Under the Tuscan Spell

Rhonda Byrne, author of "The Secret," has put her Montecito estate back on the market at a lower price. If anyone can actualize a sale into happening....

Fitness Studio Opening Next to French Press

Plus: AIA Santa Barbara's annual self-guided architecture tour is coming up; a rare sighting of a diving board; anyone up for a cold plunge?

Can You Solve This Midcentury Modern Puzzle?

The full list of this weekend's open houses is here. Among the more intriguing ones: a Japanese-Craftsman hybrid, a 1904 house off Miramar Beach with a kooky floor plan; and a well-made Hope Ranch house that just won't sell.

Blackbird Remains More or Less Unchanged

Other food-related news and notes: Opening forecast for Mesa Burger in Montecito; Santa Barbara County's natural wine scene; local library has cake pans you can check out; Dart Coffee now selling Buena Onda empanadas.

A $2.6 Million Price-Chop Makes for One Cold Shower

Also newly reduced: The last remaining part of the Lolita Armour estate; European pastiche below San Ysidro Ranch; killer views on Eucalyptus Hill; tasteful Don Nulty manor in east Montecito.

No More Elephants at the Santa Barbara Zoo

Other recent news: Carpinteria warms up a bit to ADUs; moratorium on new water hookups continues in the Goleta Valley; Olive Street duplex approved; conversations with Philip Glass, Elizabeth Strout, and others; microscopic plastics.

The Cheapest Ocean View in Town—But There’s a Catch

Plus: What might be the best parquet floor ever; design workshop for the Randall Road Debris Basin Project; bucolic artwork at Sullivan Goss; "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" on the big screen.

An Intimate Compound on a Street You Probably Don’t Even Know Exists

Near the end of a quiet street, with the bulk of the yard tucked behind, the 1949 house feels like a world of its own—and yet it's walkable to Coast Village Road.

Montecito’s Fancy Silver Bough Restaurant Has Temporarily Closed

Other food news: Thirteen farms in Santa Barbara County will open for the day on Saturday; beer-and-barbecue festival this weekend; apple honey challah for Rosh Hashanah.

A Much-Needed Sidewalk Extension at Butterfly Beach

Plus: The Montecito Trails Foundation's annual barbecue is this weekend; helistop hearing is tomorrow; flood-control initiatives in Montecito.