Well, all good things have to come to an end, and now we are waiting at the San Juan airport, hoping our plane will go. (Through ATL to SAN 
..). I have to say that after a very rough start, I felt great the rest of the trip and honestly, the entire SeaDream experience was amazing as cruises go. But of course, the sea dictates what activities and stops you make so we missed some snorkeling due to weather or lack of sign ups so you pay your money and you take your chances
. The food could not have been better and the crew were gems: every person was over the top and very genuine. I loved all of them! I think January can be dicey in the Caribbean, even in SBH, so we might switch back to April if Delta doesnāt keep those certificates coming !
Bon, on to SBH. So you know mostly about Odile
and day 1. Fantastic dinner evening at LāEsprit: since I got my foie gras, nobody got hurt! Terrific as always. My main course was good but not what I was expecting; it was ahi, which I love, but in a sort of crust which made me think of Wiener schnitzel, as it it did not work that well. Now, I love Wiener schnitzel but Iād leave the crust on veal in the future.
So Day 2 started off great: first stop, Laura came and brought the car to the pier and off we went to Lorient to Ligne St Barth to pick up the rest of my perfume haul.. 3 bottles, newly packaged in dark amber, to prevent light. Great idea. I have 5 more bottles at home but it is kept in the dark and it keeps fine, so purchase away, fans! Without my Vanille perfume, nobody would know me
! Another person kept ā in the darkā must have been DD, because when he saw the price (it used to be 59 E..now 127E), he was shocked. Mostly he never even notices so that was a moment . DD thinks lots of things are priced in the past..
. In the US. I have seen the perfume, even if you could get it, for $220 +tax, so I saved him some $$ as it is almost buy one, get one free! ( You can see my logic, right?!)
Next, I went next door to Monoprix Maison to check out that Monopoly SBH game. So cute but he talked me out of it..should have listened to myself but since he was already in sticker shock, thought Iād give him a break because I was heading to OcĆ©anneās Brin dāĆ®le shoe and purse store and I knew it was a potential blood bath coming..!
A highlight of every trip is seeing OcĆ©anne and her gorgeous store at LāOasis! Her beautiful mother was there and she expanded her store to DOUBLE the size! I was so happy for her obvious success because she is one of the nicest people on the planet and we want all the young generation shopkeepers to succeed! A great collection as always and this year, my theme is pink (I usually choose a theme color each trip
) and was not disappointed! Pink suede loafers and black suede as well..I could live in them. Now, living in California, we have little rain, so suede works year round. Speaking from a long time, multigenerational effect of a shoe gene in my family, I may (or may not) have about 30 pairs of Todās in various forms ((I keep most everything for years) , and OcĆ©anneās are handmade so you have to try them on as there are variations slightly but she can send you anything! Todās are also hand made but they got into some hot water in Italy for labor practices so I am supporting OcĆ©anne for numerous reasons, not the least of which is her personal involvement with each item
. Anna goes over the collection with her, too ( She is in Italy and France so I missed her
). She has the beaded Saint Barth sandals, incidentally made in Italy by De Siena, but only she has the SBH ones. I have 2 pair and also some from St-Tropā..so cute and you need them, trust me! Lots of other sandals, some of which are HermĆØs inspired but I bought so many of her other wrap sandals (Kevin inspired !)in the past, I stuck with loafers. By the way, you can have both HermĆØs and Brin dāĆ®le in case you are wondering.. it all works! But nobody is walking around with OcĆ©anneās and you have special joy and a little āwinkā to yourself for having something others donāt have, except for the cognoscenti on the Forum
!
Oh, did you say ā pursesā? Yes, you did! I only got one shoulder style black (I have orange) Evelyne type little one and now I am super sorry that I did not get 6 of those little python crossbodies for 195 E which is cheaper than a pair of jeans) but DD was giving me the ādonāt you have enough of those python bagsā look and I folded like a bad poker hand.. old age is make weak, I think; that or I have to convert another room to a purse room. ( I have the real ones, too..maybe he recognizes them?) I tried to flash the shiny ones so he couldnāt see clearly..but given my Super U haul, I relented
. Donāt be sorry.. go buy gifts for your friends! Oh, I should have told him they were for my friends.. he might have had visions of the Italian trip purses from last May, so maybe itās better this way..
So next door to OcƩanne, her adorable cousin opened a makeup and beauty store, named Caly, which is similar to the name of my dog, so good vibes all around. She is focused on the hottest beauty from Korea but has many more girly hair scrunchies and accessories and has some really jewelry in there. Nice lip oils, face creams, etc. The young ladies will enjoy this little shop.
