable: JULIAW10 for 10% off
- U Beauty: WHEELER20 for 20% off
- Everist: SHOPJULIAW15 for 15% off
- Neiwai Bras: JULIAWHEELER15 for 15% off
- Coco & Eve: JWHEELER15 for 15% off (expiring soon)
- Drool: JULIAW15 for 15% off framed artwork and prints
- ESAS: JULIA15 for 15% off
- Camp Snap: J-WHEELER for 7% off screen-free cameras
- Laundry Sauce: JWHEELER15 for 15% off laundry pods and dryer sheets
- We Feed Raw: SEAESTAXWFR for 40% off pet food
2. Products Mentioned
The newsletter features many products, though it often names them only by category, so the details below reflect what the text provides.
- Heather Taylor Home collaboration items: napkins, tea towels, and bottle tote bags. These are Seaesta collaboration pieces, and the remaining inventory is available to shop.
- Home and kitchen: Koala Eco cleaner, Flamingo Estate candles, East Fork dishes, butter dishes, and cheese boards.
- All Modern hosting picks: ceramic dishes, gingham napkins, cocktail shakers, martini glasses, marble cheese boards, serving bowls, ice buckets, and candlestick holders.
- Rugs: a checker rug from Ruggable, currently 30% off, and a holiday rug.
- Holiday decor: Funboy inflatables (shot ski, sled, Santa air mattress), pink ornaments, and pink nutcrackers.
- Beauty and personal care: lip glosses, Tower 28 minis, Touchland sanitizer, Summer Fridays eye patches, Rhode pimple patches, Ilia tinted sunscreen, a hair mask, a face lotion, U Beauty neck cream, and an Everist scalp set.
- Apparel: Neiwai bras, bike shorts, and a sports bra.
- Other: Drool artwork and prints, ESAS fragrance, Camp Snap screen-free cameras, Laundry Sauce detergent and dryer sheets, Coco & Eve tanning foam, and We Feed Raw pet food.
3. The Store: Seaesta Surf (seaestasurf.com)
Seaesta Surf is the brand behind this newsletter and its online store at seaestasurf.com. The newsletter gives a partial picture of the business. The brand sells gifts, and it publishes holiday gift guides under the Seaesta name. It has also run a collaboration with Heather Taylor Home, which has left remaining inventory for sale. A children's outerwear line for boys is in development, and its launch was delayed by a factory problem. Julia Wheeler, the newsletter's author, is closely tied to the brand. She refers to "our" products and "our" outerwear launch, and she mentions being local to San Diego, which suggests the brand has a San Diego connection.
The newsletter does not include a full product catalog, pricing, shipping details, or a company history for the store. Readers who want those details will need to visit seaestasurf.com directly. From this issue, the store appears to combine curated lifestyle gifts with its own seasonal programming and collaborations, and it actively promotes its holiday shopping guides to its audience.
