Loulou's views

The holiday season is upon us and that means it's time for all thing festive--like shopping for everyone on your list!  This year, I tried to keep my shopping local so I could help support businesses in Ottawa that have struggled during the pandemic with numerous lockdowns. I was on Daytime Ottawa to talk about some great gift ideas from local  businesses, and you can watch the entire segment here to get some great ideas for shopping local this season.  Here are some great shopping ideas for those on your list this season: Beauty Check out Blush and Rose Beauty Bar, where you can pick up a gift card for a facial, pedicure, or manicure. This new salon in Ottawa's south end is so cute, and the service is excellent. I was lucky to enjoy a pedicure over the holidays, complete a glass of bubbly. You can also stock up on great Aveda products, candles, beauty essentials, and more.  In need of a massage? Check out Innes Massage Therapy in Ottawa's east end for excell...

On March 9th, I went away on a work trip to Toronto. I landed back in Ottawa the next day, March 10th, and the rest of the week was pretty normal, with some talk about things shutting down for two weeks because of the Coronavirus, and an increase number of cases in Ottawa. By then, we were all a little worried, especially for how bad the situation was in parts of Europe, like in Italy. On that Friday, our boys had their last day of school--grade 9 and grade 6--before March break began. Well, as we all now know, March break was just the beginning of kids being away from school, and for parents everywhere adapting to working from home, getting used to home schooling, zoom meetings, cooking, baking, and keeping busy at home while trying to not completely freak out with worry about the fact that we were living through a global pandemic. There was--and still is--so much uncertainty, and fear. But at the same time, we are slowly getting used to our new routines. And enjoying more family...