Loulou's views

Summer is here and that means the television probably won't be turned on at all during the day. When the weather is nice out, we're never indoors—we're travelling, we're out exploring, and we're just taking in all the wonderful things that summer has to offer. And there is a lot to enjoy during our very short summer here in Ottawa. No matter how busy my days are, once the kids are asleep and my work is done, I love relaxing under the sheets with my favourite Netflix shows—House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black , ( have you seen Season Two yet? I'm so bummed I had to miss the screening in Toronto with the Netflix Stream Team!) and of course, my most favourite show of all time—Breaking Bad. I became addicted to Orange Is The New Black instantly, and of course, the same thing happened to me with Breaking Bad—can you say obsessed? I watched all five seasons of Breaking Bad in a few weeks. I watched three episodes a night and only stopped myself from watc

It's June, my most favourite month of all. Summer is finally here, the weather is beautiful, there is an excitement in the air because school is coming to an end for an another year, and it's vacation time. June is also a very bittersweet time, filled with cha-cha-cha-changes .... both good and bad. I volunteer at my children's school often, and right now, the kids are wilder than usual, the walls are no longer filled with art, projects and crafts, and the countdown to summer vacation is on. I've stopped caring about packing the perfect school lunch, and just randomly throw pieces of food in the lunch bag and go. My oldest son is finishing grade three, and he's already said good-bye to one of hist best friends who just moved to Nova Scotia. Promises were made to stay in touch, via emails and text messages, and already they are texting non-stop. It's adorable to see, even though it breaks my heart a bit, too.  His  other best friend is going to a different s

I'm a shopaholic, but I don't have a real strategy when it comes to shopping. I usually just walk into my favourite store or department store, and buy what I love. Sometimes I'll even avoid looking at the price tag if I really love something, because it might be too painful to see how expensive it is. This is not a good strategy, you guys. My favourite stores to shop at are Club Monaco, Gap, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, and BCBG. BCBG dresses are my favourite, but they are so pricey.... But... did you know you can buy your favourite BCBG dresses for more than half off? Ottawa's best kept shopping secret (well, Gatineau, but same thing, really!) is the BCBG outlet. A friend told me about this a few years ago and ever since then I always go shopping at the BCBG outlet for special events, or just because I feel like shopping. Everything in this store is 30-70% off, so you're really saving big on gorgeous BCBG evening wear, tops, skirts, jackets, shoes, and access

I love looking through old photo albums with my children, reminiscing of days gone by. The old albums at my parent's house and even my grandparent's home are filled with photos from my childhood, vacation photos, and pictures of all my birthday parties, complete with bad hair and awesomely tacky 80's clothes. I remember coming back from summer or winter vacation and running to the photo store to develop our rolls of film, anxiously waiting for that one hour to pass before we could have the pictures in our hands. The days before the selfie were much different, because we didn't really even know how many of our pictures would be "album-worthy." I know we take way more pictures now of our children than our parents took of us, thanks for our smartphones we have at the ready to snap pictures, all the time. The problem is, I have thousands of pictures of my children and family but hardly any albums or pictures printed out.  Thanks to Blurb , I just creat

I love everything about travelling except long line-ups at airports. If' you're prepared you can save a lot of time, though—and if you're travelling with children, you're going to want to make note of these great travel tips that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has shared with me, just in time for summer vacation. Gea ring up for a famil y trip? Flying with family is no simple task. Getting everyone packed, organized and ready to go through security with little fuss can present quite a challenge. Thankfully, the CATSA has a few pointers to help make your summer travel experience run smoothly. Know how to carry-on Children get hungry for snacks. You know this and you want to be prepared. Solid foods such as apples, granola bars or sandwiches can be packed in your carry-on for the plane ride. Any liquid food, such as yogurt, pudding or peanut butter, must be in containers of 100ml or less and placed in a clear, closed, resealable

Are you as excited as I am for summer vacation? With only a couple of weeks left before school is out and we head overseas to Greece, I thought it would be a great time to talk about travelling with the entire family. I was on CTV Ottawa Morning Live , talking about some of my favourite holiday spots—locations that are perfect for the entire family. Here's the link if you wanted to watch the entire segment ! Here are some highlights from the destinations I talked about on CTV:   Westin Diplmoat Resort and Spa : Heavenly Spa by Westin . 6,500 yards of championship golf course (and you can take private or group lessons.) Complimentary shuttle serve from the beach resort to the golf courses. Ten clay tennis courts with six lighted courts for evening games. One of the 50 Best Tennis Resorts in the world, and USPTA Professionals area available for private or group lessons. Westin Kids Club for kids 4-12 (Arts and Crafts, Swimming, Beach sports and explo

The two two things I love the most in this world, besides my family and friends, of course, is shopping and travelling. I love using my credit card when I go shopping because sometimes I don't want to know the damage I've done until later on... perhaps that doesn't make me the smartest shopper on the block, but I can find great deals when I'm out shopping, so that counts for something, and if I'm using the right credit card, every time I shop, I'm getting something back that repays me in a huge way—like earning free flights and vacations! Because I'm an avid Visa user, I love that with the TD Aeroplan Visa InfiniteCard, I can actually earn miles so I can start travelling sooner—isn't that wonderful? I love to travel, whether it's to somewhere new, or to a favourite vacation destination for me and my family, like south Florida. What happens to me is I start craving a new vacation as soon as I'm home from a vacation, because, well, I love to trav

I love planning my children's birthday parties, and most of the time, we have the celebrations in our home, even though kids are loud and crazy, because I love entertaining in my house. (Wine helps, too!) Usually with my oldest son we have his birthday party outside, since it's during the summer, and luckily, we've always had great weather.  We have a lot of fun with his parties—from ice cream stations to a cotton candy machine and popcorn machines, the kids always have a blast playing outside, and inside, too. We have games, crafts, and so much more, and it's such a memorable time.  For the last several years, we've had a great big pool party at my in-laws house, because they have a beautiful big backyard, with a great sized pool for all the kids (and adults!) to enjoy.  Nothing like a summer birthday party that includes a BBQ, friends, and swimming, right? We like to go all out for the cakes, too! Every year it's something different for both our