Vanessa A

Here is a short list of some rather unknown but really special places on earth to add to your ‘must see’ list. The last few sites are absolutely magnificent.

Swarovski Crystal Worlds, Innsbruck, Austria

The Swarovski Crystal Worlds (Swarovski Kristallwelten) is a museum, located in Wattens (Austria). The museum was built in 1995 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Austria based crystal company Swarovski

The Peacock Room In Castello du Sammezzano Regello, Tuscany

It’s hard to believe that this jaw-dropping room is located in an abandoned castle in Tuscany, Italy. Built in 1605 and once housed kings, Sammezzano Castle now sits atop a hill in a Tuscan oak tree grove. [Some More Amazing Castles]

Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

The Giant’s Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

Rock tombs in Myra, Lycia, Turkey

The city of Myra is well known for its amphitheatre (the largest in Lycia) and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the cliff .

Ristorante Grotta Palazzese, Polignano, Italy

Housed in the rock, overlooking the Adriatic Sea, Hotel Ristorante Grotta Palazzese Polignano a Mare is located in a stunning landscape of rocks and caves that have wowed visitors since the ancient times.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel, France

Mont Saint-Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France

Taormina, Sicily, Italy

Taormina is a a very popular tourist destination on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania.

Phraya Nakhon cave, Pranburi, Thailand

One of Thailand’s most beautiful and certainly the most photographed one caves

The Singing Ringing Tree, Lancashire, England

The Singing Ringing Tree is a wind powered sound sculpture resembling a tree set in the landscape of the Pennine hill range overlooking Burnley, in Lancashire, England.

Mitchell Falls, Australia

Bolwoningen, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Huacachina, Peruvian Desert

Pamukkale, Turkey

Pangong Tso Lake, India

Pangong Tso, Tibetan for “long, narrow, enchanted lake”, also referred to as Pangong Lake, is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m. It is 134 km long and extends from India to Tibet.

The Zhangye Danxia China

Zhangye Danxia Landform is geological park in the Gansu Province in China.

The Craig Goch Dam in Wales.

The Craig Goch Dam, often called the Top dam, is a masonry dam in the Elan Valley of Wales.

Kaunergrat, Tyrol

Nature Park Kaunergrat. This beautiful Austrian natural park is characterised by the high mountain area of the Oetztal Alps.

Lake Faak or Faaker See

Lake Faak or Faaker See is an alpine lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. With an area of approximately 2.2 km², it is the state’s fifth-largest lake. Lake Faak is a popular vacation and swimming destination, known for its clear turquoise water

Lake Vilsalpsee

A stunning deep blue lake in the Vilsalpsee Nature Reserve. It is one of the most popular destinations in the Tannheimer valley.

Speicher Durlassboden

Ampitheater, Tyrol

Hallstatt

Double Chocolate Biscuits Recipe:

Topping ingredients

80g white chocolate melts
80g dark chocolate melts

Chocolate Dough

250g butter, at room temperature
125g (3/4 cup) icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
300g (2 cups) plain flour
50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
250g pkt dark choc chips
2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS

Step 1

Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour, cocoa powder, choc chips and milk. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a well-floured surface and bring together. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour to rest.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Cut the dough in half. Roll tablespoonfuls of 1 dough portion into balls. Place, 2cm apart, on the prepared trays. Flatten slightly.

Step 3

Bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 25 minutes or until firm. Set aside on the trays to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Step 4

Place the white chocolate melts in a small sealable plastic bag. Cook in microwave on medium/ 500watts/50%, stirring every minute, until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Cut about 2mm from 1 corner of the bag. Drizzle the white chocolate over the biscuits. Repeat with the dark chocolate melts, drizzling in the opposite direction to the white chocolate. Set aside for 5 minutes to set.

The post Double Chocolate Biscuits Recipe appeared first on Heaven In A Bite.

Here Are 5+ Quick and Amazing Facts About Pregnancy – enjoy…
This last one is pretty awesome!

4% Of Women In The U.S. Are Pregnant Right Now

Each year in the United States, there are approximately six million pregnancies. This means that at any one time, about 4% of women in the U.S. are pregnant.

99% of Pregnant Women in US Test Positive For Multiple Chemicals Incl. Banned Ones

The bodies of virtually all US pregnant women carry multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in common products such as non-stick cookware, processed foods and personal care products. [source]

10% Of Pregnancies End In Miscarriage

Approximately 1 in 10 pregnancies will end in miscarriage. Many miscarriages often occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

Older Women Are More Likely To Give Birth To Twins

About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins. This rate is an increase of nearly 60% since the early 1980s. However, 17% of pregnant women over 45 will give birth to twins.

