Forget the candy bowl. This Halloween, the real treats are being served in cocktail glasses, with a splash of mischief and a few unexpected ingredients thrown into the cauldron. Across South Florida, bartenders are trading ordinary pours for wickedly festive concoctions that look almost too good (or too terrifying) to drink. From blood-red concoctions and smoky mezcal creations to mysterious black margaritas and cocktails that stare right back at you, local bars and restaurants are shaking up spooky season one sinister sip at a time. With unexpected flavor combinations, playful garnishes and plenty of Halloween flair, these limited-time creations offer a spirited excuse to venture beyond your usual drink order. So, pick your poison, sip if you dare and discover what South Florida’s bars are brewing up this Halloween. Photo Credits: Hoy Como Ayer Tigress Restaurant & Rooftop Bar at The Perry Hotel Naples is getting into the Halloween spirit with three hauntingly playful cocktails. The Black Lotus pairs Absolut Citron with lemongrass shochu, lychee, fresh lemon and activated charcoal, finished with a lychee and cherry “eyeball” garnish. The Midnight Tigress puts an eerie spin on a Hugo Spritz with St-Germain, lavender, lime, Prosecco and a touch of silver edible glitter, while the Bloody Jerry brings together Sailor Jerry Rum, dark cherry, Chambord and ginger ale with a black salt rim and dark cherry garnish. Together, the trio brings a festive mix of dark, shimmering and blood-red sips to Tigress just in time for spooky season. Things are getting spirited on the Las Olas waterfront at Casa Sensei. The Pumpkin Spice Martini gives fall’s favorite flavor a boozy upgrade with Mozart pumpkin liqueur, vodka and half and half, finished with pumpkin spice and a crown of whipped cream. For something with a little more bite, the blood red Vampire Kiss sinks its teeth into vodka, Chambord, cranberry juice, lime juice and simple syrup. Halloween is creeping onto the cocktail menu at R House Wynwood with two spooky sips for $10 each, available October 22–31. The aptly named Blood Bath is a blood-red mix of blood orange, passion fruit and dragon fruit, while the Black Widow puts a sinister spin on a margarita with charcoal and a spicy orange sugar rim. Photo Credits: R House Wynwood Vilebrequin La Plage is getting into the Halloween spirit with Le Baiser Écarlate, a dark and alluring seasonal cocktail made with Código Reposado infused with activated charcoal, shaken with house-made Bordeaux cordial, lavender-raspberry purée, fresh lime and black lava salt. Balancing dark fruit and delicate floral notes with bright citrus and subtle salinity, the cocktail brings an elevated, Riviera-inspired twist to spooky season. One of Little Havana’s most storied nightlife institutions, Hoy Como Ayer already knows a thing or two about coming alive after dark, and this Halloween, it’s adding a little extra mischief to the mix. Available Thursday through Saturday of Halloween week, La Llorona brings the smoke, tartness and subtle heat with Mañojo Mezcal, strawberry, Campari, lime, agave and fire tincture. One Wish Willow takes a brighter, tropical turn with Mañojo Mezcal, peach, Suze, kiwi and lime, complete with a black salt rim, while Sinners delivers the most decadent pour of the trio, blending Mañojo Mezcal with espresso, coffee, pumpkin syrup, chocolate bitters and a dusting of cocoa. Photo Credits: Hoy Como Ayer By ML Staff. Top photo credit: Sanju M Gurung, Unsplash

Lighting is often treated as the final layer of an interior, but for designer Nathan Orsman, it begins much earlier. His work approaches illumination as part of the architecture itself, using light and darkness to shape how a room, landscape or work of art is experienced. That philosophy is at the center of LIGHT: Illuminated Interiors and Architecture, a new book by Orsman with architecture and design writer Ian Volner and photography by Michael Stavaridis. The book explores Orsman’s approach to architectural lighting through interiors, landscapes and buildings, showing how illumination can influence atmosphere without overpowering the spaces it serves. Rather than relying on formulas or applying the same solution from one project to another, Orsman describes his process as intuitive and specific to each space. In some cases, that means advocating for less illumination and allowing shadows and darkness to remain part of the design. The book organizes projects around the ways people move through and experience spaces, with chapters including “Magic Hour,” “Arrival,” “Transition,” “Gathering,” “Breaking Bread,” “Private,” “Objects and Art,” and “Night Gardens.” Together, they present lighting not simply as a functional necessity, but as a tool for establishing atmosphere and directing attention. That approach is particularly visible around dusk. Orsman’s exploration of the “Magic Hour” considers the brief period when natural daylight begins to disappear and architectural lighting gradually takes over. Instead of competing with the sunset, the lighting works with the building and its surroundings, extending the atmosphere created by twilight. The relationship between lighting and landscape also plays an important role. Landscape architect Mario Nievera discusses how working with Orsman changed the way he considers nighttime environments, from the placement of fixtures to preserving darkness around trees, pathways and architectural elements. A Palm Beach project demonstrates this approach through softly illuminated architecture, palms and a classical garden structure set against the darkness of the ocean. Other projects explore the transition between exterior and interior spaces. For Orsman, the experience of a building can begin before someone crosses the threshold, with lighting used to guide an arrival and create glimpses of warmth from within. The book also brings together perspectives from designers and architects who have collaborated with Orsman. Christopher LaGuardia of LaGuardia Design Group describes lighting as something that should be integrated into architecture early in the design process rather than applied as an afterthought. His collaborations with Orsman emphasize indirect illumination, restraint and the deliberate preservation of darkness. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs offers another perspective through the lighting of his Frank Lloyd Wright house in Westchester. The interiors combine Art Deco influences, antiques and Asian pieces, requiring a lighting scheme capable of connecting different periods and styles while maintaining warmth. Across residential interiors, landscapes and architectural settings, LIGHT makes the case that effective illumination is not necessarily about making spaces brighter. It is about deciding what should be visible, what can remain in shadow and how the relationship between the two changes the experience of a space. LIGHT: Illuminated Interiors and Architecture is scheduled for publication by Rizzoli on September 29, 2026. Learn more about Nathan Orsman and his projects through ⁠Orsman Design. By ML Staff. Photo Orsman Design

