Home + Design

Built to Last

How R&H Builders creates homes rooted in trust, craftsmanship, and lasting relationships Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of R&H Builders There is a difference between building houses and building homes. One can be measured in square footage, finishes, and timelines. The other is measured in birthday parties around the kitchen island, muddy footprints after ball games, Christmas mornings by the fireplace, and generations of memories made inside. For the team at R&H Builders...

Education

Finding Connection Through the Joy of Music

How Ms. Lindsay is bringing families together in Mt. Juliet. Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Lindsay Peters On any given week in Mt. Juliet, you'll find Ms. Lindsay surrounded by tiny tambourines, colorful scarves, and giggling toddlers - but what she's really creating is connection. Growing up in a music-loving family in Louisiana, Ms. Lindsay always knew the arts would shape her life. After attending Belmont University, performing professionally at Disney, and earning...

Education

Where Wonder Grows

Cultivating confident kids through nature, imagination, and meaningful work. Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Jenna Gibbons There is something remarkable that happens when you hand a child a basket instead of a tablet. They notice things most adults have long stopped seeing: a butterfly resting on a fence post, the warmth of a freshly laid egg, the way a baby goat hops without a care in the world, or how muddy hands always seem to accompany the very best adventures. At...

Arts + Culture

Handmade with Heart

Craft:Ed celebrates local makers, meaningful gifts, and a community coming together for Green Hills High School Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Featured Makers In a world of overnight shipping and mass production, Craft:Ed is a reminder that some of life's most meaningful treasures are still made by hand. Every handcrafted item carries something no factory can produce: the story of the person who made it. What began as a local craft fair has grown into a...

Food + Beverage

Feast for the Fourth

Local chefs share crowd-pleasing recipes for your Independence Day table. Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Participating Restaurant Partners Nothing says Fourth of July quite like gathering around a table filled with good food, cold drinks, and the people you love most. Whether you're hosting a backyard cookout, heading to the lake, or simply looking for an excuse to spend a little more time outdoors, the holiday has always been about more than fireworks - it's about...

Life + Culture

American Strength Rising

Two Olympians chase history while building lives in Mt. Juliet. Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Maddy Otterdahl There’s something uniquely American about watching someone chase greatness in a field most people will never fully understand. In Mt. Juliet, that pursuit now lives quietly among neighborhood walks, bass fishing trips, early morning training sessions, and peaceful backyards tucked against the trees. Long before the world turns its attention toward the 2028...

Life + Culture

A New Mission

Veteran, artist, and Mt. Juliet resident Donovan Chapman continues a life of service through song Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Donovan Chapman For Donovan Chapman, service has never been just a chapter of life. It's a calling that has followed him from battlefields overseas to stages in Nashville - and, ultimately, to a quiet corner of Mt. Juliet. The former United States Air Force Pararescueman has spent much of his life answering calls for help. During over a decade...

Home + Design

Not for Sale

A Mount Juliet family protects land passed down through generations Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of Jeremy Hayes In a town growing as quickly as Mount Juliet, it’s easy to assume progress always comes at the cost of the past. New neighborhoods rise. Businesses expand. Land that once held stories becomes something new. But for Jeremy Hayes, some stories aren’t meant to be replaced. They’re meant to be protected. For families like his, the land isn’t just a backdrop to...

Arts + Culture

A Legacy Built on Song

How Mount Juliet's Chris Blair created a songwriter haven in the heart of Nashville Article by Elise Newkirk | Photography by Courtesy of The Listening Room For more than two decades, The Listening Room Cafe has offered something rare in Music City: a place where the songs - and the stories behind them - take center stage. For founder Chris Blair, the vision was never complicated. “The vision was simple: to create a place where songwriters could share the stories behind the songs and where...

Food + Beverage

Summer Street Corn Dip

A fresh, flavor-packed summer dip perfect for cookouts, porch nights and pool days Article and Photography by Elise Newkirk Every summer seems to have that recipe - the one friends request over and over, the one that disappears first at every gathering, the one people casually hover around with a tortilla chip in hand pretending they’re “just trying one more bite.” For our family this year, it’s Summer Street Corn Dip. I first found the recipe during a late-night Pinterest scroll and...