Top 10 Most Expensive Houses in the World

 

 

What makes a home varies wildly around the world. From a small apartment in the heart of Dubai, to a hut in the steppes of Mongolia, to two-story prefab on a quarter-acre lot in Phoenix, houses come in many shapes and sizes. On occasion, they also come in monster size.
In 2012, the average cost of an American home was $178,600, and that includes everything from spanking-new "McMansions" to run-down ranches [source: National Association of Realtors]. There are those in the world, however, who pour entire fortunes into their homes. While even homes on the market for a few million dollars are out of grasp for most of us, there are some people who've exceeded even that expense, spending what amounts to the gross domestic product of some countries on their homes.
While every person's home is his or her castle, sometimes we still can't help but gawk at someone else's really large, really expensive house. It's in this spirit that we get to the bottom of just who has the most expensive home in the world? We settle the issue here, taking a glimpse at the top ten.

 

The One57 tower features views like this one overlooking Central Park, New York.

Nicknamed the "billionaire building," the ultra-luxury One57 tower, located at 157 West 57th St. in New York City recorded the most expensive purchase price the state's history in 2012: more than $90 million. The buyer of the 10,923-square-foot (1,012-square-meter) penthouse, which occupies both the 89th and 90th floors of the Midtown highrise, remains shrouded in secrecy [source: Barrionuevo]. The New York Post leaked that it was Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabar al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, but One57 spokespeople denied the rumor [source: Brennan]. Whoever bought the penthouse is getting quite a bargain, since it was originally listed at $115 million.
Even though the One57 tower is still under construction, more than half of its 92 apartments are spoken for [source: Barrionuevo]. The building will also be the home of the new Park Hyatt flagship hotel, and residents will benefit from the luxury hotel's renowned service. The penthouse features 23-foot (7-meter) ceilings and glass curtain walls offering a panoramic view of Central Park below. Its sales price of roughly $8,000 per square foot was actually cheaper than the $13,000 per square foot Manhattan apartment bought by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, but that penthouse went for a paltry $88 million total [source: Brennan].
The next most expensive home belongs to a famously outspoken New Yorker with luxury properties around the world.
 

 

The kitchen at Donald Trump's Maison l'Amitie house in Palm Beach, Fla. There's a gargantuan fountain in the driveway out front and 475 feet of oceanfront out back.

 

The entrance to the famed Hearst Mansion in Beverly Hills, shortly after it was put on the market in 2007.

 

 Suzanne Saperstein, mistress of the 45,000-square-foot mansion Fleur de Lys

 Bran Castle was the principal home of Queen Marie whose grandson Dominic Habsburg had the castle returned in 2006 by the Romanian government after the fall of Communism. In 2007 he put it up for sale. So far, no takers.

 

 London's exclusive Kensington district, where the Franchuk villa is located.

An artist's rendering of the One Hyde Park development. Each of the four towers features a penthouse selling for more than $200 million apiece.

A general view of 2-8a Rutland Gate, the most expensive house to go on the market in London.

 

The $1 billion home of Mukesh Ambani towers over Mumbai and is filled with balconies and indoor gardens.

most expensive shoes in the world!!!!

Splurge those big dollar notes on rubies and diamonds, not for pretty hands, but this time for stilettos. The dazzling footwear is accompanied by a celeb twist. They have been sported at the Oscars and the likes. So if you are prepared to make your shoe rack sparkle with jewels, we have a ready list for you so that you can read it, spend it and get it!
With the diamonds, sapphires and rubies, Stuart Weitzman’s Rita Hayworth Heels are one of the best pairs in the list of most expensive shoes. The dazzling footwear was originally crafted for the beautiful feet of Kathleen “Bird” York, who was an Oscar nominee for best song back in 2006. Rita Hayworth deserves all sort of applause to design such an elegant pair that costs $3 million. 2) Harry Winston Ruby Slippers
How about slippers that took two months just to set precious stones in them? The design was made by Ronald Winston in 1989 but was completed after two months after the craftsman Javiar Barerra set the stones in the slippers. The overwhelming pair of shoe has 50 carats diamonds and 4,600 gleaming rubies that were designed to mark The Wizard of Oz’s fiftieth anniversary. The elegant and sophisticated pair is priced at $3 million. 3) Stuart Weitzman and Le Vian evening shoes A stunning silver leather pair of slippers set with 200 carats of precious stones and 185 carats of museum-quality tanzanite gemstones was made in conjunction between Stuart Weitzman and the 500-year-old tradition of the Le Vian name. The slippers also have beautiful ankle bracelets that include 16-carat gems hanging from each and 28 carat diamonds on the front strap of the slippers, in precise it is a moving jewelry box priced at $2 million that any woman would like to spend on. 4) Stewart Weitzman’s Cinderella Slippers
Shoes inspired by the timeless fairy tale “The Cinderella” are often featured on the red carpet by many Hollywood celebrities. The outrageously pricy footwear is made of expensive material such as precious stones, cork and gold and made a debut at the 2004 Oscars worn by country music star Alison Krauss. With ankle and toe straps are studded with 565 carat diamonds in platinum settings, these fascinating heels are made of Italian leather, and the best feature of the footwear is the amaretto diamond on the right slipper which is worth one million dollars alone. The total price of the heels is $2 million. 5) Stuart Weitzman Ruby Slippers  .Ravishing rubies measuring 120 carats in weight set in red satin stilettos and framed with pure platinum, this breathtaking ruby slippers are one of its kinds and is surely for the true footwear lover. Although the market is mushroomed with some very expensive and elegent footwear, Weitzman’s ruby slippers that are priced at $1.6 million are something that should not be missed because of their unique design and antique look. 6) Platinum Guild Stuart Weitzman heels

