The Importance of Having Fun with Natasha Sizlo

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

This week we're talking to Natasha Sizlo. Natasha Sizlo is a writer based here in Los Angeles.

She started her career with magazines such as Variety and Cosmopolitan, landing at Detour magazine where she worked as a senior editor. Natasha eventually transitioned to the world of real estate currently working at the agency. Yes, that agency, the real estate firm from the hit shows The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Million Dollar Listing LA, and their own show now buying Beverly Hills. I met Natasha through our volunteer work with the Alliance of Moms, and I know her to be generous, kind, and so much fun to be around. I admire her deep sense of adventure and her unwavering belief in love. A few years ago her astrologer told her that her point of destiny is to tell a story and what a story it is so far. I can't wait to share a piece of it with you today and introduce you all to this incredible woman.

EE: Hi!

NS: Hi!

EE: Thanks for being my guest today.

NS: Thanks for having me today.

EE: I'm so excited to chat with you. Even though we have already, I feel like we should have started recording an hour ago, because...

NS: When I walked in the front door...

EE: The minute you walked in, I was like, Oh my God, I love you and I haven't seen you in so long. Here's all the good stuff, and now we'll just figure out something else to talk about.

NS: Well, we can still talk about how much I love you.

EE: Okay, so this is Natasha Sizlo. Did I say the last name right?

NS: Yeah, you said it right.

EE: Great, so easy. We met five years ago? Six years ago, maybe?

NS: Yeah, I think so.

EE: …Through the Alliance of Moms, which is a wonderful organization, Adriana will tag them and the episode notes, everyone can learn a little bit more. But since then, you've had so many interesting journeys. The biggest one, I think, being the launch of your book, will not even the launch, but like the journey of the story of the book, and then actually writing and publishing and all the things after.

NS: Watching this whole thing. Yeah, it's been... You caught it me at a good, interesting, like the last four years have been like wild, wild.

EE: So, well, I think I came in at the best time, who has like passed all the hardest parts of life, and then starting the most interesting part.

NS: Yeah, we got the hardest shit done with. 

EE: My perception of you is like this magnetic, fiercely interesting, like very cool person who just like has always had this fearlessness and adventure. So, don't taint my idea of you with any other stories, we'll just go from there.

NS: I love that, yeah.

EE: Tell people a little bit about the book and how it kind of came to be. I know you've probably done so much talking about that.

NS: I have been not in a little while because the book came out last August. So, it's been a while. I took a, taken like a four-month break of like talking about myself, because the one thing I learned about writing in memoir is, and then promoting it, it's like an exercise in narcissism. You just have to talk about yourself all the time, and so I had to take a nice break from that.

EE: Yeah. But it's such a beautiful tale, all of it. I think the origin story of it and the book itself….and people find it vastly interesting.

NS: Well, I can sum it up for you if you want kind of the story of it. So, the book is called All Signs Point to Paris, a memoir of love, loss, and destiny. So weird that I haven't talked to it about it in so long. I'm like, did I actually do that? Did I go on this crazy adventure? Yes, I did. Yeah, so about four going on five years ago now, right? Probably we were meeting each other. My dad was really at rock bottom. My dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I had just kind of ended things for the like millionth and final time with a man that I was really in love with, but just wasn't a relationship that could sustain. And I mean, a million things. I had a horrible divorce. My dog died. I filed bankruptcy. Like the hits had just kept coming, and I was rebuilding in a career. I work at the agency in Los Angeles, and it's really hard to fake it in this town, but I was doing that, right? Like you're just like, okay, I can do in this. I'm selling this $10 million house today, and I'm like struggling raising two kids by myself. And I think when my dad got diagnosed with a lung disease that he was not going to recover from, he was my rock. And it really just knocked the wind out of me in a way that I hadn't ever known could happen. And so my best friend in the world, who I had written off, I mean, I've known her for 25 years or longer now, my friend Nicole, she wanted a gift to me in astrology reading for my birthday, because she just thought, you know, I needed this gift, right? Why not? And normally I would have said no, because I was a real cynic, like did not believe in the crystals and the psychics and the gurus and all that stuff.

EE: Really?

NS: No, not at all. I was like, just, I was really mean about it, actually. I was like, no, I'm not the last.

EE: I did not know what part of the story.

