#by ‘hot’ i mean temperature wise btw

[gravehags]

hot, nauseous, and rapidly developing a migraine damn i’m the complete package

[ugh-yoongi]

bts members as my skincare routine

(+ bonus smut recommendations)

inspired by @reliablemitten’s skincare & smut recs list that i was lucky enough to be included on. here, i will assign each member of bts a skincare product i am currently using with a smut recommendation to go with it. it is a little unhinged.

please enjoy. 🖤

park jimin • cleanser

i use the cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, and who is more gentle than jimin. he’s the person you want after a long, hard day. he’s the cleanser that’s going to see you fresh from the club, skin grubby from makeup and sweat and other associated grime, and he’s not going to bat an eye. he’s been in those trenches, too, no judgment. just make sure that water is room temperature. stop washing your face in the shower.

smut recommendation: the devil in his details by @johobi

jung hoseok • sunscreen

the obvious choice. hoseok is our resident sunshine, but sometimes he’s too hot and you need protection. i use the isntree hyaluronic acid sun gel. it’s spf 50+ and pa++++ so you know it’s putting in the work, just like our dance captain. it’s gentle and calming and protective. sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

smut recommendation: just practice by @lamourche

min yoongi • water

now you might be thinking, jewel, what do you mean yoongi is water. i mean yoongi is water! yoongi is our resident pisces with those little pisces teeth; he is water personified. plus, sometimes the best thing you can do for your skin is the simplest, and yoongi is a simple guy. you might think you like other things more, but you always return to water. (wash your face. btw i use tap water.)

smut recommendation: tear you apart by nutting on ao3

kim seokjin • moisturizer

water might be what’s best for your skin overall, but for a dry bitch like me, a good moisturizer is a holy grail. i use two: neutrogena hydro boost water gel, and seoul ceuticals multifunction all in one anti-aging snail repair cream. as a wise friend once said: jewel, you love your snail products. yes i do, but not as much as i love kim seokjin.

smut recommendation: all you’re giving me is friction by @hot-soop

kim namjoon • toner

sometimes i don’t know what’s best for me and i need an adult. also someone who’s way smarter than me. that’s why namjoon’s my toner. i use the ordinary’s glycolic acid 7% toning solution. it has solved all my problems, just like namjoon. ingrown hairs? gone. uneven skin? gone. the stubborn kp on my legs? mostly gone. however, they do both make me a little sticky…

smut recommendation: easy by tentigers on ao3

kim taehyung • exfoliator

let’s be serious, tae is a sweetheart but he’s also got an aries moon. as a fellow aries moon-haver, i get it. he’s baby but he’s also on weverse threatening to shoot someone in the neck, so he’s peak exfoliator. again, i use a couple: the slmd body smoothing system for my kp, the tropical mango tree hut shea sugar scrub for cheap general maintenance, and you can’t forget your noggin, so i use the kristin ess instant exfoliating scalp scrub there.

smut recommendation: pour up by @jungkxook

jeon jungkook • face mask

i need to be very honest for a second: i have a deep, deep fear that 2023 will be my jk stan era. a hot man with long hair and tattoos? he’s my type all over. but i’ve been strong. i’ve resisted. but i feel my resolve weakening, and that’s why jungkook is a face mask. i ordered the dr. jart+ ceramidin facial barrier mask to get free shipping from sukoshi mart, and joke’s on me, now i’m obsessed with it. i didn’t want to be obsessed with it, but sometimes the universe has other plans. i hate it here.

smut recommendation: city of trees by ginforink on ao3

[please note, some of these recs are mxm fics. totally cool if it’s not your thing! but don’t be a dickhead about it. thank u love u!]

