november • 2013 keiki cover models

Aloha to sweet Ella and Olivia, who grace our cover this month.

Dad is Anthony Briggs, Club Concierge at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, and Victoria Briggs is the owner of No Ka ‘Oi Cinnamon Rolls in Ka‘anapali.

The family lives in Lahaina. Big sister Ella is five years old, and attends Kindergarten at Kamehameha III where her favorite topic is art class. Olivia goes to preschool at Holy Innocents.

Both girls love tumbling, drawing, painting, and family time at the beach.

Mom shared, “Both girls learn hula and Hawaiian songs at school and love to perform them for us at home.

Every day, they are the reason I work so hard, to provide them with the best!”

nuka japanese restaurant in ha‘iku: welcome to a true neighborhood hot spot

My friend Roger knows his Japanese cuisine, having lived in Japan for five years. So when he told me I needed to dine at Nuka in Ha‘iku, I paid attention. And I’m extremely happy I took Roger’s advice: this sophisticated little gem of a restaurant in the heart of a sleepy town is nothing short of a winner, and definitely worth venturing out from Maui’s resort areas for the evening.

ocean vodka: ‘life’s a beach, so enjoy a cocktail’

Ocean Vodka may be made with deep ocean mineral water, but this Maui company is flying high these days with the opening of their brand-new, state-of-the-art organic farm and distillery on Oma‘opio Road in Kula earlier this year.

We had an opportunity to participate in one of their preliminary distillery/farm tours, led by Ocean Vodka’s president Shay Smith. “We weren’t farmers before, but we are now,” he said with a laugh.