The 1.5-ton, 300-square-foot village that is made entirely of edible gingerbread, royal icing, and candy, has been acknowledged as the largest gingerbread village in the world by the 2014 Guinness World Records. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) NEW YORK — As another cold shot of winter descends over the Great Lakes, Northeast and New England this weekend, you may be thinking twice about your plans to check out any outdoor holiday light shows. (WATCH: ) If you'd rather stay cozy warm indoors,...

1st Place: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz Open trap of the humped bladderwort, an aquatic carnivorous plant. This floating plant digests microinvertebrates that are sucked into its trap a millisecond after they touch its trigger hairs. (Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus/2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition) The 10th Anniversary Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition is honoring more than 65 photos that give you an intimate look at nature. Olympus BioScapes says the competition is all about the place where ....

Ufogel is a home in the heart of the Alps that was designed to connect with nature. (Image: Ufogel.at) Here in the Austrian Alps, where winters are a skier's paradise and summers are just as gorgeous for hiking, sits the small but impressive Ufogel holiday home, designed specifically for this beautiful backdrop. "Whether you sit, lie, shower or share a meal, two things are : wood and the heavens," the home's website explains. (WATCH: ) Wójcik says these structures could...

The Senate vote is a win in flood-prone states including Louisiana. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Homeowners who buy flood insurance from the federal government are closer to seeing relief, after the Senate passed a bill to delay premium hikes. The bill now goes to the House. The bill would delay changes that were made two years ago to help fund the program better. But the changes caused rates to skyrocket, and homeowners in flood-prone areas who historically relied on the program...

The Flower of New Town in Fushun, China, was designed in the shape of a rose bud. (Image: Urban Architecture/UA Studio 7) A 60-story high-rise in northeast China's Liaoning Provence is an elegant example of how nature can inspire architecture. Shanghai-based Urban Architecture(UA) modeled the Fushun Greenland Center Super Tower after a rose -- a nod to the region's official flower. UA nicknamed the project "The Flower of New Town." Six curved "petals" shape the building's exterior shell. The designers...

This artistic rendering shows Benoit Challand's fictional Roost Home, a dream home in the Scotland countryside. (Image: Benoit Challand/Alexis Raimbault) Winter has been brutal in the U.S. and the U.K., and artist Beniot Challand's newly released renderings of a secluded home on stilts in the Scotland countryside looks like the perfect escape. Challandspecializes in digital art and CGI design. He came up with the idea for Roost House during a research project into philosopher Michael Foucault's theory on heterotopia, which...

Ufogel Mountain Home in the Austrian Alps Ufogel is a home in the heart of the Alps that was designed to connect with nature. (Image: Ufogel.at) Here in the Austrian Alps, where winters are a skier's paradise and summers are just as gorgeous for hiking, sits the small but impressive Ufogel holiday home, designed specifically for this beautiful backdrop. "Whether you sit, lie, shower or share a meal, two things are always presentin an Ufogel: wood and the heavens," the...

It’s a story you’ll be repeating for the rest of your life. Not only that, your friends and family will likely demand to hear every detail — from the wine to the weather to the way your voice broke. The stakes are high, but try not to panic. We've rounded up examples of the most common and cool outdoor proposal ideas. Why outdoors? Nature remains a popular setting for proposals as it can offer an unmatched backdrop for romance (think...

A narwhal looms behind this tangy take on the famed Nautilis. (Getty/AFT/Valery Hache) This French coastal town takes the old adage “When life give you lemons …” to a whole new level. Every year, Menton, the easternmost town on the French Riviera, puts a unique twist on end-of-winter festivities by transforming the town center into a whimsical homage to citrus fruit – the local export. For two weeks in spring (Feb. 15-March 5 this year), the Fête du Citron turns...

Home owners in flood-prone states, like Louisiana, will see relief with changes to the costly federal flood insurance program. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Homeowners who buy federal flood insurance are closer to seeing relief from costly rate hikes after the House approved legislation Tuesday night to roll back the program. The bill will now go to the Senate. Both sides of the aisle have been working toward a solution after homeowners in flood-prone areas complained about sharp premium increases. Costs skyrocketed...

A flower is seen frozen in water as a part of the photographer's 'Frozen Flowers' photo series. (Mo Devlin) Photographer Mo Devlin puts a new spin on macro flower photography by shooting close-ups of flowers encased in ice – an experiment that turned into a beautiful photo series. “My original plan with ice was to photograph an old Seiko watch and call it ‘freezing time,’” Devlin explained to weather.com. “At the same time I also took the opportunity to freeze...

Have you ever seen a camouflaged home? GLUCK+ designed this vacation home to blend into its surroundings. The 2,545 square-foot home sits in a wooded area in Upstate New York. The "trunk" of the house is three units comprising of one bedroom, one bathroom and a small suite, stacked on top of each other. The stairway leads to the primary living space at the top of the home, which overlooks the forest canopy for a view of the lake and...

Dragonfly: New York City The Dragonfly concept from Vincent Callebaut Architectures takes urban farming to a new level. (Image: VINCENT CALLEBAUT ARCHITECTURES - www.vincent.callebaut.org) Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architectures gives us a glimpse of what urban farming could look like in the future with a series of incredible conceptual projects. Dragonfly is conceived as a vertical urban farm set in New York City's East River, between Manhattan and Queens. The architects are passionate about using architecture to solve problems like pollution...