Goodbye Paradise (and bugs)

Hello friends!  I must quickly report that my mini vacation to St. Lucia was amazing.  My mom and I stayed at the StoneField Estate Villa Resort in St. Lucia in our own private villa (which was more like a house with 3 bedrooms and a private pool).  My mom has a sweet gig where she gets to travel for virtually no cost, and happened to win this particular hotel stay.  I was lucky enough to be her plus one.  We laughed our heads off when we got there and discovered that the whole resort (and the island for the most part) catered to honeymooners, and that we definitely were not.

Despite the romantic setting, we still had a great time.  It was so nice to get away and try to force ourselves to just do nothing.  With these kind of views from our resort nestled between the world famous Pitons, it wasn't too difficult to do.

The only part about St. Lucia that was NOT so great was the bugs.  The villas are basically open to all critters with only louvres (similar looking to shutters) with screens on some of the windows.  The resort is literally right in the jungle so we were serenaded to sleep by our own personal sound machine of crickets and who knows what else.  I laughed my head off after the first night when my mom recounted the fact that the bug she thought she had flicked off her bed the night before was sitting on the pillow next to her when she woke up.  EEEK!  We are talking a big cockroach style bug... not a little house fly.

Of course I lucked out to find something very similar to this creature in my closet the next day. 

I wish I was in the right frame of mind at the time to take a picture but I was seriously just too terrified to think of anything but running away and getting that disgusting, huge, furry thing out!  A little gardener man was outside our villa and I asked him to help us, so he of course casually walks in, goes right up to the fist sized fur ball and picks him up with a black garbage bag the way you pick up your dog's poop!  We almost died!

Needless to say, we both took sleeping pills the next night to get some rest. 

I have to show you some pictures of another resort we toured, the Jalousie Beach Resort.  If I had all the money in the world, here is where I would stay.  The decor and architecture of the resort were to die for.  I had to stop and take pictures in one of the lounge areas that led up to their formal dining room.  I wish my entire house was decorated like this.

 This antique pewter framed mirror looked perfect against the modern white vases and aged table.

 Check out the black and white checkered marble tiles.  Need I say more?  They are also lined in the corners of the room with dark walnut wood floors.  Swoon.

 I fell in love with this bookcase/ armoire!  The wood had a natural weathered look with cream linen fabric lining the glass panes. 

They had hanging beds in the lounge with the most unbelievable views overlooking the ocean.  Loveee the caning on this bed and the chairs in the lounge.

In my next life I will be a billionaire who has a house that is decorated like the Jalousie Beach Hotel, and a view from my back yard that looks like this:

Until then, I will enjoy all the free trips I can get with my momma.  She is amazing (and not just because of the travel perks).  I love you, mom!