Last week I promised you a tropical touch in this newsletter to warm us up a bit and, above all, bring a dose of welcome brightness at this time of year when the time is changing. But now the storm has set in and, more than ever, we’re in serious need of a super dose of vitamin D!

So, even if it means dreaming a little, I’ve decided to go full tropical for this week’s opus!

Lei Aloha

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen this book by my friend Meleana. It’s time to show you more!

Meleana was born and raised in Hawaii. She inherited her talent as a Lei maker, aka maker of traditional Hawaiian flower necklaces, from her grandmother, who was a renowned specialist.

To open her book is to escape, all five senses awakened! You’ll embrace the flamboyant colors of the tropical flowers, almost smell their shimmering scents – I’m already salivating at the thought of a passion fruit cocktail (Meleana is a great cocktail specialist!), and you’ll want to dip your hand into the baskets of freshly picked flowers to be woven into Lei …

NB The photos in the book are all signed by my other friend Tara Rock, whose talent continues to work wonders. Miss U girls!

Travel tips

While I’ve put my feet up a bit on travel after several years of living out of my bag, many of you have asked me for my tips on how to travel better.

I don’t have 10,000. But my most precious secret is to travel without feeling the effects of jet-lag, even (and especially! ), on long-haul flights. Lucky me!

Magic pills, travel gear, carry-on suitcase and waterproof pouches … the list is too long to reveal it all here, but I’ve written a detailed article for you on the blog.

Travel essentials … ALOHA Collection

I mention them in my travel tips above! I discovered ALOHA Collection pouches a few years ago and now I never travel without them!

And even without talking about travel, I always have one or two on me to protect my camera, iPad, papers, notebook and fountain pen … In short, never without my Aloha, which moreover, are great gift ideas !!!

Vacation estate … A tropical interior

Beyond the simple bouquet of tropical flowers, a few decorating ideas can give your home sweet home a sunny touch in the middle of winter.

While Christmas decorations are showing their face in the spirit of chalets, deer and snow-capped peaks, personally I’m always more inclined to bring out color (and therefore yellow, of course!!!), print out photos of sunny travels to hang on the wall, dip into my beautiful decorating and travel books, bring out my Tiki Cocktails book to brighten up the long, cold winter evenings … In short, bring out the heavy artillery to combat the dreariness! Decorating inspiration with a vacation home in Antigua and ideas to adopt fissa !!!

And if you missed this week’s extra dose of SUNshine, you can find HERE my portrait of Roxane Thierry, former co-founder of the Roseanna brand, now based in Biarritz and creator of the Thiane brand 💛 !