NS: Oh yeah. Oh, I was the opposite. I wasn't a believer at all. I was a facts and logic. And my dad was, you know, Mr. MIT and I was raised that way. And, you know, when I see it, I'll believe it instead of believing it and then seeing it, right?

EE: Wow.

NS: So a very different mindset that I have now, but so she gifted me this reading. And the first thing I said to the astrologer, who lives actually in this neighborhood, I said, just so you know, I don't believe in astrology. I'm such a bitch. And she said, okay, you don't have to. And then of course she proceeded to get me this reading where all of a sudden, I was blown away by everything that she was telling me, like things that happened in my childhood, things that, you know, she kind of called out that I was a writer. I was a writer in my early 20s, but I hadn't written in 25 years. I was a magazine writer and like almost rounding at a certain age and like, just all these things that were just so I hadn't even thought about in so long. And I was like, whoa, this is crazy. So by the end of the reading, she asked me if I had any questions. And I was still just having a really hard time getting over this, like, you know, love affair that it was my post-divorce romance that was a five-year relationship.

EE: A long time.

NS: It was pretty significant.

EE: Yeah.

NS: And French guy, Philippe. And she said, well, I said, can you just look up his birthday? I just want to make sure I didn't make like a horrible mistake by leaving him or anything like that. Because I was still tugging at me, right? But I knew it wasn't the right guy. I mean, there was a lot of other reasons which are in the book. But so I gave her a birthday. Actually, I got the birthday wrong. But finally, when I gave her the right birthday, she said, he's in line with your point of destiny. And, you know, the word husband and marriage and all this stuff came up.

And I, and then my sister called me and said, dad has two weeks left to live and I really like rock bottom got a whole lot lower and I just lost it. I was like drinking tequila. I was like, had just, you know, a really rough night woke up in the morning. And I looked in the mirror and I just didn't recognize myself. I was like a ghost of who I had been. I just had lost like all hope in life. I just like the all light that we have on us had just been snuffed out. And so I had this epiphany that Philippe was born in Paris on November 2nd, 1968. And I was texting my girlfriend, Nicole, who gifted me the reading. And I said, well, he can't be the only one, I just have to go meet every other man who was born on November 2nd, 1968. And being like the amazing best friend that she is, she's like, well, that's a great idea.

EE: Let's go.

NS: She's like, we're gonna have to go to Paris. And I was like, okay. And it wasn't really, I just felt like I had gotten out of checkmate a little bit with that like kind of story in my head about this astrologer who was right about everything in my life and blew me away and then told me something that really didn't work. Like is, and by the way, Philippe had moved on. He was somebody else. It's not like that story is going back. Then I went to go see my dad who was going through some really difficult end of life stuff. He was trying to decide kind of how to end life. He was actually trying to decide he was going to do something called aid in dying. And so it was a big heavy conversation. He starts crying. My sister and I are by his bedside. My mom is like not there because she can't handle it. They've been married 56 years. I'd never seen my dad cry in my whole life. And you know, he was sad because he was having to leave my mom. He promised you would always like love and protect and take care of her. And she came from like a really difficult background from Scotland. And he just always was that guy. Like I'll take care of you forever. And he was just heartbroken that he couldn't anymore. And he started crying. And my sister turned to me and she's like, I haven't talked about this in a while… It's just making me like, I just feels like yesterday... So she turned to me and says, Tash, you got to change the conversation. Like do or say something.

And I was like, okay, I've been, that's my role in the family. Right? We all have this role. And I've always been comic relief. So I was like, “dad, I met with this astrologer. And this is what she said…” You know, astrologers had assistants and I was like trying to lighten the mood. And I see my dad. And by the way, he's like on a death story, right? He's like literally and it's like bed with like oxygen tanks and everything. And this poor man is looking at me with his eyes wide. He's like, my daughter has lost it. Yeah, I was afraid I was going to give him a heart attack before he died of lung disease. Like it was a really like risky move. And then he got real quiet for a long time because he was losing the ability to speak. And then he said, “sounds like you're going to Paris. I'll meet you there.” And it was like one of the last conversations I had with him. And my sister was like, yeah, fuck you life telling us how to live. And all of a sudden it turned into this party. And like we turned on like music and started dancing. And the hospice person comes in is dancing with us. And it turned into this joyous moment of, I guess kind of having a little bit of hope that we'll see each other again. You know, which, which… So the book is about that journey and I ended up doing just that. So I tracked, it took me about a year and it wasn't like, you know, it's not a…

EE: Well, you don't have to give away the ending.

