Maui Film Festival- Films, Fun, Food, Friends

Wow, what an amazingly, delicious, spectacular four days!

I first have to say Thank You to MauiTime for the media passes we received that allowed us entry to EVERY event and film. That's the amazing part. With my love for events and Chris' love for libations.... this was a recipe for success and deliciousness.

First the date and description of the event followed by our ratings of each event/film.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16 OPENING NIGHT TWILIGHT RECEPTION AT CAPISCHE?

"Capische? owner and award-winning chef Brian Wetheredge will wow attendees with truly unique, inventive and delicious selections complimented by refreshing Stella Artois Beer." This was one of the two favorite events we attended. Complimentary hord'eours and cocktails and our first celebrity mingling. The place was a little small, but the fresh and eclectic food by far overshadowed anything. Christopher was in Heaven with his Stella. To top off the night we met Josh Radnor, Ted Mosby of "How I Met Your Mother." Great and down to earth guy. He has a new movie coming our happythankyoumoreplease - really great and inspiring movie - a must see when it hits theaters. This was part one of the delicious part.

Next, the film Bran Nue Dae. An Austrialian musical comedy. Not the greatest film we saw- super cheesy at parts but kept me smiling at others. This one is a renter if you like musicals. Before the movie, Zac Efron was being honored with the "Shinning Star" award. PLEASE, for the love of god tell me why this child even got one?He has been in THREE, count it, THREE movies, that's it! And he didn't even have a movie in the festival. On a side PR note Maui Film Festival, when you're honoring a star, he is usually in a movie! No picture-proof here because he is DOUCHBAG with a capital D. That's all.

Last up for the night, STARRY NIGHT MOONDANCE "known as the festivals hottest dance party..." you already had us at hottest dance party. We had such a great time! Indulging in more cocktails and pupus (that's appetizers people) and dancing the night away like when we first met, there were smiles on our faces the whole time! This comes to our second celebrity sighting with Dan Byrd of Cougar Town. Chris and I watch the show every night and he is great on the show. So it was a pleasure to meet him. He is starring in the upcoming NORMAN movie. Needless to say, we had a GREAT first night!

FRIDAY, JUNE 18 Film time and Taste of Chocolate (Debauchaery)

Nowhere Boy: "Biopic about the misspent youth of a Liverpool lad named John Lennon who grew up to form some band." I would have to say this was probably one of the best movies I saw at the festival. Great story about the legendary John Lennon. I thought it was going to be more about The Beatles and the musical part of his life, but this was abut his youth and how bad his childhood was his his mom. Just an amazing story. Definitely a theater movie, not a rental.

To finish off our night there was the TASTE OF CHOCOLATE AT THE FOUR SEASONS MAUI RESORT. "MFF's over-the-top event for chocolate lovers." I am there! I could not hold my excitement the entire day! Chris wasn't a big chocolate fan, but the never-ending Stella Artois kept him satisfied, the champagne wasn't a bad touch for me either. Chocolate decadence every where we looked. Chocolate and banana milkshake, nitrogen chocolate shorbet, chocolate fondue with the best lilikoi marshmallows and various fruits for dipping, Cheesecake graham cracker chocolate ball and soo much more. I was literally in chocolate Heaven. This was part two of the delicious part. Not to mention this was our third celebrity sighting with Malin Ackerman, best know for her part in The Heartbreak kid and her upcoming movie happythankyoumoreplease. Such a beautiful and sweet person. Picture-proof soon :)

SATURDAY, JUNE 19 TASTE OF WAILEA- WAILEA GOLD & EMERALD GOLF COURSE

" The crown jewel of MFF's culinary arts celebrations, Taste of Wailea will be presented by Wailea resort's most celebrated chefs and restaurants, complemented by an engagingly robust and delicate assortment of fine wines, refreshing Stella Artois on draft and exotic Maui-tinis from Ocean Vodka" This was my second favorite event and part three of the delicious part. I loved sampling all the food from the different restaurants. Some restaurants I heard good things from, but Chris and I haven't had the time to get to those places and just weren't sure about the reviews. But because of this event we will definitely be dining at MaLa (tried some juicy, fresh fish burgers); a meatloaf dish from Joes was tasty; my favorite was a seared scallop dish from Four Season's restaurant. Chris did not partake in all the deliciousness of the night because he filled his belly with the nastiness that is Taco Bell (while I was at work)..... his loss! Here we also mingled with our buddies Josh and Dan :) The mingling was the spectacular part.

