Temecula, CA May 2026

FROM BLOG TO BRAND: How Becky Hillyard Built a Business She Loves

Lifestyle Letter

Each May we take a month to celebrate the ladies in our lives. Each of our lives has been affected in countless ways by the women that have made a difference to us.

When you study history or sociology it is astonishing how much of what holds a family, a community, or even a nation together was built by women — quietly, stubbornly, and often without much credit.

Clara Barton didn’t wait for permission to walk onto a battlefield and save lives — she founded the American Red Cross. Dorothea Dix looked at the treatment of the mentally ill and refused to look away, reshaping how an entire nation cared for its most vulnerable. The schools. The social safety nets. The organizations that caught people when they fell. The cultural institutions that made neighborhoods feel like home. Men got the headlines. Women built the infrastructure.

Throughout time this has always been a constant, and this month we want to introduce you to several women who are doing exactly this kind of work today.

A designer who transforms how people feel. An artist whose work asks you to slow down and actually see something. A woman who built a local wish fulfillment organization right here in Temecula herself and with the help of some amazing friends. A woman whose family has been in Temecula for over 50 years who understands that horses reach kids with disabilities in ways that nothing else quite can. A nonprofit standing between women and children and the violence they’re trying to survive. And our local Voices for Children, showing up for the most vulnerable among us.

These aren’t stories about being remarkable. They’re stories about how our lives are shaped and changed by women who see a need and create change. It’s about the beauty that exists because women choose to see it, and the connections they create that help us all feel heard and understood.

I see this every day in Desiree and the way she has poured herself into Temecula City Lifestyle. She is passionate about making this magazine into something Temecula can actually be proud of — not just a publication, but a place where the community sees itself.

Beautiful, connected, worth celebrating.

This issue is proof that Temecula is no different from any chapter in history — full of women who showed up, did the work, and made life better for everyone around them.

We’re honored to tell their stories.

May 2026

PUBLISHER

Sean Arnett | sean.arnett@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Desiree Allen | desiree.allen@citylifestyle.com

INTERN

Ariana Vinh

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Desiree Allen, Hannah Cole

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

President Matthew Perry

COO David Stetler

CRO Jamie Pentz

CoS Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe

LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Marina Campbell

SEAN ARNETT

DESIREE ALLEN

@TEMECULACITYLIFESTYLE

city scene

WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN

1: The finest regional artists. One stunning gallery. 2: An opening night Old Town won't forget. 3: Community, creativity, and a whole lot of talent. 4: Stop in. Slow down. Let the art speak. 6: ArtLAB, The Gallery — Hours: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 11AM–3PM or by appointment. 7: We love watching Temecula's creative community grow. Congratulations!

business monthly

Intern With Temecula City Lifestyle

Do you have a passion for storytelling, photography, marketing, or local business? Temecula City Lifestyle is looking for driven individuals to join our team! Whether your strengths are behind the camera, on social media, in the writer's seat, or in business development — we have a place for you. Gain real-world experience with a publication rooted right here in your community. Interested? Reach out to us at desiree.allen@citylifestyle.com to learn more.

BUILT ON BELIEF

MARGARET RICH AND THE MISSION THAT KEEPS GROWING

ARTICLE BY HANNAH COLE

Last year, Margaret Rich paid for the school buses herself. Not because she had to — because she refused to let the funding gap become the reason these kids didn't come. This year, the buses rolled back through the gates of Green Acres Interactive Therapy Ranch, and Margaret was there to meet them, same as before. Same dusty boots. Same open

gates. Same unshakeable belief that every child in this community deserves a morning like this one.

The funding question isn't solved yet. But for Margaret, that's not a reason to wait — it's a reason to invite the community in.

If you've followed Margaret's story, you already know she's not someone who talks about what she's going to do — she simply does it. For her, the question was never if these kids should experience the ranch. It was only ever when

That first visit proved something she already knew: that for many of these children, a morning at Green Acres could do what no classroom lesson could replicate. The animals don't care about diagnoses or lesson plans. They simply show up, present and unhurried — and something in that exchange reaches kids in ways that are impossible to manufacture.

This year, it happened again. Students from local elementary schools made their way through the rustic welcome arch for a morning of education, therapy, and unfiltered joy. A little girl leaned in close to meet a miniature donkey face-toface. A boy stretched out his hand toward a horse — curious and calm. A child who might otherwise never set foot on a ranch, meeting an animal that meets them right back.

“A child who might otherwise never set foot on a ranch, meeting an animal that meets them right back.”

What Margaret has built is more than a therapeutic program. It's a community anchor — and a signal that Temecula believes in a child's whole education, that learning happens

“A child who might otherwise never set foot on a ranch, meeting an animal that meets them right back.”

beyond four walls. For these families, a day like this is validation. It's access. It's someone saying: your child belongs here too .

