Back in black, literally

I returned from Arizona, tanned and relaxed with a few additional items in my suitcase. Most notably two new shirts from Banana, a new bra and a pair of panties from Victoria's, and a bunch of new cosmetics from Sephora (including a new bottle of Prada perfume. It's so fabulous!)

The heat in Arizona definitely made me (and everyone else) flock to the mall. I found the cutest dress at BCBG, which may very well be my new favorite store, but didn't buy it. Totally regretting it. I was also going to buy a new Coach purse, but the store was definitely lacking in classic yet fashion forward designs. Louis Vuitton's Speedy 25 was calling out my name from the LV store, but I couldn't justify the $550 cost, especially after losing $150 at the casino.

Arizona — Phoenix especially — was a ghost town with the 108 degree heat blazing. No one walked the streets, no one jogged, no one visited the outside shopping centers. I could barely find a place to eat that was open — right in downtown! Isn't this one of the largest cities in the U.S.?

I will say the desert is beautiful. I was out in Fountain Hills — home of the world's largest manmade geyser — right outside Scottsdale. No one bothered me at the pool, where I felt like a kid again doing underwater somersaults and the place was very quiet.

I found a local yoga studio — At One Yoga — and tried out a few classes there. All the instructors teach to music, which I found a bit challenging since it was hard to focus on your breath. But it was challenging nonetheless — my studio at home is heated to 100 degrees for the power vinyasa style I study and this studio was heated to 85 degrees. I was sweating the same regardless of the temperature difference, so the degrees were made up with cardio points.

So I came back home late Wednesday evening and was back at work promptly at 9:15 am the next morning. I bet a colleague of mine that my zen mood would last two hours. In reality, I made it to 2 1/2 hours. If anyone is looking to hire a motivated petite and fashion-loving editor looking to escape from a badly managed company, send me an e-mail.