You are sitting quietly at your desk, eating lunch, or taking a relaxed walk through your neighborhood. Everything around you in this exact second is completely safe, peaceful, and manageable. Yet, your mind is miles away, sprinting down a road of future possibilities, potential problems, and unwritten decisions. You find yourself mentally rehearsing conversations that have not happened, worrying about financial security years down the line, or trying to solve challenges that do not yet exist. Constantly living in tomorrow makes it impossible to experience today, leaving you feeling exhausted, anxious, and disconnected from your actual life right now. The Trapped-in-Tomorrow Mindset When your mind fixates endlessly on what lies ahead, your body responds as if those future events are happening in real time. You might notice physical signs of stress, such as a tight chest, shallow breathing, clenched shoulders, or an underlying sense of dread that refuses to go away. Even when your current circumstances are stable, the constant mental noise about the unknown creates a state of perpetual high alert. This experience is a classic sign of anticipatory anxiety. Your brain gets caught in a loop of trying to prepare for every conceivable outcome, mistaking continuous worry for effective planning. In reality, worrying about the future does not change what will happen; it simply robs you of the peace and energy you need to handle today. Recognizing that your racing thoughts are merely a reaction to uncertainty allows you to step back and observe them without letting them control your emotions. Why Your Brain Fixates on What's Next Your brain's primary job is to keep you safe, and to do that, it craves predictability and certainty. When faced with an unknown future, the mind instinctively tries to fill in the blanks so you are never caught off guard. Viewing empty spaces in your life timeline as potential threats rather than neutral possibilities causes your thoughts to rush forward, frantically searching for answers to questions that cannot yet be answered. This fixation is also driven by the false belief that worry equals control. You subconsciously feel that if you think about a future challenge enough times, you can somehow prevent bad things from happening. Using daily mental wellness habits alongside supportive tools like Overwell can help you spot this need for total control, encouraging you to step out of anxious loops and ground your attention in the present moment. Accepting that some things remain beyond your immediate influence is essential for settling an overactive mind. Mindset Traps That Keep You Stuck in the Future Several automatic thought patterns work together to keep your attention trapped in distant tomorrows. The most frequent trap is catastrophizing, where your brain automatically skips past neutral or positive possibilities and jumps directly to the absolute worst-case scenario. You convince yourself that a minor delay, a new project, or an upcoming life shift will inevitably lead to failure or hardship, making the future feel terrifying. Another major trap is completely ignoring your present resources and resilience. When you imagine a difficult situation three years from now, you picture your current self – tired, overwhelmed, and unprepared – facing that challenge. You forget that when that future moment actually arrives, you will have accumulated more wisdom, experience, and support to handle whatever comes your way. Additionally, waiting for a future milestone to finally feel happy or secure keeps true peace permanently out of reach. Simple Steps to Return to the Present Redirecting your focus from tomorrow's worries back to today's reality requires simple, intentional habits. First, identify what you can control today. Divide your worries into things you can take action on right now and things you cannot. Focus your mental energy exclusively on small, practical steps you can execute today, and set aside the rest of your concerns for later. Second, anchor your senses in the present moment. Practice simple physical grounding techniques whenever your mind begins to sprint ahead into future scenarios. Feel the solid weight of your feet on the floor, listen closely to ambient sounds around you, or take five slow, deliberate breaths to bring your attention back into your immediate body. Third, practice accepting uncertainty. Remind yourself regularly that it is entirely natural and okay not to have every answer today. Embracing the fact that life unfolds one step at a time allows you to stop demanding total certainty from an unwritten future. By taking action on what is manageable, grounding your physical body, and making peace with the unknown, you can break free from future anxiety and anchor your mind firmly in today. Making Peace With What Lies Ahead You cannot live tomorrow today, no matter how much time and energy you spend endlessly worrying about what comes next. The future will always remain a long series of unwritten moments, but this current present moment is truly the only place where you possess genuine power, personal choice, and real life. Releasing the urgent need to predict, manage, and control every upcoming detail frees up an immense amount of mental clarity, focus, and emotional warmth within your daily routine. When you actively choose to bring your primary attention back to the single step sitting right in front of you, you quickly discover that you are entirely capable of handling whatever today brings. Trusting yourself to successfully navigate whatever circumstances arise further down the road allows you to drop the heavy burden of constant future planning. By firmly anchoring your focus in the present right now, you empower yourself to move forward into every new morning with quiet courage, genuine calm, and lasting peace. By ML Staff

Living abroad can make even simple U.S. paperwork unexpectedly complicated. A birth certificate tucked away in a storage box back home may suddenly be needed for a residency application, passport matter, marriage, school enrollment, or another administrative process. Add different time zones and state-by-state requirements, and replacing a vital record from overseas can become another item on an already complicated international to-do list. USBirthCertificates is a private application-assistance service designed for people who want help preparing requests for U.S. birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. It is not a government agency and does not itself issue certified certificates. Instead, the service focuses on guided forms, reviewing application details, providing instructions, and offering customer support during the request process. For travelers, expats, and families trying to decide whether that extra layer of help is worthwhile, reading US Birth Certificates & Vital Records reviews from customers who have used the application service is a useful place to start. Image by DepositPhotos What Are You Actually Paying For? The most important distinction is that USBirthCertificates' fee pays for assistance with the application process, not simply for the physical certificate. Customers complete an online questionnaire, after which their information is prepared and reviewed for possible omissions or inconsistencies. They receive instructions tailored to the type of record and jurisdiction involved. Depending on the record and service option selected, customers may then submit the prepared request themselves or receive additional submission assistance. That can matter when you are overseas. U.S. vital records are handled at the state or local level, so someone born in California but now living in Madrid, London, or São Paulo still has