The Great White North, as my Canadian husband calls it, is a land of nice people, clean bathrooms, fresh air and a lot of heavy drinking. I'm more of the heavy eating type. They have a saying in Calgary, "if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, it'll change." But most of our recent trip included below fa-reezing temps, so we ventured into the city for some hot chocolate, and ran our frozen California selves right into Analog Coffee.

Mila is very serious about hot chocolate.

For lunch, we happened upon what I would call the Bottega Louie of Calgary, Corbeaux Bakehouse. Chef Keith Luce oversees the culinary experience. He's cooked for President Clinton and won the James Beard Rising Star award. Enough said, right?

Mila overseeing bakery production.

Our next adventure was a daycation to Canmore. Although I believe it's better suited to an overnighter -- you really need that fireplace to kick off your snow boots in front of and play some board games. But this time we took the day and ventured out to behold the natural beauty that is Canmore. Known for the Three Sisters mountains (a trio of peaks), it's a beautiful little mountain town situated right next to the world-famous Banff. They're gorgeous but pictures don't do them justice so I haven't included any here (laugh).