California Wild Flower Bloom

Living is Santa Barbara we sometimes forget how many incredible places we have within a short afternoon drive. Springtime is the perfect time to enjoy a variety of colored flowers and depending on where you travel there will be different plants in bloom. Currently the California Poppies are just past peak season, in the Antelope Valley just off highway 138 between highway 5 and highway 14 in Lancaster. Being the California state flower, “The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve” was established to protect the species for our children’s children to enjoy. The Poppy Reserve is located about 18 miles West of Lancaster and stretches for miles throughout the valley.

Viewing the poppy’s in prime season on the weekends will be a bit more like going to Disneyland on the fourth of July. Plan on meeting thousands of enthusiasts traveling from hundreds of miles to share in the orange carpet of color.

The bright yellow flowers of wild mustard are also carpeting the hillsides of central California. The photo here was taken on highway 166 two miles east of the intersection of the 33 not too far from New Cuyama. The mustard has been in bloom for three weeks and expected to be just past its prime season. The local farmers consider the bloom one of the best years for color in the last decade.

Also one of the most beautiful displays of the bright yellow fragrant Sweet broom can be seen on highway 33 heading out of Ojai or on the way up to Big Bear on highway 330. The 5 foot tall bushes line the highway for miles. This weekend could be the prime time to see the last of the California Wild Flowers.

World Class Estate Sale SOLD!

Seldom in a Realtor’s career does the opportunity arise to represent such an incredibly well built, hand crafted masterpiece as the home I recently sold on 550 Freehaven Drive.  Truly an honor and a pleasure to represent the buyers of this spectacular estate in Montecito.

In  September, I entered into my 28th year as a Realtor in Montecito. Having the privilege of marketing properties for my clients gives me great reward. I hope that I have the opportunity to help make your buying or selling experience an exceptional one.

Please call upon me for all your Real Estate needs.

New Mesa listing at 1266 San Miguel, Santa Barbara

Don’t Miss this exquisite home! 

Open House this Saturday and Sunday from 1:00-4:00

Priced to sell at: $1,700,000

This impeccably remodeled home has been meticulously maintained and cared for. Original home was taken down to just a few walls and completely rebuilt around 2008. Located in the highly sought after Washington school district in Marine Terrace neighborhood and just a short distance to Shoreline Park, Leadbetter Beach, surfing, bike paths, jogging paths, restaurants, shopping the home is ideally situated to take advantage of sweeping ocean views over the neighborhood. The well thought out floorplan and high ceilings allow light to stream into all Three bedrooms and three baths. Designed to perfection with an upstairs and also a downstairs master suite, an office/bedroom and a second story front ocean view deck as well as a back side private sunning deck. The downstairs bedroom suite offers a spacious private bathroom with French doors leading to the back yard, spa and hillside view veranda.

Live near the beach and enjoy all Santa Barbara has to offer! Why look any further when you can buy this beautiful home today.

See more photos and video at:https://youtu.be/9ORNTcMlWvU

Big Bear Lake Luxury Cabin For Vacation Rental

Ever Think about traveling up to Big Bear lake to go skiing at Snow Summit or Bear Mountain. You may want to check out this great 5 star cabin for rent. Decorated in mountain decor with log bedroom sets, cathedral ceilings, snowshoe and antler light fixtures and a well appointed gourmet kitchen. Centrally located near the slopes and downtown this cabin offers three bedrooms, three bathrooms, new spa, game room, air hockey, pool table, Foosball table, pinball machine, table top arcade game offering 50 different games as well as the seasonal outdoor sports as volleyball, badminton, and horse shoes.
Check out this link on VRBO.com http://www.vrbo.com/316526
Enjoy the short trip up to the mountains instead of the 6-8 hour drive to Northern California ski resorts. Big Bear Mountain was recently sold to the same company as runs Mammoth Mountain and is rumored to accept season passes from either mountain.

 

4th of July in Santa Barbara

It’s time once again for Santa Barbara to don its red, white and blue colors and celebrate Independence Day in style.  This year’s festivities promise to be a good time for young and old alike, and include a pancake breakfast, Spirit of 76 parade, arts and crafts show along Cabrillo Boulevard, Fourth of July concert at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens and a spectacular fireworks display that will launch off West Beach.

Start the day with a hearty breakfast at the Montecito Firemen’s Association pancake breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice, coffee, and milk will be served by your local firefighters from 7:30 am to 10:30 am at the Fire District Headquarters located at 595 San Ysidro Road in Montecito. Tickets are $8 each and can be purchased at the door.  Proceeds will benefit the Montecito Firefighter’s Benevolent Fund.

Next up is the Fourth of July parade which is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at Micheltorena Street and will proceed down State Street to Old Town Santa Barbara, concluding at Cota Street. If you don’t wish to secure a spot to watch the parade ahead of time along the route and hate fighting crowds, the organizers offer reserved seating. (link: http://spiritof76sb.org/donations.php)

A free concert will take place at the Sunken Garden of the historic and picturesque Santa Barbara Courthouse.  Admission is free and the music is set to start at 4:30pm.  Bring a blanket and a picnic basket and enjoy a musical salute to American patriotism by the West Coast Symphony Orchestra.

After the concert, be sure to head down to West Beach for the fireworks display. Plan to get there early and enjoy the musical entertainment on the beach while securing the best “seat in the sand” from which to watch the fireworks.  The fireworks display is scheduled to start at 9pm and West Beach will be open for free public viewing.

