It's a great day to read a love story

Happy Valentine's Day, darlings! May this day bring you lovely surprises. Be loving and be loved :)

I heard a real life love story on the radio this morning so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. It was a classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, after 45 years, girl finds boy, girl and boy marry. The story began in the 1950s, Charlotte was 16, the beautiful daughter of a strict missionary in Taiwan. Tony was 21, a military officer stationed there. They met at a party. Charlotte in a gorgeous curve-hugging white Chinese sheath dress caught Tony's eye. It was love at first sight. They secretly dated, they were madly in love, they were each other's first love. Tony proposed to Charlotte after only 4 months. When she showed the ring to her father, he was enraged and did not acknowledge their engagement and forbade her to see Tony. Shortly after, on a fateful night, Charlotte fainted and was rushed to the hospital. It turned out that she had been pregnant for 2 months and had a miscarriage. Imagine the wrath of her father! He threatened to file charges on Tony for saturetory rape. Charlotte stood up to her father but eventually had to agree to go back to the U.S. in order for him to drop the charges. She kept the miscarriage a secret from Tony and left. Tony was devastated but there was nothing he could do. He thought she didn't love him the way he thought she did. For the next 45 years, they each had many hardships in their lives. Charlotte's marriage faltered. Tony was an alcoholic for 20 years and two of his daughters died. Charlotte kept searching for Tony, sent numerous letters that were returned because he changed his station frequently, she even hired private investigators to no avail. Then one day, she saw an ad for reconnecting people from your past on Internet. She signed up for the service. Lo and behold, the service provided her with a phone number -- Tony's! She called and left a message. Tony couldn't believe his ears when he heard it. He was stunned and incredibly happy. They reconnected by emailing each other. She finally told him the secret she carried solely for so many years. He felt shamed, guilty and tremendous responsibility to make her happy again. She asked to see what he looked like after so many years. He was shy to send her his pictures because he had ballooned up to 260 pounds. Charlotte still remembered the 21-year-old Tony with a lean and healthy body and with those striking blue eyes. He was a hunk! When he did send her pictures, Charlotte said her feelings for him did not change from the feelings she had for the handsome young man she loved. But she encouraged him to lose weight. He lost 100(!) pounds in 4 months. He jokingly said she would not marry him if he remained fat. They married after 6 months and lived happily ever after. This story re-enforces my belief in the notion of "Love conquers all". When you have love, what problem can't be overcome? Time, distance, even weight, can not stand in the way of love.

If you are in the mood to read a love story, may I recommend Enduring Love by Ian McEwan?

Wish list - books

Is everybody compiling their Christmas wish list? My friends and I are doing ours and comparing them. Ours are huge! Granted, many of the things are true dream items, but there are a lot that I really want. I'm dividing them into categories. Of course I won't be heartbroken if I don't get them. I'm a simple girl and easy to please. But just in case Santa's really listening, my list is long. I love reading. There are so many books, fashion related or otherwise, that I want to read. Buying a boatload of books at once can be expensive though, so I'm always happy to receive books as gifts.
These are the fashion books that I want to read. By the way, I'm reading Posh Spice's That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between. It's surprisingly good. Some of the stuff is pretty basic, but she also has good tips. However, I think she should listen to her own advice when she says you shouldn't hoist your boobs so high up to your nostrils, hahaha!

Anyway, I've heard nice things about these books (or not so nice things, but I don't like to discriminate any books that I haven't read). Hopefully I'll get to read them all.

The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia $12.21

Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style (Tim Gunn's Guide to Style) $12.21

Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour by Rachel Zoe $16.49.

In Style: Style 101 by Editors of In Style Magazine $16.47

Things a Woman Should Know About Style (Things A Woman Should Know Series) by Karen Homer $10.20

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 19471957 by Claire Wilcox $64.66

Tribute to Chanel vintage sale at YOOX.COM!!

What is better than vintage Chanel?! Ladies, whether your wallet allows or not, you simply must click over to Tribute to Chanel Vintage Sale on YOOX.COM (ends Dec 15)! Your love for fashion and style will not allow it if you don't. Treat yourself a comprehensive collection of vintage Chanel. YOOX.COM launches the sequel to their Tribute to Chanel vintage sale, which, when it launched two weeks ago, sold out in just 24 hours. The online pieces show off house signatures: Quilted bags, pearls of every measure, camellia-strewn belts and necklaces, and tweeds are all in the mix. Holly Brubach, former style editor of the New York Times, helped curate the selection and has included some collectibles from her personal archive. Pieces are selling out faster than I can type this post. Check now!!

YOOX.COM takes a trip through time with Coco Chanel and her Maison, whose style remains as influential and cherished as ever. For months, the fashion experts at YOOX.COM have been selecting unforgettable pieces from around the world: from Paris to Milan to New York where Holly Brubach the former Style Editor of the New York Times and celebrated author of fashion books handed over various pieces from her private collection. An extraordinary selection of precious items will be featured including hard-to-find signature styles and classic everyday treasures that make perfect gifts for those wanting something truly unique.

Coco Chanel's famous quote: "Women are always overdressed but never with enough elegance" that today has even more of a profound meaning. Almost a century ago, Gabrielle Chanel astonished the world changing women's fashion forever. She promised ladies a never-seen-before combination of elegance and comfort; the freedom of "moving ones arms and walking quickly."