NS It's not a simple story, but I did go to of Paris. I went to Paris with my sister and my best friends. And we went on this journey of meeting a bunch of strange men.

EE: And I think that's incredible.

NS: It was amazing. It was a life changing event. And then as soon as I got back and scattered his ashes. And it was one year since he passed, that was like my, that was my grief journey, right? But it was with a lot of fun like romcom.

EE: Yeah.

NS: It was like a comedic grief journey. 

EE: I mean, there's worse ways to get through grief. But it's so cool, the whole experience and the divine timing of all of that. To give you who provides everybody else this comic relief and this lightness during hard moments for you to have an experience that could do that same thing for you, I think is so cool.

NS: Yeah. 

EE: And the fact that you're courageous enough to take this chance and go on this adventure and not be tied to it has to end a certain way.

NS: Right.

EE: …Or it's going to be a failure. It's getting, there's so many people who think have these ideas or passions. And we're too scared to make those decisions to follow through with them. So that's the part I think is just the most special.

NS: Yeah. 

EE: So coo

NS: Yeah, Yeah.

EE: Anyway, so everyone has to buy the book obviously and read it and enjoy it. We, as you know, you signed a copy for my mom.

NS: You were so sweet.

EE: Everybody. She loved it. She literally started reading it that morning. Like Chad gave it to her. Chad obviously has loved much more than I am by my mom. Everyone knows this.

NS: Oh my god. You're so funny.

EE: She loves this book. But like, let's be real. Chad's a dream. A dream.

NS: He's very lovable.

EE: Yes. And so he didn't even give me the opportunity to be like, mom, this is my friend who wrote this book. He was like, Natasha is my dear friend. And I went specifically to have her sign this for you for your birthday.

NS: Oh my gosh. You guys were so sweet. So I did a book signing at Barnes and Noble to anybody listening to this. And the one thing they don't tell you is an author that sometimes you show up and nobody comes.

EE: It's terrifying.

NS: Yeah, it's terrifying. So sometimes these events are packed and I had packed events like at every book signing everything I did during my like book tour. Barnes and Noble with pouring rain outside. There's nobody. I'm just standing at a table with a stack of books. And it was huge. 

EE: It's like the biggest Barnes and Noble I've ever seen. And also nobody leaves their house in Los Angeles when that's raining. And this was like the winter rain to end all rains. Like the kind of rain where you're like, you're going to be wearing the car to me because I'm not walking five feet through the second one.

NS: You're so sweet. And you guys came out a whole family. It was so great. And then lined up for the photos. So it looked like it was busy. We had a blast.

EE: It was fun. And my mom loved the gift and the sentiment and the actual book. So it was a win.

NS: Thank you.

EE: Yeah. I just love that story so much. One of the things that we ask everybody on this show is,

you know, it's trying to get at the heart of like what does compose living mean to you. But I think also without context, that's maybe hard to understand because people just think of it, you know, on the home organization level of it. For me, it goes so much further. And it's, I mean, I have to live in an organized space because that's just how my brain works. Like I won't be able to accomplish any other goals in life if my space is a mess. So it is truly the starting point for all other activities in my life.

NS: Right.

EE: But when we started this business, it was with the goal of helping people, you know, find that same sense of security and calm within their homes. But so that they can go on to create the rest of their life in a way that feels really special and meaningful to them.

NS: Right.

EE: And I think that that's different for everyone and it changes throughout our lives. So right now for me, at this exact moment in time, I'm very focused on how do I organize my life and my days so that I can experience more joy.

NS: Right.

EE: And it's very easy for me to get, I get caught up in, I'm obviously a very productive person, and I'm very goal oriented, so I can spend 24 hours a day working towards accomplishing something. But there isn't always a lot of joy in that for me or I forget that I can add joy into those moments.

NS: Yes.

EE: And you asked me why I started a podcast, I guess that would have been a better answer. It's like, this is something that professionally I wanted to do, but also it's something that's very joyful for me to be in community and in conversation with people that I love and that I want to learn from and share these stories with. So that's an example, I guess, of what I'm doing right now.

