Original subtitles

[music playing]

LAUREN SHAPIRO: Being in nature is where I feel the most

authentically who I am.

When I'm in the mountains, when I'm by myself,

when I'm on a hike, when I'm on a walk

like I'm hiking up a trail and I can hear my own breathing,

I just feel the most connected to who I am a 1,000%.

I'm Lauren.

I live in Los Angeles, California,

and I have a cabin in Idyllwild.

It was built in the '50s.

I call it the Cedar Rock cabin because there's a lot of cedar.

And it's also, I want to say like knotty pine.

And the fireplace is all river rocks.

There's one big room up top.

It's a big loft open floor plan bedroom.

And then downstairs, there's a dining area,

living area, the main bathroom down

here and then a small kitchen.

Upstairs is my favorite, the high-beam ceiling,

the skylights and waking up there, all the windows,

it's like sleeping in the trees.

The front deck, I feel, is a very peaceful place.

I meditate there, I read there, I've fallen asleep there.

In the mornings, it's nice to go out there and just

enjoy my morning rituals.

I can see Tahquitz peak, which is a huge rock that people hike

and they climb it.

When I first got this cabin, there was just

like ugly carpeting, a lot of holes in the walls,

there was a smell that was happening.

But I mean the bones of this house are amazing.

It just needed some TLC.

I zhuzhed, yeah.

But like in a really modern way, I

feel like, because there's still a lot of the charm of the 1956

cabin, like it's a log cabin.

But it has some newer modern touches, which I think

sort of come together nicely.

We're two hours out from LA, East

up in the San Bernardino Mountains.

It's very hidden.

It's like cozy tucked away community.

There are musicians, and there are poets,

and there are writers, and there are people who choose not

to live in an urban city for whatever reason

that have gathered here and formed a community.

And it's very sweet.

Most people who live here have lived here for 50 plus years.

I came into this community as an outsider.

And so I treat it like I am a visitor.

When I go to the hardware store, when I go to the market,

I'm just always sure to try to get

to know the residents a little bit better,

but also to just be respectful of where

I am and show care to the land that I'm settling in on.

[wind chimes]

The ritual that I consider most important

here is to reconnect with myself,

and that's why I come here.

I'm a costume designer on TV shows.

TV production is really intense.

It's intense what I do, it's intense industry to work in.

When I feel like I'm really overwhelmed

and work has just bogged me down, I come up here

and I just feel calm.

This cabin's given me a nice respite from city life.

A lot of the things, even if they weren't handmade,

have been gifted to me over the years.

And when I was thinking about how to furnish this place,

I gathered a lot of my favorite things

that I've been saving for this.

And now I can walk around the cabin

and be like, oh, you know, Michelle gave me that, Sam gave

me that, Lisa gave me that.

Just creates a very loving place for me.

Surrounding myself with things that I

love that come from people that I love feels safe to me

as well.

Leah is a friend of mine who is a well known artist,

came up here for a weekend, getaway

alone, and spent a lot of time on the deck

reading and just connecting with herself.

And she spent a lot of time looking out at that peak.

She gifted me this really beautiful

watercolor that she did sitting from the deck of Tahquitz peak.

Just that it inspired her to make that, it's special to me.

I have this really beautiful space that I enjoy

so much I want to share it.

When I do have a friend over, it's just casual.

We'll make something light and eat outside

while it's still light out on the deck,

and just talk and catch up.

I also have the luxury of sharing it with them.

If my friends are really stressed out or going

through a hard time, I've been able

to offer this space to them to just go and unwind, and relax,

and take time for themselves, and

everybody is so appreciative.

And they love this place as much as I do.

Feels good to be able to give that to somebody else.

I really wanted this to be a comfortable place.

I had a lot of friends growing up

who had like don't touch houses where you would walk

into their space and you couldn't sit on a couch,

because it was reserved for like the special guests.

And I feel like this was the place where it needed

to be comfortable, and you could just make

yourself at home immediately.

Whether it's the mountains or the oceans,

that's where I feel best.

In my late '30s, I began to really understand

that about myself, and the more time I spent in these places

the more I felt that it was where I needed to be.

I was very much into material things and relationships,

and I definitely prioritize those things

over being alone with myself and connecting with the worlds

at large.

I just didn't understand how important it was.

I created this space with intentionality

and love and care, and it's just been that for me.

I was just getting emotional.

It's just been that.

I open the door, and immediately like my heart feels joy,

and I feel excited to be here.

And I feel excited to make a fire, and to put on a record,

and to make a cup of tea like I get truly excited

and I feel joyful about it.

At the end of the day, I get to come

here and just get away from anything

that I want to get away from.

It's not a case of running away from something.

It's just a case of reconnecting with myself

and just finding my spirit and calming my spirit.