Thursday, November 29, 2012

Christmas Parade downtown Santa Barbara, November 30th


Santa and his jolly Elves

Downtown Holiday Parade

Friday, November 30, 2012 at 6:30pm

2012 Theme: 60th Anniversary - A Diamond Holiday

Grand Marshal: Kami Craig, 2012 Gold Medalist Water Polo Player
More than 50,000 spectators are expected to line downtown Santa Barbara on Friday evening November 30th, to cheer on a colossal contingent of high-stepping marching bands, fabulous holiday floats, spectacular performance groups, local personalities, and of course, the most anticipated appearance of the evening...the annual arrival of Santa Claus, dispensing holiday cheer from atop his festive sleigh.
Meet and Greet: Friday, November 30th
Santa Claus - Paseo Nuevo Center Court, 4:00pm-5:30pm
The parade begins at 6:30pm at State Street and Sola Street and concludes at Cota Street. For more information, call 805-962-2098 ext. 22.
Click here for the Parade entry application.

Parade History 
In the early 1950’s, a tradition began to decorate State Street with 40 foot tall Douglas fir Christmas trees during the holidays. These trees actually lined the center divider lines of what used to be a four lane street. Sponsored then by the Retail Merchants Association, the Chamber of Commerce and the Parks and Recreation Department, the trees were officially dedicated and lit during the Children’s Christmas Parade by the Christmas Fairy. The Children’s Christmas Parade is now known as the Downtown Holiday Parade and is held annually, one week after Thanksgiving.
The parade, in its 60th year, has since evolved into Santa Barbara’s only nighttime street parade. After 31 years of Saturday morning debuts, the parade returned to the Friday evening tradition in 1998. This year’s tradition takes place on Friday, November 30th officially welcoming the holiday season downtown!



Holiday Prince & Fairy Contest
The tradition of the Christmas Fairy, now the Holiday Prince & Fairy, began with the first parade in 1953.
The Holiday Prince & Fairy are chosen for their creativity and originality in an art contest sponsored by the Downtown Organization.

information and photos from the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization Website

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Folk and Tribal Arts Marketplace November 30 - December 2nd

Tribal Arts MArketplace, shopping, eat, gifts, holiday shopping

Shop Around the World
Facebook Photo Album

Santa Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

free admission and parking

Friday 10 am - 7 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 5 pm

ATTENTION: Collectors, Treasure Seekers, and Holiday Shoppers! 

The annual Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace, the largest folk art show in 

Southern California, returns to Santa Barbara with nearly 30 vendors

representing more than 50 countries, and featuring an amazing

selection of baskets, décor, ethnographic art, furniture, jewelry, 

pottery, rugs, sculpture, and more. Whether you are shopping for a gift

or adding to your collection or “just because,” 

you can shop around the world for the truly unique whimsical, 

practical, and exotic treasures. 

And while at the Museum, enjoy tantalizing cuisine at 

the Tribal Arts Café , stroll through the Museum’s picturesque

grounds, and then continue shopping around the world.

Admission and parking are FREE. Proceeds benefit the Museum’s exhibits and educational programs.




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Ten Reasons to Sell instead of Remodel