Fewer than 10% of babies are born on their exact due date, 50% are born within one week of the due date, and 90% are born within two weeks of the date.

30% Of U.S. Girls Will Get Pregnant Before Age 20

3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year.

Fetuses Can To Heal Their Mother’s Damaged Organs

During pregnancy, if the mother suffers organ damage, the baby in the womb sends stem cells to repair the damaged organ. [source]

The post Amazing Facts About Pregnancy That You May Not Know appeared first on Better Parenting.

Jo Fitzpatrick‎

UK sculptor Robin Wight creates dramatic scenes of wind-blown fairies clutching dandelions, clinging to trees, and seemingly suspended in midair, all with densely wrapped forms of stainless steel wire. The artist currently has several pieces on view at the Trentham Gardens and sells a number of DIY wire sculpting kits from his website where he also discusses in great detail how each piece is built. See more over on Facebook. (via Reddit).

Northern Lake Baikal, Russia

Lake Baikal is the freshwater lake with greatest volume in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water. The water of Lake Baikal is renowned for being some of the clearest in the world. When the lake freezes during the winter, an amazing phenomena takes place: large shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake, giving the amazing appearance of turquoise ice.

image

Moraine Lake, Canada

Moraine Lake is a glacially-fed lake in Banff National Park, 14 km (8.7 mi) outside the Village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks.

source

Taal Volcano Crater Lake, Batangas, Philippines

Taal Lake is a freshwater lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines

Lake Isabelle, Colorado

Lake Isabel is located within the San Isabel National Forest in Pueblo County and Custer County, Colorado, United States

Lake Solbjornvannet, Norway

Five Flower Lake, China

The pristine water of Wuhua Hai, or Five-Flower Lake, is the pride of Jiuzhaigon National Park in China. The shallow lake glistens different shades of turquoise and its floor is littered with fallen ancient tree trunks.

  Made of laser-cut mylar, these dreamy hanging pendant lamps that look like Jellyfish were created by designer Roxy Russell [visit: roxyrussell.bigcartel.com] and the entire collection is called the Medusae Collection. Polyp Pendant Lamp The many arms of this beautiful lamp, unfold into luminous tentacles to give a full, rich texture of ornate bloom. Ophelia […]

The post 4 Elegant Hanging Lamps That Look Like Jellyfish appeared first on Glam Home Decor.

Although designed and built for the prominent purpose of defence, today these most amazing castles from around the globe seem like something from a fairytale world… from solid strongholds to oriental fortresses and highly decorative palaces.

Hohenzollern Castle – Germany

Castle Howard – England

Alcázar of Segovia – Spain

Himeji Castle – Japan

Prague Castle – The Czech Republic

Peleş Castle – Romania

Chambord Castle – France

Neuschwanstein Castle – Germany

Catherine Palace – Russia

Matsumoto Castle – Japan

Burg Eltz Castle – Germany

Eilean Donan Castle – Scotland

Neuchâtel Castle – Switzerland

Guaita Fortress – San Marino

Conwy Castle – Wales

Mont Saint Michel – France

Hohensalzburg Castle – Austria

Chillon Castle – Switzerland

Kilkenny Castle – Ireland

Prague Castle – Prague

Bodiam Castle – England

The 580 sq ft Hollywood home of Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser Kartheiser’s tiny designer apartment was recently featured in Dwell magazine. It’s a small space; a converted 580 square foot cabin that feels surprisingly spacious and airy. The separated Eames lounge chair and ottoman work nicely as an extra seat. The bed hangs from […]

The post Mad Men Star Vincent Kartheiser’s Tiny Hollywood Apartment appeared first on Glam Home Decor.

Artist Grant Snider of Incidental Comics created this webcomic titled ‘A Year Of Parenting‘ that tells ultimate truth of having kids and documents his first 12 months experience of parenting.

“To celebrate my daughter’s first birthday, I drew my most autobiographical comic ever.” – Snider

You can order this comic as a poster at Snider’s shop and for more of Snider’s work, visit his Incidental Comics

The post After A Year Of Parenting [Comic] appeared first on Better Parenting.

This approx. 675 square foot, corner apartment in Cobble Hill, New York was gut renovated, and changed from being a one bedroom to a two bedroom unit. The existing brick wall was exposed, and opened up the kitchen to the living space. A custom sliding counter, is made from a re-claimed bowling alley floor. And […]

The post Minimalist Cobble Hill Apartment By Co Adaptive Architecture appeared first on Glam Home Decor.