{Nashville’s Finest}








7 ANGEL TRACE | BRENTWOOD, TN 37027 4 BEDS | 3.1 BATHS | 3,950 SF
We are proud to announce the sale of 7 Angel Trace - a home especially meaningful to us, as we once called it our own. This marks our 121st successful transaction in the Governors Club, a testament to the ongoing demand for luxury living in this exclusive gated community.
At Warren Bradley Partners, backed by the legacy of Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty, we bring local insight and global reach to every client experiencewhether you’re buying, selling, or simply exploring your options in today’s market.
















PUBLISHER
Dave Mahanes
EDITOR - IN - CHIEF
Melissa Mahanes
FEATURES EDITOR
Carolyn Smith Bryant
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Charlie Mahanes
CONTRIBUTORS
Writers
Bridget Cottrell
Matthew Cottrell
Vicki Denig
Elliott Greene
Kiley Kennedy
Dave Mahanes
Melissa Mahanes
Claire Williams
Photographers
Charlie Mahanes
Melissa Mahanes
We want you to be thrilled to receive your issues of Sophisticated Living Nashville— if we have your mailing address incorrect or wish not to receive the magazine, please email us at nashville@slmag.net.
CONTACT US
Melissa: 615.308.9294 / melissa@slmag.net
Dave: 615.495.4250 / dave@slmag.net nashville@slmag.net
SOPHISTICATED LIVING MEDIA
Eric Williams, CEO
Bridget Williams, President
Greg Butrum, General Counsel
Jason Yann, Art Director
Sophisticated Living® is published by Mahanes Media Group, LLC and is independently owned and operated. Sophisticated Living® is a registered trademark of Williams Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sophisticated Living® is published six times a year. All images and editorials are the property of Mahanes Media Group, LLC and cannot be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission.
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I asked my father one time when I was single and working a lot of hours in my investment banking job in New York, Is this all there is? And my father said, “Well, raising children is a big part of it, and it will go fast.” Dad was right about most things, and he was undoubtedly right about that.
2025 is the first year in which I will have no child-related school activities. My oldest son, Jack, graduated from Columbia College in 2020, and my youngest son, Charlie, graduated from Wake Forest last year. So, from the time Jack started kindergarten at Currey Ingram in 2003, to the time Charlie graduated from Wake in 2024, makes twenty-one years of kids in school—where did it all go?
I especially miss the college years. I loved the whole journey to the college for move-in, especially the one for freshman year. Columbia College in Chicago was a 9-hour drive from Nashville. Wake Forest in Winston-Salem was a 7-hour and 45-minute drive. Voluntarily, I did all the driving on these trips. After doing the first drive to Chicago straight through, I learned that I did not have the constitution for that long a drive. I was utterly exhausted by the time we arrived in Chicago. So, from then on, we broke the drive into two legs. The stopover was always a fun break in the drive. On the way to Chicago, we would stop in Keystone, Indiana, a tony suburb of Indianapolis, where we would stay at the Ironworks Hotel, which used to be the Beloit Iron Works factory. We had our favorite local farm-to-table restaurant at Keystone Crossing, Late Harvest Kitchen, where they eventually came to know our names over the years, and would hold a table even if we were running a little late. For the drive to Winston-Salem, we would stop in Asheville. Asheville is a magical, bohemian place high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where you are sometimes above the clouds in the early morning. It has a great food scene and, of course, America’s grand house, the Biltmore.
Move-in day freshman year was special. It was exciting to see where your child would spend the next four years. Getting familiar with the campus and the town was an adventure. Personalizing their room and being able to visualize where they would live was special. In each city, we would find our go-to eateries. In Chicago, there was Cai in Chinatown Square, Eataly a block east of the Magnificent Mile, and Siena Tavern on Kinzie between Clark and Dearborn. In Winston-Salem, there was Ryan’s, a traditional fine dining establishment similar to Sperry’s, as well as Katherine’s, a French bistro in the lobby of the art deco Kimpton Cardinal hotel in the heart of downtown.
Parent’s weekends were great opportunities to meet our son’s new friends and visit the places they frequented on campus. A trip to the bookstore to score some swag was always a must. Jack was a music major, so I would get to sit in on some of his performance classes. It was always a great show and one that filled me with pride. For Wake Forest parents’ weekends, we would always go to a football game. The Nashville contingent had a tailgating tent where Melissa and I got to see old friends and make new ones. Charlie was the drummer for a classic rock band, Cruise Control, during his junior year, which played at fraternity parties and local bars. Watching him play at a Lambda fraternity keg party brought me back to my college years.
Another part that is missing now that the boys are out of school is Spring Break. We would always go somewhere exciting for Spring Break, whether it be to Rosemary Beach, a Royal Caribbean cruise, The Florida Keys, or Miami’s South Beach. We didn’t go anywhere together this past March. Now that the boys are working full-time jobs, scheduling a vacation together is not quite as easy.
The one constant in life is change. I miss those school days (but not the expense!). I am blessed that both my boys are in Nashville and gainfully employed. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to stick around long enough to start going to my grandchildren’s school events.

Dave Mahanes, Publisher dave@slmag.net

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Our beautiful new community is now open and ready for its close-up! Call today and schedule your private tour.
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Impressive, spacious residential floor plans, floor to ceiling windows, expansive terraces allow a new level of indoor-outdoor living. Spaces designed for entertaining, fitness, relaxation and a dedicated team provide a secure, lock and leave lifestyle for members.

