Off to See the Desert Stars

Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle joined Cameron Diaz and her husband, Benji Madden, and Avatar actress Zoe Saldana on a private plane from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas to watch one of local singer Katy Perry’s last concerts of her two-year residency at the Resorts World Theatre.

They were joined in the venue’s VIP section by singer Celine Dion, Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Bumble dating app founder Whitney Wolfe Herd.

Having attended Katy’s opening concert two years ago with my trusty shutterbug Priscilla, I’m sure they all had a glorious time!

Some Favorite Things

Former TV talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey has revealed her annual Favorite Things list ahead of Yuletide, including a $999 pizza oven, a $110 plate of cheese, a $120 makeup brush set, and $80 luxury salt.

There are 109 items on the list with ideas for fashionistas, beauty gurus, foodies, and workout fanatics.

The list contains a variety of BIPOC, women, and veteran founded companies.

While the list also has more affordable options like a $13 planner and a $22 eye mask, many of Oprah’s picks are on the expensive side, with the aforementioned Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven the highest priced.

Other pricey items include a De Longhi True Brew drip coffee maker for $590, a VF headset for $399, and a Le Creuset bread oven for $300.

Hopefully on the Mend

Michael J. Fox has reflected on his “tsunami of misfortune” after multiple medical issues within a short period of time.

Montecito-based Fox, 62, has previously told how 2018 was one of his worst years after he had spinal cord surgery to remove a benign tumor, and then broke his arm soon afterward.

The tumor, unrelated to his Parkinson’s disease, threatened to paralyze him, so he underwent the surgery, but during his four-month rehabilitation he fell over in the kitchen and broke his upper arm.

In an interview with the Hearst glossy Town & Country, Fox says the two injuries now seem like “nothing” – as he has since broken his other arm, shoulder, and hand.

Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 29, also smashed his orbital bone and almost lost his hand after it became infected.

Matters can only improve…

A Scary Experience

Montecito actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus has revealed her own personal agony and ecstasy.

The star was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer just 24 hours after winning her sixth consecutive Emmy Award.

She tells WSJ Magazine she likened the shock diagnosis to a “horrible black comedy.”

The Veep star added: “And then it morphed into crying hysterically.”

Julia, 62, was ultimately declared cancer-free in October 2018, after undergoing a double mastectomy and six rounds of chemotherapy.

“You simply don’t consider it for yourself, you know, that sort of arrogance of human beings. But, for course, at some point, we’re all going to bite it.”

A Final Binge on the Prairie 

The final episodes of Kevin Costner’s highly popular CBS show Yellowstone are set to air in November 2024, say producers Paramount.

This comes just months after the Carpinteria actor was reportedly going to exit the series in the first half of season five.

However, Paramount has now greenlit two new spinoff series.

One will be named 1944 and the other is a more contemporary version titled 2024.

Stay tuned…

But the Views Are Nice

Not surprisingly, Santa Barbara is one of the most expensive communities to live in in America.

With an overall score of 5.9 out of 10, our Eden by the Beach, encompassing 3,800 square miles with a population of 447,651, a median home price of $464,954 and a median monthly rent of $1,810, is near the top of the list, which includes San Diego as the most expensive city, followed by Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Miami, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The survey took into account crime rates, quality of education, well-being, air quality, and availability of healthcare.

Never Too Late to Love

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has recounted how her second husband, TV producer Brad Falchuk, opened her heart to the possibility of falling in love again.

At the Besties event in Sydney, Australia, the Oscar winner, 51, explained how Falchuk, 52, helped her overcome her vulnerabilities.

When she was asked if she found starting a new relationship difficult, the Goop founder said she was “petrified.”

“I think I’m a person who is scared of intimacy anyway!” she confessed.

“So, some of the boyfriends that I’ve chosen in my life were not fully capable of intimacy and that way you can be like… I’m really into this and they’re not.”

“Generally, you are re-enacting the relationship you had with the most complicated parents,” Paltrow, who was also married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, added.

Sightings

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children, Archie and Lilibet, in Montecito Oaks… Kevin Costner shopping up a storm at Wunderkind and Jenni Kayne in San Ysidro Village… Paul Orfalea grabbing his Java jolt at Pierre Lafond.

Pip! Pip!