Collien and Sandy

The mother-daughter bond is truly sacred, and no story tells this better than that of US-based August homeowners, Collien and Sandy. Travelling together in their Pied À Terre Collection homes has given them a new way to celebrate this precious connection. Whether absorbing the French ‘art de vivre’ in Paris or sinking into a slower pace of life with morning coffees and mimosas, Collien and Sandy took a leap of faith with August and turned it into a new, beautiful tradition. 

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Discover how August has opened up spontaneous adventures and enhanced Collien and Sandy’s relationship.

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‍Could you talk us through your journey to find August?

Collien: Our journey began in that we wanted to make a permanent move to Europe, but our situation changed. Sandy ended up moving in with me and we realised that a permanent move just is not feasible. Not to mention the huge task of trying to navigate the real estate market in Europe and not really having any experience with that.

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We were on a mailing list for European properties and an email came through from August, and there was a picture of a Paris Pied À Terre. I saw that and I thought oh my gosh, this might be the perfect solution.

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We simply knew we were in capable hands with Rory from the Advisory Team, and August. So we went ahead and just pulled the trigger

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“The rest is history and it was probably the best decision we ever made. We are so thrilled with August and the homes.”

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Sandy: We were a little hesitant at first and so we ran it by our lawyer.

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Collien: Oh yes. The first person I called was my attorney. I was like we have to get all this vetted, to make sure that it was legitimate, and there was a lot of paperwork but you know, she said, and these were her exact words, ‘If I was you I would do this.’

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You are part of the August Pied À Terre Collection – do you both love exploring cities, and Paris in particular?

Sandy: I had actually never been to Paris, and Collien had several times so I thought oh my gosh if we had an apartment in Paris that would be fabulous with all the museums and beautiful buildings, and the culture. We love the city. 

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Being able to walk out the door and there is a wonderful restaurant right there, or whatever we need.

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“We love the cities, we love exploring and we love Paris.”

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Have you always vacationed together as mother and daughter?

Collien: It is not something that we’ve always done. At this point in both of our lives, we’re single. I love to travel and I’ve travelled on my own, so when Sandy’s situation changed I thought it would be wonderful for her to come along and travel with me and so we started doing that maybe three or four years ago.

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We started travelling together and now she definitely has the travel bug and she loves it so much. She’s seeing all these new places that she’s never been to before and I feel like it's probably adding years to her life. 

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Sandy: It has, it really has. It has sparked my interest in exploring and being in Europe.

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Collien: And she’s inspired. Sandy is a painter, so she’ll see a landscape or a person, and she’s like can you get a picture …

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Is there a specific location or neighbourhood that you find particularly inspiring?

Collien: When we were in Barcelona, we were in the Eixample area, and that’s where all the designers are, and the architects. So there’s great showrooms there and I went into one and I probably spent a good hour there.

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The resources are just unbelievable, it is mindblowing what they are doing with design and so I came back a little inspired and also a little deflated because we don’t have these resources here and so I’m like, maybe I need to spend more time in Europe.

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‍Do you feel that August has made it easier for you to explore your creativity?

Collien: Yes definitely.

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Sandy: I am so grateful. I truly am. I never would have been travelling this way. I would probably be sitting knitting or something. 

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You make great travel partners as well, by the sounds of it?

Collien: We are. We travel well together, for sure. And being mother and daughter, we can definitely express how we’re feeling, and that is so important.

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What does a typical day in one of our city destinations look like for the two of you? 

Collien: One of the many benefits of having these properties through August is that there is no pressure. There is no pressure to go see a million places or things in one day. So we start our day off very slowly. 

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“Sometimes we’ll start with coffee, or maybe with a mimosa and a croissant, and just see what we feel like doing that day.”

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It definitely entails a lot of walking and exploring the neighbourhoods, but there is no pressure to see everything. We do a lot of sightseeing but it’s on our own timeline and we can gauge where our energy is and what we want to get into that day.

