Luck is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career by John D. Krumboltz Ph.D., and Al S. Levin, Ed.D

Ever since I read Change Your Luck, Change Your Life by Dr. Richard Wiseman, I've been fascinated with the concept of "luck", and what it really means. This paragraph really resonated with me:

"What If I Don't Like the Field for Which I Trained?

You can do something else. But you are thinking: "I have made the tremendous investment of time, money and energy, and now I don't like it?! How ungrateful! How wasteful!" Shame on you , they (and you) might think. You will feel guilty and feel a sense of obligation to continue working in this occupation that you now find so distasteful.

But it is nonsense to continue working in a job that you hate. You have the rest of your life ahead of you. Why should you suffer for the rest of your life because of a decision you made years ago?! You can learn to change."

The rest of book is filled with semi-helpful advice such as trying out your job first by volunteering or taking a couple of classes, but overall this book is about creating your own luck. The "create your own luck" concept was better explained in the book by Dr. Wiseman, rather than this book. This book is useful to read if you are having doubt about your career. Overall, this book was mediocre filled with too many "stories" of success.

• A site I enjoy: Passive Aggressive Notes

Harper's Bazaar Great Style: Best Ways to Update Your Look - Jenny Levin

As per usual, this fashion book dictates the classics "white shirt", "black suit" and "a little black dress" all of which I have (in multiples)

I disagreed with book on items you can "save on":

Jeans - Designer jeans such as Seven, Rock & Republic and Citizens of Humanity just fit better all around. It's worthwhile splurging $200 on a pair of jeans. The book also says it's okay to put jeans in the dryer, when it really wrecks the denim.  

Pants and skirts - the book's theory is that you can save on these items because people rarely ever see your bottoms when you are sitting most of the time. However, great fitting pants and skirts make the suit. While Club Monaco pants may look like Theory pants, Club Monaco pants wear out a lot faster than Theory pants because they are made of a thinner fabric. 

Button-ups - the book states one can save on them because they get worn out a lot. However, a dress shirt from Theory will inevitably look crisper than one from H&M (where I see they make button up shirts, but the fabric just looks "cheap"). 

I also disagreed with how many things you should have in your wardrobe as the "bare minimum", especially for 5 dresses. The book recommends "2 for day, 1 short for cocktails, 1 long for formal and 1 special knock 'em dead frock". This list does not work for every lifestyle and I would say the cocktail dress, formal dress and knock 'em dead dress depends on where you spend your leisure time.

Overall, this book provides good general fashion advice with celebrities being used as examples. The book is very InStyle-ish, in that sense.

Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue in Chic Peek Behind the Pose by Paris Hilton

While I never expected Paris Hilton's book to be filled with ground breaking observations, I didn't know she be so... vapid. One can only enjoy the book ironically. 

Oh, Paris - where do I begin?

• She claims she was the trailblazer for heiresses to do runway modeling, "By being brave - and channeling my "inner heiress" - I created a new opportunity for young heiresses.
• Her dubious advice includes, "...if you expect people to do things for you, they will," and that, "A true heiress is never mean to anyone - except a girl who steals her boyfriend"
• She also advises, "Act ditzy. Lose things. It throws people off and makes them think you're "adorable", and less together than you really are."

Her observations include that, "...Paris without the P is "heiress", isn't it?" Fascinating.

The only point where she redeems herself is the chapter where she canvasses her fashion mistakes that she has made.

Reading Sex and the City - Edited Kim Akass and Janet McCabe

This book is a collection of essays dissecting Sex and the City from an academic perspective as most writers have Masters/Doctorates in Media Studies and the like. This book is enjoyable for a person that has watched all the episodes of Sex and the City and enjoyed dissecting English novels in high school and university. Most writers make some interesting links and observations, and this book provides a new intellectual perspective to the show.

EDIT: Just discovered another website that I like -  Lifehackery.com.  Basically, I like any website with the words Lifehack in it. I like reading Lifehacker.com and lifehack.org :)

That Extra Half an Inch - Hair, heels and everything in between
Victoria Beckham

As part of guilty pleasure summer reading, I read That Extra Half an Inch by Victoria Beckham. Victoria Beckham is conversational in tone and humble, "In most respects I am very ordinary...normal height, normal face, normal hair: the girl-next-door who got lucky."  The conversational tone turns into too many run on sentences,  very stream of consciousness and sounds too much like a blog post.  This book could have used some editing to make it "tighter" with more headings, bullet points and lists.

She starts off with vague recommendations on how to find jeans, "The ideal pair of jeans is flattering, comfy and sexy and that tends to mean blue, slim and boot cut," and blatantly devotes part of her book to advertising Rock and Republic jeans when she designed for them.  Beckham also says, "As for colour, the absolute worst one for most body shapes is powder blue. Not only does it look fifteen years ago but it is guaranteed to make your legs look twice as wide as they actually are, which, in my experience, is not generally what women want from their jeans." However, she creates a pair of jeans that are powder blue in her own collection.  I appreciated her fashion advice ranged from designer brands to high street recommendations.

There were some quotes that definitely amused me when she makes recommendations for flowers at a wedding, "...don't include carnations - they are far too petrol station for your wedding day." This reminded me of when Charlotte from SaTC was appalled if a guy were to give her carnations. Another quote that amused me is, "Remember that episode of Friends when they all went to Barbados and Monica's hair went totally mental in the heat?" For some reason, I can't picture Victoria Beckham sitting at home watching Friends. For the record, Monica's hair went mental because of the humidity.