[murumokirby360]

My NVMe Needs - Part 6 (Final): Samsung Magician & HWiNFO Softwares [Apr 25th, 2023]

Hello, April! This is it! Here's final part (Part 6) of my of “My NVMe Needs“ (this time, without my paper dolls 😅). 😊

And in this part, I'm installing two monitoring stats & other memory tool purposes, the Samsung Magician & the HWiNFO. 🙂🖥️⚙️🔢

If you haven't seen my two previous post(s) & other ones (that we're related), then I'll provide some links down below. ↓

• Part 1: Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 SSD (1TB) Review [Apr 7th, 2023]

• Part 2: Thermalright M.2 2280 Pro Review [Apr 11th, 2023]

• Part 3: Installation and trial & error [Recorded on Apr 21st, 2023] (published: Apr 22nd, 2023)

• Part 4: Another Trial & Error [Apr 21st, 2023] (published: Apr 22nd, 2023

• *Part 5: Timing comparison - HDD vs SSD NVMe M.2 Drive [Apr 25th, 2023]*

So, without further ado, let’s get started:

My Recorded & Edited Video (using Filmora 9): (pls watch) ↑ 🎦✏️🖥️

• First off is the "Samsung Magician", a monitoring software tool used for legitimate Samsung memory products exclusively (e.g. QVOs, EVOs, PROs, 870, 970, 980, 990). It'll give information about your recent memory drive stats, test some benchmarks, diagnose your drives, and even link "Data Migration" (software) to form one working software, and so much more to do. One con, I would say is my NVMe didn't recognize the authentication after re-install & restart my PC to unlock the real performance stats. Considering, that my purchased NVMe stick is 100% genuine, I just don't understand what's the situation though. Maybe I'll wait for the future update, soon? Who knows?

BTW: If you want more about it, then please → [CLICK ME!].

• However, there's another software that I can take a deeper look at my NVMe's stats, so let's bring out the "HWiNFO". Unlike "Samsung Magician", this software can monitor pretty much any internal component not just memory-based drives but also Graphics Card, CPU Chip, Motherboard, etc. And also, not just Samsung, but also other brands can recognize, too. Although, it can't do much as the "Samsung Magician", the "HWiNFO" will sense the voltage, rating speed, health, and even temperature of the computer's internal component(s). For instance, my 970 EVO Plus has a decent accuracy of 50°C compared to 51°C from the "Samsung Magician", and so far, no faulty & failure signs of SSD warning. Everyday, I open this monitoring software to check my computer stats just in case someone makes hot during either opening window task(s) or playing PC games. If somethings wrong, then I have to something about it, but as of now, everything seems to be fine.

Overall & Final remarks:

• So far, this is the most ambitious & most satisfying thing I've ever done this year. I've been stuck on physical HD for years. Since 2006, we're always provided physical hard drives as our main source of computer OS & storage purposes. In fact, in my elementary days, I had never seen or heard about "Solid State Drives", I mean nobody uses SSD only rich people can afford the premium SSDs. Nowadays, the SSDs & NVMe we're spread across the globe, and they became the standard of all existing computers. Best of all, random brands are now making cheap SSDs & NVMEs compared to the well-known competitive brands such as Samsung, Adata, Corsair, Western Digital, Sandisk, and more. But, should you buy cheap alternatives or well-known trusted brands? You decide. And let's not forget about the capacity size, they're arranged from less than 64GB of SSDs/NVMEs for a fair cheaper price to the overly expensive price of 1TB to a massive 8TB of SSDs/NVMEs. So, choose wisely if you're planning to get yourself a perfect SSD/NVMe brand(s). And if you're planning to get a NVMe M.2 Drive be sure to purcahse a separate heat sink or a built-in counterpart.

• But, as for me, I purchased Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus & the Thermalright M.2 2280 Pro Heat Sink separately, and combine these two into one custom. Overall, so far, I am certified as "Worth it" because I dream to get my hands on a high-performance SSD than a slower physical hard drive. And with two monitoring & diagnostic software(s) on my computer, I could always check the stats of my NVMe stick, alongside other functional PC internal components (motherboard, graphics card, etc.). I hope my NVMe stick never dies from my progress.

Well, that's the end of my topic!

If you haven’t seen my previous topic, then I’ll provide some links down below. ↓😉

• Goodbye my old Anker Powerport 2 - Full [Mar 16th, 2023]

Tagged: @lordromulus90, @bryan360, @carmenramcat, @leapant, @rafacaz4lisam2k4, @paektu, @alexander1301

[cosmicwitchgod]

Uh that would be the time my Polteageist managed to give me second degree burns.