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You like to celebrate special occasions with an August vacation – is this the start of a new mother-daughter tradition?

Collien: It is.

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Sandy: Yes!

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Collien: We typically try to be away for birthdays. Several years ago, it just so happened that my daughter was available to come on this trip to Barcelona and that is pretty magical.

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“That is an experience that not so many people get to have and we feel so lucky to be able to share in these experiences with Sandy’s granddaughter, my daughter, and hopefully generations to come.”

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Do you feel that owning an August Collection has enriched your relationship?

Collien: I do, I feel like we get to share in these adventures together as a family. My son, he’s an architect, and he’s just started in his career and so every time I’m away I’m like, you have to come here, you have to see the Sagrada Familia, and all the architecture in all the cities.

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One day for sure he will be joining us.

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“Yes, absolutely. I think it's really expanding all of our relationships and bringing us closer.”‍

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Are you both quite spontaneous travellers?

Collien: Absolutely. When Paris becomes available, I am so there. The only caveat is that we have two mini Dachshunds, they are our babies. They are like our children. So we have to make sure we have accommodation for them but that would be the only snag that we ever run into with spontaneous travel.

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Collien, do you imagine travelling in the same way with your daughter?

Collien: When she was living abroad in Florence I went to visit her a couple of times and we would take side trips to Rome, and Mallorca. She definitely has the travel bug too. She is starting out her career, as well, so it’s difficult for her to get away. But definitely in the future.

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“My hope is that when she is my age and I’m Sandy’s age, that we have a special bond and this relationship where we travel together throughout the world.”

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Can you share with us your most memorable August vacation so far?

Sandy: Paris. Paris is just so full of culture. Everywhere you look it is just so beautiful. We just had a wonderful time visiting museums and checking out all the buildings.

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Collien: All the cities are amazing. We love Rome, we have both been to Rome before, and I’ve been to Barcelona a couple of times. Sandy was also just in Barcelona. But Paris has this certain energy. It has this certain vibe and I think it’s all of those artists and poets and musicians, they all hung out there, and I feel like that energy is still there.

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“It's something I can’t really articulate, but you can feel it. And you just walk around and it feels really special.”

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What else made you fall in love with Paris?

Collien: The other thing about Paris is it feels very personal and intimate to us. We’ve made friends in Paris, and know the wait staff in some of our favourite restaurants.

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“For me, the most memorable time was the second time we came to the Paris apartment. We walked in and it just felt like home.”

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We feel like we are home and it’s really hard to ever replicate that experience, but August has done that for us.

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We heard you have planned a trip to Cannes later in the year. Have either of you been before?

Sandy: I haven’t been, and it’s the end of this month that we’re going. 

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Collien: Yes. That was a last-minute booking. 

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Will it be just the two of you for this trip?

Collien: Yes, this time. Since we had just got back from Barcelona, we had my daughter with us, then I had a friend come with us, and so we were just on the go every day. So my goal for this trip is just to crash on the beach, and hang out, and kinda do nothing.

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Is there anything else that always feels special about your August lifestyle?

Sandy: One thing we didn’t talk about was the food…

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Collien: It is so good. 

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Sandy: It’s so fabulous.

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“All the restaurants, fabulous food, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful time.”

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Find out more about home ownership with August

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Enjoying a glass of Champagne on Les Quais de Seine and exploring the best chocolatine spots in France’s capital is but a taste of what you can expect with an August Home.

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Spend a long weekend in Paris to soak up the cultural and architectural delights of the city, or visit for a little longer to unlock even more of the city’s artistic and romantic history. From the Art Nouveau nuances of the metro station entrances (as designed by Hector Guimard), to hidden, beautiful bibliothèques where not just bookworms will be entranced, there is much to inspire in this pocket of Europe. You too can begin your Parisian lifestyle by speaking to our expert Advisory Team today.