Santa Barbara Film Festival

February 8, 2016

CIHT_2.2.16_043Every year at the start of February our sleepy little beach town turns into a Hollywood scene for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Spotlights light up the sky and there’s a buzz around town not to mention a boatload of good flicks and parties. UGG Australia invited us to attend this year and we gladly accepted. Being a born and bred Santa Barbara local I pride myself in knowing some of the best stops for food, shopping and sweet treats of course, so I thought I’d share a little diary of our SBIFF experience. 
SBIFF-UGG-CIHT-4The first night of the Santa Barbara Film Festival we headed out for dinner and an award presentation/Q&A with Johnny Depp. Quite the man of mystery, but I have to say an all-around charming guy. Before heading to the Arlington Theatre we ate dinner at our favorite Italian joint—Ca’Dario, the best ravioli you can find outside of Italy. It’s the place I never tire of, recommend it to all of my out-of-town friends and crave at least once a month. It also is conveniently near all the film festival happenings. They also have a pizzeria that is a must try.
CIHT_2.2.16_020On Todd: The Leighton. On me: The PatsyCIHT_2.2.16_029 SBIFF-UGG-CIHT-3CIHT_2.2.16_066Butternut Sage raviolis at Ca’Dario—don’t miss them.
CIHT_2.2.16_103Over the weekend we went to a handful of movies but in-between soaked in some good old family time in Santa Barbara. Breakfast at Farmer Boy Diner has become a recent favorite, visiting the ducks at Alice Keck Park, shopping at some of our favorite boutiques and plenty of pit stops for coffee and treats.
CIHT_2.2.16_114On me: Malindi. On Elin: Jesse Bow. On Todd:  The Leighton.CIHT_2.2.16_109CIHT_2.2.16_125CIHT_2.2.16_145Down time at a family-friendly spot, Benchmark Eatery. We warmed up, ordered hot cocoa and gave Elin a chance to make new friends. The girl is a flirt. SBIFF-UGG-CIHT-2Shopping at Diani Living—a current obsession for all things home/entertaining—and Diani Boutique. I scored a handful of baskets and pillows there for upcoming Springtime picnics. CIHT_2.2.16_078 CIHT_2.2.16_162All-time favorite Kale salad at Benchmark Eatery
SBIFF-UGG-CIHTAll in all it was the perfect weekend to bundle up, get inspired by the movies and soak in some sweet times with Todd and Elin—who sat in a movie theatre for the very first time! Short lived, but firsts are always memorable and fun.

Photography by Arna Bee // thank you to UGG for supporting this post.

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