Heart of Hospitality Spring 2020

We have entered into a new season. A season that looks like nothing else we’ve encountered before. When Covid – 19 came onto the scene, Leslie and I made a conscious decision to push back our Spring 2020 release date. We understood that people were going to be scared, confused, and anxious about what their future might hold. We took this time to reach out to friends and family to ask about their needs, and to pray with them. Our hearts, and home, were open to anyone that needed anything. Most people adhered to social distancing and stayed home. A few people needed prayer and a desperate hug, so they either came to us, or we went to them. Some facing huge obstacles that only escalated during this time. We…

Dearest Friends, While writing this letter, I felt compelled to pray over each of our readers. Praying that you would have Peace of mind and a Heart filled with hope; knowing with assurance God is in control. DeAnna and I have stopped multiple times during the making of this magazine to regroup, and reassess; one of those times was to postpone the releasing of the magazine for a month. When it was announced that we were going to be quarantined, my heart sank. Not just because I’m an extrovert, but because all of our remaining photo shoots that were taking place at different locations came to a screeching halt! BUT, with each detour, or just plain STOP, another door opened. With that being said, creativity kicked in (just like it will…

Our seasonal basket is East Meets West, and we just go crazy over these awesome cherry blossom pattern products that you can get on Amazon - Cherry blossom tote ($16), thermos ($23), and scarf ($26 tied to the bag). The black and pink travel case was a makeup bag repurposed from the Dollar Tree store, and perfectly fit these two, ornate tea cups Want to take it a little more to the elegant side? We purchased a delicate, hand-painted tea set including tea pot, two cups, and two saucers, also from amazon ($78). It is custom made and they will even put a personalized inscription on the tea pot at no extra charge. It fits nicely in the cherry blossom tote!…

I am absolutely obsessed with Asian culture. My first trip was to China in my mid 20’s, and I was fortunate to travel for work and stayed for a month. I loved it so much I went back two years later and stayed for two weeks. I have always been enthralled with architecture, and the Chinese buildings were designs I had never seen before (other than in books). I found them not only fascinating, but ornately beautiful and majestic. I next visited Japan in my late 20’s for five weeks, and eventually moved to Tokyo for work. I lived there for a year and simply fell in love with every aspect of the country. I was always amazed at the attention to detail the Japanese put into everything they made, the…

We have done a lot of entertaining these past four months. Leslie and I started Heart of Hospitality from the inspiration of Mon Ami Ministry – a woman’s ministry Leslie started over 20 years ago. You guessed it - based on hospitality. We have been so blessed in the last 4 months, since her move to Southern California, to have direct hospitality visits with almost 50 women, and we have presented hospitality to over 150 women (this was all before the "Stay Safe at Home" mandates). The connections we have made through hospitality to women everywhere we go has been astounding. We truly believe that hospitality is the key to extending support, and celebration, to cultivate long-term friendships. It’s so easy, and everyone can do it! Hospitality is about creating…

This season of my life has been a very different season in comparison to the other 26 years I’ve lived. I’m not sure if anyone else has realized this, but making friends in your adult life is so much harder than it was when we were kids! It’s not just the, “hey, you want to be friends?” conversation it was when we were six. It’s almost like I need a resume, three referrals, and a phone interview, just to find out our schedules are completely opposite and we have to make plans 4 months in advance. Life used to be so simple, you said "hi," you laughed, you called on your landline phone to their landline phone, their dad answered, you got nervous and hung up. Then called back, asked to…