Loulou's views

The Kick Diabetes Facebook contest is wrapping up, so if you haven't 'donated a kick' yet by selecting your favourite CFL team online, you should totally do it now. If you do this, you'll also have the chance to win one pair of 2014 CFL season tickets—isn't that almost better than a touchdown? (I don't know a lot about football, so maybe that's not totally accurate, but still!) Sun Life Financial, in partnership with the Canadian Football League (CFL), has committed to donating $101 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) every time a successful field goal is kicked during the CFL regular season, up to $40,000 in honour of the 101st playing of the Grey Cup Championship Game. It's all over on November 2nd, though! An additional $10,000 will be donated to JDRF in the city whose team gets the highest number of 'donated kicks' by the end of the regular season. (If you want all the details, check this out. ) If you'd like to he...

My duties as a blogger for MasterCard Stylicity are not as easy as you may think. Sure, I have to check out the amazing deals going on online and in Toronto's hot shopping spots, like Yorkville, and do some shopping (I know, I know!) but I also have to style my own version of the Canadian Tuxedo. I love new challenges, so of course I accepted, but hmm … what exactly would MY Canadian Tuxedo be? I'm pretty girly. I love a great little black dress… and I can't say no to a gorgeous pair of stiletto's. The Canadian Tuxedo, in case you weren't sure, is usually a pair of blue jeans and a jean jacket. I love my jeans, but I think I'm going a bit fancier for this. At first I thought I'd go with a little black dress with a twist, or a sexy pair of skinny jeans with a sparkly top, but then I fell in love with this red dress. It's  cute, sexy, and totally Canadian. I'd love to do something fun with this dress, and pair it with this pair of heels… to...

I am so excited to be a Stylicity blogger f or this year's World MasterCard Fashion Week! The program—now in its fourth season—brings WMCFW to the streets, offering MasterCard cardholders amazing offers at over 150 locations, in Toronto, and online... so we can all do some much-needed shopping, and receive some incredible deals. Stylicity is taking place until November 3rd. As a Stylicity Ambassador for MasterCard Canada during World MasterCard Fashion Week, one of my very important jobs is to do some online shopping. I know, tough gig, right? But let me tell you something—it's not easy at all! The deals? All amazing. The stores? Even more amazing. Need a new pair of booties or heels? Of course you do. You'll get 15% off at ALDO with your MasterCard during Stylicity.  How about 15% off at J.Crew ? I love everything J.Crew, especially Crewcuts for the kids! You can even do some online shopping at Neiman Marcus , my most favourite department store. You'll recei...

Edited to add: My oldest is now ten and has read every book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series at least three times. As long as he's reading, I'm happy! Now, with the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book coming out in a few weeks (it's called Old School) he's so excited! What I remember most about my childhood is how much time I spent reading. I always had a book with me, and I was happiest when my parents took me to the book store once a week. As a mom of two boys, there is one thing I never say no to: the purchase of a new book. Reading is so important to me, and now that my oldest is eight years old, I love to encourage him to read, too. He's currently reading the first book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid , and he's loving it. One of our favourites movies is Diary of a Wimpy Kid . (Along with Rodrick Rules and Dog Days. ) We've seen all three movies, and we've loved them (and laughed our way through them) all.  Today, I interviewed the author of these (s...

Today I surprised my children with a special treat—I took them (along with my mom!)  on a private tour of the Canadian Museum of Nature's nerve centre—the museum's Research and Collections Facility building in Gatineau. We're members at all of Ottawa's great museums, and we very frequently visit the Museum of Nature, or, as my boys like to call it: the dinosaur museum. My future scientist eight year old was in heaven today. He got to explore the huge facility, check out the research labs, meet a few scientists, palaeontologists, and curators. He walked around telling us what things were, more sure of himself than some of the folks working there!  We saw where over 1 million plants of all kinds are stored, pressed, and preserved. We saw some awesome (and huge!) minerals, dinosaur bones, and fossils. We saw the research labs—and lots of people in white lab coats. We even checked out the the Large Skeleton Room where a massive wall of antlers, whale bones, and skele...

There has been so much buzz lately about all the fabulous new stores making their way to Ottawa (finally!) One store that I've been hearing all my friends talk about non-stop? H&M . Everyone's favourite fashionable store with amazingly affordable prices is opening its doors in Ottawa, at Bayshore Shopping Centre on October 17th,  and I'm so excited be getting a look at the store before the grand opening. As if I wasn't excited enough already, H&M sent me this fabulous little white studded jacket. The perfect jacket for fall—great to wear with jeans, a little pencil skirt, and even a dress with tights and little booties—my staple fall outfit.  There are so many things I want to buy! Dresses... shoes... sweaters... I can't wait to take a look into the new store on October 15th during the private shopping night. A night of shopping, music, cocktails and friends is my kind of night! H&M in Ottawa is an amazing thing—I'm so excit...