••• Emily Joubert home-and-garden shop is coming to the old Montecito Mercantile storefront at the Montecito Country Mart; it’s shooting to open in March. The company’s other two outposts are in Woodside (above) and San Francisco.
••• According to a recent Highway 101 construction update, the northbound off-ramp at S. Padaro Lane/Santa Claus Lane will reopen tomorrow, December 8. And December 6 through 8, “near the intersection of Ortega Hill Road and Sheffield Drive, crews will remove trees during the day in preparation for an upcoming County of Santa Barbara project that will connect the Ortega Hill Bikeway to Sheffield Drive.”
••• Simpatico Pilates on Coast Village Road has a new owner, Jessica Ballonoff, who is changing the name to Groove Pilates.
••• I don’t know if this is a trend everywhere or just here, but another gallery devoted to one artist—in this case, photographer Broc Ellinger—has debuted downtown. The Be Gallery is at 931 State Street (Carrillo/Canon Perdido). Below: “Packy.”
••• There was something new on the Historic Landmarks Commission’s December 6 consent agenda: the owner of 520 Plaza Rubio wants to build a 14-foot-by-24-foot skate ramp in the backyard, with the idea that one day it will be converted to a badminton court sometime around 2033.
••• The 33rd annual Festival of Holiday Toy Trains is December 9 (10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) and 10 (1-5 p.m.) at the Goleta Valley Library: “For the past 33 years, Dave Halbeisen has curated and shared his remarkable collection of model trains, turning the library into a miniature wonderland filled with the charm and nostalgia of Lionel Standard and 3 rail O-Gauge trains. The display features a delightful array of colorful accessories and scenes, spanning the eras from Lionel prewar to modern, offering a journey through the rich history of model train craftsmanship.”
••• A few interesting comments of note: Goleta city councilperson James Kyriaco shared some context about the part of town I recently walked (and ticked off half of Goleta by not loving it); Louis reminded us of some of the innovations that have taken place there; and Derek had a good idea—Vandenberg Space Force Base should have a text-alert system notifying nearby residents of an upcoming launch.
••• Three items from Victoria Court: Domecíl‘s new, larger space on State Street, next to the Daisy, has opened, and it looks great. (That’s it pictured below.) There’s more of everything, including apparel, stationery, and kids’ stuff. Meanwhile, Palma Colectiva‘s retail space soft-opens in Domecíl’s former spot tomorrow, December 8. It’s “a curated destination for clean beauty, supplements and teas, holistic perfumes, artisanal ceramics and jewelry, esoteric literature, ethically sourced ritual goods and alchemy tools, and ceremonial wear.” And new womenswear boutique Kaarem will partner with the two shops above for an event tomorrow night (5-8 p.m.): Kaarem is “showing art by Hope Okere and will have Creaminal Ice Cream do a pop-up and complimentary drinks sponsored by Sông Cái Distillery, the first Vietnamese gin,” while Domecíl will be featuring the Song of Absolution photographers and light bites from the Daisy across the way. And all three are participating in an artisan market at Victoria Court this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
················
Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.
This email arrived too late (this morning) for some events that happened yesterday.
Always…frustrating as many events I would attend!
I’m certainly aware of that. I’m at the mercy of when I find out about things (often at the last minute) and the frequency with which I run relevant website posts and the email newsletter. One way to be aware of events sooner is to check this website daily; another is to follow Siteline on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and now Threads), although some of those aren’t great about showing you everything.
Another possibility would be increasing the frequency of the email newsletter, but twice a week feels right to me, and I’m not sure I can make enough content to justify three newsletters a week. Or I could conceivably start a weekly email dedicated to events, but I’m not super excited about taking that on (or having to tell people that their event doesn’t merit inclusion).
Erik, I appreciate all your efforts to keep your readers informed. Like, Elissa so much of what you post, I would like to attend, such as events listed for the 9th but newsletter came out this A.M. (12/10.) Perhaps, a monthly calendar, updated daily.
I’ve considered a calendar over the years, because it’s a logical extension, but updating anything daily quickly becomes a drag. And I already spend an inordinate amount of time sifting through information; the thought of also compiling an event calendar—copying, pasting, cleaning up the formatting, etc.—is just too much. (For other posts, I at least get to sprinkle a little zest here and there…..) On top of all that, there’s the matter of having to decide what to include and what not to include. In my opinion, such a calendar only works if it’s tightly edited—just the good stuff—but that means telling people no over and over. I already do a fair amount of that, and it takes a psychological toll.
I think this is one of those things that has to be sacrificed due to Siteline being a one-person operation. I will, however, make an effort to get events mentioned sooner.
Thanks for all you do, Erik, this is certainly my favorite local website. Fun to learn about my community, see how houses come and go, learn about eating establishments — and the drinking ones, too. You do a good job!