John Saladino’s powerful new book is nothing less than a master class in interior and garden design.Villa focuses on the stone ruin in Santa Barbara that Saladino painstakingly refashioned into his dream house, and it shows how his principles and passions guided him through the five-year process of reconstruction, restoration, and decoration. (more…)

The third in a series of four seasonal Montecito Country Kitchen cook books by Pascale Beale-Groom. This is a cookbook filled with memories and good food, a cookbook you can cook from with confidence and joy. As autumn descends and nights are chilly your hearth will be warmed by the evocative and delicious food. (more…)

This exquisite second volume about Tony Duquette delves into the creative process and personal life of this great American designer renowned for his fantastical artwork, sculpture, jewelry, gardens, film sets, and interiors. (more…)

There’s nothing more irresistible than sinking your teeth into a fresh baked pizza crust smothered with rich tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and light, flavorful toppings, hot from the oven. Leonardo Curtis and James O. Fraioli’s latest cookbook features a wonderful assortment of exciting pizzas, along with delicious side dishes and desserts that will impress family and friends. (more…)

Summer has long been the ideal time to catch up on reading. Support local merchants by shopping at these privately owned Santa Barbara bookstores that stock everything including current bestsellers, travel guides and home design books.  (more…)

Santa Barbara  author Dori Carter’s recently released novel about life in an afluent California community. “The little, leafy town of Rancho Esperanza has been a perfect place to live for over a century–a bastion of good, solid, Anglo-Saxon, Republican money. These founding fathers built their gracious estates and country club and fondly called their town, “Ohio by the Sea.” There was only one traffic light and time seemed to stop at the freeway off ramp.” (more…)