Loulou's views

This year we were rolling in the deep and moving it like Jagger. Britney got engaged, Jessica got pregnant, and the biggest wedding of the year took place in England. The world fell in love with Pippa, (sorry, Kate!) and everyone cheered when news broke about Osama, even those of us who thought UFO's had landed on earth , because what else could the breaking news so late at night be? As usual, all major news stories broke on Twitter first. 2011 was the year the world was supposed to end , with Rapture and dead birds and all, and yet, somehow, we survived. Take that, Kirk Cameron! People occupied Wall Street and a brilliant man who forever changed technology passed away, leaving us all to mourn on our iPhone's, in sadness while shaking our heads at the five people left on Earth who are still using Blackberry's. 2011 was a year filled with good news stories and awful, heartbreaking news. This past year was also one that was filled with amazing opportunities tha...

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Day! I'm hoping this year, no 9-1-1 calls to the fire department will be needed. I have given up on baking, the presents are wrapped, and I've stocked up on wine. I think I'm ready! How about you? I'm excited for tomorrow night, because Christmas Eve has always been the most magical night of all for me. It's the night my family celebrates the most, more than Christmas Day. I have amazing childhood memories of Christmas Eve. We would sit around the tree, eating and eating (and eating), waiting patiently for 11 p.m. so we could head off to church for midnight mass. (Of course, no Greek household on Christmas Eve is complete without some family fighting, usually about a soccer game or something political, but that's just part of the festive season, right?) We'd return home shortly after midnight, and sit down to a huge Greek feast. More eating, of course, followed by opening all the presents. The traditions continue with my children now...

Christmas is a week away, so it comes as no surprise that every other picture I'm seeing on Instragram is of someone's fabulous cookies that they just baked. Dozens of beautiful cookies, perfectly frosted with homemade icing and dazzling sprinkes. I'm also reading Facebook status after Facebook status of: "Baked six dozen gingerbread men cookies today for my cookie exchange, and a chocolate layer cake, and then I cooked a seven course dinner for my family while polishing my silver and did two back-to-back Body Pump classes!" Okay, maybe not that extreme, but you know what I mean. There are some serious bakers out there, yo. For some bizarre reason, I get the urge to bake every weekend. I start out all excited, and use Twitter as my Google, asking questions to people I know are excellent in the kitchen. "What IS buttermilk? Is it, like, cream?" "What is a pound of butter? 4 sticks?" "Is parchment paper the same as wax paper?" "Is...

I'm happy to report that most of my Christmas shopping is complete. Of course, there are several people on my list I haven't shopped for yet, but I'm strange and I love waiting for the last minute to shop. I like being a mall in the middle of the afternoon on December 24th. Call me crazy, but it's something I love to do. Every year I give my children typical presents I know they'll love—things they've asked for, from LEGO to books to DVD's. We also donate to CHEO and give several new items to children who are with the Children's Aid Society, as well as drop off toys for the Toy Mountain, because the best part about the holiday season is giving , especially to those less fortunate than us. Something else I love doing for my children every year is getting them something extra special. A gift that won't lose value over time and a gift they'll cherish for years to come. My six year old is into collecting special coins and gold bars . He absolutely l...

Thanks to L'Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts. I love make-up. Let me rephrase that: I love make-up. There are two types of stores I could spend countless numbers of hours in: a book store, and a make-up store. Sephora after-hours? Yes, please! Or, any make-up counter, on earth? I'm so there. I have so many tubes of lip gloss I have lost count. You could say I'm a little obsessed. Some people keep buying new shoes, but me? I buy new make-up every chance I can. Make-up is always the right size, always brightens my look, and doesn't damange my bank account in a bad way. I wear the same eye shadow, eye liner, lip gloss and blush almost every day and I've gotten so good at applying my own make-up I can practically do it in the dark without looking like a clown. But for evenings and special events, I love to try new looks. And now that the holidays are here, I l...