to follow the requirements of the jurisdiction holding the original record. Where the Service Can Be Helpful The clearest advantage is convenience. If you know exactly which office holds your record, understand its eligibility rules, and are comfortable completing the paperwork directly, you may not need third-party assistance. The calculation changes when the process feels unfamiliar. Someone living abroad may be dealing simultaneously with foreign residency rules, travel arrangements, notarizations, banking requirements, and family paperwork. Having an application checked before moving to the next step can remove some of the guesswork. For Miami and South Florida residents, this is especially relevant in a city built around international mobility. Miami Living's guide to moving to Miami and organizing the practical side of relocation highlights just how quickly documents become part of settling into a new place. What Do Customer Reviews Say? The public feedback is broadly positive about ease of use. On the company's review page and its independent Trustpilot profile, recurring positive themes include a straightforward form, clear navigation, and a process that customers say is relatively quick to complete. There are criticisms too, and they are worth paying attention to before ordering. Some reviewers say the overall cost was higher than they expected, while others appear to have assumed that the initial service charge included every government or certificate fee. That distinction is important. A private assistance fee and the fee charged by the authority issuing the record are separate costs. Anyone considering the service should review the pricing and understand exactly what is included before paying. Image by DepositPhotos Why Ordering From Abroad Can Feel Different Replacing an important document from another country is not necessarily difficult, but distance can make errors more inconvenient. Discovering that a form is incomplete after international mailing, for example, is considerably more frustrating than fixing it before submission. It is also worth thinking ahead rather than waiting until a document becomes urgent. AARP's guide to replacing important lost documents recommends keeping essential records such as birth and marriage certificates organized and protected. Travelers should also avoid carrying originals simply because they might be useful. Allianz's overview of documents needed for international travel illustrates how document requirements vary according to the journey, making it sensible to confirm what is actually necessary before packing sensitive records. So, Is USBirthCertificates Worth the Extra Cost? It depends on what you value most. For someone whose priority is minimizing costs and who is comfortable finding the correct issuing office, understanding its instructions, and preparing an application without assistance, paying a private service fee may offer limited additional value. For someone living abroad, requesting a record from an unfamiliar state, dealing with several documents at once, or simply wanting an application reviewed before submission, the convenience may be more meaningful. The key is knowing what the service does before purchasing it. USBirthCertificates provides help preparing and navigating a vital-record request; it is not the government authority that approves the request or produces the certificate. For internationally mobile Miamians, expats, and frequent travelers, that distinction makes the decision fairly straightforward: compare the cost of assistance with the time and confidence it could save you, then choose the route that best fits your circumstances. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of DepositPhotos

The Trump family of Acqualina Resort & Residences will host the 31st annual "I Have a Dream" Foundation Miami Gala on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The event takes place at The Turnberry Resort in Aventura and celebrates the Class of 2032, a group of 55 students who began the program as second graders. The gathering features a cocktail reception, a silent auction, dinner, music, and a live auction offering travel packages to the Caribbean, Italy, and Africa. All funds raised support the foundation's mission to empower children from low-income areas by providing long-term mentoring, tutoring, and guaranteed tuition for a Florida state university or an accredited trade school. Founded in 1995 by Stephanie, Jules, and Eddie Trump, the Miami-Dade chapter has guided past cohorts from Charles R. Drew School and Hibiscus Elementary School to high graduation rates and diverse professional careers. Tickets start at $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples, with tables of eight available beginning at $7,500. By ML Staff. Photos: Acqualina Resort & Residences, Adam Kazav.

Did you know that luxury watches have become much more than instruments for telling time? I’ve always found it fascinating that something created for such a practical purpose could evolve into a form of self-expression, a symbol of status, and, in some cases, even a piece of history. And I thought you might like to know that some of the world’s most valuable watches have stories that are just as interesting, and sometimes remarkable, as their price tags. Take the famous Patek Philippe Supercomplication, commissioned by American banker and legendary collector Henry Graves Jr. in the 1930s. It took years to create and featured 24 complications, making it one of the most complex mechanical watches ever produced. Today’s collectors often look for rare gemstones, exceptional craftsmanship, limited production, and provenance, especially when a watch has an auction history. All of these elements can turn a timepiece into a multimillion-dollar collector’s piece. To give you a closer look, I’ve put together a selection of some of my favorite expensive watches. 10. Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 in Stainless Steel — $17.6 Million Photo Credit: Patek Philippe Steel Watches by John Goldberger Introduced in 1941, the Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 was the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch. Only four stainless-steel examples are publicly known. One sold at Phillips in Geneva in November 2025 for CHF 14.19 million, or approximately $17.6 million, making it the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch ever sold at auction. 9. Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” Ref. 6239 — $17.75 Million Photo Credit: "Paul Newman" Rolex Daytona Reference 6239/Fortuna Paul Newman's personal Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 sold at Phillips in New York for $17,752,500 in 2017. Given to Newman by his wife, Joanne Woodward, the stainless-steel watch features the inscription “Drive Carefully Me” on its caseback. The sale set a world record for a wristwatch at auction at the time, before being surpassed by Patek Philippe's Grandmaster Chime in 2019. 8. Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure — $20 Million Photo Credit: Jacob & Co (Official Media) The Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure combines high jewelry with mechanical watchmaking. Unveiled in 2023 with a reported $20 million price, the unique piece features 425 yellow diamonds totaling 216.89 carats, along with 76 tsavorites. Its skeletonized tourbillon movement is housed in an 18-karat yellow-gold case and provides a 72-hour power reserve. 7. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication — $24 Million Photo Credit: Hodinkee Commissioned by New York financier Henry Graves Jr., the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication was completed in 1933 after years of development. The pocket watch contains 24 complications, including a celestial chart showing the night sky above Graves' Manhattan home. It sold for CHF 23.2 million at Christie's Geneva in 2014, setting a record for the most expensive timepiece ever sold at auction at the time. 6. Chopard 201-Carat Watch — $25 Million Photo Credit: Chopard/Press Release The Chopard 201-Carat Watch is as much a piece of high jewelry as it is a timepiece. It contains 874 diamonds totaling 201 carats, including pink, blue, and white center stones. Three heart-shaped diamonds open with a spring-loaded mechanism to reveal the watch dial, while the reported $25 million value reflects the extraordinary collection of gemstones used in its design. 5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette — $26 Million Photo Credit: Jaeger-LeCoultre (Official Media) The Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette combines a bracelet covered in diamonds with the brand's historic Calibre 101 movement. Created in 1929, the Calibre 101 is one of the smallest mechanical movements ever made. The jewelry version is reported to contain 576 diamonds and carries a reported value of approximately $26 million. 4. Breguet Grande Complication No. 160 “Marie-Antoinette” — Approximately $30 Million Photo Credit: Breguet (Official Media) Breguet No. 160, better known as the “Marie-Antoinette,” is one of the most famous watches in horological history. Commissioned in 1783 by an unidentified admirer, the pocket watch was completed in 1827 and contains an extensive collection of complications. Its frequently reported $30 million value is an estimate, not the result of a confirmed public sale. 3. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A — $38 Million Photo Credit: Hodinkee Created as a unique stainless-steel watch for the 2019 Only Watch charity auction, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A sold for 31 million Swiss (USD 38 million) francs in Geneva. The watch features 20 complications and a reversible double-sided case, including a grande sonnerie, minute repeater, alarm, and perpetual calendar. Its auction result remains the highest confirmed price ever paid for a watch at public auction. 2. Graff Diamonds The Fascination — $40 Million Photo Credit: Graff / Graff Diamonds The Graff Diamonds Fascination was unveiled in 2015 with a reported value of $40 million. Covered in 152.96 carats of white diamonds, the watch features a 38.13-carat pear-shaped diamond at its center that can be removed and worn as a ring. The reported $40 million figure represents its stated value rather than a documented auction sale. 1. Graff Diamonds Hallucination — $55 Million Photo Credit: Graff Diamonds The Graff Diamonds Hallucination was unveiled at Baselworld in 2014 with a reported price of $55 million. Its platinum bracelet is covered with 110 carats of rare colored diamonds in shades of pink, yellow, blue, green, and orange. The stones were individually selected and hand-set, creating a piece that combines high jewelry with traditional watchmaking. The $55 million figure is a reported valuation rather than a confirmed auction price. By ML Staff.

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. explores nature’s transformation through Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden, a high jewelry collection inspired by the botanical and animal motifs of legendary designer Jean Schlumberger. Created by Nathalie Verdeille, Senior Vice President and Chief Artistic Officer, alongside the Tiffany Design Studio, the collection reinterprets butterflies, flowers, and twisting vines through sculptural designs featuring rare diamonds and colored gemstones. White diamonds, Fancy Vivid Yellow diamonds, padparadscha sapphires, and kunzites bring movement and color to pieces that balance heritage with a contemporary approach. Among the highlights is the Jasmine story, inspired by Schlumberger’s iconic necklace design and reimagined in two separate suites. One features platinum silhouettes surrounding white diamonds, while the second combines platinum and 18k yellow gold with vivid kunzites, a gemstone closely associated with Tiffany & Co.’s history. The Monarch story revisits an archival Schlumberger necklace where a butterfly rests among sculpted foliage, transforming the original motif into a modern high jewelry interpretation that reflects the House’s ongoing dialogue between craftsmanship and innovation. To learn more, visit www.tiffany.com. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

Halfway through every presidential term, American voters get the chance to change who controls Washington. With Donald Trump's Republicans defending both chambers of Congress, the midterm odds have become one of the busiest political markets of the year. Here is what is being decided, where things stand a month out and how the betting works. What are the midterms? The midterms are the federal elections held two years into a four-year presidential term. The president is not on the ballot, but Congress is. The House of Representatives and the Senate pass laws and set budgets, and the Senate also confirms judges and cabinet picks. A president who loses Congress loses much of the power to govern. The 2026 midterms take place on Tuesday 3 November. What is on the ballot All 435 seats in the House are contested, because every member serves a two-year term. In the Senate, 35 of the 100 seats are up. That is 33 regular seats plus special elections in Ohio and Florida, which fill the seats JD Vance and Marco Rubio left when they joined the Trump administration. Voters in 36 states also elect a governor. Where the balance of power stands Republicans hold 53 Senate seats to the Democrats' 47, a total that includes two independents who vote with the Democrats. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to reach 51, since Vice President Vance breaks any 50-50 tie. The House is tighter. A party needs 218 seats for a majority, and Democrats are four short. Mid-decade redistricting has also shifted the map. Texas drew five new Republican-leaning districts, and California voters answered by passing Proposition 50, which redrew five Republican-held seats in the Democrats' favour. Why history points one way The president's party almost always loses ground in midterms. In the past century it has gained House seats only three times, in 1934, 1998 and 2002. The last time Trump was in the White House, Democrats gained 41 House seats in 2018 and took control. The polls agree so far. The generic ballot asks voters which party they would back for Congress, and Nate Silver's average on 30 September had Democrats 9.6 points ahead among likely voters. The Senate races to watch The Senate is harder for Democrats, as a majority means winning in states Trump carried in 2024. Silver's averages have Democratic candidates narrowly ahead in Texas, Maine, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and Alaska, with leads of between 1.7 and five points. Texas is the standout. Senator John Cornyn lost the Republican nomination to Ken Paxton, and Democrat James Talarico leads by 3.4 points. In Maine, Susan Collins is the only Republican defending a seat in a state Kamala Harris won. Democrats must also hold Georgia, where Jon Ossoff is running again, and the open seat in Michigan. How to bet on the midterms The headline markets are which party wins the House and which wins the Senate. Markets can also cover a combined outcome, such as Democrats taking the House while Republicans keep the Senate. Below that sit individual Senate and governor races, which make up much of the political betting calendar in a midterm year. Treat the polls with some caution. A review by the American Association for Public Opinion Research found national polls at the 2020 election had their largest error in 40 years, underestimating Republican support. A three-point lead in a Senate race is well within that range. Results can also take time. Close races in states that count postal votes slowly can stay open for days after polls close, and Georgia goes to a runoff if no Senate candidate wins more than 50% of the vote. By ML Staff. Image: Foxys Graphic/Shutterstock

