Loulou's views

One of my favourite things about the holiday season is the shopping. I love giving back to local charities and organizations, like CHEO and The Shoebox Project, and I enjoy buying presents for my family (especially my boys!) and my friends. December is the busiest month of all, with work, social events, and hosting parties, so I try to plan ahead as much as I can, and check things off my to-do list daily.  Here are my holiday shopping tips and some great gift ideas to help you get through this hectic season with ease: One-Stop Shopping I can spend countless hours in Chapters-Indigo with my children selecting new books to add to our 'to-read' pile. Chapters-Indigo is the best one-stop shop for holiday gifts, too. They have something for everyone on your list, including technology, like Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones, to home decor, journals, toys, accessories, and stylish items like purses, scarves, and hats. Whether you're shopping in-store or online at indi...

It's giving Tuesday, and I love the idea of giving gifts that give back. CanadaHelps is a registered non-profit charity—basically, a one-stop shop for donating and fundraising online for any registered Canadian charity. Our mission is to promote – and ultimately increase – charitable giving in Canada. Because we’re a non-profit our fees are typically half that of the for-profit alternatives. We do this servicing Canadian donors, charities and corporations. If you're out of ideas and you've already checked out my holiday gift guide , but still haven't found what you're looking for, I'm giving away THREE $10 gift cards to CanadaHelps that you can gift to anyone you want to give them to. Here's what you have to do: 1. Go to CanadaHelps.org and find a charity you'd like to support by doing a search. 2. Choose Charity Gift Card as your method of payment at checkout. 3. Feel great about giving back and giving someone a gift they'll love...

Mother's Day is around the corner and while I'm not overly sentimental, I love giving (and receiving) on this special day. What I receive from my boys that I love and appreciate the most are personal tokens of love and affection that come from the heart. A handwritten card is pretty much all I need to make me completely happy on Mother's Day, or any day of the year, for that matter. The gifts my boys give that come from the heart mean so much to me. When I receive other types of sweet gifts, I'm also very thankful. Gifts like spa treatments ,   luxurious hotel stays , and jewellery always make great gifts. I was given this gorgeous personalized necklace by my Stella and Dot Independent Stylist, Kristy Price , recently, and I wear it almost every day. It's the perfect engravable necklace and it goes with almost everything I wear. It was a special early Mother's Day gift I received, and now I want to give you a special Mother's Day gif...

We're over the excitement and craziness of the holidays, and we've settled back into our daily routine quite nicely. Despite the freezing cold temperatures we've been dealt, I'm thankful for our daily routine. After school, although we're busy with activities and tennis lessons and Cubs, I always find time to spend quality time with my boys, so we can talk about our day, and truly connect. I cherish every moment—truly. I miss my boys when they were toddlers and young children; but now, it's an entirely new world of fun. I love seeing and learning about the things they are interested in; reading, writing, building LEGO, playing Mario Kart and Minecraft and spending time on their iPads actually playing educational games and learning while they're online. My oldest son is devoted to science and math; my youngest son loves to use his imagination with play, writing, and creating. They are very different, and yet similar in many ways; for example, they both love...

It's the season for baking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, hosting, partying, attending Christmas concerts, and celebrating with family and friends. It is a busy month, to say the least, and I love giving gifts that I know people will love and really appreciate—like a gift card to WaySpa. I love spa days and I love being a Brand Ambassador for WaySpa, because it's my job to test out different spas every month and blog about my experience. It's aways a wonderful and relaxing time, and I think that a gift card to WaySpa would make an excellent gift for everyone on your shopping list. Here are the TOP FIVE  reasons to give the gift of a WaySpa gift card this holiday season to the people on your shopping list: 1. It's a simple way to shop—just go to Wayspa.com  and with a click of a button, your gift card has been purchased. 2. You don't have to worry about wrapping your gift. Just put your gift card in a cute little box, or inside a holiday card, and y...

Mother's Day is almost here and that means I'll be spending the day with my family, thankful for the great gift of being a mom to the two greatest boys. Although the most meaningful gifts are those made with love, like personal cards and crafts, receiving something extra is always nice. After all, every mom deserves something special on Mother's Day. I've put together a complete gift guide for Mother's Day, featuring products I think will speak to every mom out there. Here's my Mother's Day segment on CTV Ottawa Morning Live , so you can see and hear for yourself how great these products are. I  couldn't  talk about everything in length on-air, but I've got  the  full rundown for you here. The complete Mother's Day Gift Guide: Books:   Books as gifts are always a good idea—for any occasion, especially Mother's Day. If I only received books as presents for the rest of my life, I'd be very happy. Here are some books that are gr...

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! I hope you'll all get the chance to celebrate with the ones you love. The most important thing I love to receive on Valentine's Day are hugs and kisses from my boys, and hand-made cards. Those are the things I cherish the most, always. If you're looking for some great Valentine's Day gift ideas, check out my segment from today's CTV Ottawa Morning Live. I've got a ton of great gift ideas from Holt Renfrew and some cute stuff from Pottery Barn Kid s, too! I love the adorable Valentine's Day cards from Pottery Barn Kids, because they're great for everyone, boys and girls, of any age. Also, they are so very retro, no? So cute. My boys especially love the little mail box you can attach to the back of the chair to receive your love notes—it was so adorable! Enjoy, and Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo

"Cherish every moment" were probably the wisest words of advice I received when I was pregnant. Looking at how big my boys are now, it's hard to remember that once upon a time, they were snuggled tightly in their blankets, sleeping peacefully in their cribs. There are so many amazing memories I have of my children as babies, and truthfully, they'll always be my babies, no matter how big they get. There are definitely things I don't miss about the baby stage, though. Like the diapers. If you're a mom, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say it felt like half the day was spent just changing diapers... over and over again! When I was pregnant for the first time, selecting all the things I needed for my baby registry was fun but a little stressful. The one item I was told to put on my list was the Diaper Genie . Once my baby was born, I made good use out of the Diaper Genie. It's no wonder the Playtex Diaper Genie is the best selling diaper ...