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An exuberant stay near Joshua Tree National Park
One mile from the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park in California, a neo-primitive structure made up of three cubes stands out from the arid desert landscape like a modernist mirage. Built in the early 1990s as a private family retreat, Monument House was designed by Southern California-based architect Josh Schweitzer, best known for renovating historic homes like the Samuel-Novarro House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles. Now, thanks to the Homestead Modern hotel brand, the five-acre estate is open to private bookings for the first time.
Inspired by a nearby group of monumental monzogranite boulders and evocative of the work of Schweitzer’s former employer, Frank Gehry, the house’s asymmetrical spaces are illuminated by trapezoidal windows and skylights placed to capture the changing sun during the daytime. The terracotta-toned cube contains an outdoor dining area and courtyard. The lichen-green cube houses a living room with vaulted ceilings, a tangerine-colored fireplace, and vintage furnishings. And inside the sky-blue cube is a kitchen, bathroom, dining area, and bedroom for two, with views of the surrounding rock formations and the Little San Bernardino Mountains in the distance. Rooms from $299 a night, two-night minimum; homesteadmodern.com/monument-house. — Michaela Trimble
Iced coffee lasts all year round
For years, the coffee calendar has been fixed: iced in the warmer months, hot once the mercury drops. But these days, whether due to climate change or, more likely, the ongoing cold drink craze, baristas are running their cocktail-grade ice machines all winter long. Regardless of the weather, says Ian Walla, general manager of Nordic microroaster La Cabra’s location in Lower Manhattan, “for the most part, coffee drinkers are all ice cold or hot – that’s much more common for someone stick to one temperature.
Kyle Glanville, co-founder of Go Get Em Tiger, which has outposts across Los Angeles, attributes the rapid rise of cold drinks to the communal nature of coffee. “It’s such a social drink that people are influenced by what other people around them are doing,” he says. And if you visit Abraço, an East Village cafe that looks like a good neighborhood bar, those around you will likely be drinking cold brew. “It’s not seasonal anymore,” says co-owner Liz Quijada. “People who get cold brew all spring and summer get cold brew in the winter.” For those who want to try something different — and maybe even a little more icy — Quijada recommends the Frappé, an off-menu take on a Greek seaside classic. Espresso, simple syrup, and ice are mixed together in a Vitamix, resulting in a texture so rich and creamy it’s hard to believe the drink is dairy-free. The Frappé may have originated in the summer cafes of Paros and Crete, but now it has a second home: a wintry New York. — Olivier Strand
A new platinum finish for a classic watch
On October 7, 1927, when Mercedes Gleitze became the first British woman to swim across the English Channel, her Rolex made headlines alongside her. After 15 hours in the freezing Atlantic, Gleitze emerged on shore with his gold Oyster wristwatch in perfect working order. It was proof to the world that the Swiss watchmaker had succeeded in creating what most believe to be the first truly waterproof chronometer. Since then, the elegant Oyster has evolved. In 1945, the Datejust model added a digital calendar to its face. Twelve years later, the Day-Date version debuted with a window displaying the day of the week in one of 25 languages. Legend has it that John F. Kennedy received this model from Marilyn Monroe on the evening of his infamous birthday serenade. This year, the President’s Watch, as it is often called, is newly available with a platinum bezel, as well as in the original 18k gold varieties. The change may seem purely cosmetic, but it required another technological advancement. Because platinum is extremely dense, with a very high melting point, it took artisans years of trial and error to figure out how to engrave the precious metal with the characteristic Oyster fluting. Time well spent, indeed. Price on request, rolex.com. — Jameson Montgomery