Perched on the last remaining large-scale, prime waterfront land parcels directly on Biscayne Bay in Edgewater, the Aria Reserve dual-tower complex has reached completion. While the South Tower has been completed since 2025, the North Tower has just received its TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy) and is ready for its first residents. If you are looking to learn more about this exciting real estate development, its upscale residential program, as well as the world-class resort-style amenities and experiences it has to offer, the article below will provide you with a detailed breakdown. A Snapshot of the Development Year Completed: South Tower 2025, North Tower 2026 Location: 725 Northeast 24th Street, Edgewater, Miami Developer: Melo Group Design Team: Arquitectonica (Architecture), MORADA (Interiors), ArquitectonicaGEO (Landscape Architecture) Residential Program: Two towers, 62 stories each, a total of 782 units, ranging from one- to four-bedroom residences, penthouses, and penthouse mansions Residence Features: 10-12 ft. ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, expansive terraces, private elevator access, Italian finishes, designer interiors Lifestyle & Amenities: 547 linear ft. of waterfront, water sports and marina services, multiple pools, fitness center, yoga lounge area, outdoor sports courts, a wellness spa, a bayview cafe, a waterfront restaurant, business and social spaces, hospitality services Architecture and Tower Design Envisioned by the creative minds of award-winning studio Arquitectonica, Aria Reserve Miami is built as a contemporary glass dual tower complex that immediately catches the eye with its massive size and the distinctive zig-zag pattern across its facade. With floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors and windows and continuous wraparound balconies, the towers achieve a sleek, fluid appearance that softens their imposing rectangular forms. At the ground level, the towers transition into a lush tropical setting, courtesy of ArquitectonicaGEO, and seamlessly blend their modern architecture with the natural beauty of the Biscayne Bay waterfront. Taken together, Aria Reserve’s striking architectural design gives the towers a distinctive visual identity and yet makes them feel like they belong naturally in their tropical waterfront setting. Residences and Interior Features Rising approximately 649 ft. from the ground, both Aria Reserve towers comprise 62 floors. However, their residential configurations differ slightly, as the South Tower houses 383 units and the North Tower 399, for a total of 782 luxury residences. As for the floor plans, the residence collections are divided into four categories based on their placement within the towers: The Panoramic Residences, which are placed between floors 3 and 50, and offer one- to four-bedroom flow-through layouts with 10 ft. ceilings The Skyview Residences, which occupy floors 51 to 56, and also range from one- to four-bedroom layouts, but come with 11 ft. ceilings. Both Panoramic and Skyview residences have such unique floor plans that are allowing for sunrise and sunset views from each unit. Floors 57 to 59 are reserved for the ultra-luxurious and spacious Penthouses that come with 12 ft. ceiling heights, expansive terraces, and unobstructed views. Floors 60, 61, and 62 contain the tri-level Penthouse Mansions, which have the most luxurious and spacious layouts that feature 4 bedrooms, 12 ft. ceilings, and exclusive features such as private rooftop terraces and pools. Each luxury Aria Reserve Miami condo for sale and rent has an extra room that can be turned into a den, a media room, a home office. In addition to its generous residential program, the Aria Reserve Towers also stand out for their meticulously appointed interiors designed by MORADA Haute Furniture Boutique. Every unit in the condominium comes with custom Italian cabinetry and stonework, and premium integrated appliances. What’s more, residents of the luxury Miami condo towers also get access to private or semi-private elevator foyers. The Aria Reserve rental policy doesn’t allow for short term rentals in order to ensure maximum privacy of its residents. Resort-Style Residential Experience While Aria Reserve Miami is a completely residential development, and the twin towers neither include nor share their premises with a commercial hospitality component, their residents are still able to enjoy a level of luxury and comfort comparable to that of the world’s finest hotels. This is because, in addition to the refined spacious residences, the Towers are also home to more than two acres of world-class resort-style amenities and experiences, including: Waterfront experiences, including marina services, pools, private cabanas, and landscaped waterfront areas Recreational facilities, such as tennis, basketball, and paddleball courts, a fitness center, a game room, and children’s play areas Spa and wellness facilities, including private massage rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a yoga lounge, and an outdoor meditation garden Fine dining options, such as a waterfront restaurant, bayview café, barbecue areas, and outdoor dining spaces Entertainment spaces, including a private movie theater, fire-pit lounges, and indoor and outdoor social areas Business and coworking facilities, such as private offices, conference rooms, meeting spaces, and shared work areas Various other exclusive amenities, like a private wine cellar room, a telescope observatory area, and a residents-only sky lobby Furthermore, residents of Aria Reserve also have access to a 24/7 front desk, personal concierge services, and around-the-clock valet parking. Final Words Now that the North Tower is ready to receive its first residents, there is all the more reason to get excited about this development and what it brings to Edgewater. While their record-breaking height and distinctive architecture make Aria Reserve Towers notable additions to Miami’s skyline, they offer much more than scale and visual impact. With spacious living areas, thoughtfully designed interiors, and an extensive collection of resort-style amenities and experiences, this ambitious project has undoubtedly raised the standards of waterfront living in Edgewater and the wider Miami area. By ML staff. Images courtesy of Pexels.

