All images curtesy of DeFiore Photography
In the world of social media, it can be easy to make your life appear perfect. Perfect family, perfect clothes, perfect faith, perfect home, perfect highlight reel on your color-themed Instagram. That is why when you find someone who truly values and treasures authenticity they stand out and their heart shines. I personally find people like this incredibly encouraging! Rachel is one of these wonderful gals! She is the founder of a beautiful publication that focuses on the most important thing- your heart! I am so happy to be having brunch with her today!
Introduce yourself! Who are you and what do you do?
Hello! I’m Rachel LeBeau. I am a wife to my high school sweetheart, mom to three, former teacher, and creator of Heart, a magazine aimed at building up women.
What are your favorite brunch foods?
My favorite brunch foods are chicken and waffles with mimosas, and breakfast burritos with refried beans. Also pizza.
Foods don’t know what time of day it is, so if it sounds good, I eat it.
What inspired you to start Heart and how did you get started?
I started Heart after my son was born and diagnosed with heart disease. Up until that point, I’d been a very closed off person. The first days, not knowing if Henry would be OK, made me realize how hard it was to live bundled up so tightly. I made a decision to actively work at opening my heart. I wanted to be able to help other women do the same because I know it’s so hard to share our hearts in a world that tells us we’re not enough. I contemplated what that would look like, and landed on the idea of a magazine. I knew I wanted it to be different– no stuff to buy or crafts to fail at– just women, sharing their hearts, and doing real life together.
What does an average day look like for you?
I wake up to the sound of a starving, yelling toddler each morning around 6:30. We watch cartoons for as long as he’ll let me, and then we head downstairs to make the only thing he’ll eat– eggs. Around 7, I wake up the girls and start readying them for school. Once they’ve been dropped off, Henry and I run the errands– groceries, post office, oil change, etc. We come home and pick up the house, and then start the day. Sometimes it’s full of Heart work– hundreds of emails, trying to connect with people and get the word out, reading submissions– and other days it’s laundry mixed in with Heart work and calls with our team on Google Hangouts. Nap time is when I really hit my stride. Or watch trash TV–just depends on the week 🙂 Then we pick up the girls, eat snacks, lounge around, make dinner together, and spend the night dancing while we do the dishes. We’re seriously dancing always. Around 7 Chad and I are dying to get the kids in bed so we can have an uninterrupted conversation and sneak dessert. I always think I know how the day will go, but between three kids and running a new magazine, you just can’t count on much going according to plan.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The best thing about what I do is seeing women who are no longer afraid to tell their stories. We all have things about us we don’t share, and most of the time that’s because we think maybe it’s not important, or perhaps we’re ashamed– maybe we think it doesn’t matter, but at Heart we try to emphasize how much it does matter. So then we see these women, initially apprehensive to even tell us their stories, participating in photo shoots, learning things about themselves they didn’t know were true, and sharing their hearts with other women eager to know them. It’s awesome. We get to see transformation happen in the way of women finally giving themselves acceptance and grace, and it’s amazing. I won’t get tired of that ever.
What are three must-have items for you?
I would not have a good day without my Anastasia Brow gear, some type of baked good, and couch time with my babe.
Any guilty pleasures?
Bravo TV is definitely my biggest guilty pleasure. Followed by dessert that I sneak in the pantry when the kids aren’t looking. Followed by office supplies, I don’t need.
If you could have brunch with anybody who would it be?
I’d say someone famous, but I know I’d be super awkward around them and then always regret it.
If I could have brunch with anybody, it would be my paternal grandparents. They believed in me and told me I was special allllllll the time growing up. I can’t even describe the way they treated me and showed me how great they thought I was. They told me I could do anything, and they did everything they could for all of us grandkids. They both died long before I was a grown up, and I’d be smiling through tears to see their precious faces across the table from me.
Isn’t she the best? Yeah. She is.
Thanks so much for having brunch with us today, for sharing your story, and for encouraging all of us!
Be sure to find Rachel and the Heart magazine to follow along with them!
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