Now this happened shortly after English Breakfast (yes that's its name) had evolved from a Sinistea. It had always had a very overexcited personality which is fine when you're just a little ghostly teacup with at best hot tea.

But when you're suddenly a full blown teapot which keeps the tea hot, and I mean hot... then excitedly jumping in your trainers face first thing in the morning isn't a wise choice.

Poor English Breakfast felt so bad. It was wailing the entire ride to the hospital and carefully stroking my head with its tiny hand. I was fine btw. And it gave me a chance to see the famed shiny Audino that works in my hospitals emergency room.

Since than EB has gotten full control over the temperature of its tea and how to keep it in the pot. Which is great when it pours me a cup.

(Yes, I know that Polteageist tea is bad for most people. Listen I've had this Pokémon since I was 12. I've drunken so much damn ghost tea that I am basically immune to its effects. And belive me its still haunted ghost tea. My poor sister once grabbed the wrong cup. Had nightmares for 2 days.)

rotomblr: reblog with the worst injury you’ve ever gotten from a pokémon, wild or domestic

[noctuascion]

;; Another request I wrote for the wonderful @helloheadquarters !!!

(Btw, my vamp AU makes it so both Elli and Tae are affected by silver, hence Crypto's gold cybernetics in Deadly Byte as opposed to regular metal, and having little to no silver on his outfit in general, so I'll likely do the latter.)

Request: "Not sure how the lore works on your au but if it's applicable, either vamp crypto accidentally exposing wolf mirage to silver or wolf mirage exposing vamp crypto to sunlight."

--

Park rose and fell with the moon, a nocturnal creature without choice. He detested sunlight for the sole fact that, if he was in it for too long, he would end up an ashy pile on the ground and his husband would have to sweep him up. He hated the sun, how painful it was and just how bright and irritating it was to his sensitive eyes.

If he was wearing the appropriate amount of clothing and especially strong sunscreen, then he'd go outside during the daytime, sunglasses protecting his eyes from the bright rays of the sun. Elliott had a habit of stealing his black-framed sunglasses and replacing them with gaudy pink ones that made the werewolf laugh, so he's begun hiding them, but Elliott's skilled at discovering them and he simply can't win this battle.

Today, however, Park wasn't feeling especially up for it, so he and Elliott decided to just redecorate their room a bit, fix their curtain rod, and maybe look into getting a new color of paint for their room. Park hates the bright yellow—way too reflective, even if it's Elliott's favorite color.

"Elliott, are you sure it's safe to do it like this?" Park asked, eyeing the poor, brittle stool the rather heavy werewolf was standing on, trying to fix the crooked curtain rod. "We have other stools—"

"Babe, honey, my favorite popsicle—it's fine." Elliott swore quietly when his finger nearly got crushed between the point where the rod connected with the other half of it. "I've done this hundreds of times before. Never once hurt myself—well, except for that one time, when I tried doing it sick and collapsed. But that's not the point!"

"If you say so. I just wish you wouldn't use that one. It looks like it's going to break."

"Honey bear, have I ever let you down."

Park opened his mouth, only to be swiftly cut off by Elliott raising a finger.

"Don't answer that."

The vampire's mouth shut, a small smile curling his lips. He returned to watching Elliott as he worked, and, for a moment, he actually believed the werewolf was going to finish up without causing horrible injury to either one of them.

Up until one of the stool's legs broke and Elliott was sent plummeting to the floor. In his panic, he had tried grabbing something to prevent hitting the floor, but all he managed to grab ahold of was the curtain, which ended up ripping it off of the rod he had nearly fixed, thus flooding their normally dark room with sunlight.

Sunlight that immediately started burning Park's sensitive skin.

Elliott hated the horrible sizzle that accompanied it, like he was meat cooking on a stove.

The cry of agony followed by pained whimpers was also horrible, and he immediately rushed to his feet, whipping the blanket off of their bed and throwing it over the other's shaking body. All the while, various profanities left the werewolf's mouth, wrapping the vampire up in the comforter, before rushing downstairs—where it was much darker.

Elliott sat the shaking bundle on their couch, unwrapping him enoug to assess the damage.

Frankly, whenever Park was burned by sunlight, it just looked like a really nasty sunburn. His lavender skin had red blotches from where it was irritated, and even brushing against it was enough to cause the undead creature pain.

