A Cubed, Colorful Retreat in the California Desert

A mile from the doorway to California’s Joshua Tree Nationwide Park, a neo-primitive construction composed of three cubes stands out from the barren desert panorama like a Modernist mirage. Constructed within the early ’90s as a personal household retreat, Monument Home was designed by the Southern California-based architect Josh Schweitzer, greatest recognized for renovating historic houses just like the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Samuel-Novarro Home in Los Angeles. Now, by way of the hospitality model Homestead Trendy, the five-acre property is open for personal bookings for the primary time.

Impressed by a close-by group of monumental monzogranite boulders, and evocative of the work of Schweitzer’s former employer Frank Gehry, the house’s asymmetrical areas are lit by trapezoidal home windows and skylights positioned to seize the shifting solar over the course of the day. The terra-cotta-toned dice incorporates an out of doors eating space and courtyard. The lichen inexperienced dice homes a front room with vaulted ceilings, a tangerine-hued chimney and classic furnishings. And contained in the sky blue dice is a kitchen, a toilet, an consuming space and a bed room for 2, with views of the encircling rock formations and the Little San Bernardino Mountains within the distance. Rooms from $299 per night time, two-night minimal; homesteadmodern.com/monument-house. — Michaela Trimble

For years, the espresso calendar was fastened: iced within the hotter months, scorching as soon as the mercury dropped. However today, whether or not on account of local weather change or, extra doubtless, the enduring chilly brew craze, baristas are operating their cocktail-grade ice machines straight by way of the winter. Whatever the climate, says Ian Walla, the overall supervisor of the Decrease Manhattan location of the Nordic microroaster La Cabra, “for essentially the most half, espresso drinkers are all in on iced or all in on scorching — it’s much more widespread for someone to stay with a temperature.”

Kyle Glanville, a co-founder of Go Get Em Tiger, which has outposts throughout Los Angeles, attributes the fast rise of cool drinks to the communal nature of espresso. “It’s such a social beverage that people are influenced by what others round them are doing,” he says. And when you go to Abraço, an East Village cafe that appears like an excellent neighborhood bar, these round you’ll more than likely be consuming chilly brew. “It’s not seasonal anymore,” says the co-owner Liz Quijada. “The individuals who get chilly brew all spring and summer season get chilly brew in winter.” For individuals who wish to attempt one thing totally different — and perhaps even just a little frostier — Quijada recommends the frappé, an off-menu tackle a Greek seaside traditional. Espresso, easy syrup and ice are blended in a Vitamix, leading to a texture so wealthy and creamy that it’s onerous to consider the drink is dairy-free. The frappé is perhaps native to the summer season cafes of Paros and Crete, but it surely now has a second dwelling: a wintry New York Metropolis. — Oliver Strand

A New Platinum End for a Traditional Timepiece

On Oct. 7, 1927, when Mercedes Gleitze turned the primary British girl to swim throughout the English Channel, her Rolex made headlines alongside her. After 15 hours within the icy Atlantic, Gleitze emerged on the shore along with her gold Oyster wristwatch in excellent working order. It was proof to the world that the Swiss watchmaker had succeeded in creating what most consider to be the primary actually waterproof chronometer. Since then, the elegant Oyster has developed. In 1945, the Datejust mannequin added a numerical calendar to its face. Twelve years later, the Day-Date model debuted with a window displaying the day of the week in one among 25 languages. Legend has it that John F. Kennedy was gifted that mannequin by Marilyn Monroe the night time of her notorious birthday serenade. This 12 months, the president’s watch, because it’s usually referred to as, is newly obtainable with a platinum bezel, in addition to within the unique 18-karat gold varieties. The change might sound purely beauty, but it surely required one other technological advance. As a result of platinum is extraordinarily dense, with a really excessive melting level, it took craftspeople years of trial and error to determine the right way to engrave the dear steel with the Oyster’s signature fluting. Time effectively spent, certainly. Value on request, rolex.com. — Jameson Montgomery