This year’s final Christmas chapel of the semester, complete with a paper snowball fight, feted Brad Elliott, who has worked at the college for 40 years. Elliott, the longtime campus photographer, also oversees the audiovisual, sound, and lighting to the college’s numerous events, including Commencement, Midnight Madness, Spring Sing – held annually in the Santa […]
FM of Montecito sends me a photo of his grandfather’s vintage Mallory hat, and wonders what became of the venerable custom and manufacture of American fedoras. The story is a sad one in my mind because a handsome man with a hat is irresistible. FM’s hat was made in 1920 by the great American hatmaker […]
Recently Trending
More from Montecito
After nearly 30 years, the mudslide of 2018 put an end to her elegant Trattoria Mollie on Coast Village Road. She opened a new Mollie’s next to the Granada on State Street, but COVID-19 crushed that endeavor too. Armed conflict broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in 2020 and the country is now […]
The Montecito Journal’s 2024 Giving List book for Santa Barbara was just published last month in time for Giving Tuesday, but already the two-page spread about Sansum Clinic is out of date. Not the part that takes note of the fact that Sansum’s breadth of services are so pervasive in the area that it’s likely […]
As a wine and travel writer, I’ve had the privilege of exploring some of California’s most charming wine regions. However, I recently stumbled upon a hidden gem a mere hour’s drive from Santa Barbara but a world away in terms of experiences: Santa Maria Valley. With 34 tasting rooms, over 50 restaurants, and unique attractions […]
Apologies: the photo is not so good, but FK, an older resident of Montecito, sent me a Kodak photo of her Temple Lion in the U.S. Post, asking me if her Chinese ceramic was in fact late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as told by relatives, and, what is a temple lion, and why a lion? I […]
You know what keeps me awake at night? My stream of consciousness! Ba dum tss! If you’re not laughing, just know that a joke like that would kill at a cognitive psychology conference. But don’t worry, you’re not missing out because this week I am bringing the psychology conference to us with a little help […]
Few have had a grander international presence while living in Montecito than a wealthy Chicago businessman named Avery Brundage. His story is a quintessentially American one – a rags-to-riches, Horatio Alger tale, though not without its twists. Brundage grew up in the Teddy Roosevelt era of bold, rugged achievers. Born to modest circumstances in Detroit […]
A reader’s Great Uncle Len lived, for almost 95 years, in a large house close to the Mission in Santa Barbara. Our reader has inherited the contents of Len’s precious steamer trunk, and is asking “WHAT do I do with a trunkful of photos, clippings, photos, schoolbooks, school report cards, ledgers from the family business, […]
Read more...
There are a lot of upsides to living in a lusciously spacious home. A downside, however, is when you have to downsize. For many folks, the idea of having to go through a whole houseful of heart-grippingly beloved belongings, and then somehow end up resituated in a smaller place, is an unimaginable scope of activity. […]
The holidays are upon us and I for one am all for the sides, give me all the sides! I tend to make plant-based sides that everyone can enjoy and just not tell people that they are in fact eating vegan. It helps to serve incredibly delicious sides that surpass all your guests’ wildest dreams. […]
There are people who so inhabit and illuminate their respective epochs, their lives can seem almost foreordained. Add to that list a starry-eyed surfer from Houston named Rick Sharp, whose canon of poster art so deeply captures the ‘70s ambiance it can truly be said to have helped define it. Sharp will be discussing and […]
Growing up, moving out, heartache, and more. To quote singer-songwriter Dawson Fuss in his 2023 release: “When will these growing pains give my bones a break?” We last spoke to Dawson in April of 2021 about his musical beginnings. Two years later, the Teen Star and Cate School alum is now a sophomore at the […]
On Wednesday, November 1, the inaugural event of Central Coast Women in Wine (CCWW) at La Lieff Wines unfolded as a remarkable evening of celebration and empowerment. The event was hosted by Founders Gretchen Lieff, La Lieff Wines and myself, Jamie Knee (Petite Wine Traveler), sharing a deep passion for the world of wine, and […]