Image by DepositPhotos Where Miami-Dade's Harvest Goes Six technologies are changing how food gets grown at the southern edge of Miami-Dade this fall, and on the evidence so far they don't all deserve equal attention. Growers in the Redland and Homestead, university researchers and a few venture-backed startups are putting sensors, drones, software and fish tanks to work as the winter planting season begins. They're doing it because farmland is shrinking, water is expensive to waste and one tree disease can empty a grove. Whether any of it puts fresher food on a Miami plate is a separate matter, and the answer looks less flattering than the marketing. Start with a number most diners have never heard. The county's own tally is that about 89 percent of what Miami-Dade farms produce is shipped out of the region. It goes to the Northeast, to the central states, to Canada. This is a county that leads the nation in ornamental plants and sits second in Florida for farm production value, and still most of what it grows seems to be eaten somewhere else. Keep that gap in mind for everything that follows. If a tool helps a grove last another ten years, it has probably done more for local eating than one that looks good in a photo shoot. That's how this list is ordered, most useful first, and yes, it will annoy a few people who sell lettuce towers. Water First: Soil-Moisture Sensing Top of the list, and by some distance, is a soil-moisture sensor wired to the irrigation system. Dig a hole in South Dade and the shovel finds rock before long. How much water ground like that can bank is a question UF/IFAS keeps returning to in its advice on irrigation scheduling in tropical fruit groves. Its answer to guesswork is a tensiometer or a buried probe, either of which reports soil water as it changes. Then the trees get watered when they're dry, and the calendar stops being in charge. The proof was gathered close to home. In Homestead, at the university's research center, a UF/IFAS study of its avocado irrigation app looked at the watering schedule the free app produces for a grove. Its conclusion was that growers could use less water, and less energy to pump it, with no loss of yield. Nobody would call that finding glamorous, which may be why it so rarely turns up on lists like this one. Why begin with water? Because most other costs on a farm run through it. Fertilizer is the obvious example. When more water goes onto porous ground than the roots can take up, some of what the grower paid for may simply drain away below the tree. So measuring before watering probably saves money twice, on the pump's electric bill and on the fertilizer invoice. For an operation deciding where to spend its first technology dollar, this looks like the purchase. Vegetable growers aren't left out. There's a UF/IFAS publication, revised in 2024, on automatic irrigation driven by soil-moisture readings. Tomatoes in Homestead were the test crop for one of its controllers. A farm new to all this should begin with one block. That block gets the sensors, provided it's typical of the farm, while the one beside it stays on the old schedule. A season later there are two sets of water and yield figures to compare. Probe placement matters too, because a probe buried in the wettest or driest corner sends readings that are wrong for the field as a whole. Software That Reads the Field Second place goes to digital farming solutions, the software category that turns those readings into decisions. On their own, numbers from a probe don't tell a grower much. They have to be read alongside weather records, drone or satellite imagery and the log of what fertilizer went down and when. Platforms in this category gather that field data in one place. With everything on a single screen, the calls on irrigation, nutrients and pests can come earlier, and there's evidence to point to when they do. For a family operation with forty acres of mamey and lychee, that probably matters more than any robot. Think about what a wrong guess on fertilizer costs. Too little and the tree goes hungry. Too much and the excess ends up in the groundwater, and either way a consultant's visit to sort it out isn't free. Software can't make a small grove rich, though it can cut down the number of expensive guesses in a season. Nurseries face the same arithmetic. The county leads the nation in ornamental plants, and in that business one missed irrigation cycle can leave a whole bench unsellable. Anyone shopping for a platform should put three questions to the vendor before signing a subscription. Does it read the sensors already in the ground? Can the farm get its records out if the company folds? And once the data is uploaded, whose is it? Growers who have kept a careful spray and fertilizer log for years will probably see value soonest, since the software then has a history to work with from day one. Drones Against Laurel Wilt Image by DepositPhotos Third on the list is aerial scouting, and avocados explain why. The enemy is laurel wilt, a fungal disease that ambrosia beetles carry from tree to tree. South Florida grows about 95 percent of the state's avocados, and that's exactly where the disease has been killing trees. UF/IFAS reckons the industry is worth roughly $100 million a year. Its engineers went looking for a faster way to spot trouble and found that multispectral cameras mounted on drones can flag infected avocado trees before symptoms appear. Why does an early warning matter so much? Because neighboring avocado trees share roots and the disease moves along them, so one tree pulled early may be the price of keeping the row. As for cost, those researchers quoted $3,000 to $8,000 in 2019 for a drone carrying the right camera. Prices have likely moved since then. That's within reach of a mid-sized grove, or of a scouting service shared among neighbors. It's also a reminder of what this technology is for, which is defense. The payoff from a drone flight is a tree that's still standing next season. None of this retires the scout on foot, and plenty of growers will go on trusting their own eyes over a camera. Eyes have one drawback, which is timing. What a person walking the rows can see is wilted leaves, and by the time leaves wilt the disease has had a head start. The sensible routine pairs the two methods. The drone flies on a fixed schedule and a person then walks out to every tree the imagery flags. After that the removal decision has to come fast, since a map of infected trees does nothing for a grower who sits on it. What Chef-Owned Farms Show Here's where the "fresher plates" half of the promise gets tested. At least some of the Miami kitchens with the shortest supply chains got there without any of this equipment. Chef Niven Patel built his reputation on a two-acre Homestead farm that grows produce for his restaurants, and what closes the distance there is ownership and a short drive, with no app required. That isn't an