NS: Right.

EE: And so for me, my word is joy. And I'm wondering if there is something that comes to mind for you as your focus at this point in your life.

NS: It's so interesting. When I had that first reading with my astrologer, she said, you're in your superpower year now because of the planets and whatnot. And she says, right now you're supposed to be having fun. And I thought, am I allowed to have fun? I was actually in a really dark place. My father was dying. And I was, yeah. And then I thought, well, wait a minute, I am allowed to have fun. And so I started going on this adventure. I mean, all of our mutual friends, by the way, not going to name them. They looked at me like I was just crazy.

EE: What? That's not true. 

NS: You're tracking down how? I mean, I went on the radio, I made t-shirts, I went on Facebook, I had to start advertising. I was hell-bent on living this adventure that I wanted to be on. And I remember a lot of people turned to me, they're like, wow, your life is like a movie. And I'm like, well, so is yours. You just don't like the genre. Choose. So when you think about, I was thinking about this like composed living, right? Or for me, it's like curated living or choosing not just the things, the items that we have in our closets and in our home, but the friendships we keep, the choices we make during the day, like really just being mindful about what we're doing instead of being reactive, which is kind of how I was living life up until then. I was just reacting to, like pivoting to kind of solve whatever problem instead of being like, no, this is the direction I want to go in. And here's how I get there. And knowing it's okay to let go of some things, you know, let it go of that beloved sweater doesn't mean you didn't love that sweater. Like I had to let go of Philippe. Like I had to let go of a past love, but you know, I still love him and I love that time. And it's the same thing with living in what we have in our homes and how we organize our day. And it's like, it's okay to sometimes, you know, if a friendship doesn't serve you anymore and you guys, you know, you don't feel good when you're around something, then maybe it has should find another place. So not in a negative way. I mean, that in a positive way. I don't know that. Because coming out right.

EE: Yeah, absolutely, I feel very much the same way. And that's, we talk about sort of decluttering in phases and not like a phase within your home, like you go from closet to garage. But like, once your home is done, then you have to start on the emotional side or the relationship side or, you know, these other, these other things, even if it's like goals or ambitions. Yeah, you know, when I was 18, I wanted to be a lawyer. And then I found out that I was pregnant. And then I, you know, had a baby, it was in college.

NS: Right. Right.

EE: And then I was like, well, do I want to be a better mom? Not that you can't be a good mom. If you're a lawyer or working crazy hours, for me, it wouldn't have made any sense.

NS: Right.

EE: And I wanted to be able to spend more time with, with this small person, you know. And so I had to pivot, right? And it's like, I could spend the rest of my life being regretful, or like holding some grudge against someone at the universe or circumstances or whatever. But that doesn't serve me on my path moving forward. And so I think there's so much of life that we can absolutely leave in the past and be happy for those times.

NS: Yeah.

EE: And realign ourselves around what feels better now.

NS: Joyful…

EE: Joyful.

NS: Yeah.

EE: So is “fun” your driving thing?

NS: Yeah. And I forget sometimes. So it's actually good to sit down and have a conversation like this, because I don't live every moment in my life that way. I wish I could.

EE: Same. All enjoy all the time.

NS: Yeah, it doesn't work that way. But it's nice to to have like, you know, conversations about it and remind remind yourself that it's okay to give myself permission to have a little fun sometimes even, you know, yeah, because I think I was tough on myself for a very long time. I'm not so tough on myself anymore.

EE: I think it's easy to do as a mom, as a woman, as a younger person. It's, you know, we have at least I can only speak for myself. I have very high standards for myself and what I think I can accomplish in an hour, in a day, in a lifetime… it’s pretty unreasonable when I like actually write it down and look at it. And I'm like, huh, okay, well, maybe we should realign somethings here.

NS: I know, I know, we're doing good.

EE: Yeah. It's fine. It's all fine.

NS: It's all fine. I know. I got to let go of the like, I wish this could be better. We're talking about better mother, better writer, better real estate agent, better, you know, all like, it's like, wait, I'm good. Yeah.

