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

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... well, not quite yet. There is still no snow . There was, for a couple of days, but it melted with our warm temperatures. However, this lack of snow doesn't make me feel any less festive. (Which makes me wonder... maybe Christmas in Florida wouldn't be so bad, after all?) After a fabulous giveaway with one of my favourite toy stores, Tag Along Toys , it's time for my second holiday giveaway ! This time, with Mastermind Toys . Mastermind Toys has been selling toys for children for over 26 years, and with 13 years selling online, they know a thing or two about what the hottest toys of the season are! I lost track of time when I was looking through their online store, because there are so many items to choose from. Mastermind Toys also has 11 stores in and around Toronto, so if you prefer shopping in-store rather than online, you can do that, too. Two of their most popular items this holiday season? The SmartLab Weird and W

If I could go back in time to give younger me some advice, it would be something like this: "It gets so much better. You'll get braces. And your hair will be awesome one day." Followed by: "What are you thinking?" I came across pictures in my mom's closet where I was looking for Christmas presents last week. It was sort of like opening pandora's box. Well, maybe not that bad, but almost. I have mostly happy memories of my childhood, mixed with a very awkward stage that a lot of us went through. Those God-awful middle school years. I'm convinced this had everything to do with bad hair, pre-waxed eyebrows, shoulder pads, and acid-washed, high-waisted jeans that were always too short. And awful purple Bonne Bell lip gloss. I was the queen of bad hair. Having naturally curly hair can be a blessing and a curse, depending on if you know what to do with it. I did not. Clearly, my parents didn't know how to deal with it, either, so when I was 9 years

It's official. I'm feeling festive. Despite the lack of snow and the unseasonably warm weather, I am so excited that the holidays are almost here. Seriously. Only one month left! It seems we went from trick-or-treating to deck-the-halls in no time at all. I start feeling a little festive the day I see the red cups at Starbucks. They make me so excited... and anxious! The panic is slowly setting in. The calendar is filling up quickly with holiday parties and events, Christmas lists are being made, shopping is about to get started, baking will soon commence, (God help me) and presents will need to get wrapped. (My area of expertise!) Well, I'm here to offer you some relief, at least in the shopping department. I'm like Santa's little helper, red hat and all. Every week until mid-December, I'll be having a holiday giveaway with some of my favorite stores, just for you... just for your children! Last year, I was fortunate enough to work with Tag Along Toys on a

"SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!" Buddy the Elf "Mommy, does Santa ever die?" my six year old was full of questions on our drive home tonight. Yes, the best conversations always happen when I'm driving with my boys. I ask my children about their day, who they played with, what they learned, if they ate all their lunch, and so on. Conversations, back-and-forth, between my boys and I. Moments I cherish. Until the hard questions are asked. And I'm um, sometimes left wondering what to say. "No, sweetie... Santa doesn't die," I reply, accepting the fact that I'm lying to my own child. "Well, how come? Why doesn't he die?" the questions I don't want to answer have finally arrived. My baby is at that age. Six years old, and he's already figured out I'm the magical tooth fairy that leaves him money and a personal letter with every lost tooth. He's wise beyond his years, and he's figu

Parenthood is messy . I realized this the day I was peed on when I was changing my baby's diaper days after I had given birth. I'm reminded of the messiness when I clean vomit from the car or from my bed. Children can be messy. Two days ago, I found my three year old in the bath-tub, covered in an entire bottle of Zincofax, mixed together with an entire bottle of Johnson's baby lotion. It took a long time to get him clean, and his skin is still softer than it was the day he was born. Yup. Parenthood is messy. But messes? I can handle. Something I can't handle, though? Something that makes me break out into a cold sweat, gasping for air? Public bathrooms . See, I suffer from Mysophobia. The fear of germs. (I have a lot of other fears , too.) Of course, because I have this fear, my children will always, always have to go the bathroom when we're in the mall, at a restaurant, in the grocery store, or on a road trip. Gone are the days when I could walk into Banana Repub