argument against the tools. It's an argument about sequence. A chef's two acres can't feed a city. The commercial groves could, and they're the ones that need sensors and software to stay in business, so the first job is keeping those farms solvent. Which restaurant ends up with the fruit is a question for afterward. Traceability, by Regulation Fourth is digital traceability, the one item here that regulators are forcing. A Food and Drug Administration rule requires extra recordkeeping for foods on a federal traceability list from the businesses that manufacture, process, pack or hold them. Compliance was originally due on January 20, 2026, and enforcement has since been pushed back to July 20, 2028. What's on that list matters a great deal in South Dade. The FDA's Food Traceability List covers fresh leafy greens, fresh tomatoes and fresh tropical tree fruits, which sweeps in much of what the Redland is known for. It leaves out avocados, which the agency classes as pit fruits. A packinghouse handling both mangoes and avocados will therefore run two sets of rules through one loading dock, and it should map which products are covered before buying any system. The delay shouldn't lull anyone in the produce trade. Lot codes assigned at the packinghouse and passed down the chain are what let a restaurant say which farm a mango came from and mean it. Diners at Miami's Michelin-starred restaurants are often told where an ingredient came from, and before long there should be records to check those stories against. Small packers will grumble about the cost, and they have a point, since scanners and software land hardest on the operations with the least office staff. Against that, consider what happens in a recall. If the problem can be pinned to a single lot, other growers shipping the same fruit that week may be spared. Nobody has to do everything at once, either. A packer could start by swapping lot-level records with one willing buyer this season, while the stakes are low, and see where the gaps are. Chefs and purchasing managers can help by asking suppliers for those records now. Salmon in Homestead Fifth, and the strangest sight in South Dade, is salmon. In Homestead, of all places, Atlantic Sapphire raises Atlantic salmon in tanks on dry land. How much fish is that? The company's first-quarter 2026 operational update puts the harvest for those three months at 1,504 metric tons. The quarter before, it was 1,183. For scale, the first phase of the plant was designed for something like 7,500 to 8,500 tons a year. It ranks low here for a plain reason. The engineering is impressive and the fish starts its trip far closer to Miami diners than anything flown in from Norway or Chile, but one company in one building is a bet, and the bet isn't settled. Investors have been told to expect EBITDA break-even by the end of 2026. If that arrives on schedule, the ranking here deserves another look, and until then promising is as far as the evidence goes. For restaurant buyers the practical reading is simple enough. Local land-raised salmon is worth putting on a menu, and it shouldn't be the only salmon supplier on the books while the business is still proving itself. Finfish also sit on the federal traceability list, so the recordkeeping habits described above apply here too. Indoor Greens and Their Limits Image by DepositPhotos Last comes the one with the best publicity, indoor hydroponic farming. Give it its due first. A warehouse grower a few miles from the kitchen can cut lettuce, herbs or microgreens in the morning and have them at the back door the same day. A field an hour's drive south has a harder time promising that to plant-based restaurants across Miami, which are the obvious buyers. On those crops the freshness claim is fair. The scale is worth seeing clearly. In one South Florida vertical farm profiled by Opportunity Miami, produce grows in 480 trays, about 40 percent of it is donated and the remainder is sold to restaurants and supermarkets, mostly in the Miami area. That's a useful business and a good neighbor. It is also a small number of trays set against the appetite of a whole county. The trouble starts with the crop list. Leafy greens are a sliver of what people eat, the lights and cooling run on Florida electricity bills, and it's hard to picture a stack of trays growing a mango, an avocado or a row of green beans at a price a family can pay. For now, indoor farms look like a garnish on the food system, and treating them as the main course lets everyone look away from the fields. The people running these farms deserve no blame for any of that. If a chef wants basil that was cut this morning, a warehouse two neighborhoods away is the right place to get it. It's still wise to ask what happens to the price over a year, and who the backup supplier is, before a menu gets built around one grower. The mistake is in the headline, when a few thousand square feet of greens gets described as the future of how Miami eats. Acres Decide the Rest There's also the awkward matter of where the harvest goes. Better yields in the Redland don't automatically mean more local food in Miami, because trucks tend to follow price, and the county's own shipping figure suggests price has pointed north for a long time. Technology makes the farm more efficient and has no opinion about the destination. The county seems to understand part of this. Its study with UF, released in October 2023, set out to evaluate emerging technological changes and to project how much farmland the industry needs to stay viable, and a county memo on the findings put the requirement at a minimum of 64,800 acres in 2030. The same memo counted 52,630 acres carrying an agricultural tax classification in September 2023, after a drop of more than 10 percent. The two figures are measured differently and shouldn't be subtracted from each other, but the direction is hard to miss. Reports are cheap, though, and zoning votes are where acres get won or lost. In 2025 a county commission vote cleared the way for roughly 700 townhomes on 90 acres of Redland farmland, and residents answered with a recall petition against the district's commissioner. Whatever one thinks of that project, it shows how quickly a grove can leave the ledger. Every one of the first three tools on this list makes an acre more productive. None of them makes an acre. Sensors will keep getting cheaper and the records tighter, and Miami should soon be able to trace a starfruit from grove to plate with a precision no earlier generation of diners had. Three kinds of readers can act on this now. Growers can take the tools in the order above, water first, then software, then scouting, and judge each by a season of their own numbers. Chefs and grocery buyers can ask for Redland fruit in season and for the lot records behind it. And anyone who eats here can follow the county's Agricultural Practices Advisory Board, which generally meets on the first Wednesday of each month in Homestead, because that's the kind of room where farmland policy gets argued. What the city may not have, by the time the system works perfectly, is the grove. Who's going to scan a code that leads back to a row of townhouses? By ML Staff. Images courtesy of DepositPhotos