EE: Yeah. I think the thing that puts it in perspective for me, the fastest is just going outside and doing anything in nature. Right? Like the minute if you put me on a beach and there's no one around, I'm just like, and I love the beaches here on like a cloudy day where it's empty. There's no one around, maybe the occasional person, like with their dogs or something, but just watching the ocean and feeling like the breeze and smelling the salt water, it's like it doesn't cost you anything. It's, you know, just you and this beautiful planet that we live on. And then I remember like, it doesn't, nothing else really matters. You know, yeah…

NS: Yeah, I'm a treehugger.

EE: There's some stuff that's like, yeah, it's so cool. There's stuff that's interesting. There's stuff that's a huge pain in the ass and everything in between. But really, it's like you have such a finite amount of time to enjoy the beauty of this planet and the people that live here. And so, you know, under a reminder that there's something bigger.

NS: Yes, because during, you know, before I met you, I was not spiritual. I was not, you know, a believer. I didn't really have a whole lot of hope… 

EE: It’s so weird for me to picture.

NS: Yeah, isn’t it crazy.

EE: Even as you say it, I'm like, no, I don't like it.

NS: I know. I know.  People can change. I guess that happened. Yeah. So, but that's my best way to like tap into like a higher something. So is in nature. And I think it's a good reminder that there is like, just my stuff's not that important. There's something bigger, you know.

EE: So it is important. I mean, your stuff is always important to you. And you know, to those closest to you. But truly, I think it just helps us to, -- it's like, I don't know what's going on in Los Angeles. Do you have all of these stupid weird little like, tiny gnats, like around? Yeah. Where are they coming from?

NS: I don't know. I noticed it too. The other day. It's like, how did you even get into this room? 

EE: It's like the most secluded part of the house. Anyway, sorry for all of you who are not watching the video of this. There was a very annoying little gnat who tried to attack my face. And now I forgot what I was talking about. But anyway, what do you do? I do have anything lined up that's like really fun in the future?

NS: I got accepted at an artist residency in France, which I'm really excited about. I was going to go, I know it's fabulous. I'll send it to you. It's a chateau in the Champagne region. It's like one of the 10 most beautiful residencies in the world. I'm so excited. I can't pronounce this.

EE: This is so cool.

NS: It's amazing. Like, I just don't know. I kind of wasn't sure. This is mean doubting me. I'm like, why did you accept me? Like, now I was right again. Yeah, it felt me feel good to be accepted. And I just randomly like submitted a thing in the middle of the night. And so I was going to go this summer.

EE: What are you doing?

NS: You go for two weeks and you work on whatever you want to. There's musicians and sculptors and painters and filmmakers and any kind of artists can go there as far as I understand. And they, this beautiful couple runs it. It's like 20 people and you just kind of sit in this village of 40. It's a tiny village and work on your art. So I was going to go this summer, but I had to push it to next summer because of some family stuff going on. But um,

EE: Congrats. This is so cool.

NS: Yeah. So that's going to make me like get my button to gear again and start writing because I haven't been writing. I took a break.

EE: I think that this is like the most beautiful answer to that question that you could have come up with. 

NS: Yeah. I mean, it's insane. I when I got accepted, I was like, you're kidding. Like, this is a whole new book. Like, I would watch this movie of somebody else going there. It's, it's spectacular and all the food and the wine and…

EE: Your life is definitely the genre of movie that I want. That is so cool. Thank you. I am obsessed with like all things that foster creativity right now. This is like creativity should be like my second word, but I guess they're very closely tied together for me. And like, you know, I have been very like Lucy Goosey doing like The Artist’s Way and like trying to find ways to just like bring that feeling in because it's so wonderful to see what you can create and to challenge your mind in this way. I love that this is something that you're pursuing.

NS: Yeah. And it's not about the end product. Yeah. It's about the process and the community and the people that you meet from all over the world who are going and supporting each other and talking about what it is to be an artist and say of workshops and and also it's just a place because I got a little nervous like, oh, then I have to I have to produce. I have to, you know, I started doing all those people who have gone there like it's not about that. It's really about the process of being there.

EE: So isn't that like it's so nice? Greatest life lesson. To really let sink in too. It's like it is not about producing.

NS: Yeah.

EE: It's not about how productive can we be? How much can I accomplish, achieve? It is in the learning and the creating and the experiences that you have along the way.

NS: Yeah. 

EE: Oh my gosh, I cannot wait for you to go. This is next summer?

NS: Yeah. I could have pushed it back to December, but I was like, now I gotta France in July or January, July. I think it is.