Last Thursday, I was in a taxi at 4:30 a.m., on my way to the airport. I was heading to New York City—one of my most favourite cities ever— for a Tommee Tippee event, for the day. Nothing can get me out of bed with a smile at 4:30 a.m., unless of course, it's to spend the day in NYC. Also on the agenda: lunch with Marinka and Ali in Saks Fifth Avenue , on the 8th floor. The shoe floor. Seriously. It was an awesome day. New York City with fabulous people, attending an event about a great baby company, and lunching with some of my favourite people on the shoe floor of Saks... sigh. All in a day's work. My taxi driver was nice enough to have a coffee waiting for me in the car, however, being the paranoid person I am, I wasn't sure I should drink it. What if his intentions were to poison me, and months later an innocent jogger were to discover my body in some random forest? After some back-and-forth conversation, which is always so.much.fun at 4:30 a.m., I decide

It's after midnight on Halloween Eve and here I sit, watching another episode of Criminal Minds, looking at pictures of The Grudge on the internet. (Later, I'll be wondering why I have a hard time falling asleep...) I'm easily spooked. I mean, everything scares me. Not just spiders and insects. Not just jumping out of a plane or running out of coffee. My fears and worries? They're never-ending, and they consume me all day long. Scary things have happened to me in real life, like almost getting kidnapped in D.C., having a strange man play with my hair on the subway in Queens, New York at 5 a.m after a night out, accidentally going down a black diamond ski hill, and having a gun pulled on me in the middle of winter. (That's a story for another blog post!) However, there is something that frightens me even more than all those things. Scary movies. Certain scary movies stay with me long after I've left the theatre. There are scary movies that I can watch

On Saturday, I was featured in The Ottawa Citizen newspaper, online and in print. The article was called Ottawa's Fashion Bloggers Extraordinaire: Meet six from the sisterhood of the travelling iPhones. One of the questions asked who my inspiration was. That was an easy answer—hands down, the person who I find most inspiring is my mother. My mom had a passion in life. Her passion was to be an artist. Although she grew up in a rather strict Greek household, in which education was the most important thing of all, (and the arts not highly valued as a 'real' career choice) she never gave up her dream to pursue her passion. She would hide her drawings in the middle of her school notebooks, so her father wouldn't see. Although she never went to school for art, she was born with talent, and a desire to paint. Every day people give up steady pay-cheques to chase their dream. My mom did this when she was 30, when my sister and I were both young. She quit a secure job

During the opening keynote that Catherine Connors so fabulously delivered at BlissDom Canada , she talked about her "five things". It got everyone thinking about what their "five things" were. The one I had most trouble with was "five things people don't know about me", since as a narcissistic blogger I tend to talk about myself—a lot. Not only that, but I've been blogging for almost five years, so it's hard to come up with new things that people do not already know about me. I worry, I love to shop, I multi-task, I love my children, I interned at some fabulous places, and I was almost kidnapped... yeah, yeah, Loukia, tell us something we don't already know! Well, here you go: Five things you don't know about me: 1. I have a bad case of FOMO. (Fear Of Missing Out.) I hate saying no because saying no means I'm going to miss out on something. Like when I left BlissDom Canada on Saturday at 6 p.m. only to find out that Jordan Knight w

I have so many things to think about every time I come home from a blogging conference. The things I am thinking about are never about what I wore, how my hair was, or what purchases I brought back with me. Heck, in New York City during BlogHer 2010 I never even once went shopping. That should tell you something, right there. For a girl who talks about shopping as much as I do, clearly there are other things that make me happy, make me feel fulfilled and purposeful, excited and determined. There is something (not including my children, of course) that leaves me feeling full of BLISS, and inspired. (I know, Tanis , but it's true!) BlissDom Canada . Man, do I ever feel motivated to become a better blogger and writer every time my BlissDom Canada weekend is over. I'm still on a conference high a few days later. Now, as someone who has been blogging for (almost) five years, I'm not really looking for ways to drastically improve my blog, since I've already been here a whi