Italian design brand Henge debuted its 2026 collection, Ritual Gravity, at its flagship showroom during Milan Design Week 2026. The presentation marked a significant expansion for the brand, introducing new product categories and a completely reimagined showroom experience. Shield Table by Ugo Cacciatori The collection title, "Ritual Gravity," represented the intersection of daily human presence ("Ritual") with the material intensity and permanence ("Gravity") that anchors Henge’s design philosophy. Reimagined Showroom Experience The Via della Spiga flagship underwent a full architectural makeover to frame the new collection. Visitors moved through a sequence of connected settings that featured: Updated Aesthetic: The space showcased new wall colors and refined architectural adjustments. Immersive Atmosphere: A renewed spatial composition was designed to blend architecture, material, and product into a cohesive living environment. New Collection Highlights The 2026 launch included several "firsts" for the brand, expanding its signature sculptural language into new areas of the home: Home Collection Bach Chair Horizon coffee table Henge Notte: The brand's first bedroom-focused collection debuted, featuring beds, wardrobes, and storage systems designed as intimate, calm living spaces. Home Collection: This marked a debut exploration into tabletop objects and hospitality rituals. Designed by Ugo Cacciatori and Yabu Pushelberg, the line included: One-of-a-kind stone plates shaped by natural character. Sand-cast trays and handcrafted Murano glassware. Signature Furniture: The exhibition featured new sculptural pieces, including the Shield Table and Horizon Coffee Table by Ugo Cacciatori. Strategic Collaborations Henge also unveiled a partnership with UNOX Casa, highlighting how high-performance kitchen technology can be integrated with refined material design. For this collaboration, Henge developed a bespoke Burnished Titanium finish for Unox Casa ovens, with the Model 1S featured prominently in the showroom. Beyond the flagship presentation, the brand once again participated in VOCLA, an evening social program developed in collaboration with Alcova. Connect with HENGE HENGE Miami Miami Design District; 4141 NE 2nd Ave #99; Miami, FL 33137, USA. Phone: +1 305-546-0646 Website: henge07.com Instagram: @henge__official Facebook: @henge07 By ML Staff. Photos: Courtesy of Henge.

Halloween in Miami 2026 brings a new location for House of Horror Haunted Carnival, which has moved to Tropical Park. For anyone comparing it with The Horrorland at Jungle Island, the key question is what each ticket includes. Both offer general admission starting at around $40, but additional costs for parking, repeat entry and rides can significantly affect the total price of an evening. For those willing to drive farther north, Fright Nights at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach offers a different format, with admission that includes credits for haunted houses and rides. Photo Credit: Nick Fewings/Unsplash The Comparison at a Glance Scare descriptions reflect organizers’ published effects and age guidance, not firsthand ratings or a standardized scale. Attraction Advertised admission Parking Scare profile Location House of Horror Haunted Carnival From $39.99 online; prices vary by night Included Intense main haunts, recommended for ages 16+; separate low-scare family area Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th St., Miami The Horrorland From $39.99, excluding tax $20 High intensity: close-range actors, confined passages, fog and strobe lighting Jungle Island, 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami Fright Nights $38.50 advance through October 7; $48.50 online from October 8 $10 per vehicle, card only Haunted houses not recommended for children under 12 South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach These are advertised rates, not a single comparable checkout total. Horrorland excludes tax, and Miami’s tourism bureau lists House of Horror’s starting price with additional charges indicated. Fright Nights labels its published admission rates as all-in pricing. House of Horror: A New Location and a Family Option House of Horror Haunted Carnival runs September 24 through November 1 at Tropical Park, replacing its previous Miami International Mall location. Admission includes unlimited haunted-attraction visits, unlimited carnival rides and parking. Food and drinks cost extra. The new House of Little Horrors provides a lower-scare alternative with children’s rides, a maze and photo opportunities. That makes the event an option for groups with different tolerances for horror, although the operator recommends the main haunted attractions for guests 16 and older. Hours are 6 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. The two announced closure dates, September 28 and October 5, have passed. The Horrorland: Close-Range Scares at Jungle Island The Horrorland lists its Halloween season from September 10 through November 1, with Thursday-through-Sunday hours of 7 to 10 p.m., subject to change. Its published warnings describe actors approaching within inches, startling sound, tight corridors, fog and strobes. The operator prohibits actors from touching guests. These features place it toward the intense end of this guide’s descriptive scale. General admission includes one entry to each haunted attraction, along with scare zones and live shows. Fast Pass starts at $69.99 and adds priority access and unlimited attraction entries. Food and drinks are separate purchases. The ticket page recommends ages 13 and older, while the FAQ recommends 16 and older for the full experience. Families should confirm admission requirements directly before booking for younger children. Fright Nights: A West Palm Beach Alternative Fright Nights is scheduled for October 8–10, 15–17, 22–24, 29 and 30. Its three haunted houses use a credit system: admission comes with 40 Fright Credits, with each house costing 10 credits and each ride costing five. That allocation covers one visit to each house plus two rides. It does not provide unlimited access, and the organizer cautions that waiting times can prevent guests from completing every haunt. The midway opens at 6 p.m.; haunted houses open at 7 p.m. Closing is 11 p.m. Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday. Advance admission remains $38.50 through October 7. The official ticket page also offers two Thursday admissions for $48.50, purchased ahead of time online; the offer is unavailable at the gate or on Thursdays after the season opens. By ML Staff. Photo(s)/Courtesy of each business/venue