She's building one field trip at a time — and she needs Temecula behind her. To donate, sponsor, or volunteer, visit gaitprogram.org .

Hands

ARTICLE BY KALI KASORZYK

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED

BECKY HILLYARD

From Side Hustle to Style Empire

The power of taste, trust, and the courage to “just start.”

She didn’t have a business plan, a media budget, or even a name anyone could pronounce. What Becky Hillyard had was taste, a young family, and the instinct to just start. Today, her lifestyle brand Cella Jane commands an audience the size of Vogue’s, she’s nine collections strong with Splendid, and she’s built it all while raising three kids — refusing to sacrifice one for the other. In an exclusive conversation for the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Becky shares what it really takes to build a brand, a career, and a life you love. Read the highlights below, then scan the QR code for the full conversation.

Q: WHEN DID YOU KNOW CELLA JANE WAS MORE THAN A HOBBY?

A: Two moments. Women started emailing me saying they bought something I recommended and felt amazing — asking me to help them find a dress for a wedding. That felt incredible. Then I looked at my affiliate numbers for one month and realized I could cover our mortgage. I thought, I can actually do this. I never set out to build a business. I started it because I genuinely loved it.

Q: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST RISK YOU EVER TOOK WITH THE BRAND?

A: Designing my own collection. It’s easy to point at items on a website and say I love these. But to create something from scratch, put your name on it, and wait to see if people connect with it — that’s terrifying. I had an incredible partner in Splendid, and women loved the pieces. It was the biggest risk and the biggest accomplishment.

Q: HOW HAS INFLUENCER MARKETING CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED?

A: When I started, brands didn’t know whether to take it seriously. Now it’s a legitimate line item in their marketing budgets — sometimes bigger than TV. Because what we’ve built is trust. People trust a real recommendation from someone they follow far more than a commercial. There’s no question about it now.

Q: YOU’RE A MOM OF THREE RUNNING A FULL BRAND. WHAT DOES YOUR DAY ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?

A: I try to get up at five and not hit snooze — that first hour before the house wakes up is the most productive, most peaceful hour of my day. Then it’s all hands on deck with the kids and school drop-off. After that I work — planning content, connecting with my team, editing. After pickup, the day shifts completely and it’s all about them. I’ve learned to protect both halves fiercely, because both matter.

Q: WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING OF THEIR OWN BUT KEEPS WAITING?

A: Don’t wait. Don’t wait for the perfect camera, the right strategy, or enough followers. We find every excuse to stay comfortable. Just start, be consistent, and be authentically yourself. The right people will find you — and they’ll stay.

This conversation is just the beginning. Becky goes deeper on the risks that almost stopped her, the design process behind her latest Splendid collection, and what she’d tell her 2012 self today. Scan the QR code for the full, exclusive City Lifestyle interview on the Share the Lifestyle Podcast.

“Trust is the only metric that actually compounds.”

— Becky Hillyard

CAPTURING LIFE’S GREATEST ADVENTURES

Lifestyle photography for the Temecula Valley and Beyond! Let us capture the special moments in your family’s life! The big game, that special performance or a day at the beach. We’ll capture your Star’s Big Moment!

45 YEARS OF IMPACT

VOICES FOR CHILDREN

There is a nine-year-old boy in Riverside County who painted his future self as a soccer player who helps the homeless at night. There is a teenage girl who handed her CASA volunteer a chapbook of poems she'd been quietly filling with her pain, her grief, and her determination to heal. There is a 12-year-old who wouldn't make eye contact, wouldn't say a word — until the week his advocate found a shelter for his abandoned dog, and something in him finally opened.

These are the children Voices for Children (VFC) exists for. And right now, in our community, 130 children just like them are waiting for someone to show up.

May is National Foster Care Month — and for VFC, it is the most critical time of year to ask Temecula to pay attention.

ARTICLE BY HANNAH COLE

45 YEARS OF CHANGING LIVES

In October 2025, Voices for Children marked 45 years of advocacy at their Starry Starry Night gala — raising approximately $1.3 million in a single evening to continue their mission. It was a milestone worth celebrating. But for VFC, anniversaries are not about looking back. They are about what still needs to be done.

For 45 years, VFC has been building something vital in this region — a network of trained, passionate volunteer advocates serving children in foster care across Riverside and San Diego Counties. What began as a mission to ensure no child navigates the court system alone has grown into an organization that has touched thousands of young lives, one consistent, caring adult at a time.

Children in foster care have already experienced abuse and neglect. What follows is often more instability — new homes, new schools, new caregivers, new everything. A CASA volunteer steps into that uncertainty and becomes the one constant. They are not caseworkers or therapists. They are something rarer: a person who chooses a child, learns their story, advocates for their needs in court and in life, and simply does not give up on them.