To make the best remodel-or-move decision, it is important to understand the reasons one alternative would be better than the other.  This article reviews common reasons to move. As you read each of these reasons, consider how much it applies to you and note how strongly you feel about it.
The size of your family has changed
Of the many reasons to move, having a current home that is the wrong size is the most common. Many young couples start out with a cozy two- or three-bedroom, 1,000-square foot home that suits their situation perfectly. The home has a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, and possibly a home office. A single living area with couches and an entertainment center provides the couple with ample space for the two of them and their visitors. As they start a family, the first child moves into the guest bedroom and toys take over the living area. The perfect house for two becomes too small for three or more. On the other side, there are couples who have a large house for a large family.  Once their children move away, the house becomes too large for their current lifestyle.
You want better schools
Unless your children attend private school, where you live usually dictates which school your children attend. This is great for building a sense of community in the neighborhood, as children can walk or bike to school together. A school nearby can also cut down on the travel time required to drop off or pick up your children.
Your commute
A common reason to move is the change of a job, be it out of state or in another community. If you want to have a shorter commute, then moving may be the only answer.
To make the best remodel-or-move decision, it is important to understand the reasons one alternative would be better than the other.  This article reviews common reasons to move. As you read each of these reasons, consider how much it applies to you and note how strongly you feel about it.
The size of your family has changed
Of the many reasons to move, having a current home that is the wrong size is the most common. Many young couples start out with a cozy two- or three-bedroom, 1,000-square foot home that suits their situation perfectly. The home has a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, and possibly a home office. A single living area with couches and an entertainment center provides the couple with ample space for the two of them and their visitors. As they start a family, the first child moves into the guest bedroom and toys take over the living area. The perfect house for two becomes too small for three or more. On the other side, there are couples who have a large house for a large family.  Once their children move away, the house becomes too large for their current lifestyle.
You want better schools
Unless your children attend private school, where you live usually dictates which school your children attend. This is great for building a sense of community in the neighborhood, as children can walk or bike to school together. A school nearby can also cut down on the travel time required to drop off or pick up your children.
Your commute
A common reason to move is the change of a job, be it out of state or in another community. If you want to have a shorter commute, then moving may be the only answer.
You don’t like remodeling
Remodeling is not for everyone. No matter how it is accomplished, two things are unavoidable: the inconvenience and the decision-making. The inconvenience can be as little as not using your kitchen for a day while it is being painted, or as much as moving out for six months while some major work is done. For some, any inconvenience is too much, so a move may be the way to go.
You don’t like your neighborhood
Each neighborhood has its own characteristics. Some have big yards; some have small. Some are full of 1,000-square foot houses; some only have 3,000-square foot houses. Some neighborhoods have kids playing on the street all day long and friendly neighbors stopping by to chat every day. In other neighborhoods, people keep to themselves and rarely wave as they drive by each other on the way to work. If the neighborhood doesn’t meet your needs, a move may be the only solution.
A remodel is not possible or practical
You may not be able to remodel your house to make it what you want, due to cost or other reasons. If you want the kitchen in front and the family room facing south, but your home has the kitchen in back and the family room facing north, a remodel may be too expensive to be practical. Building codes can limit the type and size of additions as well as their appearance. Lot size and physical barriers can also limit remodeling possibilities.
Your yard
For many, the yard is an integral part of a house. A yard is land to call your own, a place to plant flowers or vegetables, or an expanse of grass that you take pride in keeping green and manicured all summer long.  The question is, how big of a yard do you want? There can be good reasons for wanting a smaller yard as well as a larger one. For other people, however, any yard is too much, and they would prefer a house without one.
Remodeling is too expensive
You can profit from an intelligent remodel, but in reality, some remodeling projects are not worth the investment or effort. For instance, adding extra bedrooms or a family may require major structural work, beyond what you have in your budget.
Your home is already the largest and nicest in the neighborhood
If you love your neighborhood and plan to stay in your home for years to come, it may not make a difference to you that remodeling will make it even more valuable than those around it. Otherwise, it may may not make financial sense to add additional value to the house through a remodel.
You will likely move in the next few years
If there were a wrong time to remodel, it would be right before you move. Don’t go through the expense and inconvenience of a major remodel if you plan to put the house up for sale the next month or the next year. Moving right after a remodel can be costly, unless you manage your remodel project very carefully to minimize the cost and maximize the market appeal of the work. Also, moving immediately takes away one of the biggest benefits of remodeling: enjoying the results. If you think you might be moving in the next 24 months, it may be better to move now than to remodel.
(information from a Rismedia Article)




Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mortgage Interest Deduction Is being Considered for the Chopping Block!!!


