Tag archives: Gwyneth Paltrow

Fintastic Feast
By Richard Mineards   |   August 22, 2019

To the Bluewater Grill with my snapperazzi Priscilla where, on the second Tuesday of each month, the popular eatery offers a new seafood tasting menu. The all-inclusive dinner included chipotle blackened swordfish with rice, corn and avocado relish with clam chowder – Manhattan or New England – and a glass of Cuvee Rouge. Scrumptious… Moving […]

Julia’s Back
By Richard Mineards   |   August 15, 2019

Montecito actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ critically acclaimed HBO series Veep went on hiatus while she underwent treatment for breast cancer. Now Julia, 58, has opened up to the celebrity glossy, Vanity Fair, about her cancer diagnosis and returning to work after a life-threatening illness. On the cover of the Conde Nast monthly Julia wears a diaphanous […]

Setting Sail
By Richard Mineards   |   July 11, 2019

After “kinging” as George III in the Village Fourth with Justin Bieber watching, for the seventh consecutive year with Dallas dynamo Charles Ward, Santa Barbara Polo Club promoter as George Washington, in his Mercedes convertible driven by British author Deborah Richards, I dashed off to the harbor to board former Santa Barbara Yacht Club commodore […]

Reunited after 50 Years
By Richard Mineards   |   June 27, 2019

Former Montecito resident Jim Sokolove, who moved with his wife, Stephanie, to Boca Raton, Florida last year, has just attended his 50th reunion at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. Jim, who was in the class of 1969, founded his firm Sokolove Law in 1979. The tony twosome used to host the annual Table of […]

Hooray for Hillside
By Richard Mineards   |   June 6, 2019

Hillside House, now rebranded Hillside given the expansion plans for its 280-acre property which has 59 residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, raised around $100,000 from its 16th annual Sunset Soirée, held for the first time at the Rockwood Woman’s Club, given the death of Tita Lanning, chatelaine of the historic El Mirador estate, where […]

Junior League Welcomes Cortina
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2019

Lindsay Cortina is the new president of The Junior League of Santa Barbara replacing Kielle Horton after a one-year term. Cortina joined the league six years ago and has served in numerous leadership roles. She is also director of organizational initiatives at Sansum Clinic, where she oversees the implementation of strategic projects and programs aimed […]

Anniversary at Alito’s
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2019

Social gridlock reigned at restaurateur Ali Ahlstrand‘s new State Street eatery, Alito’s, when John Thyne and Kevin Goodwin celebrated the 15th anniversary of their real estate company, Goodwin & Thyne Properties. More than 270 guests turned out for the boffo bash, with 1,138 properties sold in the last decade and a half. “It is amazing […]

Book Bash
By Richard Mineards   |   April 11, 2019

Tony twosome Jerry Jacobs and Angela Perko celebrated the opening of Montecito’s latest lively literary lair, Lost Horizon, in the upper village with a bijou bash. Dozens turned out for the fun fête at the San Ysidro Road store, which shares space with Diane Stewart‘s fine art emporium. Among the bibliophile bunch were Mahri Kerley, […]

Back to Bach
By Richard Mineards   |   April 4, 2019

Johann Sebastian Bach was certainly ready for his closeup when the Music Academy of the West hosted a Council of Contributors alumnus recital at its cavernous Lehmann Hall with 32-year-old pianist Evan Shinners, who gained considerably notoriety last year when he performed works of the German composer for five hours daily for 37 consecutive days […]

Foodies and Winos
By Richard Mineards   |   March 21, 2019

Gourmands and oenophiles were out in force at the Wine Shepherd when the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum threw an intimate bash to mark the 38th year of its popular wine and food festival in June, which is expected to raise $130,000 for educational programs. The fest on the 14-acre campus along the shaded banks […]

Not All Heroes Wear Capes
By Richard Mineards   |   March 14, 2019

It was an early start when the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation hosted its 5th annual Little Heroes breakfast for 350 guests at the Hilton, which was expected to raise around $100,000 for the popular charity. The boffo bash, co-chaired by Heather Ayer, Matthew Fish, Emilee Garfield, and Nina Johnson, featured keynote speaker Eduardo Garcia, a […]

Making the Rounds
By Richard Mineards   |   March 14, 2019

The mad social whirl was at full throttle when UCSB Arts & Lectures hosted parties for guest speakers at the Granada and Campbell Hall. The first was held at the charming Montecito residence of Audrey and Tim Fisher, the former home of actor James Brolin, for global photographer James Balog, who spoke about his new […]

Twenty Years of Tony’s Tacos
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2019

Los Arroyos, the popular Mexican eatery on Coast Village Road, is celebrating 20 years in business. Owner Tony Arroyo opened his first location in downtown Santa Barbara on West Figueroa Street in 1999 and launched his outlet in our rarefied enclave in 2004. The chain now has branches in Camarillo and Goleta, with a nosheteria […]

SB Gains an Ace
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2019

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club has added a new tennis pro to its talented staff. Born and raised in Scotland, Nikki Slater grew up playing with Wimbledon champ Andy Murray and his brother, Jamie, as her coach was the ace racketeers’ mother, Judy. She graduated from Florida State University where she was number one […]

Trocks en Pointe
By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2019

It was a delightful night of high camp when Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performed a hilarious program at the packed Granada, part of the of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. Music by Chopin, Verdi, Glazunov accompanied the balletic high jinx. Having seen the 45-year-old company a number of times in New […]

Remembering Gene
By Richard Mineards   |   January 24, 2019

To Solvang for the memorial service for the late Gene Sinser, former board member of the Santa Barbara Symphony and ex director of the Montecito Fire District, who left us last month at the age of 85. The German Holocaust survivor, whose birth name was Gunther Zinser, was a longtime member of our rarefied enclave […]

Walk to Remember
By Richard Mineards   |   January 17, 2019

Montecito TV titan Oprah Winfrey, Kenny Loggins, and actor Rob Lowe paid tribute to the 23 people who lost their lives and many who lost everything a year ago, as our tony enclave was ravaged by catastrophic mudslides. Oprah, 64, was among hundreds of local residents taking part in the first anniversary vigil, walking from […]

Seeking Light
By Richard Mineards   |   January 16, 2019

The late Santa Barbara artist and poet Margaret Singer, who died at the age of 98 last year, is the focus of a new documentary by local director and documentary maker Louise Palanker. The 20-minute short “Margaret Singer: Seeking Light” tells how the Frankfurt-born citizen fled Nazism and lost her family in the Holocaust, moving […]

Bella Vista Bash
By Richard Mineards   |   January 10, 2019

Social gridlock reigned when tony twosome, Pat and Ursula Nesbitt, threw a heaving holiday bash at Bella Vista, their sprawling Summerland polo ranch. More than 150 guests were welcomed to the bustling beano, catered by the Biltmore, by ballerinas from the Luminario company in Los Angeles, while the Lois Mahalia Choir entertained with gospel and […]

Making Scents
By Richard Mineards   |   January 2, 2019

Santa Barbara Polo Club player and Ralph Lauren Polo model Nacho Figueras has praised his good friend Prince Harry for his “realness” and says Queen Elizabeth‘s 35-year-old grandson is “serious about improving life for kids” who’ve not had the same advantages in life. Argentinian Nacho, 42, tells Town & Country magazine: “What I like most […]