Meet-a-Mom: Leena Kollar, Editor of Rutherford County Moms
Hi fellow mamas! If you haven’t already been to the About page on this site, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Leena and I am the mom who runs this fun little Rutherford County Moms digital community. I figured what better way to launch this site than by giving you a peek into my life and learning more about the lady behind the pages. I am not an Olympic athelete, a successful CEO or a New York Times bestselling author (yet). However, I, like all of us, am way more than “just a mom.” I’d love to share some of my personal and professional accolades with you, in the hope that you’ll feel more connected to yourself, to me and to other moms around the world. So, here’s a bit of my story.
I am, of course, a mom. I have two rugrats; a six-year-old boy I often refer to as Little Man and an almost four-year-old girl who I like to call Little Miss. They are the loves of my life but man do they test my patience on the daily. (Can you relate?) It’s so hard to get upset because they are so darn delicious!
I always knew I wanted to have children but when I was younger, I thought I wanted closer to five. I must say, having two feels like having five sometimes!
When I’m not breaking up fights, making excuses to go to Target or trying to take a shower in peace, I enjoy hobbies of the artistic nature. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Music Industry Studies from California State University, Northridge. I’ve been singing since the age of three, starting taking piano lessons around 10 and have been a lifelong performer in some capacity.
During college, I recorded my first EP and played shows around the Los Angeles area. I grew up on the west coast, calling Tucson, AZ home before moving out to California for college. After graduating, I worked at Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. and Pepperdine University before moving across the country (all by myself, with nothing but an apartment) to Nashville. I wanted to pursue music and thought Music City was a great place to do that. After recording a music video and a full-length album, I took a hiatus from music to start a family. However, I’ve been writing music again and hope to record another album in the next year or so. Follow me @leenakollarmusic to keep up with my music career!
I’ve now been in the Nashville area for 12 years. I live in Rutherford County but I also started a website called Behind Nashville, where I interview and feature people and businesses around the greater Nashville area. It’s like a podcast that you watch and I get to meet some really cool people!
When it comes to Rutherford County, here’s where you’ll find me:
Favorite places to go with the kids
The La Vergne library, Veterans Memorial Park (especially for seasonal events), Smyrna Skate Center
Favorite restaurants
Cook Out, Margarita House, Demos’, Cracker Barrel
Favorite places to shop
Target (duh), Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s
Random facts about me
I love rainbows and anything multi-colored.
I’m 37 years old and I’ve never had a cavity.
My family and I were on Family Feud back when Louie Anderson was the host.
I had an unplanned home birth with my second child. The La Vergne Fire Department was there to help me deliver. You can read the story here.
I graduated college with honors in less than four years.
I had an appendectomy and always feared that I would need one because my mother also had one.
Spaghetti & meatballs is my “in a bind” go-to meal. I could eat it at least twice a week.
I have a fashion blog called Leather & Lip Gloss (but it’s been a bit neglected lately).
Sheryl Crow is the artist who inspired me to pursue music. I watched her “All I Wanna Do” music video on MTV and I was hooked.
One of my lifelong dreams is to have a succesful singer cut one of my songs. (Know anyone?)