Movie of the night: happythankyoumoreplease "A New York lothario has his life turned upside down in this quick-witted comedy." Chris was super excited to see this movie. And it was pretty good. A feel-good movie, think "Woody Allen"- esk. The most exciting part for Chris was that after the movie, he was able to tell Josh how great the movie was because he ran into him on the way to the restroom. That's pretty neat. Josh was overwhelmed.

Then we stayed for the following movie: Cherry "A virginal teen simultaneously embarks on his college and sexual education." So you pretty much know what you're getting with a premise like that, but it was surprisingly laughable. I would recommend it to those with a sense of humor and still a child a heart.

SUNDAY JUNE 20

A little of a disappointment for me. I had the day off because I was expecting a lot. There is usually a closing night reception and other events. But not here in Maui. They had a couple of films, only one looking pretty good, and NO closing night reception. Move: Cyrus "Your classic tale of boy(John C. Reilly) meets girl(Marisa Tomei) and girl's strange adult son (Jonah Hill)." Yes, I know super weird casting, but it worked. It worked really well, minus the Jonah Hill lack of dramatic acting ability. John C. Reilly was a breakout surprise with his dramatic acting. His connection with Marsia Tomei is very believable. On the other hand, Jonah Hill was nothing to brag about. He needs to just stick to slap-stick comedy.

Since there wasn't any closing night reception, Christopher and I made our own. We took the day to do a little shopping, had happy hour and nice conversation at Kahului Ale House, a wonderful fajita dinner at Koho's (a very local place btw) and then the movie.

All in all, we had one of the most fun-filled amazing weekends/couple of days here in Maui. It was good to just not worry about work, indulge in the finer things Maui has to offer. Which isn't a lot of the time. It reminded us of being back in Houston.

With our hectic day-to-day schedules, take time out to appreciate the things your town has to offer with the company you keep.

I know I do every day.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Today I am wishing all the fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, uncles and soon-to-be fathers a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! But especially my father, the best dad in the world, Bill Dreyer!!

It was weird going to Church today and not be with my dad. All the dad's received blessings. But I did talk to my dad before I went into Church so that counts for something :)

Today the Father's homily was very inspirational. "Are you in it for you or are you in it for others?" Such a great question to ponder, especially on this day. Are you in this world for yourself - are you selfish and self centered? Or are you in this world for others - do you think about others and want to live your life to better others? It's not hard to know where I belong. That is definitely in the second category. And I owe that to my father (and mother!).

My father is one of the most unselfish man I know. He lives his life making sure me, Marina, Nick and our mom are all taken care of. Overcoming prostate cancer, triple by-pass surgery and hormone shots right now, he is the epitome of the strongest man and wonderful father. He lives his life for others. That's how I am living my life. Not for me, but for my wonderful family, friends and Christopher. To live your life this way is to be helpful, not hurtful. That's how God lived his life. He lived it for us.

Thinking of another aspect of my life coming up: my future nuptials. Most marriages end in divorce because one or the other is living for themselves, and not for their significant others. That is not how I want to live my marriage and I am going to work my butt of to have the kind of marriage my parents have. They are living for each other first and then for their kids. Same with Chris' parents. They are still married and are living for themselves and the kids. It is truly why a happy, healthy marriage is important to Chris and I. We have these amazing examples that a strong, happy, health marriage is possible.

Three 1/2 months from now, Chris and I will begin our journey as husband and wife. Living our lives for each other and not for ourselves.

On this special Father's Day, take time out to show love for the father figure in your life. Let him know how much he shapes you, the way you live your life and how much you love him. I know I already have and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

I love you Bill Dreyer.

My Future Running Shoes

Anyone that knows me, knows that I like to run. Studies have proven that once you work out gear you are proud to wear then you are more willing to workout. Think about it: when was the last time you were so excited to put on the raggy, t-shirt, oversized shorts, old shoes and were excited about working out? That's what I thought. I actually LOVE putting on my workout gear and shoes and get out there and exercise. It's the best feeling in the world. I will talk anyone to the ground who says "you don't have to look in the mirror before you go running, you shouldn't care about what you look like." That's crap!

It's like when you get ready for work. You put your uniform on or your best suit and some make up on, look in the mirrow and you're ready. You're in that mindset of going to work. It's the same with working out. You get exercise gear that actually fits you well and you feel good in - you will be in the right mind set of actually wanting to exercise.