Grandchildren of this innovation, women of the third millennium yearn for what was once considered the masculine uniform including tweeds that were sculpted perfectly to the body resulting in the ultimate feminine silhouette. After decades of success, the Chanel jacket lives on today adapting itself to contemporary styles looking as good with a pair of jeans as with a formal skirt.

YOOX.COM's virtual voyage departs from the ballroom at The Ritz, Paris, 1930s when Coco reflected, "to dress women in black and white for a ball - you can see only them." These are her colors, simple and elegant. Gabrielle changed how women dressed, "before me, nobody had enough courage to dress in black". She continued, "black is so strong, so noble that when people see you it remains forever in their memory."

Gabrielle's intuitions were genius: why would women need to change for each appointment throughout the day? Tea, cocktails and dinner. A dress with two pieces must allow one to leave in the morning and remain in perfect attire even for an elegant meal. In 1930 just as it is in 2007. Tweed jackets and suits provide an eternal luxury while jersey (another one of her hallmark fabrics) allows complete freedom.

From the 1930s, Coco designed jewelry to accessorize cloths. Pearls of every measure, faux diamonds and gold toned metals combined in stunning designs; her costume jewelry was the perfect accompaniment for her couture creations. Of the pearls, she commented: "I just simply won't start working without all my pearls."

Gabrielle Chanel's favorite flower, the camellia, inspired her very first jewelry pieces and remains to be the symbol of her brand and a reoccurring theme throughout her creations. For her there were hundreds of ways to wear her favorite flower.

CHANEL Medium leather bag $2,040. Production date: 1980s.

CHANEL BOUTIQUE BLACK LONG DRESS
$4,050. Production date: 1980s.

CHANEL BOUTIQUE RED LONG DRESS
$1,540. Production date: 1980s

CHANEL LONG DRESS $550.

CHANEL SET $4,380

CHANEL NECKLACE $1,170. Production date: 1980s.

THE WORLD OF COCO CHANEL $53

Hell Yeah!

Would you take fashion advice from this woman?

If you say yes, then her book on style is coming out soon.

THAT EXTRA HALF AN INCH. $31.68 for hardcover, $13.57 for paperback if you pre-order.

The Nip Tuck Workout

Dr. Bruce Nadier, a celebrity-certified personal trainer and retired plastic surgeon, has parlayed his surgical skills into a workout program that promises to care the perfect curves without going under the knife. His new book, The Nip Tuck Workout: Exercise through the Eyes of a Plastic Surgeon ($15.19 amazone.com) ,outlines a form of resistance training that uses rubber bands and weights to target specific muscles in the arms, legs and buttocks. I'm interested in reading this book from a retired surgeon's perspective. I wonder if he knows any tips that other fitness professionals don't.

(Source: Elle Canada September issue)

Ask Petite Chou - more books to read

So this was in the comments of Ask Petite Chou - what books have you read lately?, "Do you have any other recommendations? I read every chick lit on your list minus knocked up (I didn't enjoy the movie). Anyway, I'm a total Sophie Kinsella fan. If you can recommend some great books, that'll be awesome!"

Sure thing, my dear. There are so many fun books that are my list that'll make your day lounging by the pool extra relaxing. Check 'em out. I won't spoil anything for you.

The Shoe Queen $11.20

School of Fortune $10.36

How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls $11.19

A Match Made on Madison $11.16

Frenemies $11.19

How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great $13.57

What are you reading? I'd love to hear about your lastest favorite books!!

Ask Petite Chou - what books have you read lately?

So a dear reader asks, "You mentioned before that you are a big chick lit fan. I'm sorta getting into it now. I need some suggestions on what books to read. What have you read lately? What do you recommend?"

Yes, darling, I love chick lit. I don't care if the real literary people call them shallow and frivolous. I believe gals who read chick lit novels are happy gals because the books ARE light-hearted and humurous, and they teach you, at the end of the day, not to take things so seriously and just live your life.
The last few books I read are these ones.


Wiped!: Life with a Pint-size Dictator $11.16, by my favorite Canadian newspaper columnist/novelist Rebecca Eckler. It's a followup to her first book, Knocked Up: Confessions of a Modern Mother-to-be $7.97, that I read a couple of years ago. She chronicled her "accidental" pregnancy and the first two years after her baby's birth in these two books. They are incredibly hilarious and brutally honest (She calls her baby the Dictator). You don't have to be a mom to read them. She received some scathing reviews from critics. But who cares about the critics?!

Shopaholic & Baby (Shopaholic) $16.32. Now you can't talk about chick lit without mentioning Sophie Kinsella and her adorable Shopaholic. I read this one a few weeks ago. Hilarious as usual. At one point, you might find yourself wanting to whack her on the head. That's 'cause you feel really connected to her. In the end, I was amazed and even inspired by Shopaholic's outlook on life. She LOVEs life and all the people around her.

Shoe Addicts Anonymous $17.12, the book I'm reading now. I'm a shoe addict myself, hehe.

The Manny $16.50. You've probably heard of this one by now. It's so popular I cannot get my hands on a copy at the library. I can't wait to read it!

I have many more to recommend but the list will get too long. And on an off topic, I'm also a horror book junkie. Yep, quite the two polar opposites huh? I'm extreme. If you want me to recommend any good horror books/writers (and I don't mean Stephen King, his books aren't scary), let me know!