..). I have to say that after a very rough start, I felt great the rest of the trip and honestly, the entire SeaDream experience was amazing as cruises go. But of course, the sea dictates what activities and stops you make so we missed some snorkeling due to weather or lack of sign ups so you pay your money and you take your chances. The food could not have been better and the crew were gems: every person was over the top and very genuine. I loved all of them! I think January can be dicey in the Caribbean, even in SBH, so we might switch back to April if Delta doesnāt keep those certificates coming !Bon, on to SBH. So you know mostly about Odile
and day 1. Fantastic dinner evening at LāEsprit: since I got my foie gras, nobody got hurt! Terrific as always. My main course was good but not what I was expecting; it was ahi, which I love, but in a sort of crust which made me think of Wiener schnitzel, as it it did not work that well. Now, I love Wiener schnitzel but Iād leave the crust on veal in the future.So Day 2 started off great: first stop, Laura came and brought the car to the pier and off we went to Lorient to Ligne St Barth to pick up the rest of my perfume haul.. 3 bottles, newly packaged in dark amber, to prevent light. Great idea. I have 5 more bottles at home but it is kept in the dark and it keeps fine, so purchase away, fans! Without my Vanille perfume, nobody would know me
! Another person kept ā in the darkā must have been DD, because when he saw the price (it used to be 59 E..now 127E), he was shocked. Mostly he never even notices so that was a moment . DD thinks lots of things are priced in the past... In the US. I have seen the perfume, even if you could get it, for $220 +tax, so I saved him some $$ as it is almost buy one, get one free! ( You can see my logic, right?!)Next, I went next door to Monoprix Maison to check out that Monopoly SBH game. So cute but he talked me out of it..should have listened to myself but since he was already in sticker shock, thought Iād give him a break because I was heading to OcĆ©anneās Brin dāĆ®le shoe and purse store and I knew it was a potential blood bath coming
..!A highlight of every trip is seeing OcĆ©anne and her gorgeous store at LāOasis! Her beautiful mother was there and she expanded her store to DOUBLE the size! I was so happy for her obvious success because she is one of the nicest people on the planet and we want all the young generation shopkeepers to succeed! A great collection as always and this year, my theme is pink (I usually choose a theme color each trip
) and was not disappointed! Pink suede loafers and black suede as well..I could live in them. Now, living in California, we have little rain, so suede works year round. Speaking from a long time, multigenerational effect of a shoe gene in my family, I may (or may not) have about 30 pairs of Todās in various forms ((I keep most everything for years) , and OcĆ©anneās are handmade so you have to try them on as there are variations slightly but she can send you anything! Todās are also hand made but they got into some hot water in Italy for labor practices so I am supporting OcĆ©anne for numerous reasons, not the least of which is her personal involvement with each item. Anna goes over the collection with her, too ( She is in Italy and France so I missed her). She has the beaded Saint Barth sandals, incidentally made in Italy by De Siena, but only she has the SBH ones. I have 2 pair and also some from St-Tropā..so cute and you need them, trust me! Lots of other sandals, some of which are HermĆØs inspired but I bought so many of her other wrap sandals (Kevin inspired !)in the past, I stuck with loafers. By the way, you can have both HermĆØs and Brin dāĆ®le in case you are wondering.. it all works! But nobody is walking around with OcĆ©anneās and you have special joy and a little āwinkā to yourself for having something others donāt have, except for the cognoscenti on the Forum!Oh, did you say ā pursesā? Yes, you did! I only got one shoulder style black (I have orange) Evelyne type little one and now I am super sorry that I did not get 6 of those little python crossbodies for 195 E which is cheaper than a pair of jeans) but DD was giving me the ādonāt you have enough of those python bagsā look and I folded like a bad poker hand.. old age is make weak, I think; that or I have to convert another room to a purse room. ( I have the real ones, too..maybe he recognizes them?) I tried to flash the shiny ones so he couldnāt see clearly..
but given my Super U haul, I relented. Donāt be sorry.. go buy gifts for your friends! Oh, I should have told him they were for my friends.. he might have had visions of the Italian trip purses from last May, so maybe itās better this way..So next door to OcĆ©anne, her adorable cousin opened a makeup and beauty store, named Caly, which is similar to the name of my dog, so good vibes all around. She is focused on the hottest beauty from Korea but has many more girly hair scrunchies and accessories and has some really jewelry in there. Nice lip oils, face creams, etc. The young ladies will enjoy this little shop.
. You always meet nice people there, except the smokers..