Lame-duck session to avoid 'fiscal cliff' may affect homeowners
By Kenneth R. Harney
November 18, 2012
WASHINGTON ‹ With the House and Senate back on Capitol Hill for the lame-duck session, preliminary negotiations aimed at keeping the country from careening off the "fiscal cliff" have begun in earnest.
The macro issues ‹ how to reduce federal spending and how to raise federal revenue ‹ are getting the bulk of the attention. But buried away in the discussions are bread-and-butter questions that could affect millions of homeowners and buyers:
€Will the biggest housing-related tax benefits ‹ for mortgage interest, property taxes and home-sale capital gains exclusions ‹ be on the chopping block in the coming six weeks? Or will these popular, multibillion-dollar annual supports for homeownership be deferred for the big game ‹ the "grand bargain" negotiations involving a wholesale transformation of the tax code in 2013?
€Could Congress fail to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act before its expiration Dec. 31, potentially exposing large numbers of owners who received cancellation of unpaid principal balances on their loans to punitive income taxes on the amounts forgiven?
€Will smaller-scale deductions for mortgage insurance premiums, energy-conserving home improvements and tax credits for builders who construct energy-efficient new houses be renewed? Or could they become poker chips that "pay" for other concessions to real estate interests?
Although strategies and timing could change in the House or Senate, the betting among lobbyists and other analysts is that it's unlikely that a still-fractious Congress will be able to pull off a major rewrite of the tax code during the lame-duck session.
As a result, the big-ticket housing preferences such as the mortgage interest deduction ‹ a nearly $100-billion-a-year revenue drain for the Treasury ‹ would not be an action item in the coming several weeks, although agreements in principle could be forged to limit them in some way, with details to be worked out in 2013.
But cutting back on housing preferences will be a bruising fight on Capitol Hill, where powerful groups such as the National Assn. of Realtors and the National Assn. of Home Builders view them in almost existential terms. Plus any changes to the write-offs ‹ even in a grand reform where every special interest gets dinged ‹ would need to be phased in over an extended period of years, given the important role that housing plays in the economy.
Renewal of the mortgage debt forgiveness legislation may well be the most time-sensitive issue affecting homeowners during the lame-duck session. If it expires at the end of the year, owners who receive principal reductions through loan modifications, short sales or foreclosures by lenders next year could face painful tax bills: The IRS would treat their debt cancellations as ordinary taxable income.
Michelle J. Adams, an attorney in Rockville, Md., with a large practice assisting distressed borrowers, said that "for some homeowners the amount forgiven is a couple of hundred thousand dollars." If Congress lets the provision lapse, the amount owed in taxes "will be so prohibitive that many owners will walk away" or file for bankruptcy, she said. Under the tax code, most forms of forgiven debt are treated as ordinary income ‹ with the temporary exception of mortgage debt on principal residences ‹ unless the borrower is insolvent.
Carrie Johnson, senior policy counsel for the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, says allowing an expiration "would be inconsistent" with other ongoing efforts, including Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's new short-sale program, the $25-billion "robo-signing" settlement with major banks, and private loan modification programs run by lenders, all of which encourage principal cancellations.
With several bills pending in the House and one in the Senate that would extend the program for another year or two, lobbyists say there is a slightly better-than-even chance Congress will extend the debt forgiveness provisions, unless the entire fiscal cliff negotiations implode.
Could some of the other housing issues ‹ energy-conservation and mortgage insurance premium deductions especially ‹ get sidetracked during the lame-duck session? Absolutely. Although the Senate Finance Committee approved a bipartisan bill to renew these and dozens of other tax code preferences in August, it never came to a vote in the full Senate and its fate is uncertain.
Since neither of the housing extensions is weighty enough to pass on its own, they will need to be included in a much larger omnibus bill. If they don't make it onto the bus in the final rush, they probably won't survive the session.
Source: L.A. Times

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Best Most Amazing Christmas Boutique in Town!

