KIDS & PETS:
Golden Hour Walks with Get Pet Pics
Kids & Pets
Dear Friends,
Hi. I'm Jack.
Around my house, my specialties include following the smell of food, reminding everyone it's almost dinner (even when it isn't), perfecting the afternoon nap, and making sure my mom is never alone.
I've been thinking a lot about humans.
You're fascinating.
You schedule everything. You rush everywhere. You stare at little glowing rectangles all day long.
Meanwhile, we're over here celebrating because someone picked up a leash.
We don't care if the house is perfect. We don't care what kind of car you drive or how many followers you have. We don't remember your bad day at work.
We're just ridiculously excited that you came home.
This issue celebrates kids and pets, and honestly, I think we're more alike than you realize.
Kids don't care how successful you are. They remember whether you got down on the floor to play.
Pets don't care what you accomplished today. We just want to be where you are.
A few weeks ago, I gave my mom quite a scare. According to my veterinarian, I "dodged a bullet." I don't remember much about it, but I know this: when life suddenly feels uncertain, everything that seemed important gets very simple.
Love your people.
Hug your kids.
Scratch your dog's ears a little longer.
Take the extra walk.
Stay for another game.
Because none of us really knows how many ordinary Tuesdays we get.
So as you flip through this month's issue, I hope you meet incredible families, discover businesses that make our community special, and maybe find one more reason to spend a little less time looking at a screen and a little more time looking into the eyes of someone who thinks you're their whole world.
Trust me. That's where the good stuff is.
Love,
Jack
JENNIFER KAUFMAN, PUBLISHER @BELLEMEADE_LIFESTYLE
August 2026
PUBLISHER
Jennifer Kaufman jennifer.kaufman@citylifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Sophie Brock sophie.brock@citylifestyle.com
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Stephanie Krejci stephanie.krejci@citylifestyle.com
Brooke Houser brooke.houser@citylifestyle.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Sophie Brock, Caroline Shirley
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
John Fletcher
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Jenna Crawford
LAYOUT DESIGNER Meredith Wilson
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Marina Campbell Learn
drmattea@gmail.com
almahchiropractic.com
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Photography: John Fletcher / Get Pet Pics
TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
ON MARRIAGE, KIDS, AND THE COMEDY OF REAL LIFE
Trey Kennedy makes a living finding comedy in regular life. Marriage. Toddlers. Yoga pants. The Thursday-night scramble between school dropoffs, soccer practice, and whatever has to be done by morning. Twelve years in, it shows: millions of followers across every platform, three stand-up specials, a sold-out Relatable Tour, and a style of humor fans send each other captioned, “Are you watching me?” He delivers the kind of comedy that travels because everyone’s living some version of it.
Katie, his wife of six years, is a former biomedical engineer who also built a modeling career. She’s now raising their kids and co-hosting Correct Opinions alongside Trey — the show where the two of them swap takes on marriage, parenting, and whatever came up that week.
Trey has been at this longer than people realize. An Edmond, Oklahoma kid who grew up playing basketball described himself as a “shy kid who never thought he’d be an entertainer.” He started making videos while attending Oklahoma State University. After building millions of followers on Vine before the platform shut down, he gave himself six months on Instagram and Facebook to see whether he could rebuild from zero. He did. Stand-up soon followed. His first special, Are You For Real?, streams on YouTube; the second, Grow Up, on Amazon Prime; the third, built around the Relatable Tour, wrapped earlier this year. “I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now,” he says. A slow climb, made one bit at a time.
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
“I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now.”
Most of what Trey writes lately starts in his own kitchen. Thomas is three and a half, and he is, in his father’s words, “a movie.” He narrates his own life from the moment his eyes open and mispronounces words in ways his parents now repeat to each other because no one else would believe them. His younger sister, Eva, is what Katie calls “the calm one.” With a third now in the mix, the Kennedys are officially outnumbered.
After six years of marriage, Trey and Katie have learned that the partnership runs best when it gets its own time on the calendar. So once a week, they leave the kids with a sitter and go out for coffee. “You need a system,” Katie says. “It’s about taking time to look each other in the eye. Not the kids. Not the cameras. Just each other.”
The same instinct shapes the work. Most of Trey’s trial and error happens onstage or on Instagram, but the first read is always Katie’s. “There’s only been one time ever I’ve had to be like, ‘you’re not doing that,’” she says. The rest of the time, she just laughs first.