That is why this is the next thing on my purchasing list:


We went to Sports Authority this past weekend and I fell in love with these New Balance shoes. Click here for more info! They felt great with the right amount of support on the bottom. I do have running shoes right now, but they are shoes I wear for work too. When you buy running shoes, you need to wear them just for running. That's what these are for. AND, a portion of proceeds of these shoes benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer. Even better!

Next thing, buy some shoes or workout gear that a portion of the proceeds benefit research for endometiral (unterine) cancer, what my mother had and is now cancer-free and recovering GREAT!

Do yourself a favor: get rid of that 10 year old high school t-shirt, baggy shorts and old-school shoes and get gear you're proud to wear!

I know I will and don't forget to EAT HEALTHY!

Chris' Career Is Taking Off!

I'm extremely excited to announce that The Society of Publication Designers recently posted a feature highlighting some of the work that Chris has done during his tenure (the first 10 months) as the Art Director of MauiTime. He's a huge fan and avid reader of SPD.org, so it's a big honor—especially being written by the legendary Robert Newman. The best of the best in publication design are involved with SPD, so to have his work featured and seen by its members is really extraordinary.

See the article HERE.

Also, this week he found out that he is a finalist for the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies 2010 Competition in the "Cover Design - Circulation Under 50,000" category. This is a really exciting accomplishment because pretty much every alternative weekly in the country enters this contest each year, so to be in the top 4 is a pretty big achievement. Especially considering that he was choosing 3 of his best covers from 3 months worth of work (he started at MauiTime in August and didn't have the redesign in place until October), when most weeklies have a full years worth of work to choose from. Additionally, this will be the first time MauiTime has ever placed in the AAN awards—a goal he made to the company upon being hired.

The final rankings of the winners won't be announced until the official awards ceremony in Toronto on July 16, so keep your fingers crossed!

You can read additional information on the contest and it's finalists HERE.

124 Days To Go

It's the start of June and we have 124 days to go to till our wedding!! God, it doesn't sound like that much time left, but there are still lots to do.

1. We are still waiting on quotes from the printers for the invitations..... Waiting is the worse part! I want to get those invitations printed and see them so bad! We wanted to have some embellishments (gold foil stamp and/embossing) but because of our budget, we're not able to. But because Chris is such talented designer, were going to make it work with the wonderful design.

2. One-out of six- of my bridesmaids finally ordered her dress. Yay!

3. Trying to decide on a rehearsal diner site is a little harder then I thought it would be. And I used to book these sites when I was working with Pennino and Partners for our client events. Right now, Chris' mom is working on trying to find a venue in the downtown area. That is one of the things to accomplish this month on my timeline, so I know she will do a great job on finding one.

4. Chris decided on his formal wear style. So, now he is waiting on a rep from Als Formal Wear to contact him and get everything setup. Then get the information to his guys. Another thing to get done this month. He will look soooo handsome!

5. Guest list is pretty much finalized. Were at about 175, which you're supposed to invite more than what you intend to come. So we'll see how that goes lol! All our addresses are in the excel sheet, and my mom is working on putting her families address in the excel sheet. It's coming along.

6. We have our hotel booked for that night staying at one of HotelIcon's suites. We couldn't be more excited!

7. Another thing I'm trying to do is plan a brunch for the following day. All my extended family from Argentina will be in town, about 12 people, then my family and Chris' family. So if it's affordable i really want to try to get our families together one last time. Key word there is affordable my friends. I will keep you updated.

8. We are also trying to find transportation for my family to and from the Rehearsal dinner and of course the wedding. They will most likely be staying at my parents house (yea, that's a lot of people you might say, but were one big happy familia!) so I'm looking into finding a van/limo rental for those nights at little or not cost. When your fiancé is an award-winning designer, you can have him deign things for a trade. I am in the process of negotiations right now lol

9. As of today, we both got our tickets!!! That is definitely something I have been wanting to take care of and get off my worry list. We both got tickets at about $527, and that trust me is the cheapest it's been at. We are leaving on different dates to go back to Houston but we got the same return flight back to Maui - as a married couple :)

10....... My dress! I already have it but I'm still so nervous about. I have to go back about a month before the wedding to have the fitting. Thing is, it's a size 10 and it has to be altered to a size 0/1. Hopefully all that can happen, and happen well, in the amount of time I have. That's another AAAAHHHHHHH!

Ok so the list goes on and on....but my good friend Jessica Garcia is graciously donating her time to help plan and do the day of coordinating. I'm soo lucky to have such great people in my life.

I just can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my soon to be husband. That sounds sooooo good!