Assistance League Thrift Shop
Annual Holiday Boutique
Saturday November 24th
Monday November 26th
9 am-3 pm, both days


Gifts, Dishes, Linens, Ornaments
Toys, dolls, trains
bears and tigers...oh my..
and much much more!
wreaths, creches, statues...
Dishes, stockings, linens.... 
lots and lots of gifts
Christmas Trees and trains,

 complete sets of dishes and linens
Poinsettias and winter villages
Toys, toys, toys!
amazing merchandise
at amazing prices!
Assistance League Shop is located
at 1259 Veronica Springs Road
(off Las Positas)

Monday, November 19, 2012

Living in Santa Barbara's Paradise!

Sunday November 18th
After two days of rain
we awoke to a gorgeous day!
After enjoying a yummy breakfast at
The Beach Cafe, we took a stroll on the
Harbor towards the Breakwater

The Christmas Boat Parade will soon be here
A view of the Yacht Club
Now we are taking a walk on Shoreline Drive

 Here we are looking south east 
 along the Coastline with City College at the left
 surfers and paddle boarders enjoying the surf
 amazing clouds and warm temperatures
with a cool Ocean breeze
Ahh life is good in Santa Barbara's Paradise!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Eight Reasons to Remodel or Move


Remodel or Move? Top Eight Reasons to Remodel



Here are some of the most popular reasons for deciding to remodel rather than move:
1. You like to remodel. It can be fun, rewarding and exciting. The anticipation of seeing the finished project can sometimes be the best part of remodeling.
2. You will get the home of your dreams. You can design a project in the manner you want, in the color scheme you want, with the materials you want. Your dreams are your blueprint.
3. You like the location of your home. Do you like the area where your home is located and the homes around it? If it is a quiet area with nice homes and schools, it may be better to remodel than move.
4. It can prove to be a great investment. Investing in your home now can increase the value of the home itself. Therefore, if you ever decide to sell, it will increase the asking price of the home. Costs should be considered and managed well when remodeling so you do not lose money in the event of selling.
5. You like the landscape. It is hard to find the perfect landscaping in a home. If yours is just the way you want it, why move and have to live with bad landscaping?
6. You will avoid buyer’s remorse. Sometimes when we purchase a home, we no sooner sign the paperwork than we regret our purchase. This will be avoided by remodeling your present home.
7. You like your home’s floor plan. A floor plan is an important thing to consider when remodeling or moving. Finding the floor plan that is right for you may be hard.
8. You like your neighborhood and neighbors. Finding a neighborhood that you are happy with is difficult. That your children are happy with their friends, the neighbors help in troubled times, and there are block watches may be important to you. Another fine reason to remodel.
Information from an article by Rismedia

Friday, November 16, 2012

Christie's Art Sale Set's Post War Contemporary Record


Christie's New York art sale sets post-war contemporary record

Jeff Koons' TulipTulip is part of a series of works created by Koons over nine years

Related Stories

The US art season ended with a record-breaking sales total of $412m (£259.9m) for Christie's, with records set for works by 11 artists.
Jeff Koons sculpture Tulip, which graced New York's Rockefeller Center plaza, achieved an artist record of $33.7m (£21.2m).
New records were also set for Franz Kline and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Christie's claimed the $412m figure was the most successful sale of post-war and contemporary art in history.
"This truly was an extraordinary sale," said Jussi Pylkkanen, president of Christie's Europe, Middle East and Russia.
"Clearly there's an enormous amount of energy in the post-war and contemporary market. It's highly likely that we'll see a continuation of records being broken."
Smashing record
The previous day, rival auction house Sotheby's had staged its most successful auction in its history, taking $375m (£236m).
Koons' Tulip became the second highest figure paid for a living artist, following on from Gerhard Richter's 1994 painting Abstraktes Bild, which sold in October.
Tulip was created between 1995-2004 and is one of five versions of the work.
Kline's canvas, featuring broad black strokes, sold for $40.4m (£25.4m), smashing the previous $9.3m (£5.8m) record for his work.
The Christie's sale also included Andy Warhol's Statue of Liberty, which sold for $43.7m (£27.5m).
Basquiat's untitled work from 1981 sold for $26.4m (£16.6m), beating the artist's previous record of $20.1m (£12.6m), which was only set in June.
Basquiat started out as a graffiti artist before finding fame as a contemporary artist. He died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at the age of 27.
Rothko's Red Strip sold for $23.4m (£14.7m), just a day after large-scale masterpiece No 1 (Royal Red and Blue) sold for $75.1m (£47.2m) at Sotheby's.
Village Properties is a Christie's Real Estate Affiliate!