FEATURING TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
Trey and Katie talk about marriage, parenting, and the moments that don’t make the Instagram feed.
Watch or listen to the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
HAIR & MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
“On the Dock of the Bay” by Sheryl Hibbs
“Center Passage” by Anton Weiss
HOW MODERN HOMES ARE EVOLVING TO BRING ORDER, FUNCTION AND CALM TO BUSY FAMILY LIFE
THE FAMILY
CENTER COMMAND
Pantry
Behind every beautiful home is a closet working overtime.
No matter how stunning the kitchen is or how perfectly styled the living room looks, real life usually happens somewhere between the mudroom, the pantry and the frantic search for a missing soccer cleat five minutes before school drop-off. For today’s families, luxury is no longer just about beautiful finishes or square footage. Increasingly, it is about function, organization and creating a home that supports everyday life.
Increasingly, the most valuable rooms in the home are not always the grand kitchens or formal living spaces. They are the hardworking spaces quietly keeping life
“THE ORGANIZATION OF THESE SPACES HELPS TO KEEP HOMES OF BUSY FAMILIES MUCH LESS CHAOTIC.”
on track. Sandra Sokol, owner of Closets by Design, has seen this shift firsthand. “Homeowners are definitely compartmentalizing their spaces,” Sokol said. “Homes are all open-concept now, but consumers are looking for ways to create specific areas for each specific need.”
That shift has led to growing demand for intentional spaces designed around modern family life. Mudrooms, drop zones and customized storage are helping families better manage daily routines. “Mud Rooms or ‘Drop’ areas for shoes, bags, etc, when they get home,” Sokol said. “Clients want storage for sporting equipment to keep it from ending up all over the home and garage. We all want ‘a place’ for everything.”
Spaces once considered secondary, such as closets, pantries and laundry rooms, are now central to keeping a household running smoothly. “Today's Moms and Dads are working and have kids with full schedules,” Sokol said. “The organization of these spaces helps to keep homes of busy families much less chaotic.”
Thoughtful design helps eliminate daily stressors that many families know well. A missing shoe can derail a morning. A cluttered pantry can turn snack time into a scavenger hunt. Laundry piles can quickly become overwhelming.
“If you give a Mom an organized closet, you may be saving her those 15 minutes that she needs to be able to have
Closet with Island
breakfast with her children before she leaves for work,” Sokol said. “Those minutes add up and allow for more calm in a person’s daily life.”
For local families balancing elevated living with packed schedules, that balance between beauty and practicality matters more than ever. “Once we have planned a very functional space that meets the client’s needs, we then have the fun of layering on the customization with accessories, colors, collections and other upgraded options,” says Sokol.
The rise of remote and hybrid work has also changed what families need from their homes. Home offices now serve multiple purposes, functioning as workspaces, guest rooms and flexible family spaces. “Remote work really skyrocketed during Covid,” Sokol said. “Since then, we have seen a continued rise in our clients needing home offices that can also serve other needs.”
At the core of every successful design is one simple principle: everything needs a home. “Finding a specific place for items solves the endless searching for these needed items when you are trying to get out the door for work, play or any activity,” Sokol said. The impact goes far beyond organization. A thoughtfully organized home creates calmer mornings, smoother routines and less daily stress. For many families, the greatest luxury is a home that makes everyday life feel easier, calmer and more connected. After all, a beautifully organized home may not solve every problem, but it can at least help you find the missing cleat!
ClosetsByDesign.com
Garage with storage
Wall Bed
VOGUE VOYAGE
Fletch, Fetch, Repeat
John "Fletch" Fletcher knows how to get pets to sit, stay, and strike a pose
John Fletcher – known to many as Fletch – has loved animals for as long as he can remember and once dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. That changed the summer after fifth grade, when a fall from a hayloft left him with a broken wrist and an unexpected discovery of his parents’ old Kodak 8mm film camera. He was hooked and started making little films of his own.
That spark carried him through college, where he studied film and video production and won an award for best picture. Afterward, he traveled the world teaching English while sharpening his photography skills – travel shots, landscapes, cityscapes, a bit of astrophotography, and plenty of street photography – before moving back to the U.S. just before COVID-19 hit.
Now, Fletch has found a way to merge his two great loves: photography and animals. Thanks to that, Get Pet Pics was born.