I did like her recommendation to visit the Marc by Marc Jacobs in New York because it is the best place in the world for lower price point designer items such as, "...Marc Jacobs coloring pencils, pretty plastic compacts, animal-shaped pencil sharpeners and sweet little pens, all under $20."

I agree with Victoria Beckham's fashion opinions regarding Baby Dior, "...someone gave Cruz some Baby Dior, which I love, and it was one of my favourite baby gifts. But designer outfits aren't of course, hugely practical.  In less than five minutes my kids will have covered their cloths with mud and grass stains from playing football in the garden." I agree with her that Diptyque candles make great gifts (I have given one myself) and the Laura Mercier bath line absolutely smells amazing. Another tidbit I learned is that Manolo Blahnik makes candles.

Overall, this book is a nice "fluff" piece.

Went to Wildflower Grill again tonight. It appears that I'm a bit obsessed with this restaurant as it is my third time visiting this restaurant. There is a waiter with an incredible memory because he said, "You've been here before, and this is your third time." I commended him for his fantastic memory because he wasn't even the waiter that served me that last two times I was there, it was Adam. 

The amuse bouche was crab. They also served the brioche bread. May agreed it tasted like bread from T&T supermarket, but better. I never get tired of that bread. I had the lamb cooked rare, and it was really good. Flavorful and tender with seasonal vegetables. It also came with brioche bread, but it tasted like a "long donut" that is served with congee at Chinese restaurants. I had the Chocolate Tasting for dessert it was as good as it was last time. What sets Wildflower Grill from other restaurants is the servers take time to explain what is being served with fantastic adjectives and the presentation.  They "romance the product". May noticed how the berries in her dessert was served in a slanted glass which was cool and unusual. 

Went to the Farmer's Market on Jasper and 104th again today for lunch. Went to Two Amigos Taqueria Autentico stand where they served really simple tacos. The tacos are not filled to brim like Taco Bell. The pita was really small, and they cook the meat in front of you. I had two tacos (beef and barbacoa) and a can of Coke for $6.15.  We had just got there before the rush and the line up doubled. I thought the wait for the order to be taken and the wait for the food was too long, and it wasn't that fabulous to warrant the lineup.

• Went to Farmer's Market on Jasper Ave and 104th Street which is number 5 of "Things White People Like" (a tongue in cheek website). I went specifically for Whimsical Cupcakes. I got 6 assorted cupcakes ($14), and they look delectable.
• ohhayitskk introduced me to the fabulousness of the website www.surfthechannel.com. Full episodes of How I Met Your Mother, the Office and Gossip Girl. I caught up on episodes that I missed during finals. "Night Out" from the Office, and the "Blair Bitch Project" from Gossip Girl.
• Songs that been on repeat on my iPod - "Everything" by Lifehouse. I also discovered Patrick Nuo who is a pop singer that is popular in Germany. My favorite songs are  "Beautiful" and 5 Days. He's also *really* gorgeous!  I love summer because I randomly discover things I like by meandering on the internet. The song 5 Days sounds like I've heard it before from TV or a movie.
• I've linked to teenfashionista before for her breezy fashion observations, but currently she is exploring New York because she is interning in Teen Vogue which I love reading about.  While Miss Couturable is on hiatus until June 8 - she will be interning at Seventeen this summer and I can't wait to read about it. Her back posts are worthwhile reading as well.  When I was 12, I thought interning at a fashion magazine is the ultimate cool experience (and I still do).

My friend is completing her Masters degree in Experimental Medicine and today went to Thesis Defence. Her talk was public for 1/2 hour, and I didn't even understand the title of her presentation because it was *so* far beyond my science of knowledge. However, she was poised and confident.

Blue Plate Diner
10145 -104 Street

Went to Blue Plate Diner tonight for dinner. I had their Chicken Roma as it was their Friday night special. Described as, "Pan seared and oven roasted chicken breast topped with a pancetta-rosemary tomato sauce and shaved parmesan cheese. With garlic & green onion polenta fries and grilled vegetables. ($21). The chicken was tender, but the tomato sauce didn't stand out. Loved the green onion polenta fries, they were gigantic and tasty. I could have had a whole bowl of them. 

My only qualm about their Friday night menu is that they used old Holt Renfrew marketing material from 5 years ago! Holt Renfrew used to have fall theme events such "Flick" - celebrates movies and fashion, "Vinyl" music and fashion. One year, they had "Viva Italia" where they created a poster and picture of a girl riding a Vespa with her hair tied back. Blue Plate Diner used this picture on their menu. Boo to copying old advertising material. 

Then went to Sobeys on Jasper and 104th for cake.  Sobey's is a new grocery store that opened in the heart of downtown and there is a lot of media buzz around it. I ordered the gourmet cupcake for $2.50 - but it wasn't as moist as Crave cupcakes in Calgary or Heather and Lori's Cupcakes in Vancouver.

Holt Renfrew received in the above spandex leggings with zippers on the bottom in multiple colors for $120. While I agree they are ultra trendy and would look cute under a black dress - but I am very against neon colored items. I went down to Whyte Ave yesterday, and Paper Denim and Cloth are making flourescent yellow (read: highlighter yellow) jeans. While I am happy some of the things of my youth have returned (CW's remake of 90210), flourescent clothing is not one of them. 

Teenflo will be opening a boutique in Vancouver. Teenflo is normally carried at Holt Renfrew and Blu's in Edmonton. They have improved their offerings to be less dowdy, I'm psyched they opened a separate boutique because it will improve their reputation. Filosophy on Whyte has started carrying Joeffer Coac (a Canadian designer). While I love the draping detailing, $245 for a top is pricy.