Orchid Show

 The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show is coming up this weekend, March 12, 13, and 14.  The theme of the show this year is Nature in Harmony and will feature tens of thousands of orchids in full bloom.  What a way to celebrate Spring! At Earl Warren Showgrounds again, the 75th annual exhibition is just a mile and a half from the inn. We still have rooms available for orchid lovers and their friends!

Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

Our Vintage Wedgewood Stove

The time has come for the Bath Street Inn to say goodbye to and finally sell our vintage Wedgewood stove.  Those of our guests who have been with us in the kitchen know that we replaced the Wedgewood in April 2008 with a double oven vintage O'Keefe and Merritt that we found in San Francisco. Deborah and Marie kept the Wedgewood hoping to use it in the eventual kitchen remodel of their home.  Alas, when push came to shove, the 40 inches length of the Wedgewood was too much for a galley kitchen.  And so we have run out of excuses to keep our beloved workhorse.  When I first thought of how many casseroles, cookies and cakes we've baked in the 28 years of the inn's existence, I thought: oh wow, thousands.  Now I know that I should have been thinking in the tens of thousands.  That's the work capacity of a quality vintage stove that was just made for household use! Over the years, so many guests have commented on the Wedgewood, and shared stories of growing up in a kitchen with a vintage stove, that we realized we should extend the offer to purchase it to our inn family.

The stove is white porcelain, single full oven, single full broiler, storage drawers underneath, 4 burners with central chrome griddle, chrome crumb trays, shelf. Is in fair to good condition cosmetically and was working great when we installed the O'Keefe and Merritt. We're happy to talk about it in more detail to those with a real interest.
Price is $425, buyer will be responsible for pick up and shipping and will need dolly, truck and muscles to move it from its current home in storage in Santa Barbara. It is heavy.

I found a great article, This Old Stove, on the value of a vintage stove.  And the photo in it is a twin our Wedgewood, except we don't have the clock on top of the shelf.

Wishing you all the joys of cooking,
 Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

The Chieftains Concert Santa Barbara

The Chieftains, one of  Deborah's favorite performing groups, comes back to Santa Barbara on Monday, Feb 22nd at the Granada Theatre, just 7 blocks from the inn.  The concert, which is sponsored by UCSB Arts and Lectures series, has a guest appearance by Ry Cooder. Stay with us Sunday and/or Monday nights, the 21st and 22nd and receive a 17% discount (in honor of St. Patrick) on request for either or both nights.  Have a toe-tapping time at the concert!
UCSB Arts and Lectures, the Chieftains Concert



Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

Santa Barbara Film Festival

If you've been to the inn and talked with Deborah or Marie about movies, you'll know that we are movie buffs.  So it's no surprise that we are writing this blog on The Santa Barbara International Film Festival which celebrates its silver anniversary this year with 200 films from 45 countries, 18 world premieres, 28 US premieres, and numerous panels and award ceremonies.  The Film Festival runs from February 4th through the 14th, concluding with Jeff Bridges Day which offers a Jeff Bridges mini-fest, a QandA with the Santa Barbara resident and a showing of Crazy Heart, his most recent film. For a day by day schedule of  film and events, see The Santa Barbara Independent
It's always exciting to have celebrities delivered to our doorstep (as in Santa Barbara's doorstep, not that of  the Inn) and we have been fortunate to have enjoyed appearances by Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Tommy Lee Jones, Forest Whitaker, Penelope Cruz, and Kate Winslet in recent years.   This year's awards are going to:  Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, Emily Blunt, and Peter Sarsgaard.  James Cameron will be honored as this year's Modern Master for Avatar. Panels include one for screenwriters, one for producers, one for directors and one for women in the business. 

The Bath Street Inn is within easy walking distance to most of the venues of the festival (6 blocks to the closest, the Arlington Theatre, 12 blocks to the   Lobero Theatre, 14 to the Metro Four). See you at the movies.




Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

First Thursday

 First Thursday, February 4th, from 5 to 8 pm is a free evening of art, music and theatre in downtown Santa Barbara.  Among the always intriguing exhibits this month are the Museum of Art show, Butterflies and Other People by Diana Thater; the Public Library's exhibit of the Oak Group's work on saved spaces; Emily McBride's oil paintings of the ocean at Eden at 7 W. Ortega St.  Lovers of Greece won't want to miss the paintings and photographs of It's All Greek at Gallery Ten-Twenty-Nine (1029 State St.) For architecture buffs, the juried 2009 AIA Santa Barbara Design Awards are displayed at the County Administration Building, 1st floor, 105 E.Anapamu St. And for a little romance and nostalgia, go to the Bella Rosa Does Hollywood installation of Frank Worth photographs of the film legends of the 40s and 50s (1103 State St.) For Santa Barbara Solstice lovers, the Sojourner Cafe will showcase the poster contest entries for 2010 Summer Solstice. Artist receptions, demonstrations, studio tours, wine tastings and live music at over 20 locations add to the fun.  All are listed on the February Passport, free in print at the Bath Street Inn and other locations, or, you may download at www.santabarbaradowntown.com


Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

Tombs of Mawandui Exhibit

We are so fortunate to have a first class Art Museum in Santa Barbara and a curator who specializes in Asian art and culture.  The Noble Tombs of Mawangdui  Exhibit runs until December 13th, 2009 and is the second and last venue of the exhibit in the USA.  The tombs were discovered during the Cultural Revolution and were the final resting place of the prime minister of the Changsha Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty, his wife, Lady Dai, and their son.  They lived about  two thousand years ago in the province of Hunan, shortly after the unification of China and their grave goods reveal that much of what we think of as essential to Chinese culture was already in place by the time they died.  Lady Dai's tomb was filled with fine lacquer ware, silk garments, food, paintings and books for an afterlife of pleasure and comfort.  She was accompanied by wooden statues of servants and musicians with their instruments and had a full sized cosmetics case for her beauty regimen.  If you enjoyed seeing the Terra Cotta soldiers from the first Emperor's tomb, this exhibit  is sure to delight. Docent tours are available and well worth the time.

Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn

Santa Barbara Bed and Breakfast Embraces Social Media!

The Bath Street Inn, a Santa Barbara Bed and Breakfast, wants you to see all of our new Social Media platfoms.

Visit us on Facebook and become a Fan: Facebook

We are Twittering: Twitter

And of course, you are reading our blog!

Deborah Gentry, Innkeeper
Bath Street Inn