"Oh—fuck, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. H-Hold on—shit."

Procedure for this was typically to grab the lotion containing aloe vera and, later, some sustenance for the other. The werewolf removed the blanket, taking extra care not to further irritate the vampire's burns, and delicately apply the lotion to the areas that appeared most irritated. The cool sensation against his burning skin always caused a soft sigh to escape him.

Park, unfortunately, had been wearing his pajamas, so he didn't have sleeves to protect his arms, though he had rolled onto his side away from the source of light to protect what he could. His arms ended up getting the worst of it, it seemed.

"I am so, so sorry," Elliott said once he was finished applying the lotion, gently holding the other's hand in his own. "Are you okay? You're not gonna randomly turn into ash on me, are you?"

"No, Elliott, I'm fine. It just hurts." Park shrugged. "I'll be okay."

"Good… D-Do you wanna eat? Nice bath—a-anything like that?"

"I could eat."

"Cool. Uh, warm or cold?"

"Elliott, do you remember the last time I fed on you?"

"It was cute, babe! You were like a cat on catnip!"

The glare Elliott received was enough of an answer, and he rose from his place on the floor in front of Park to go fetch a small bag of blood for the vampire. Best not to push any buttons right now.

He'd return with a small glass filled with the crimson liquid, and Park had always complained about how stereotyped it felt, but Elliott thought it wasn't that big an issue. At least he wasn't drinking it out of a wine glass.

"Feel better, beautiful?" he said softly once the other had taken a sip from his glass.

"I'm fine. I just feel hot."

"Well, you're always hot, but I'm guessing you mean temperature-wise."

Normally, Park wouldn't mind being warm. He was always cold due to his lack of a heartbeat pumping blood through his veins, only really able to feel it when there was a different source or he was feeding. After being exposed to sunlight, though, he always ended up uncomfortably warm.

"I can run you a quick bath, if you want."

"You don't have to," Park replied, taking another sip from his glass.

"Babe, I almost burned you alive. You're getting a bath."

The vampire released a soft laugh. "Whatever you say, Elliott."

The werewolf pressed a kiss to Park's forehead before rushing off to start the bath, and, as he did so, the vampire relaxed against the back of the couch and allowed his eyes to drift shut.

His husband may sometimes be a goofball, but he still wouldn't trade him for the world, even if he heard him fall into the bathtub not ten minutes later.

[neurodivergent-loverboy]

A while ago I said "Barry Bluejeans autistic" and then never followed up but I'm going to now!!

- This isn't exclusive to autism but it is a common comorbidity and I think we can all agree that Barry has anxiety right? Like Griffin just straight-up said that he's always nervous (with a small measure of hyperbole, but still)

- Anyway despite having a lot of anxiety and general social awkwardness I think he's definitely an extrovert! It's just that for him being around other people doesn't necessarily mean being the center of attention or the life of the party. I think he's a lot more comfortable with small groups that he knows very well (so basically the Starblaster fam)

- When people first meet Barry they think he's shy because he's quiet bordering on silent, but when he gets to know someone? He's very talkative. Catch him infodumping about magiscience for an hour

- Ooh about talking? His spooky scary lich speeches were definitely pre-scripted, which is why they flow so well. Usually in the moment he's a lot more rambly. I could see him really taking comfort in the idea of putting on a role to deal with the strange, upsetting situation he found himself in

- ALSO about talking (and again, this isn't just an autism thing but it's definitely common) @umbraastaff writes Barry with a stammer and I fell in love with that concept immediately, so. That's part of this headcanon web now too

- I could see him having a hard time verbalizing emotions?? Idk why it just makes sense to me. He tries to talk about how he's feeling and the words won't happen, or they don't make much sense. His family members usually get it though cause they've had lots of practice interpreting his stumbling explanations

- You know what, tbh I think his trouble with identifying emotions is at the point of alexithymia

- His volume control is Shit!! Occasionally he'll get loud without realizing it when he's excited/upset but more often, he's too quiet and has to be reminded to speak up. It's not an expression of sadness, it's just hard for him to intentionally project (it's also partially a sensory thing, he feels like he's shouting when he speaks at a normal volume)