WHAT ONE PERSON CAN DO

CASA Peggy has advocated for four children over the past five years. Her current youth, came into her life in May 2022 — seventeen years old and seven months pregnant. Peggy became her shoulder to lean on, her steady presence through new motherhood, and a tireless guide through the healthcare system to make sure both her and her baby received the care they needed.

She didn't just advocate. She showed up — every week, through every challenge — with perseverance and without judgment.

"Becoming a CASA has changed my lens on the world," Peggy shares. "I am a better person as a result, infinitely more empathetic and less judgmental of others, more patient, persevering, and above all, more grateful for the blessings I have in my life. It has been an honor to serve as a CASA in the community."

That is what one woman choosing one child can do. Multiply that by a community, and you begin to understand what VFC is building.

THE WAITLIST THAT CANNOT WAIT

Right now, 130 children in Riverside and San Diego Counties are navigating foster care without a CASA in their corner. VFC has the training, the infrastructure, and the mission. What they need is more people — people like Peggy, like the women in this community who already know how to show up for others — willing to step forward.

No special background is required. VFC provides all the training and support volunteers need. The time commitment is meaningful but manageable, and the impact, as every CASA will tell you, transforms both the child and the volunteer.

A child heard. A life changed.

To learn more, attend a free virtual information session, or make a gift that empowers a CASA volunteer, visit speakupnow.org

Then

She Changed Lives.

SHE THREW THE PARTY.

ARTICLE BY HANNAH COLE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIME STOOD STILL PHOTOGRAPHY

It started with a dress and a dream.

Charity Prestifilippo, Founder and President of Charity for Charity, had always wanted to attend the Oscars — the gowns, the glamour, the electric feeling of a room full of people celebrating something bigger than themselves. When that didn't pan out, she decided to do what she does best: create it herself.

Then life handed her a better reason to throw the party.

When her sister's lifelong best friend and her husband — a self-employed contractor with no insurance — faced a devastating spinal tumor diagnosis, the financial freefall was immediate. Surgery. No income. No safety net. Charity couldn't write a big check, but she could fill a room.

In early 2006, with four months of planning and a whole lot of heart, she hosted the first Stars of the Valley at Wilson Creek Winery. A rainy setup night gave way to a gloriously sunny day of gowns, laughter, and a community showing up for one of their own. It felt like a reunion for old Temecula. And everyone left saying the same thing: you should do this every year So she did.

Nearly two decades later, Charity for Charity — the nonprofit born from that first fundraiser — has grown from a vision of an awards night into a deeply rooted community organization that identifies local families and individuals facing life-altering hardships and walks alongside them with financial support, resources, and something just as powerful: belonging.

Each year, Stars of the Valley honors three beneficiaries, called Star Bennies, who share their stories with a room full of people who show up not just to write a check, but to genuinely care.

What emerged over the years is something Charity didn't fully plan for: a network. A family. Bennies from different walks of life finding each other across the room at the annual Christmas party, saving each other seats, and discovering that someone else finally gets it.

"There are so many layers of Charity for Charity," she reflects. "God continues to bring the right people in."

Like any organization worth building, this one has been tested. At the five-year mark, a painful board conflict forced Charity to choose between a friendship and her mission. She went home that night and cried on the floor. She woke up, leaned into her faith, and made the call.

"I look back and I know I was being tested," she says. "Can you handle this? Because this is yours."

That moment shaped the leader she is today — more confident, more direct, and still deeply relational.

Charity for Charity is approaching its 20th anniversary — and Charity can feel the momentum building toward something new. Bigger sponsors. Deeper reach. A growing podcast, Bumper Shoot, where she sits down with beneficiaries and lets their stories speak for themselves.

And if you ask her what she'd say to the women of Temecula reading this, her answer comes easily: stay connected . To your people, your purpose, your family, yourself. Act on your instincts. Put it on the calendar. Show up — for others, and for the life you actually want to be living.

"I take every opportunity," she says. "Connection is everything. And when you put effort into people, the rest follows."

To learn more, follow along at @charityforcharity on Instagram or tune into the Bumper Shoot podcast, available on all major platforms.

"Connection is everything. And when you put effort into people, the rest follows."

"They find each other across the room, save each other seats — and discover that someone finally gets it."

POWER POSES

BRIDGE POSE (SETU BANDHA SARVANGASANA)

Project radiance up and out from your heart while strengthening your back body.

Open your heart for increased confidence and counteract “text neck” while you’re at it.

ARTICLE BY CAITLIN AGNEW PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIFE N LIGHT

Brett Larkin, founder of Uplifted Yoga, teaches yoga designed to ignite a personal transformation. A trailblazer in the online yoga space, her award-winning YouTube channel has over 500,000 subscribers. Here she shares power poses to incorporate into your practice for a confident and powerful year.