And don’t miss the best parade of all, the post-firework walk up State Street. If you watched the fireworks on the beach, you’ll likely be walking back up State Street afterward to get to the remote place you had to park your car. Walking under the Highway 101 underpass in a huge crowd of people is quite a memorable experience in itself. 

2014 Summer Solstice Parade in Santa Barbara

The Solstice Parade had it beginning in Santa Barbara in 1974 and has evolved into a parade of more than 1,000 parade participants, consisting of human powered floats, strange costumes and choreographed dance groups. Over the years it has developed into the second largest parade in Santa Barbara drawing crowds of over 80,000.
With the beautiful weather Santa Barbara has been having it seems like it’s been summer for two months already!

The official time of Summer Solstice is 4:30 Saturday morning.  But more importantly, the official time of the parade in Santa Barbara is at 12:00 Saturday.  The parade route starts at Cota and runs up State Street to Micheltorena.  Parade enthusists can follow the parade to Alameda Park where a full weekend of festivities will follow.

The Schedule of Solstice events are as follows:
Festival Main Stage – Alameda Park – Schedule for Friday June 20th, 2014

4:00	Art Cisneros, Chumash Elder, (Invocation)
4:15	Iridescence: A MermaidTribe (Presents “Mer Theatre”
5:00	Milo Destanovski & Friends (Macedonian Folk)
5:50	SB Dance Arts (Hip Hop Performance Group)
6:00	TINA SCHLIESKE AND THE GRACELAND EXILES W/ SISTER LAURA (Americana Rock n’ Roll)
6:45	RemJ (Michael Jackson Impersonator)
7:30	Raw Silk w/ Leslie Lembo (SB favorite band reunited for Solstice 2014!) (soul/funk/jazz)

 

Festival Main Stage Schedule for Saturday June 21st, 2014

 

12:00	Ulysses S Jasz (New Orleans Dixieland Jazz)
1:00	The Kinds (Rock/Folk Alternative)
2:00	Cornerstone (Reggae)
3:00	David Courtenay and the Castawaves (West Coast Roots/rock/ reggae)
4:00	Area 51 (soul/funk)
5:15	Camille Umoff Band (Pop/Rock)
6:00	Grooveshine ( Funk Reggae Groove)
7:00	Tommy and The High Pilots (Alt. Rock Pop)

New Home For Sale In Santa Barbara

Great new listing, just came on the market.  This very clean 2 bedroom 2 bathroom offers

large square footage vaulted ceilings and is ready to move into with new carpet, paint and

fixtures.  Great opportunity to move into the Mountain View School District at an affordable

price.  The complex offers pool, tennis  playground and more. Don’t miss out on this great

value.  Well priced homes don’t last long in this market.

Property address is 5317 Traci Drive Santa Barbara near Goleta.  Open house this Friday from 10:00-1:00 and Sunday 2:00-4:00.  Hope to see you then!

 

Santa Barbara new home for sale on the Mesa

Great Ocean, Island and Mountain views are seen from the top of the Mesa, Santa Barbara location.

This light bright home offers an Ocean view from every bedroom. Enjoy the sunrise over the Santa Ynez Mountains on the east side of the home in the morning and beautiful sun sets over the deep blue Pacific ocean from the west side of the home in the evening.  Remodeled kitchen and bathrooms and nearly 3000 square foot of home make this a best buy.  If you question the value of this great property, try searching 2510 Calle Galicia, Santa Barbara on Zillow.com and see for yourself.  The neighborhood is one of a very few locations that offer all underground utilities and a huge park less than a block away. Central quiet location near the beach and just a short drive to downtown.  Great house, great neighborhood and a great buy!

Please come by this Thursday from 10:00-1:00 or this Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 and see this special home.

Lights, Camera, Action! 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Known to the rest of the world as the American Riviera, Santa Barbara’s south facing beaches and north facing mountains are the perfect backdrop to what is becoming one of the best film festivals in North America.

The 29th Santa Barbara International film festival opens on January 30th and runs 11 days  featuring premier independent films from some 60 countries around the world.  This year the lineup of celebrities include; Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, Jared Leto, Daniel Brühl, Michael B. Jordan, June Squibb, Oscar Isaac, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.

For information on where to purchase tickets for the Santa Barbara Film Festival click here: http://shop.sbiff.org/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1814 .  For the most current 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival schedule of over 200 films and speakers please go to; http://sbiff.festivalgenius.com/2014/schedule/week

And that a wrap!

To see a list of homes for sale in your favorite neighborhood or in Santa Barbara / Montecito please take a quick look at my website.  If you are buying or selling, SantaBarbaraHomesAndLifestyle is one of the best custom built real estate sites for Santa Barbara or Montecito area.

Santa Barbara Weather

Today’s weather forecast for Santa Barbara is another beautiful day in paradise. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for yet another perfect day in Santa Barbara.

Is it really fair to the rest of the country suffering from sub-zero temperatures that we should be wearing shorts on the beach  in January?  Well, this is why we have all migrated to the Santa Barbara area – to spend our golden years in the warm California sun.  If you ever wonder what drives the price of homes, you better believe our weather is one of the main driving forces.

If you are new to the area or planning a vacation to southern California, take a look at this graph for the best months to visit for weather.

Some other Santa Barbara weather facts are:

– On average the warmest month to visit is August.

– On average the coolest month is December.

– The highest recorded temperature was 109 degrees in 1985.

– The lowest recorded temperature was 20 degrees in 1990.

– February is on average the wettest month.

Be sure to call your “out of state” friends and family and let them know that you are strolling on the beach under sunny skies and 82 degree temps.  There is no better reminder of why you call one of the best cities in the world in which to live home.