EE: Although it does sound very cozy to be all like

NS: …girl, if I could just move into the chateau…

EE: Interesting. I might conveniently need to appear in the champagne region of France.

NS: That's a fabulous idea. 

EE: Like the week before, the week after. Oh, so good.

NS: I know.

EE: That's incredible. It's a good one.

NS: Yeah. It's a good one.

EE: How fun. And you're still working. And then until then, yeah.

NS: So real estate is for me busy right now. I know that the market has changed a bit, but yeah, it

EE: Has business picked up since the TV show? So you work at The Agency.

NS: I work at The Agency.

EE: They have a relatively new their own show.

NS: Yes. They have buying Beverly Hills and they're see they're filming season two right now. So I've gone to a couple different like, filmings of that. So look for me in the background drinking champagne, probably. I don't know. Or in the office.

EE: Well, if I ever need random people in the background to drink champagne, it's like my second calling in life.

NS: So we just went to they were filming for the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

EE: Yeah.

NS: And we all got well, a couple friends from the agency got invited to Kyle's white party.

EE: I saw this on Instagram and was like, what? It was at So-Fi Stadium.

NS: Yes.

EE: There were like five million people there. 

NS: No, there weren't that many actually. It felt like it probably looks that way, but it was a pretty small curated list. Oh my gosh. I mean, we were having a lot of fun. They had performers and dancers and like, you know, a whole army of cameras filming everything. And of course, we're just having fun. We're like tackling each other on the field. Like dancing on the stage.

EE: You looked stunning. Loved the ponytail.

NS: Yeah. I got an extension. I brought my daughter. Margo is my date.

EE: So beautiful.

NS: I'm so happy she's home. 

EE: For people who don't know the connection between those two things. And hopefully I'll get this right. I've never watched the Real Housewives all that all the girls on my team are obsessed.

NS: I don't watch it either. I have, but I don't watch much TV in general, actually.

EE: Yeah. Same. That's not true. I watch a lot of TV, but it's whatever. Yeah. I watch other.

NS: Yeah. That's fine.

EE: I have to compromise with a husband and we have to find things we like together. Blah, blah, blah, whatever.

NS: So Kyle is one of the housewives.

EE: Kyle is a housewife. She's married to the founder of The Agency…

NS: Mauricio. Yes.

EE: And that's how those two shows come together. It's like a his and hers. Yeah. Amazing.

NS: And he's a little hills is yeah, basically it's mostly about Mauricio and his girls. Yeah. His amazing family whom I adore every single one of them and a bunch of other characters in the agency.

EE: So cool.

NS: And me in the background, drinking champagne.

EE: Love it. What a dream.

NS: It's so LA. My life is so...

EE: But in the best way.

NS: I know.

EE: And none of it feels fake

NS:  …as long as you go hug a tree every once in a while and like kind of get out of perspective.

EE: Oh man. That's so yeah. That white party looked so fun. I love a theme. I know. How exciting. Well, I'm glad that business is good. I know people are a little worried about the real estate market right now. Yeah. And whatever.

NS: But people will always buy and sell. People always have reasons to move. And so, you know, people worry about interest rates, but you can always refinance and people are still, you know, at least it was a little nutty before when there was like 60 for someone house. It was hard to be. It was hard to help people when there was so much competition. Now it's like leveling out a bit. And that's great.

EE: Which I think is great. Yeah. And every time I talk about interest rates to my dad, he's like, oh please, when I bought the house that you grew up in interest rates were like 30%. Right. I'm like, what? Okay. Well, great. No big deal.

NS: We've just been living in a stream like an unusual…

EE: Yeah. A lot of our lifetime has been in this kind of funny other circumstance. Yeah. I mean, we just bought this house then. It was just before all that, I guess. So it was very much like the bidding war timeline. Yeah. What a nightmare that is. And I feel like it also forces you into, doesn't force you, but like it can force you into a rash decision because you feel this false sense of pressure. Yeah. And so I think there's, you know, actually some good that comes out of this too, where it's like you can make an educated decision. You can go after the property that actually suits you. Yes. It's really nice. 

NS: Yeah. It's good. Anyone out there wanting to buy yourself. Call me. Yeah. My little plug. Besides buying my book, I'll sell you a house. I'll buy you a house. What do you need? Bake you a cake?