“The thing that sparked it all, though, was that my girlfriend and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to South Africa,” recalled Fletch. “I remember this clearly, she said to me, ‘You’re going to be kicking yourself if we go on these
ARTICLE BY SOPHIE BROCK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN FLETCHER / GET PET PICS
safaris and you don’t have a real camera and telephoto lens to capture all of these incredible scenes and animals’. So, I bought a decent DSLR and rented a telephoto lens someone recommended. I refer to that trip as my ‘baptism by fire’ when it comes to photography.”
During COVID, he studied online with two respected pet photographers, Claudio Piccoli in Italy and Alex Cearns in Australia. After earning his Master of Dog Photography designation from Claudio, Fletch went on to train with him in person at the Purina facilities outside St. Louis. Though he doesn’t currently have a pet of his own, when Fletch first moved to Nashville three years ago, he did so with his best friend by his side, a cat named Lola.
“(Lola) was rescued off the side of the road when she was only about 3 weeks old,” said Fletch. “She made it to the ripe old age of 20 before passing away. I haven’t found the opportunity since then
Lola
for the right fit, but it’s not been without plenty of temptation, especially through the work I’ve been doing with Nashville Humane and others like Adopt A Golden Nashville.”
Fletch volunteers his time and talent with both of these local rescues, donating pet photography sessions and event photography to help animals in their care find their forever homes. A great photo can make all the difference for an animal waiting to be noticed, and Fletch sees it as a small way to give back using the skills he’s built over the years.
“I do get to interact with lots of animals in the volunteer work I do for Nashville Humane and Adopt A Golden,” said Fletch. “So, that helps fill the void some, and I know I’m able to help lots of animals that way even though I haven’t rescued or fostered an animal recently.”
For Fletch, pet photography is about more than the final image; it’s about capturing the bond between an owner and their animal companion, a relationship that’s often as meaningful as any human connection in their life.
“My goal is for the entire experience to feel enjoyable from beginning to end, not just the final photographs,” said Fletch. “Photographs become even more meaningful as the years pass because they preserve expressions, little habits, and relationships that we never want to forget. I’ve had many clients tell me their portraits became some of their most treasured possessions after losing a beloved pet. My hope is that every session creates artwork that brings joy today and comfort for years to come.”
CONTINUED >
While pet photography remains one of his favorites, Fletch still enjoys shooting a wide range of subjects such as headshots, travel photography, events, commercial work, and more. He’s even earned his Part 107 commercial drone license. At the end of the day, though, he’s especially grateful for the work he gets to do with pets.
“More than anything, I want people to know that I care about the experience just as much as the photographs,” said Fletch. “For pet photography, whether I’m photographing a playful youngster, a senior pet, or a family saying goodbye to a lifelong companion, I understand these images often become part of a family’s history. It’s a privilege I never take lightly. If someone leaves a session feeling like their pet was celebrated for exactly who they are, then I’ve done my job.”
To see more of Fletch’s work or to book a session with him, check out his website or follow him on social media.
@getpetpics getpetpics.com
A DECADE of Showing Up
HOW NASHVILLE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS TURNED ONE UNIFORM DRIVE INTO A LIFELINE FOR STUDENTS
ARTICLE BY SOPHIE BROCK | PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
Back-to-school season stirs up a mix of emotions for students: the dread of homework, the excitement of reuniting with friends, and the hope of a fresh start. But for some kids, those feelings are a luxury. Before they can consider any of these things, they’re wrestling with circumstances that no child should have to face: where their next meal is coming from, whether their worn-out shoes will last the year, or where they’ll sleep that night.
That’s where Nashville Community Connections steps in.
NCC partners with Metro Nashville Public Schools to ensure children experiencing housing instability have what they need to show up and be ready to learn. Working directly with each family’s unique circumstances, the organization connects students with school supplies, clothing, hygiene products, food, transportation, and more. It all began with a single act of generosity: a mom named Jami Oakley, who started a school uniform donation drive at her son’s school and sparked something much bigger.
“I had no idea when I started collecting school uniforms at my son’s elementary school that we would be here 10 years later and doing so much and having such a big impact in the lives of families,” Jami explains. “I think the sweet and beautiful thing about this story, which is so reflective of how good Nashville is, is that we were only able to rise up and grow as the community responded. We kept growing with school uniforms, then leaned into another need, and people leaned in with us.”
The impact speaks for itself. Over the past decade, NCC has served more than 33,000 students, distributed more than 168,000 articles of clothing, partnered with more than 250 organizations, and grown to offer 10 programs, with roughly 40,000 articles of clothing going out to students each year. On July 14, the organization marked a milestone: ten years of showing up for Nashville’s kids. And if Jami’s story is any indication, the next ten years are only going to be bigger. At the heart of it all is a simple understanding of what students are really carrying.