Monday, November 12, 2012

CAMA presents Philharmonia Orchestra of London





Philharmonia Orchestra of London

Friday, 16 November 2012 8:00 PM

Presented By: CAMA 

at the beautiful 

805 899-2222



Sunday, November 11, 2012

Monday's Veteran's Day Parada


Veteran's Day Parade  




The Pierré Claeyssens Military Museum & Library will be conducting their Veteran's Day Parade on Sunday, November 11, 2012. The parade, consisting of 15 - 20  military vehicles, and approximately 175 - 200 Veterans, will form in the 1400 block of State Street and the 00 block of East and West Sola Street beginning at approximately 1000 hours. The parade will start at 12:30pm and precede South on State Street and West on Cabrillo Boulevard. The parade will terminate and disband in the area of the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building 112 West Cabrillo Boulevard. This will be the 8th Annual Veteran's Day Parade held in downtown Santa Barbara.  There will also be a Fly-over at 12:25pm  above State Street and they will travel South to North.

A rolling barricade will allow for the parade to travel South on State Street.

Click here for the parade map route. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Santa Barbara Downtown Music Festival November 8-11th


The New Noise Music Festival takes places in numerous venues around downtown Santa Barbara, click on the "Event Website below to get details and a schedule of events.


NEW NOISE MUSIC FOUNDATION:

Established in 2009, the 501 (c)3 non profit New Noise Music Foundation creates a participatory creative culture through producing the annual New Noise Santa Barbara Music Conference & Festival (Fall), consistent concerts, workshops, lectures, and volunteer/mentoring programs for all ages, especially young people. In 2012, New Noise will establish a permanent home for a 300+ capacity, all ages, drug and alcohol free music venue in the Santa Barbara region (“The Living Room”).

New Noise Music Festival

Date: Thu, November 8th 2012 - Sun, November 11th 2012
Additional Time Info: Daily
External Link: Event Website
New Noise is a four-day non profit music and digital tech festival that showcases emerging and established bands, hosts panels on the music industry’s most important topics (New Noise Digital Summit), presents esteemed experts from all walks of the business, and serves as a place for the musicians, industry workers and companies to connect and plot the future of sound. New Noise is equal parts classroom and playground, blending each day’s intelligent discussion and all-important networking with entertainment offered during the evening at venues large and small.
New Noise encourages collaboration and a fun atmosphere where relationships and connections extend beyond the life of the Festival. Putting much of its focus on technology, the New Noise Digital Summit assists musicians explore ways they can promote, market and sustain their careers.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Opera Santa Barbara presents Madame Butterfly


 Madame.Butterfly 
Opera Santa Barbara 
Presents: 

FRI. NOV. 2, 7:30PM

SUN. NOV. 4, 2:30PM

One of the world's most beloved operas, Madame Butterfly is a story of 
romance, tradition, and sacrifice. Cio-cio-san, known as Butterfly, is a 
geisha who catches the fancy of a U.S. Naval officer. They wed, but when 
his tour is over, he blithely abandons his Japanese bride. Butterfly faithfully 
awaits his return;  when he at last appears, she realizes she has been
 betrayed and resolves to restore her honor. Returning to Santa Barbara 
for the first time since 2003, Butterfly never fails to wring the tears and win 
the hearts of audiences everywhere with its powerful, achingly beautiful 
music: this is Puccini at his finest! 

tickets and information, click here