EE: How about if you buy a house from Natasha. She will throw in a book.

NS: Oh, there you go.

EE: It's a buy one, get one situation, people. We gotta get on board here. And then you can hire a Composed Living to help you move into the house, out of your little house into the name of

NS: That such a brilliant collaboration. So we need to talk about that.

EE: Absolutely. Yeah. Helping people move is like one of my favorite things because it's such a stressful time. It's so wonderful to be in a position to help people make that more enjoyable.

NS: Yeah.

EE: I love that. That and garages for some reason are like my favorites just because it's such an easy win. Everyone's garage is like disgusting to be.

NS: Mine's awful.

EE: No matter what you do. It's like, look, magic.

NS: Right, right, right, right.

EE: You're always going to be happy with the results. Oh, man. So good. Well, it's so nice to have you here.

NS: It's so nice to be here.

EE: Thank you so much for being a guest today. I hope everybody gets the book, reads the story. So exciting.

NS: Thank you. Thank you for having me in your lovely home.

EE: Lovely in progress…

NS: I mean, come on, it's great.

EE: It's a work in progress.

NS: I feel the joy.

EE: We did the Feng Shui numbers on this house.

NS: You did?

EE: Yeah. This is like my new weird obsession. Yeah. And I think it's a two, which means like relationships. And boy, has this house tested our relationships. Now in a good way.

NS: Good.

EE: The first year not too much. Yeah. Well, it was real rough. But I think now I understand the meaning of that. Yeah. Where it was like in the first year, we bought this house to work on our family relationships to have a bigger space for everyone to feel comfortable being here. And it's funny because the Encino house, the number was eight, which is like money, money, money.

NS: Right.

EE: And we made a shit ton of money when we sold that house. It was great. It was like the best financial investment that we ever could have made. And I can only say that without feeling braggy because Chad and I literally spent every dollar that we had ever made. After both of us like 20 years in a career. Yeah. And then both of us having like divorces and child support and school loans and grad school, like just all the stuff. We finally got to a place where we're like, we can almost put a down payment on this house. And then through the whole like escrow process, they're like, we need a little more. We need a little and then we're like, we don't have this. When we closed, we're like, thank God, we don't have to pay a mortgage this first month because we wouldn't be able to. Like that's how stretched we were. So four years later, when we sold it, we were so fortunate to be able to be able to get a bigger space and to do the renovation and all these things. And I was like, this is hilarious that that house's number like literally was money. And it gave us the exact amount of money we needed to buy this space and turn it into a house that our family would be happy living in for the next 10 years. And so then in that process, it was our marriage that was really tested in the first year because renovations are not fun and just to sort of life circumstances. Maybe it's also like that seven year itch timing. I don't know. I don't know what the seven year itch means, but I gather it means that couples just fight like crazy. So we did all of that. We got it out of the way. And now that the renovation's almost done, I'm hoping that that translates to like harmonious relationships.

NS: Yeah.

EE: Just really focused on the family being together here more. We'll see. Yeah. Maybe we'll do like a Composed Living, function way house numbers.

NS: I would love that. I'm very little about it despite like, I'll have clients that they kind of follow their bring somebody in, but I don't, I mean, I don't know much about it.

EE: We have a Feng Shui expert who is partnering with us. I'm like just learning this piece. And I usually will do like my own research just for like, I have such a curious mind that I want to know of these things. But we work with a woman Laura, who's like an actual certified Feng Shui expert. And so yeah, I'll have to get her to do a little workshop on like house numerology.

NS: I love that.

EE: You can do like, you can even match it up to the individual person apparently. Well, now we can get composed living to work with Natasha from The Agency will bring in the Feng Shui expert.

NS: There you go.

EE: We'll find someone at the county who approves the changing of house numbers. And we'll get everybody situated in their dream home for their dream life circumstances. Sounds like a good way. That's 2024 goals. Yeah. This year is full.

NS: Yeah, your year is full.

EE: Oh, man… Natasha, thank you so much for being our guest today. It was a pleasure talking with you. Thank you all for listening to this episode with Natasha Sizlo. I hope you enjoyed our conversation. I think you can tell by how much we were laughing that I just adore this woman. And she is truly just so much fun. Like, subscribe, share, do all of the cool things that people do with podcasts. And we'll talk to you next week.