A long long time ago, in a land not far away, a dream of owning a cabin in the misty mountains was born. Growing up in Huntington Beach, Cat used to visit Lake Arrowhead as a child with her father as part of Indian Princesses. Every winter, she’d look forward to their trip to Camp O-Ongo where she’d adore sleeping in bunk beds in a cabin you’d have to trek through the snow to get to, inner tubing with friends at Snow Valley, and that first slice of pizza tradition as soon as they got to the top of the mountain. Cat and her family would also occasionally stay in a cabin owned by one of her father’s coworkers and she loved tossing peanuts off the elevated back deck and watching the blue jays nosedive from the trees to grab them when she was 16. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the route to get there in her mind, even though she couldn’t remember any street names.
So in 2021 when Brian casually mentioned he’d always dreamed of owning a cabin in the mountains, Cat booked their very first AirBnB as a birthday surprise for Brian and up the hill they went for the first time in 25 years to sit on the deck and listen to the trees. Little did she know that she booked a home that was directly below the blue jay-peanut-nosedive cabin she last stayed at in 1996 until all those memories came flooding back when they passed by the small brown home with A-frame entry and vintage 80s light fixture.
For the next two years, they spent countless hours mapping out homes for sale and driving around to get to learn the lay of the land. They had to learn about what it meant to have “lake rights” while exploring the differences between local neighborhoods like The Villas, Blue Jay, Cedar Glen, The Palisades, Skyforest, and Twin Peaks. They also had to learn to deal with a booming housing market where cabins were snatched up the day they went on the market for well over asking price. They were looking for a cabin that made their “hearts sing” while also dealing with heartbreak when none of the listings were making music for them. And when they did, and that orchestra started to hum, none of the offers they submitted worked out. Their hearts went silent again.
After an exhaustive two year search that included approximately 747 different cabins (give or take), immeasurable Zillow refreshes, and a few days of tears over losing out on every cabin they put an offer in on, up popped a listing one fateful Friday morning that had only one exterior picture – one. She showed the shabby, faded red shingles to Brian and his interest was also piqued. As she scrolled through the quaint cottage’s details, at the same time, up popped an email on her screen from their agent sharing some info about a different listing. Cat looked at Brian and said, “I feel like the universe is really pushing some cabin energy hard right now.” The universe was right.
The next day, they were ascending the mountain again for the first time in a year. Because in that time, no listing that came up even remotely looked to be worth the tank of gas or round of drinks at the Lakefront Taproom that became a tradition every time they went cabin hunting. But this one was different.
The second they pulled off the main road and hit dirt, a sharp hair-pin turn, and a dead-end street, they knew this could be The One. Upon seeing the curved cobblestone staircase, the towering pines, those shabby red shingles flanked by white shutters with a pine tree cut out, and the freestanding greenhouse, they could hear that familiar melody begin in their hearts again. And when their offer was accepted the following week, that cautious melody grew into a loud and sudden song. A song that sprang up at just the right moment. A symphony that sounded like wildlife sleeping among the foliage and the wind whispering through the trees. It sounded like falling in love. It sounded like Fawn & Forest.
Follow along as we breathe new life into this almost century-old cottage. We plan to live with her for a bit and let her walls tell us her stories before we begin our new chapter together. One filled with new paint, a new kitchen and bath, defined outdoor spaces with a firepit and BBQ area, a totally redone greenhouse with deck, and much more. This is our happily ever after. The rest is still unwritten.
Fawn & Forest 