Santa Barbara, I Love You

I have spent a little over a third of my life in Santa Barbara. From 2001 as a UCSB freshman to 2012 as an adult ready for life's next adventure, the last 11 years have been a wonderful dream. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity of living in this city and I will cherish every moment. One of my friends asked if I am sad about leaving/would miss this place, and I knew that although I'd miss this Santa Barbara, it is time.

So thank you Santa Barbara for welcoming me and being my home all of these years. I will not soon forget it, and I will be back.

Best of Santa Barbara

Each year the SB Independent puts out a "Best of" list that includes restaurants, boutiques, events, foods, and drinks. I try to vote each year, sometimes my favorites win and sometimes they don't. And since we will be leaving our beloved city of 11 years (12 for my husband) it's time for my own "Best of SB" list.

Best Beach: Ellwood Beach. No matter the day (random Saturday or holiday weekend) this beach was like a sanctuary. Never too full, we always enjoyed our own little plot of sand and sun.

Best Nachos: Rudy's. These are my favorite nachos of all time. They're simply chips topped with chicken, cheese, beans, guacamole, and sour cream. One plate feeds 2 and is under $10!
Other awesome places to eat are Rose Cafe, Edomasa, and Your Place Thai.

 

Best View: SB Courthouse Clock Tower. From up here, you can get a 360 panoramic view of all of downtown SB.

Best Ice Cream: Mc Connell's. I'm not a big ice cream person but I am a huge fan of Mc Connell's. There is just something special about freshly made ice cream and flavors like cinnamon and macadamia nut :)

 

Best Flowers: SB Mission Rose Garden

 

Best Farmers' Market: All of them! Fresh vegetables and fruit all year round, in various locations around the city everyday of the week!

 

Best Festival: Fiesta! The spirit in the city and confetti all around make the first weekend in August always a great time.

 

Best Concert Venue: SB Bowl. Nestled in the mountains, cozy and intimate, and about 1/3 the size of the Hollywood Bowl,and the SB Bowl always brings an amazing concert. And the pit provides such close proximity to the acts on stage. It's stellar. Favorite bands seen at the Bowl include Snoop Dogg, 311, No Doubt and Phoenix.

 

Best Food Festival: Avocado Festival in Carpinteria. Such good savory dishes and avocado ice cream.

 

Best School: UCSB. I had an amazing 11 years here (as a student and employee) and would not change a thing for the world. And Kobe has his summer camp here, too!

 

Best Town: Isla Vista. The best parties and the best friends existed here. It will always be part of my "home".

Best Art Installation: Chromatic Gate. A burst of color right by the Pacific Ocean.

 

Best Isla Vista Restaurant: TJ's Grill (now closed) so Bagel Cafe!! My favorite bagel was the Delux Melt with is your choice of bagel (I chose the everything bagel) topped with sun ripe tomato cream cheese, tomato, red onions, cheddar, and slices of avocado. The bagel is put through a toaster oven for a few minutes and comes out deliciously.

 

Best Winery: Firestone. We served their wines at our wedding and loved the tasting experience at the winery. 
 

 

Best Church: Santa Barbara Mission. It is grand yet understated, a parish we called home for years, and we got married here. I will always have a special place in my heart for this place.

I will surely miss this beautiful place.

SB Fiesta

 

It is Santa Barbara's biggest weekend, Old Spanish Days Fiesta!! Dedicated to SB's history, culture, spirit, and traditions, the weekend will be full of events, live music, a parade, museum tours, dancing, food booths, confetti eggs, and parties! My favorite part is the food, and I really love how much this city comes alive in celebration. 

 

 

 

Festivities began on Wednesday, we have already enjoyed in some food and drinks, and are looking forward to an awesome weekend. Have a great weekend all. Viva la Fiesta!

Sunday Flowers

This summer has been so sunny and perfect! Skies are blue, trees are green, and flowers are flourishing. With a lazy weekend to do most anything, we took a nice walk around the neighborhood and enjoyed the flowers.

 Purple blossoms that are so soft!

Bougainvilleas are so wild and so pretty.

I want a whole wall of them in my future backyard.

Hope your weekend was super good! I'm looking forward to the upcoming busy week :)

Stop and Smell the Roses

Last Saturday was an easy SB day of late lunch, bakery goods, postcard shopping, and a visit to the Rose Garden. I love the Spring and Summer in SB, especially since the Rose Garden is in full bloom! It is so fun to be able to stroll through and admire the fragrant and bright roses.

 

Happy Summer Solstice!! Hope you get a chance to smell the roses.

Views From the Wharf

This week's gloomy mornings have me day dreaming about last weekend's sunny day on Stearns Wharf in Downtown Santa Barbara. I was on the hunt for postcards and other tourist SB items, and the Wharf was the perfect place to pick some up. The beautiful blue view was a nice bonus.

Palms and American flag.

Hope your June day isn't too gloomy!

A Day at the Office

Today was one of those awesome work days. And I'm not talking about a regular 9-5 day at the office, but a work for yourself and create day! Today I met up with Nina of Love and Lemonade at the SB Historical Museum and we shot the honey my heart look book!

The weather was perfect, the lighting superb, and the sneak peeks I got of the jewelry made my heart flutter.

 

Not a bad office ;)

 

Nina working her magic. She styled my jewelry in ways that I did not think to, and I was impressed with how the photos were coming out.

 

 

And here is a little sneak peek of what is to come! The above photo is from Love and Lemonade's Instagram account.

Happy Wednesday :)