Some of the artwork of Aulani

As you know, last week, I had the opportunity to visit Disney’s new resort and spa in Hawaii, Aulani, which is opening in August 2011.  During our visit, we had the chance to meet with four of the sixty artists who will be creating artwork especially for Aulani.

In talking with the artists, it became apparent that not only are they passionate about their art and their culture, they are also very protective of that art and culture.  Disney did a wonderful job of working with them in a collaborative manner to ensure their comfort in being a part of the project.  For me, this dinner with the artists brought Aulani alive in a way that no hotel or resort has ever been for me.

The artists we met were:

Solomon Enos: Solomon, who creates illustrations, murals, and paintings, will be creating murals for Aulani.

Rocky Jensen and his wife Lucia: both are artists, and both are extraordinarily passionate about their crafts and their culture.  Rocky is creating several of the wood carving structures that will live in the lobby of Aulani.

Dalani Tahany: a traditional Hawaiian Kapa artist who has created her own tools for her craft.  Much of the textile designs in Aulani, including the duvets, shower curtains, and window curtains, are Dalani’s designs.

McD Philpotts: McD, who is famous on Hawaii, is known for his elaborate art and furniture created from green sourced wood.  He’s creating wood panels for Aulani.

Disclosure: Disney paid my travel expenses for the Aulani preview in Hawaii.

Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa – The Hawaiian Artists of Aulani is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

This week, in our cake decorating class, we tackled cupcakes.  I was so out of it, and behind on work because of my travel schedule this July, so I actually forgot the delicious blueberry jam I’d purposely bought to fill the cupcakes.  Oh well, I’ll have to use it on next weeks’ cake.  Since I was in a pinch, I filled the cupcakes with frosting, something I’ll probably never do again (they weren’t bad, it was just A LOT of frosting).

So, while I didn’t really excel at the Pom Pom (no, really, it was more of an alien life form than a pom pom), I did enjoy the rosettes and leaves.  And I’m getting a lot better!

Next week is the final class, and then I think I’m going to sign up for the fondant class in September.

Wilton Cake Decorating Basics: Class Three is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

Wordless Wednesday: Breathtaking is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

I know, I know, I keep talking about Hawaii.  I have a few more posts to go, and then I’ll stop.  I promise.

I spent 44 hours in Hawaii.  It felt like a week, which is great, because it took over 13 hours to get there and another 13 to get home.  I also learned that at 36, I’m not cut out for red-eye flights as I was when I was 23 flying back and forth to Seattle.  I was pretty useless all day yesterday.

I left on a 7:50am flight through SFO, and landed in Honolulu at 3 pm (gotta love that time change when going west).  I had a great driver who gave me lots of information about the island and the Ko’Olina Resort area (where the Disney resort Aulani is located), before dropping me off at the front door of the JW Marriott.  I was given a huge suite with a giant bathroom, king bedroom, living room, smaller bathroom, and two balconies (one with a mountain view/view of Aulani, and one with a water view).  After some freshening up, I headed down to the lobby to meet the group and walk over to dinner.

Our Dinner Location

Dinner was with all of the travel media, as well as Disney executives and the creative forces behind the Aulani Resort.  I was so pleased to be seated with Elliot, who will be the GM of the resort (I didn’t get his last name), as well as Leslie Ferraro, SVP of Global Marketing for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Executive,Walt Disney Imagineering.

Joe Rodhe, lead creative designer for Aulani, gave us an overview of Aulani – including the involvement of native Hawaiian residents who are consulting on the project.  If you don’t know who Joe is (he’s a huge Disney Parks celebrity), he is the creative genius behind the Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World.

The next morning (I slept like a rock!), we had breakfast at the hotel and then went on a hard hat tour of the resort.  I wasn’t able to take photos, but I took loads of notes, and will write up a full review of the new hotel soon.  I also put together a Whrrl with a photo tour of the new rooms at Aulani Resort and Spa.

After a quick change of clothes, we boarded a bus, grabbed an amazingly-good box lunch (seriously, like the best box lunch EVER), and drove to another part of Oahu, where met up with guides from Bike Hawaii, and got ready to hike the Manoa Valley Rainforest. We were decked out in waterproof knee-high boots, new socks, and OFF! bug repellent, and packed up some rain ponchos, water bottles, and trail mix, and then we were on our way.

The hike was fairly intense – the guide told me that it’s rated moderate. We hiked through streams and mud up to a waterfall – where we took this group shot.

After the hike, we had a good-sized break.  I took advantage of the time to swim and hang out by the pool, before getting ready for dinner.

Dinner Location on Thursday

Dinner was at another outdoor venue at the Marriott, and this time we had the chance to meet with four of the sixty artists who will be contributing work to Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa.  Again, I have way too much detail, and will be posting more on this later. We had passed appetizers, and some great sushi and soft-shelled tacos, but the best part of the dinner was the conversation with these amazing artists.

After returning to my room, I found a great gift from Disney – a print from one of the artists that will be featured at Aulani.

