redesign on a dime

dr. pitt * orbit lounge

shopping for a gift for my friend's housewarming gave me the perfect excuse to stop by pacific home off ward avenue during my last trip home. this is definitely the place to go to deck out your digs with stylish and modern furniture and accessories not typically found in hawaii.

pacific home is the exclusive hawaii dealer for mitchell gold (fyi - many of the pieces at pottery barn and crate & barrel are designed by mg) and is design junkie nirvana since it is the only place in the islands to find thomas paul pillows, lights up! lamps, amenity bedding, and angela adams rugs under one roof.

the new showroom is huge and i just want to warn you that, even if you weren't planning on it, you will probably be ready to redecorate your home after your first visit. good thing pacific home is throwing a sale this month!

• sale dates: oct 13th to 23rd
• map it

hawaii international film festival

tickets for the hawaii international film festival (oct 19th-29th) go on sale to the general public today! with 254 films being screened throughout the islands, it shouldn't be hard to find something to lure you to the movie theater. the festival has even created its first ever limited edition aloha shirt to celebrate.

opening night features a peek at alejandro innarritu's (amores perros, 21 grams) babel before its stateside release. the trailer looks intriguing and i'm sure many will flock to the hawaii theater simply to watch pretty boy pitt on the big screen (gael garcia bernal is reason enough for me).

highlights include a talk with the cast & crew from lost, an evening with actor ken watanabe (featuring a screening of the last samurai) and, for film geeks, a q+a session with director kevin smith. also, if you prefer films with more of a focus on the pacific islands and its people then you will definitely want to make
time for the hawaiinuiakea film festival at uh.

you can check out trailers on the hiff website or, even better, oceanic digital cable subscribers can tune in to the film festival's video on demand channel (no. 680).

• oct 21st: lost seminar
• oct 21st-23rd: sunset on the beach screenings
• oct 23rd, nov 1st-4th: hawaiinuiakea film festival
• oct 26th: hawaii night with john cruz & keola beamer
• oct 27th: an evening with ken watanabe
• oct 28th: an evening with kevin smith
• oct 29th: hula girls (special guest: jake shimabukuro)

get away to turtle bay

i have nothing but fond memories of time spent on the north shore when i was growing up. as much as i love the hustle & bustle of waikiki and its mix of people from all over the world it's impossible to resist the soul of the north shore.

if you're looking to escape for a few days, save the plane fare and head up to turtle bay to relax in one of their ocean view rooms:

• rate: from $199 a night (exclusives promotion)
• book it: by thu, nov 16th
• blackout: oct 26th & 27th

for those of you who love the north shore because it is the antithesis of waikiki, you should be aware of the controversy brewing over the new owners' attempts at expanding the property. click over to keep the north shore country to learn more about what's happening and how you can help.

food lover's guide to honolulu

surprise, surprise . . . people from hawaii love to eat. you only need to click on the hawaii blog links over on the left sidebar to confirm that islanders *love* food (even in the ether that is cyberspace). if you ever get stumped by all the choices in town at kaukau time, pick up a copy of food lover's guide to honolulu by island food writer (and one time head foodie at the advertiser) joan namkoong.

this is the ultimate local resource for honolulu-bound foodies detailing everything from fancy eats to hole-in-the-walls. there's even a shopping guide so you always know where to go when it's time to procure those hard to find ingredients before the big family potluck.

paul brown hawaii

my neverending investigation to unearth the perfect conditioner is currently collecting contenders for my next beauty binge. the hapuna line from hawaii's very own paul brown recently caught my eye with ingredients like water filtered through mauna kea's lava tubes (chock full of minerals and other good stuff) and botanicals from the islands. even better, the shampoo is free of sulfates and the volcanic thermal mask sounds like just the thing to grab when your hair needs some intensive lovin'.

beauty junkies on a budget should definitely check out the paul brown institute in town which opened its doors earlier this year. if you don't mind sacrificing some time to be a guinea pig for their students, you can save some big bucks on salon services like haircuts ($15), highlighting ($48) and even full body massages ($35). walk in's are a no no so do call ahead to find out when the next clinic will be open to the public.

the hapuna line can be found at paul brown's eponymous salons around the islands or stop by haircare express which seems to have the best prices online.