- The exception to the above, of course, is when he's Acting Like A Lich because you always have to project in theatre and you know exactly how loud you need to be, generally speaking

- Oh btw Barry Bluejeans? Hyperlexic. He learned to read when he was like three but no one knew for a while because he wouldn't talk until he was four, at which point he started just speaking in full sentences unprompted

- He also speaks a lot of languages and I think that was one of his earlier special interests, before he got super into magiscience

- Why Does He Wear Bluejeans All the Time? onlookers wonder. I Just Think They're Neat, Barry responds elusively, which really means "tight pants are the worst sensory-wise, so baggy jeans became the default - also wearing the same kind of clothes every day is a very comforting routine"

- He likes swimming in a cold lake on a hot day because the intense temperature change feels good and stimmy!! He also chews ice because nice and cold and crunchy

- When it gets to be fall he stomps on all of the crunchy leaves they sound and feel so nice ! But he hates squishy noises a lot, crunch is where it's at

- He spins/paces in circles and also clicks his tongue a lot when he's thinking (He also does the thinking out loud thing, because what the fuck is a consistent internal monologue? Tbh his voice-recording coin was helpful to Future Barry but also to Present Barry who's trying to process thoughts and tasks and such)

- One of his calm-down stims for things that are mildly upsetting is snapping his fingers next to his ears. When he's very upset by something snapping doesn't quite cut it so he slowly shakes his head/rocks instead

- He likes to be upside down (he probably also likes fantasy roller coasters a lot)! It just feels good! Just the right amount of disorienting!

- While he can get tossed around like a sack of potatoes and not be the slightest bit nauseated, a single bite of food that's the wrong texture has him gagging

- He eats mostly crunchy food because fuck slimy and mushy food, and he also tends to eat very bland food because he's quite sensitive to flavor

- When he's nervous he bites his nails, chews on his fingers, and/or cracks his knuckles a lot

- Shbsjsbjdndjd this is kind of dark but what if... ajabsibsisbdidbdif what if he made the Animus Bell a bell because he has a thing for bells, he likes to collect them and ring them because it's stimmy. Not after Wonderland!! Sorry Bluejeans, ruined that one for you lmao

- Can we get some more happy stims up in here? Yes? Sticking with the vestibular stimming, I think when he's happy or excited he likes to spin fast!! Or he'll shake his head back and forth really fast!

- When he's really comfortable with someone and knows he doesn't have to worry about social expectations around them, he does happy squeaks !!!!

Aaaaaaah this got so long I just love talking about characters being ND skbsksks

[modmidnight]

It's the first time in a very long time that I've drawn this little girl. I suppose you could call this a redesign, but not much has really changed about her appearance. The clothes are almost all the same (she wears a tank top and shorts underneath that huge sweater, btw) and her markings mostly are as well. They shifted slightly on her legs, where the darker bit used to be below the knee as opposed to above it. She also now has glasses and a backpack, but that's all for appearance changes.

Anyway, this is Isabelle Fontain. She's 11 years old, and a Basset hound, so she's kind of short for her age.

As for her backstory, that's changed a bit. Originally I made her dim-witted and  I think I had her be adopted before. Personality wise, she's a social butterfly. She loves to meet new people and learn new things. She's still very happy-go-lucky and it appears as if nothing can bother her. People tend to think she's very aloof and naive, but she's actually incredibly intelligent.

Isabelle is the daughter of a scientist and a doctor. She was born with a rare condition known as CIP, which is Congenital insensitivity to Pain, which also known as congenital analgesia. This basically means she can't feel any type of physical pain, and has never felt it. Because of this she also has trouble sensing temperature changes with hot and cold, and her sense of touch is dulled quite a bit. Her father built a device that can sense these things for her. It was implanted in the back of her neck at a young age (like one might microchip a pet). The device is microscopic and causes no discomfort, but it can sense these changes for Isabelle, sending signals to her brain to tell her if its hot or cold out, or if she's starting to burn herself or anything similar. It can't help her with feeling pain or improving her sense of touch, so she has to be quite aware of anything that might be causing her body physical harm.

