Tag archives: people of montecito
Bringing my laptop downstairs to work in the few minutes I spend waiting for the kettle to boil is what my flat mates call the “American work ethic,” and they find it more than a little disgusting. For many Montecito kids, you would have to take a crowbar to separate the person from their ambitions, […]
Though it is sometimes difficult to stand out in Montecito’s competitive landscape, Cayley Boyd rises to the challenge, fully embodying what it means to be a high achiever. Cayley is an accomplished athlete, musician, and businessperson who has spent her more recent years navigating the nail-biting corporate jungle of New York City. But Cayley’s resumé […]
I was a straight-A student through middle school and high school. That is, a straight-A student except for one class: physical education. How dastardly that my pristine GPA should be sullied by such a subject! Or so I thought then. What I had yet to learn was that academics are a balancing act between both […]
As a former student of Montecito Union School, Santa Barbara Junior High, and Santa Barbara High School, Ava Burford was well acquainted with her hometown before leaving for UCLA. However, her return home in March 2020 gave her a chance to see Montecito from a new perspective. Within the liminal space of the pandemic, many […]
During the years 1928 and 1929, Dr. Alister MacKenzie headed up the design and construction of the Cypress Point Club, as well as The Valley Club of Montecito, five years before his final masterpiece: Augusta National, upon which he collaborated with golf-world legend Bobby Jones. Anyone who has been in the men’s locker room at […]
For many of us, the summer months means dusting off the good old Santa Barbara uniform: flip flops, sunblock, and a trusty swimsuit. Whether you’re sporting Ray-Bans or Billabongs, the mark of a local is their constant beach readiness. Talking to us today about her time in Santa Barbara and her love of the beach […]
Summer is here and so is Dear Montecito’s one-year anniversary. To celebrate the column’s one-year run, I wanted to invite back some of my favorite people featured in Dear Montecito from the past year. Meredith Urschel was a natural first choice. Since speaking to us last, the Montecito Union School alumna and concrete enthusiast has […]
Where Are You From and What Do You Do? I’m from Colorado, originally. I’ve been in California for 10 years and Santa Barbara for six. Growing up in a small town in Colorado, I didn’t think that existed in California. I thought it was all big city and hustle-bustle. I’ve been with Wendy Foster/Pierre Lafond […]
What Makes Montecito Stand Out for You? Montecito Union School was a great fit for our son during his elementary years, and Coast Village Road and the Upper Village have been quaint yet perfectly suited to our lifestyle and needs. But there was some bad to come before it got better. There were fires, then […]
I learned to sew when I was probably 13 years. The first dress I made when I was 14. You know, my mama was a seamstress. So when I was little, I used to help her. I’d do the hemming, the buttonholes, sewing buttons, and all that kind of stuff. Later, I took over little […]
What is Your Earliest Memory of Montecito? I’m 15 and I was adopted from India. I moved to Montecito with my wonderful family when I was two and a half. I couldn’t speak English. I spoke Hindi. And I was with my new parents, so it was a little frightening. You know, not being in […]
What Did Opening a Shop in Montecito Mean to You? I’ve been in this location for 37 years. My deceased husband and I had a shop in Santa Barbara 10 years prior to this. One morning, (my friend) called to say there was a little shop available in Montecito and maybe we would want to […]
What’s Your Montecito Migration Story? I’ve worked here five years. Richie’s Barber Shop actually found me while I was living in Oregon. I wasn’t going to pass up this barber shop because they have a great reputation. One of my friends who owns a winery in Solvang was pouring wine for their Christmas party and […]
What Montecito Night Will You Not Forget? I would say, when Katy Perry was here (earlier this year). We had about 40 Japanese girls, all 12 years old. They come here every year to learn English and manners, and do four or five dinners with us. Well, it was a night when all the A-listers […]
What’s a Montecito Memory Many People Don’t Know About? “I grew up in Santa Barbara and my dad was in Montecito. I’ve been surfing Hammonds and Biltmore since I was a little kid. In high school, I actually used to manage the Liquor & Wine Grotto during my senior year. Then, I was a bartender […]
What is Your Fondest Memory of Living Here? I normally interview each person for this column, but this letter was so good we had to print as is! Hi MJ, I’ve been loving your articles on favorite memories, and wanted to share a few of my own. I was raised here and have great memories […]
What Brought You to Montecito? My husband grew up in Carpinteria and always loved the area. We looked here in Montecito, then Hope Ranch and downtown before deciding that Montecito had all the things we were looking for. Such as, hills for hiking, beaches for surfing, ease of walking and riding bikes for our children […]
What’s your favorite memory of growing up here? “One of my favorite memories of growing up in Montecito is walking with friends to the Upper Village from Montecito Union School and getting a sandwich from the Village Cheese & Wine Shop. It was just the most incredible sandwich you ever had. Just cheese and meat […]
How are you making it work through this difficult time? I am struggling. Mostly with my decision to temporarily close Merci. It was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make but at the end of the day, the health and safety of my family (my husband, Stephane, and our two girls, Celeste, […]
Outside Wendy Foster‘s signature store in Montecito’s upper village, the tables were completely occupied, but I was lucky enough to find a spot under a tree dressed in the colors of the fall season. From my perch, I could appreciate the park’s green lawn, the tables nearby under which a few furry friends had made […]
