February 2013

The days are getting longer here in Calgary and it's a perfect time to head out for a winter hike. The weather's also starting to warm up a bit and it's time to get in your winter hiking before the snow starts to melt and the spring season descends upon us.

The Heart Creek Trail is one of the best hiking places to visit during the summer and winter. It has an elevation gain of 100 m, which makes it suitable for young and old alike.

If you've ever wondered why so many vehicles are parked on the east side of Canmore on the trans Canada Highway, it's because families, couples and individuals have stopped there for some quick hiking. There is an easy hike available up Heart Mountain along with plenty of rock climbing.

If you're looking for something easy and fun…

When you want to go shopping Calgary there are plenty of malls to choose from but one of these rises above the rest in almost every survey that's conducted on shopping in the city - Chinook Mall. Firstly the Chinook Center is absolutely massive and spans almost 1,500,000 square feet and contains over 250 different stores - making it the largest enclosed mall in Alberta and also one of the largest malls in the entire country.

If you like eating during, after or while shopping then you'll find the enormous food court to be to your liking - there are over 900 seats and 20 different types of food to choose from, with the special touch of a dinosaur made from scrap farming equipment located there too. On top of having a huge number of stores the Chinook

…

It's nice to have a certain level of peace of mind in terms of dining options when you're moving to a new city like Calgary. What's even more important is knowing that the dining experiences on offer vary from the quick-and-ready to the more refined, and thanks to the booming Albertan economy you'll find every kind of eating establishment you can imagine operating inside the city. Here's some of our favorite places to eat in Calgary, and we know at least one of them is going to become a firm favorite for you too.

Brava Bistro

This restaurant isn't the biggest, the most hip or feature the broadest menu in Calgary. What it does do, however, is serve up food which is nothing short of excellent, service which is exemplary, an enviable ambience and you

…

If you're looking for a fast sale on your home the best thing you can do is get it staged. Sometimes you have a lot of time to get your home sold while in other cases you need to get out of the house immediately or sell it within a matter of weeks. When a fast sale is critical, take a look at staging and what it can do for you.

Home staging has been proven time and time again to make a home sell faster and quite often can bring in better offers as well. Staging makes your home look cleaner, brighter and even bigger so that people that are looking at your home can actually imagine living in it themselves.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to live with a staged home when you're in the process of selling it. You’ll have to live with different types of

…

If you haven't made any plans for Valentine's Day in Calgary yet this year, it's time to start moving on it. This is the day when you'll need to have reservations to get into your favorite restaurant since it's one of the busiest days of the year for eating out. If you're looking for more than just a dinner date, however, here are some other Valentine’s Day activities you may want to consider.

Wow your Valentine with a gift from Market Collective as they host an independent market on February 13 - 14. You'll be able to browse through the works of musicians and local artists to find that special gift for your significant other.

The Cantos Foundation is holding a special edition event on February 11 and February 14 of their tour led by musicians. You

…

If you've ever had to deal with an ice dam before you know how quickly the situation can become critical. These dams can cause a lot of damage to your home such as leaks and mold if left unattended. There's also the possibility of falling ice, which becomes a safety concern.

If you have a problem with ice standing on your home right now, here are a few things you can do that will help.

1. Start melting a channel

The ice needs to have a channel through it to help with the buildup of water and to do this you need to create a draining path. One way to do this is to find a breathable fabric, such as nylon, and fill it with an ice melted substance like calcium chloride. A pair of women's nylons work well for this since a long tube can be created to melt

…

The city of Calgary is something of an odd mix because it's managed to not only grow at an explosive rate in a very short space of time but it's also managed to maintain the local environment at the same time. To be fair this is true of many Canadian cities but Calgary has taken this effort to be "green" to a whole new level and the inclusion of several parks in the design of the city has obviously helped this a lot.

Located to the west of Calgary is Banff and Banff National Park and this area is quickly becoming one of the most popular tourist spots in both Canada and the United States for many reasons, but it's raw and natural beauty has to be seen to be believed. Some of the main attractions in Banff are Cascade Mountain, Mount Rundle and the

…

Considering that Albertans refer to Calgary as "Cowtown" it should come as no surprise that one of the biggest events held in the city each year is the "Calgary Stampede". As you'd expect from a bunch of humble cowboys and ranchers the stampede is modestly referred to as the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", and it quite literally is exactly this.

The Stampede offers visitors and current residents of Calgary 10 days of fun during July of each year and is one of the biggest events on the Calgary social calendar. As you might expect when something is billed as the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" it's bound to attract a lot of visitors and more than 1,000,000 (1 million) guests come to enjoy the Stampede each year; injecting hundreds of millions of

…