WILD THING (CAMATKARASANA)

Take up space. Get fierce. Practice stretching into the fullest expression of who you are.

CAN YOGA HELP BUILD SELF-ESTEEM?

Confidence is all about feeling good in your own skin, and practicing yoga makes you more aware of your body. You are tuning into your breath, your feelings, and your true vision. Physically it strengthens you. Mentally it helps you focus. With improved posture, you stand taller; and with a clear mind you are more prepared and confident to take on what comes your way.

For more info about Brett and her online training options for all levels, go to BrettLarkin.com.

Futures for Families

SAFE Family Justice Centers Is Building a Safer Temecula — One Family at a Time

This spring, at the SAFE Futures Celebration Casino Night at Monteleone Meadows, SAFE Family Justice Centers presented the Temecula Valley Woman's Club with the 2026 Dan Atwood Legacy Award — the organization's highest honor, reserved for those whose commitment to survivors has gone far beyond expectation.

Twenty-seven years.

Through funding, advocacy, and steadfast community presence, the women of this club have helped ensure that survivors of violence in our community have access to the critical services and support they need — not just in a moment of crisis, but on the long road toward safety and healing that follows.

SAFE's mission — to provide comprehensive services that protect families, seek justice, and promote safe futures for children, youth, and families affected by violence — is only possible because of partners like this. Women who decided, decades ago, that this mattered. And never stopped showing up.

The night also featured SAFE's annual Impact Video, with survivors bravely sharing their stories of healing and hope

— a powerful reminder of exactly why this work matters and who it serves.

THE NEXT GENERATION IS ALREADY PAYING ATTENTION

What's equally inspiring is who else is getting involved. SAFE is proudly hosting 100 Teens Who Care for their quarterly meetings — young leaders learning the power of collective giving and community change. Earlier this year, Rising Above, a student club from Temecula Valley High School, partnered with SAFE's Young PAL mentees for a meaningful day of connection and service.

The next generation of advocates is already here — learning from women who have spent decades showing them exactly what it looks like to stand up for others.

BERRY BRUSCHETTA

A RECIPE FROM A CUP FULL OF SASS

ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY TINNIN

This Berry Bruschetta is a delightful twist on the classic bruschetta that we all love. This version uses fruit, bringing a sweet element to the traditionally savory dish. With the use of fresh berries, cream cheese, delicious fruit spread, crumbled cheese, and fresh rosemary, it is the perfect addition to your next spring event. This simple, yet beautiful appetizer could be enjoyed at your next brunch, shower or Mother’s Day celebration. But let’s be honest—you don’t need an excuse to enjoy this delectable dish!

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 baguette slices

• Extra virgin olive oil (for brushing)

• 4 oz cream cheese

• 1/4 cup Fruit and Honey Triple Berry Spread (or any fruit spread of your choice)

• 1/3 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

• 2 oz fruit cheese (such as Wensleydale with Autumn Fruit), crumbled

• Fresh rosemary for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Lightly brush the front and back of the baguette slices with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

3. Toast baguette slices in the oven for 3-5 minutes or until lightly toasted.

4. Once the baguette slices are cool, spread a generous layer of cream cheese over each slice.

5. Add the fruit spread on top of the cream cheese.

6. Add sliced strawberries and a few blueberries, allowing the vibrant colors to pop. (A great place to find fresh fruit is our local staple, Crystal & Rich’s Produce.)

7. Crumble the fruit cheese over the top for an added layer of richness and depth.

8. Garnish with fresh Rosemary if desired.

9. Serve and enjoy!

MAY 2026

A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

MAY 2ND

Pechanga’s 6th Annual Sushi + Sake Festival

45000 Pechanga Pkwy, Temecula, CA | 11:00 AM

One of Temecula’s most anticipated culinary events is back. An afternoon of elevated Japanese flavors and culture. Taiko drummers, Japanese flutes, the lilting koto, and more — all while master Pechanga chefs prepare fresh sushi paired with over 40 premium sake varieties. A silent auction benefits Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley. Tickets available at pechanga.com

MAY 3RD

TCL Book Club: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

29440 Rancho California Rd | 11:30 AM

Looking for your next great read — and your next great conversation? TCL Book Club is currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, one of the most impactful personal development books ever written. Join us Sundays at 11:30AM at Better Buzz Coffee, now at their new Temecula location. Follow @temeculacitylifestyle for updates or email desiree.allen@citylifestyle.com to sign up!

MAY 7TH

Flesh of the Sovereign

Division 9 Gallery | 3850 Lemon St. Riverside, CA | 6:00PM

Opening Reception- Mark your calendar for an evening of art worth the drive. Join the opening reception and experience new work in one of the region's most compelling gallery spaces. You're going to love this one.!