desert

This 4th of July is, according to AAA, the busiest ever, with 40.7 million people hitting the roads. A lot of those people are headed to Las Vegas, which is the summer's number one travel destination, where they can relax in luxury and hope to strike it rich. In Vegas, they are sure that this holiday weekend is setting a trend that will prompt more and more travelers to hit the strip. Preparing for all those additional guests, MGM has finally begun construction on a $7-billion dollar resort, called Project CityCenter. While we covered the plan last year, the company poured the foundation over the weekend.

 The 66-acre complex will feature a total of 7 towers, acres of retail space and 12,000 permanent jobs. Two of the towers will be residential, one will be a hotel/condo complex and two will be turned into luxury hotels. There will also, of course, be a casino. One hotel, a "lifestyle hotel," is slated to have a "shimmering facade" and a lot of ambiance. The other is going to be a five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel that will "respond to the desert environment and climate."

The name of the Sedona Shopper is a dead giveaway that the bag is supposed to evoke the southwestern desert, but I can't help but think of the beach when I look at it. The textured, sand-colored leather accented with pink and turquoise stones just reminds me of the LA coastline. This is in no small part because that color scheme was co-opted by the city in the 1990s and is heavily present in the signage around town. Beach or desert, both are sunny all year round, making this tote a great summertime choice. Price: $198.