August was a hit from the start! One of our estate sale shoppers invited the Kuzak’s Closet gang out for a beach and surfing day and we took him up on it. We arrived at the Capitola Beach at 8am and spent the day enjoying the views, the water, and the company! I started our day out with an easy beach day granola recipe and it was a hit! I brought everything we needed for parfaits (yogurt, fruit, and granola), click HERE for the recipe! Looking forward to heading back to the beach this fall!
Speaking of fall, my Los Altos town crier columns having been a hit. I was excited to find my back to school piece on the front page this month, and yes, I am enjoying the column over a bowl of homemade granola, I guess it is my thing. Also my thing is the new cold brew coffee from Trader Joe’s. The Starbucks line is out of control again now that school is back in session so I am mixing my own concoction of goodness over ice each morning and it is pretty darn good!
My latest piece in the Los Altos Town Crier was featured in their Home & Garden Magazine. It is a special fall edition and I knew that I my article would be found inside. What I didn’t know if that it would be a third of the magazine and that the main feature of the magazine would be of The Castle, one of my first big projects in California! I called my mom to tell her because I was so excite about the coincidence. That project really has my heart and I have such fond memories about working with that family and uncovering the treasures that were sold at that estate sale, click here for a throw back to that project on the blog…
Okay, I need to be honest and admit that I went to Taylor Swift concert and I liked it! I am not a concert person but my husband talked me into going but I told him I would only go on one condition, if someone from home would come out and go with me. My friend Jessi jumped at the opportunity and we had such a fun weekend. I wasn’t a huge fan before the show but now I am officially a “swiftie” and looking forward to anything and everything Taylor does in the future. We had VIP tickets and were able to meet Taylor’s makeup artist Donna through one of Chris’ friends.
We danced, we sang, and for the most part acted like teenagers (especially Chris) so I’m glad I went. If you went too I would love to hear your thoughts!
Next on the August wrap-up is the intern Jordan. It was his second summer with Kuzak’s Closet and I loved every minute of having him around. One day he pulled me aside and said, “I think I am learning a lot more this summer Amanda, why is that?” I simply explained to him that he is open to learning more so he is. My entire team took time with him and enjoyed working on projects with him, especially Billy.
On his last day I cried on the way home from work. Yes, I will miss him but I cried with happiness that he has an amazing scholarship to a wonderful college that he is taking 110% advantage of. I also cried because I saw the guys look at him with a sense of jealously, they all wish they had the opportunity to go to school again and the best part is that Jordan saw that. He saw that he was a lucky kid. All of the guys on my hauling crew are smarter than me and more skilled than me but at the end of the day many of them didn’t have the opportunity to experience the college life. This fall I am going to start to bring tutors in and work on more professional development. I know that Kuzak’s Closet is an awesome place to work and with a great community of shoppers and organizing clients but I want everyone that works for me to find their place in the world, whether it is with me or something different.
August organizing is always a hoot! Clients are climbing the walls with excitement that their kids have gone back to school. We typically work with regular clients transitions in their homes and maintenance so it is one of my favorite times of year. Our client (in the middle of the left photo) has had a session every August for the last 3 years and each time my truck/van is full of donations and she feels ready to tackle what the school year throws at her.
Our estate sales and liquidations have been so fabulous lately. The crowds have been showing up in droves and each project has something to offer for everyone!
My favorite night of the month was when we opened up our Menlo Park estate for Happy Hour on a Thursday night. We served goodies and lemonade from 5-8pm and let shoppers in to snag goodies and it was a huge success. We haven’t done an evening sale in a few years and I am hoping to do another one before we loose daylight this fall.
One of our most successful sale of the year was in Los Altos this month. The sale offered amazing midcentury furnishings as well as gorgeous original artwork. It was one of those sales that doesn’t come along very often so we all savored it and after seeing the reaction from our shoppers it was nice to see that most of them did too. One of our shoppers named Gary had such a wonderful experience in the home that he came 3 times, the last time bringing his wife. He and I were chatting in the back room and he said “I wish I could be friend with the people that lived here” and I told him that he just why I love what I do. It was such a treat to see his smile so big as he toted around items that he couldn’t wait to bring home and cherish.
I was invited to a wonderful blog event at Verge Restaurant at the Toll House Hotel at the end of the month and I’m looking forward to sharing more photos of my experience later this week. The food was totally amazing!
We also attend a Women and Whisk(e)y event at The Four Seasons and I am looking forward to blogging about that soon as well! It was fun to get all dolled up and go out for a night with the Kuzak gals!
And I will close out the month in review with my better half, Harper. She was up to no good (as usual) this month but I couldn’t love her more. She is ready for the fall temps to kick in and is exhausted from hearing about all of our projects each day.
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