— Noted.

I got the most perfect surprise birthday present from my girlfriends. They took me to the Philip Johnson glass house, with the current fog installation by Fujiko Nakaya.

The property had several structures on it that Philip Johnson designed and used.
A little library:

Painting gallery, with several revolving walls of notable contemporary art, including Frank Stella:

Sculpture gallery:

Pavilion, and stair sculpture:

I always thought Philip Johnson was a very serious man, with his black glasses and stern face. But it’s clear, he was not afraid to experiment. Adjacent to the glass house is a brick house. And the pavilion shown above is a bit of an optical illusion as the ceiling is only 5’3″ in height, meant to appear further away than it really is.

Philip Johnson died in the glass house in 2005, at the age of 98. If you are in the NYC area, it is the perfect day trip by car or train. The fog installation is on until November.

I went to Palm Springs for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve not seen much of the Southwest at all, and aside from seeing my best friend, was mostly excited about a trip to Joshua Tree. As I nosed around for places to stay, I saw that the Ace had a location in Palm Springs, which totally satisfied my vision of doing a morning of hiking in the desert in the early morning, and swimming in a pool and lounging with a michelada in the hot afternoon.

I am always at odds when it comes to staying at hotels. The practical side of me hates spending lots of money on something that will disappear as soon as the stay is over. The designer side of me wants to stay at a place that is well-considered and special. I most often settle for the place that looks clean enough and not much more.

The Ace in Palm Springs is my idea of a perfect hotel. The rates are affordable, and the rooms are just the right amount of detail (and more fun than fussy).

From the ace website, this is the room we stayed in:

And here are a few details I noted:

Artwork in the room for sale:

A little black make up towel:

The hotel used to be a “mid-century desert modern former Westward Ho with a Denny’s.” The cafe made me think of the episode of MadMen when Don is on the Ho Jo account and goes for a visit:

On my way between the two pools:

And the pool. The glorious pool. Quiet in the morning with its orderly shades:

In full disclosure, I do have to point out the fact that we went in the heat of summer, which is the winter of Palm Springs, when the locals hibernate inside their air conditioned rooms and no one is caught wandering outdoors in the noon-to-6pm afternoon sun. Our room rates were low, the hotel was quiet, and the trade-off was a 110° forecast. But I loved it, and it was perhaps the perfect city escape and final extra defrost that I so needed. And I am encouraged, by how much there is left to discover, in places near and far, that can suddenly change your secure feeling of how much you know of the world around you and somehow, then… the adventure is only just beginning.