Due to her advanced intellect, Isabelle has advanced through many grades quite quickly. Technology interests her a great deal, and she's actually taking college level courses at her age. It's not uncommon to see her backpack full of broken electronics. She enjoys figuring out how they work and attempting to put said electronics back together, many times succeeding in her endeavors.

[theglossier]

Stay: Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs

STAY: ACE HOTEL & SWIM CLUB, PALM SPRINGS

Ready for some much-needed R+R in Palm Springs? Check in to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, the coolest hotel in the hot, hot desert.

Photography by Tasha James & Christopher Cain

GREETINGS FROM PALM SPRINGS

For my first time in Palm Springs, and California, in general, I was so stoked to stay at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club.

Why?

Well, I'm actually infatuated with the Ace Hotel chain, I love that each one is completely different, and each embodies the city that they are in. The Ace in Palm Springs has the quintessential 60s motel vibe, while still having the creature comforts of a traditional hotel, and with personality to spare.

I only ever experience their cool-ass hotels via their social media, so when the time came to visit a city with an Ace, I knew it was where I would want to stay, and experience IRL.

Our stay was a little bumpy at first, but the staff and management were super helpful, and friendly, and went above and beyond to make sure the rest of our time went as smoothly as possible, and it did. I'm definitely happy with our overall experience—and even with the hiccups we had at the beginning, this was one of my favorite hotel stays, ever.

trompe l'oeil

First, let's talk about the views—if you've never been to Palm Springs, prepare yourself for your mind to get bent. No pictures I'd seen truly equipped me for the surreal landscape that I would find myself in. 

We drove into Palm Springs from LAX with our friends, so by the time we made it into town, it was dark outside—but the first thing I noticed when we arrived was this large, dark, ominous shape going across the sky, barely lit by the full moon (it was very dramatic), you could tell it was a mountain, but it was also too dark to make out the detail, so my brain had a full-on melt down—I couldn't look at it without feeling anxious.

The next morning, I got up fairly early, went to the courtyard, and literally gasped. I've never felt smaller, in my life, then when I looked up and was greeted by the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. Sprinkled in my view were also these gigantic palm trees, and I just felt like I was in a concept drawing for a sci-fi movie.

The scale of the mountains, was so intense, not to mention, they look 2-dimensional depending on how the sun hits them, so it really was like being on a movie set. Very surreal, and completely unforgettable. It was so beautiful, and terrifying all at once—but, honestly, it was the highlight for me, I couldn't take enough photos of the scenery.

WARM RECEPTION

One of my favorite areas in the hotel, is the lobby-area. It has an eclectic selection of furniture, textiles, and even a beautiful rope art installation. There are other quirky details, and beautiful cacti, and desert plants all over—my inner bohemian was in glorious heaven. I was, and still am obsessing over the beautiful color palette, and attention-to-details in this area.

Other things to note: there is a photo booth in the hallway behind the reception desk that I loved—it takes pictures really quickly, though, so definitely have your poses already worked out, or you'll have three shots where you'll look like a deer in headlights, and one where you're laughing at how incapable you are of using a photo booth—not that I would know from personal experience or anything.

My favorite experience here was heading into the lobby to request something around 1:00 AM to find George, the Night-Manager covered in glitter (from their Full Moon party that I missed—ugh)—when I asked him what other fun things he had up his sleeves, he pulled out two black folded fans from under the desk, and popped them open. I immediatley forgot what I even wanted in the first place.

It was wonderful.

KING'S HIGHWAY DINER

I wish I had more to say about the diner, but I actually didn't eat here, except for breakfast on the last day of our stay.

In general, I usually avoid hotel restaurants, since I like to go out and try local places first. So, food-wise, all I can recommend from here is the iced coffee, and smoked salmon bagel, which was really fucking delicious, by the way (I still have intense cravings for the dill pickle slices it was served with).

I do regret not trying more food here, even if just for the chance to sit and bask in the retro dining room for a bit longer. 

POOL PARTY

It wouldn't be a desert resort without the pool, right? I'm not sure it's even legal to have a hotel in Palm Springs without a pool— I could be wrong though, I'm not a legal expert.

