'Machel's Ranch' - Reflecting on my year 2010 at Rancho Santa Fe...
In February of the year, I had the good fortune of being invited to Julien Hug’s 35th birthday party. That evening I had never seen Julien more thrilled to celebrate his birthday with his loved ones.
Jen Keslick — Julien’s girlfriend — presented the most marvelous chocolate cake that I have ever seen. After he blew out the candles, everyone cheered and clapped for our dear friend. I will never forget that night in February when we all sat under the stars enjoying each other, celebrating Julien’s birthday. Thank you Jen for inviting us that evening. It will truly always be a night to remember.
In the end of springtime, I started writing a “Hat Feature,” which basically entailed me running around the Ranch looking for women wearing hats (I should have thought of that issue before I decided to do it!). However, I had some great fun stressing about the feature and managed to find some lovely women looking fabulous. I have included a photo of Ranch resident Karian Forsyth featured with one my best friends, Meredith MacDonald. We met on a Friday at Mille Fleurs and you can imagine how excited I was when I had found someone in a hat to photograph. Good times, pretty girls and a hat to feature in my column! Thanks Karian and Meredith for always looking so lovely in the photographs around town.
At the beginning of the summer, Rancho Santa Fe Little League came to a close with heavy hearts for my son’s team — The Durham Bulls. They lost in the playoffs. However, look at this photograph! Have you ever seen a happier group of boys? I felt like this photo was worth repeating because it represents the glory and the fun all young boys must feel even after not winning the game. Their spirits are alive and they do not look sad with defeat and proud to be part of a team. Thanks so much to all of the parents who lend their time and support to make Rancho Santa Fe Little League a wonderful experience for everyone. I look forward to next year’s season, too. Beware! I will be there with my camera.
In early June, I woke up early one morning to help make 1,000 strawberries for the Spring Fling Event, Best in Show, held at Helen Woodward. If you’ve ever attended one of the Spring Fling Events, you know firsthand it’s on the “must attend” event list in Rancho Santa Fe. I had so much fun that night! I wore an apron, cleared trays, sampled food and ran into some of my favorite Ranch residents. I am sharing a photo here of myself with Katie Holcomb and her sister Rosie. They are both long-time residents who I am always thrilled to see when I am around town. I believe my smile tells the story of how much I love these two beautiful women.
In August, Karian and Tom Forsyth had their first co-ed spa party. Let me tell you it was a great success. Hot and sunny with drinks in hand, guests mingled as they sat poolside in the Crosby. I took this group photo of some of the guests that day. One of the best hot summer days of the year! A big thank you to Tom and Karian for always being so fashionable and making Rancho Santa Fe look feel like Hollywood. But most of all, for being my good friends and always including me at your incredible parties.
In September, I attended a Rancho Santa Fe Rotary meeting in late September. I had the honor of being the guest of President Patrick Galvin. He had asked me to attend so I could be privy to hear the guest speaker, the executive director of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in San Diego, speak about her own personal fight against cancer. With heart, love and conviction, I was moved by Laura Farmer Sherman’s imploring speech urging all of us to help in the fight against breast cancer. Krista Lafferty is featured here with the guest speaker and John Farris. Krista is all smiles, too, because her mother is also a cancer survivor.
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Machel Penn Shull is a mother and is involved in marketing and sharing time with her friends and loved ones. Machel’s background includes PR/Marketing, advertising and copy-writing for multi-million dollar companies in North County in the San Diego area.With Two years of extensive writing programs at UCLA and one full length novel under her belt, Machel now concentrates primarily on her column, Machel’s Ranch, and writing stories for digital and print magazines.Her previous background includes:Model for Elite in Los Angeles. ST. IVES APRICOT SCRUB Campaign; National commercial and print. This campaign reached Mademoiselle, Goodhousekeeping, Cosmopolitan, and Entertainment Weekly, The Women’s Home Journal.
***Appeared on NBC’s Reality Show, “Who Wants To Marry My DAD, Season 2,
National commercials for Budweiser, Adidas, GM Motors and ST. IVES and other regional spots for California and other areas of the United States.
Sitcom appearances on: Married with Children, Flying Blind, and Life Goes OnStarred in action thriller the Shining Blood, as the lead heroine.Wrote and produced the play, “Carried Away”, which was picked up by HBO workspace theatre.Machel currently lives in Rancho Santa Fe and writes as a freelance columnist.What you may not know about Machel Penn was that she was an accomplished flutest for over 10 years, competing on a national level. She also performed Improv at the world renowned Comedy Store in Los Angeles during the mid-1990s..For more of Machel's blogs and columns visithttp://www.machelpenn.com/