“You’re out in the world navigating emotions for the first time and navigating people and learning every day, and it’s a lot,” Jami says. “I think that’s why a lot of our programs and our support resonate with people because everybody’s been a student and things were not so easy all the time, and if I didn’t have a pair of shoes that fit, that would have maybe sent me over the edge.”
No need is too big or too small for NCC. Through partnerships with organizations like Soles4Souls, which provides brand-new shoes to students in need, NCC can meet kids where they are and then look a little deeper. Something as simple as a pair of shoes can open the door to a much bigger conversation.
“We’re so lucky that people trust us,” Jami says. “The families we serve trust us to share their needs with us, and we’re able to make a lot of good things happen.”
“Shoes in particular are a good window in,” she says. “It’s a really good entry point into ‘Hey, let’s talk about other things. What else is going on? How else can I help you?’ So a lot of these things serve in that way.”
Each of their programs is designed to meet students wherever they are and follow them as far as they need to go. Among the organization’s most noteworthy efforts are their partnership with the MNPS’s HERO programs, which include the HERO Family Fund that provides critical flexible funding to meet immediate needs for families. NCC’S newest initiative, Beyond Graduation, extends that support past the high school finish line, helping young people find their footing as they step into the next chapter of life.
“We’re so lucky that people trust us,” Jami says. “The families we serve trust us to share their needs with us, and we’re able to make a lot of good things happen.”
For more information on how to volunteer, host a drive, or stay up to date with Nashville Community Connections, follow them on social media or visit their website.
@nashvillecommunityconnections
nashvillecommunityconnections.org
Step Into Summer
With Lift, Glow, and Sofwave™
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ARTICLE BY CAROLINE SHIRLEY
THE TRAVELER YOU'RE BUILDING
TAKING YOUR KIDS ON A LIFE-CHANGING TRIP IS ALWAYS WORTH THE INVESTMENT
“You may not get this opportunity again. Go for it.” My father said this to me at twenty-one, freshly graduated, with the “safe” road to grad school right there in front of me. I chose the other road. What he didn’t know — what I didn’t know — was that he wasn’t giving me new advice. He was completing something that had started years earlier, on the other side of the world, at a table inside the Sydney Opera House.
“You may not get this opportunity again. Go for it.”
My father said this to me at twenty-one.
I was a child the first time I sat inside the Sydney Opera House — not for a concert, but for dinner. Bennelong restaurant. Dining under the iconic sails, the Harbour Bridge framing the water beyond the glass. It was a set menu, and I spotted steak tartare. I loved steak. How different could it be? I was warned, lovingly, that my palate might not be ready. I ordered it anyway — I wanted to feel grown-up. Did I love it? Not exactly. But I do now. And every time I order it, I’m back at that table, the harbour glittering outside, falling in love with a city without knowing that’s what I was doing.
Eight years later, I booked a one-way ticket to Sydney. It was inevitable — the passport was just the paperwork. I stayed six years. My parents and best friend flew out to visit — we island-hopped through the Whitsundays, I crossed to New Zealand more times than I can count, and Queenstown has earned a permanent place on every client itinerary I’ve built since. One night, on a whim, I went back to the Opera House — not for dinner, not for a tour, but for a concert of my favorite artist. Standing inside the sails that night — the artist’s lights washing the ceiling, the same ceiling I’d looked up at as a child — I was both people at once. The girl who’d wanted to feel grown-up, and the woman who’d crossed an ocean to get there. It felt less like a concert than a confirmation. And I’ve watched it happen to others, too. The cities change. The dynamic doesn’t.
One of my clients’ daughters turned thirteen in Paris this year — a francophile long before she had a passport stamp to prove it. For her, this wasn’t a vacation. It was an arrival. Her family stayed at the George V, and she sat down to a Michelin-starred set menu at Jules Verne — the Eiffel Tower filling the window, the city of Paris sparkling below — and ordered without hesitation. Then came Versailles — and if there’s a moment when a lifelong obsession becomes a lifelong memory, it’s probably that one. Standing inside the gates she’d only ever imagined. The palace didn’t surprise her. It confirmed everything she already knew. Cakes appeared at every hotel — one of them a gift from her aunt, already in on the celebration from across an ocean — because when a thirteen-year-old finally makes it to the city she’s loved from a distance, a single celebration isn’t enough.
