offshore cpa: flip flop frenzy

So shopping on the island is a bit ridiculous. I do not speak from experience, simply because I've been resisting the temptation to overspend while not getting my money's worth. Other expats feel the same way, although we girls have to get our shopping fix somewhere; one of my coworkers has resorted to simply buying more groceries. I, on the other hand, discovered Havaianas flip flops! I didn't own any of these wildly-popular flip flops prior to arriving, and my most fun pair were from a J. Crew clearance before leaving home:

I adore this color

However, after arriving on Grand Cayman, I started noticing that flip flops were not only the default shoe of choice on island, but that expats galore were sporting various varieties of sweet Havaianas. NS' coworker, ER, mentioned to me within a week of my arrival that there was a company store in GT where you could get pairs for $10. So the wheels in my head started turning: I have a need to shop. My feet have a need to wear Havaianas. How late is this store open again??

While my first house guests were visiting, the three of us girls headed to GT on a Saturday to check out the wares. We were disappointed with GT overall, because many vendors were closed as there was no cruise ship in port. Lesson learned: If your guests want to do some tourist-type shopping, send them to GT when there are tourists to be found! Anyway, Havaianas WAS open, so we browsed the store, finding a variety of sizes, fits, and colors. The ones for little kids were absolutely delicious. I focused my attention on the $10 wall, but I did spot a pair of flips sporting some kind of rhinestones selling for $120! Out-flippin-rageous. I settled on a pair of purple Havaianas Fit:

My favorite color

I should back up for a moment and mention that before heading into GT with the girls, I called KK and asked her to join, but she was unable to make it. This worked out to her advantage, though, because she hit up the store the next day. While there, she called me to tell me that ALL flip flops in the store were 50% off, and did I want her to pick me up another pair? What a silly question: Emphatically YES!!

I asked her to look for a relatively inexpensive pair with a flag on them. She found me a hot little red set of Havaianas Top with the Cayman flag! LOVE!