I had another great night sleep, and then got ready to leave – but not before visiting the beach and having a great breakfast.

Honestly, the flight was SO worth it, to attend this event.  It felt like a week all combined into 44 hours!

Disclosure: Disney paid my travel expenses for me to attend the Aulani preview event.

44 Hours in Hawaii (Aulani Preview Event) is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

I’ll have loads of posts later, but for now, here’s a first look at the rooms of Aulani!

Disclosure: Disney paid all of my expenses to travel to Hawaii and tour Aulani.

Visiting Hawaii: First Look at Aulani, the Disney Resort and Spa is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

While I’m away from blogging for a few days, here are some photos from my Disney trip to Hawaii!

Disclosure: Disney covered all of the expenses for this trip to Hawaii to preview the Disney Aulani Resort and Spa.

Hawaii: Aulani Preview is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

I’m not sure which is worse – the fact that USAirways has ads on its tray tables, or this particular ad, which announces that linens are cleaned between guests.  Is that really ad-worthy?

Wordless Wednesday: I’m Not Sure Which is Worse is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

For my second class, I was to bring in a full baked, cooled cake, which I did, despite the fact that our air conditioning died and my house was sweltering.  Right away, I knew I was in trouble, because the bottom of the cake stuck a bit to the bottom of the pan (which I now know is the top of the cake).

After arriving, we got to work frosting the cake.  Unfortunately, I started to run low on frosting, despite the fact that I made the amount we were told to make.  As I looked around the room, I started to get dejected – the other participants’ cakes were SO much smoother.  But then I found out that more than half the class is actually re-taking the class – since Wilton changed the curriculum in June, some die-hards wanted to take the new class.  So, it’s totally not fair for me to compare.

Here’s my creation.  It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with it.  I can only improve!

Off to Michael’s to buy a whole bunch of other stuff I now need!

Wilton Cake Decorating Basics: Class Two is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

I’ve just returned from the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit, and I am totally inspired! What a great day and a half with smart, energetic women, and a fabulous company!

The Yahoo! Mother Board started out with just 17 mom bloggers and has now grown to 80 bloggers.  This past week, Yahoo! flew all of us (the 62 who were able to go) to their corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA.  We stayed in the Four Seasons Palo Alto (one of the BEST hotels I’ve stayed in, by the way), and were bused to the event.

While I ended up missing much of the festivities on Thursday night (a pool deck party), I did get to hang out with many of the participants later that evening, although I did go to bed early (damn jet lag).  But not before I took a relaxing bath because there was a soaking tub in the hotel room, with a TV FACING THE TUB.  In the bathroom.  Bliss.

The next morning, we headed out to the main event, and were greeted by the purple carpet.

We had a wonderful breakfast, then got down to business with a keynote from CMO Elisa Steele (also a mom), who was both captivating and inspiring.  Then, we broke out into small groups and heard from the Flickr product managers (I learned a lot that I didn’t know – plus got a Pro membership!), and from Shine! Managing Editor Annette Cardwell (I’ll be writing on Shine in the near future).

After lunch, we had an online safety roundtable, and let’s just say that my eyes are now opened.  I’ll be posting more about this in the future, because there’s so much as parents that we need to do.

We broke out into groups again and learned about Yahoo! Social Products (yes, they do have some!) and about Yahoo! For Good.  Then it was break time!

We had Yahoo! cupcakes!

And, Espresso from the Free Espresso Bars!

After getting sugared and caffeinated, we sat down to listen to two of Yahoo!’s editorial experts (I took frantic notes!), and finally, discussed advertising and how it affects bloggers.

Then, we got back on the bus, and headed to local hotspot Nola, where we had some great food and drinks, and had time to chat with each other. Again, due to jet lag and an early-morning flight, I called it a night early.

I was thrilled to be traveling home with my friend Amy M – we had the chance to catch up even more, and Amy kindly had lunch with my while I waited for my connection.

Overall, it was a fabulous time, and I’m ready to go back!  Let’s hope for a 2011 Mother Board Summit!!

Disclosure: Yahoo! covered all costs for the summit, including travel expenses!

The Yahoo! Mother Board Summit is a post from: Multitasking Mommy

Monday was my very first Wilton Decorating Basics class, and I happily showed up with my 6 plain cookies (not perfectly round, but still very delicious), my decorating basics kit, and some frosting, ready to learn all about decorating.  After about ten minutes of class, with discussions of three consistencies of frosting, torting (huh?), and leveling (really?), I was staring with my mouth wide open, and was furiously taking notes.  And, when the instructor gave us the list of things to bring in the next class (stuff you probably have at home, she said), I went back to Michael’s and spent $100.  I just don’t have cake boards, a cake holder, meringue  powder, pastry brush, and cake turntable lying around at home!

But, I did learn a TON!  And, I came home with these lovely (if not perfectly round) creations:

Next week, I will bake a cake, level it, tort it, and decorate it.  And now, I know what all of that means.

Wilton Decorating Basics: Class One is a post from: Multitasking Mommy