It's easily 100+ degrees in the daytime, and nighttime temps can hover around 90 degrees as well—which means, you're either staying in your room with the AC cranked up, or you're taking a dip in the pool.

The pool area here is pretty nice, there's tons of seating and areas to lounge around in between laps. The pool is a decent size too, lots of people could fit inside. We did come in the off-season for Palm Springs, so, it was relatively empty, and guests had way more room to swim and chill with their friends. You can also take advantage of their hot tub, like I absolutely did.

I actually preferred the pool/hot tub situation at night, which is open until 2AM, by the way. It was so chill, and had the best vibe, in my opinion.

The nights we stayed, the moon was full, so imagine: a slightly breezy, moonlit dip in the hot tub, followed by floating on a giant watermelon pool toy, while the moon is sparkling on the surface of the water, and no one else was in the pool. It was wonderful—and for the record, yes, I am anti-social, and I love having things to myself.

   THE GREAT OUTDOORS

If you can upgrade your Standard King to a room with a terrace, do it—in addition to all the extra room you'll have inside, you'll also get a private patio space decked out with lots of seating, a fireplace. You could easily fit 10 or more people in this space, if you wanted to.

Even though it was still pretty hot at night, it didn't stop me from turning the fireplace on for a bit—something about an open flame (no matter the external temperature) is just very magical, and soothing. 

I would imagine, if you wanted to warm up after a swim in the pool, or make s'mores late at night, this would be the perfect place to do that.

It's also just nice having access to fresh air, without having to talk to anyone else, if you don't want to. The morning is the perfect time to step out here, and just stare in complete awe at the sun rising over the mountains just in the distance. It's incredible.

FINISHING TOUCHES

As a detail-oriented person, the smallest, most minute thing can alter my entire perception of a space. At the Ace in Palm Springs, I looked everywhere and couldn't find one thing I didn't love.

The rooms themselves are tidy, and minimal, but are still full of charm and character. My favorite thing might be the curtains, which make you feel like you're sleeping in a tent—if tents had working plumbing, and electricity. They're just a really cool touch, and make you feel less like you're in a hotel, and more like you're on some cool outdoorsy adventure.

I also really loved that there was a record player, and a stack of randomly selected vinyls that we could listen to. There were artsy magazines sprawled around, and art on the walls that was for purchase, if you want to take a souvenir home with you. There's also a walking stick on the wall, that's available to take for your hikes, if that's your thing.

I was absolutely obsessed with the robes provided in the rooms too—one of them was the traditional-style robe, and the other one was a pull-over tunic, and I wore it for like two days straight, because it was so comfortable—especially at night by the fire pit! 

   SOME LIKE IT HOT.

Besides a very comfortable bed (check), the only other requirement that I have for my perfect hotel stay is a super hot shower. Everything else is a cherry on top.

If I'm not sweating half-way through my shower, keep it. If there isn't thick steam engulfing everything in the bathroom, keep it. If there isn't steam coming off of my skin after I'm done, keep it. There's nothing I hate more than showering in lukewarm water, maybe except for terrible water pressure (the pressure here is A1, btw)—how do you even get clean when the water isn't nearly scalding? HOW SWAY?

This may not be important for everyone, but for those of us that have been saved, who enjoy an above-average shower experience: I feel very inclined to tell you that this one passes my Khaleesi-walking-through-fire test.

The rest of you? Those who prefer tepid water? I say thank you, actually.

More hot water for me. 

  The Ace Hotel & Swim Club located in Palm Springs is a great retreat from the typical hotel experience—everything here feels so laid-back and understated that it almost feels like you're just chilling at a friend's house for the weekend, or an adult away-camp, instead of a desert resort. 

I wish we had stayed maybe a day longer so that I could experience more of what the hotel had to offer, like the spa, and the fun activities that they coordinate for the guests to meet and mingle (I am still bummed I missed their Full Moon party on the night we drove in). I also would have liked to have taken one of the bikes that they provide as part of your room amenities for a tour of the town, but we had a rental car, and it was blazing hot.

Overall, we had a great time here. The hotel was great, the staff went above and beyond to make sure we had a good time, which meant a lot to us. I definitely hope the next time we're in Palm Springs we can stay again.

xx,

Tasha