The common thread isn’t fine dining or five-star hotels. It’s that somewhere between the set menu and the palace gates, a child files something away that will surface decades later as instinct, preference, or a oneway ticket to a city that never let them go.
They may not thank you at the time. But they will.
Parents — if you have the ability to give your children the world, even a small corner of it, do it. You’re not booking a trip. You’re building a person.
Caroline | Founder, Vogue Voyage | voguevoyage.co | inquire@voguevoyage.co
This data is a sampling of sold properties from April 2026 in and around Belle Meade.
GOLDEN Opportunity
How one woman's daily walk with her retriever turned into Nashville's favorite way to meet people
ARTICLE BY SOPHIE BROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN FLETCHER / GET PET PICS
As Nashville continues to grow at a rapid pace, finding a sense of community can feel harder than ever. Sometimes, all it takes is a girl and her golden retriever to bring neighbors together. Enter Nashville Golden Hour. What began as a monthly golden retriever meetup in 12 South has since grown into neighborhood chapters in East Nashville, The Gulch, and The Nations, welcoming anyone who wants to join in.
It all started when Laura Shoopman moved to 12 South in April 2025 and began taking her golden retriever, Bella, on regular neighborhood walks.
“In the matter of 30 minutes, I’d probably see a handful of golden retrievers,” recalls Laura. “I’d frequently see the same people over and over again. And I thought, why don’t I get to know some of my neighbors as well?”
That one question soon turned into something much bigger than Laura ever expected. Today, Nashville Golden Hour has grown into a community that has connected hundreds of neighbors through their shared love of golden retrievers.
That welcoming atmosphere extends to every meetup. There’s no RSVP required, no cost to attend, and even bringing a dog isn’t necessary. The only expectation is to follow a few “Golden Rules” outlined on the group’s website. Meetups are held monthly at
The First Meetup, photo provided
various locations depending on the neighborhood, with activities ranging from group walks to park hangouts to the occasional pet celebration. Local pet photographer John Fletcher of Get Pet Pics frequently attends meetups, capturing the joy and connections that unfold along the way.
For Laura, the walks have always been about something much bigger than dogs. “I really want to get people together, meet our neighbors, create community, and spread
CONTINUED >
joy. It’s our little motto,” said Laura. “Golden Hour helps make Nashville feel a little less huge and a lot more happy.”
Since then, Nashville Golden Hour has grown quickly, with no signs of slowing down. While Laura still leads the charge, running the group’s Instagram and sending out the monthly newsletter, each neighborhood is led by a dedicated volunteer who helps organize local meetups and create a welcoming environment for neighbors to connect.
“I couldn’t do this on my own, we have a really great team that is launching and advocating in their neighborhoods and getting people involved,” Laura said. “I’ve seen some true friendships grow through this. So, it’s very nice to have golden retrievers and go for a walk down these popular parts of our city and share this joy with people. But it’s even more special to see friendships and relationships grow through this. And I would have never thought that I would be scaling a golden retriever meetup across Nashville, but here we are, and it is the biggest blessing.”
As Nashville Golden Hour continues to grow, so does its impact. Giving back has become a natural extension of Nashville Golden Hour’s mission. This month, the group is partnering with Rescue Revival to host its “Gold for Good” Kickoff on August 29th. NGH has committed to funding the training of 10 golden retrievers upon their adoption, with each neighborhood aiming to raise $500 – and the neighborhood that raises the most will take home a prize. Then, on October 10th, they’ll celebrate their first anniversary with a party at Urban Dog Bar, complete with bingo, raffles, and a few other fun surprises.
What started as a handful of golden retrievers crossing paths on a 12 South sidewalk has become something much bigger: a network of neighbors, dogs, and friendships spread across Nashville. Proof that even in one of America’s fastest-growing cities, community can begin with something as simple as saying hello on a walk around the block.
To stay up to date on the next meetup or to enroll in the monthly newsletter, follow them on social media or reach out via email.
@NashvilleGoldenHour nashvillegoldenhour@gmail.com
“I couldn't do this on my own, we have a really great team that is launching and advocating in their neighborhoods and getting people involved,” Laura said. “I've seen some true friendships grow through this. So, it's very nice to have golden retrievers and go for a walk down these popular parts of our city and share this joy with people. But it's even more special to see friendships and relationships grow through this. And I would have never thought that I would be scaling a golden retriever meetup across Nashville, but here we are, and it is the biggest blessing.”
