Miracles transcend the boundaries of our ordinary understanding, going beyond mere magic tricks or supernatural occurrences. Instead, they offer profound shifts in perception and experience, unveiling a deeper reality that lies beneath appearances. A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman reveals miracles as natural expressions of love and forgiveness emanating from our connection to a […]
Mother of two children, wife, and business owner with a chemical engineering degree, Monica Vuchkova is the quintessential new modern woman. Based in Santa Barbara, and thanks to her childhood in Bulgaria, food heritage, lifestyle, and her love of people, she started her company The Grazing Place in 2021. She creates exquisite gourmet boards for […]
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The mushroom is getting its due time in the spotlight right now and with just cause. This miraculous fungi, which is more of a fruit than a vegetable, is one of the coolest things we consume from nature. Not only is the mushroom incredibly nutritious, but it also plays a vital role in plant health […]
Nestled in the heart of Santa Barbara’s vibrant Funk Zone is La Lieff Wines, a place where wine meets community and everyone is welcomed with open arms. I had the pleasure of sitting down with my close friend Gretchen Lieff, the proprietor and owner of La Lieff Wines, to delve into her journey, the challenges […]
Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT) presented their 2023 Freedom Awards to five recipients for their work in advancing human rights globally. Santa Barbara resident Barbara Rubin is a recipient. Rubin’s work started in the 1990s when she initiated the protection of women and children from sexual exploitation. She volunteers with the Presbyterian Women USA […]
As a wine educator, I’ve often encountered wine enthusiasts staunchly proclaiming their allegiance to the “Anything but Chardonnay” (ABC) camp, convinced that chardonnay is simply not their cup of… well, wine. But what if I told you that a transformative experience awaited you in France in a quaint corner of northern Burgundy? Here, in the […]
Meet the honeynut squash – the newer, cuter, more nutrient and vitamin packed cousin of the butternut squash. This squash was a creation of Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Michael Mazourek, a plant breeder at Cornell University. This honey-colored squash is easier to manage than the larger butternut, has more […]
Last week it was quietly announced that a new restaurant called Jemma Montecito is in the works for the Las Aves complex near the Bird Refuge; the complex traded hands last year for $19M, selling to a Los Angeles-based investment group, the Runyon Group, which has big plans to revitalize the complex and bring in […]
Local Nonprofit Lion Moves to the Heart of Service Geoff Green smiles a lot in conversation, and he’s smiling now. This is not the tactical smile produced through gnashed teeth (you know the one), but a genuine show of pleasure in the moment. This can be disorienting to the part-time social cynic. Or so I’ve […]
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There’s a new club in town! The Commission on Culture, Arts, and Joy Justice (CCAJJ) is a new student government associated organization at UCSB founded by PhD student Charlene Macharia. This week I spoke to Macharia to find out what it means to do creative activism and how social justice activists can keep progress moving […]
A recent trip to the Boston area to drop off my son for his first year of college had me guessing what his future diet would be. Would he have access to the same quality, wholesome meals we prepared at home, served with warmth and love? Would he at least enjoy wholesome and nutritious meals […]
Michelin star or not, Montecito and The Hamptons share riviera and foodie status. On the map, they’re opposites, split by a 3,000-mile expanse. But Montecito and The Hamptons – both aspirational coastal enclaves – mirror each other in special ways, from idyllic weather and the bon vivant lifestyle they both promote, to the sophisticated travelers […]
Don MacMannis, (aka Dr. Mac) has wanted to work with children for as long as he can remember. He tells the story of sitting in a pre-med class at Dartmouth, thinking he was going to be a pediatrician, when it dawned on him that child psychology was his life’s true work. And so began a […]
Just when we’re lulled into thinking Life© is all about appliance sales, iceberg lettuce, and printer paper, something will remind us that it’s really about heraldry. Each and every thing we lay our fool eyes on is part of a story – a pageant, really – that reaches into the past like the tail of […]