Magic Tips to Expand a Small Space

Many may believe that living in a small space means that you will likely have to do without certain things. This can be true when you find your room being physically smaller than that dream king sized bed, but really, when the space is utilized efficiently and correctly you can fit just about anything anywhere.

I lived in a small house growing up. I had an even smaller room there. When I went to college, I lived in what was essentially a tuna can. The apartment I live in now is a small place and I can only imagine my future house will be small. So I am pretty much the authority on making the best of small spaces. It took some serious experimenting, and a little bit of watching HGTV, but ultimately, I have learned that trying to make all the things you want to fit in a small space or just making it feel a little less claustrophobic is a fun exercise in creativity.

Declutter

Before doing anything else, have a sit down with your stuff. Decide which of it you need and which of it you can part with, store in other rooms if possible, or put in a container. This can be difficult if you have some hoarding tendencies, even if they are minimal, some things you just have a problem letting go. Like old magazine, for example, maybe you keep them for beauty tips or just because you might read through them someday. Go through them, maybe put the articles you want to keep in a scrapbook, but otherwise they are just taking up space.

There is a fine line between decluttered and being an obsessive minimalist, though. Never let anyone tell you that you can't have a few decorations or things you don't necessarily need. However, if you are working with limited space, you have to limit yourself.

Utilize Wall Space

This is probably been the greatest tip behind my personal success. You don't need bookshelves and dressers that take up valuable floorspace. Try going up instead! Get yourself a level, a stud finder, some screws, a power drill and some brackets and start building shelves. Alternatively, find someone else to build shelves. Hang hooks for bath towels, coats and hats. Build small shelves by your desk for books, magazines, and other knickknacks.

If you have a particularly empty corner in a room, perhaps under some shelves, build another rack to hang some of your prettier clothes from. You would be amazed how building up onto walls and limiting what you put on the floor opens up a room.  

 

There are two things I love to shop for: glassware and furniture that serves multiple purposes. There are so many options for furniture that do more than one thing. For example, a bed frame that has a bed on top and a desk on the bottom. Those are popular in dorm rooms to save space, but after awhile as an adult the allure gets old. However, it is perfect for a small child's room.

Run out of space to put things on walls without it looking really strange? That's okay. Find things like ottomans that serve as a place to sit, but open up to become storage. Find a bed frame with drawers underneath of clothes or other miscellany. Essentially the best way to expand a space is to have all or almost all multipurpose objects. Why have just a table when you could have a table with a drawer in it to store things? 

Perhaps the problem with your small room is not how much stuff you have, but you find yourself feeling a bit constricted. Mirrors are the oldest trick in the decorating book for small rooms. Anyone who has ever been to a gym will know why. They plaster a side of the room with floor to ceiling mirrors and a small room looks twice as big. However, adding floor to ceiling mirrors in a domestic room is a bit excessive.
Mirrors, even decorative ones hung on the opposite wall from a window does wonders to open up the room. It makes you feel as if you magically gained another window and will almost always forget about how little space there is behind you.
Aside from creating the illusion of another window and depth, mirrors will help keep your room bright during the day time. A dash of color, as I will be discussing later, can open up a room however keeping the room light will always make it seem like there is more space than there actually is.

A Dash of Color

Sometimes it is not about increasing space, but making your mind think you have. This was the concept with adding mirrors, but it is also the concept behind picking appropriate colors to paint your room if you can.
The general rule for keeping a room looking open and spacious is to bathe it in white. It works, but white can get boring after awhile. Try using color accents on walls to help open the place up while still keeping it looking interesting. Like with mirrors, paint the opposite wall to give the illusion of depth. Avoid red and black at all costs. Red may be so tempting as it can make a room so beautiful if done right, but it also constricts the room. It makes it cozier instead of more spacious. If you have a particularly large window, try a earthy spring green tone instead, with white accents.
Or instead, use small accents of colors opposed to painting a whole wall. However, not too many colors, then things will just be chaos.

Try Going Soft

For some reason, hard sharp edges constrict a room. If you have a closet, whose hard doors are staring you right in the face all day, do something about it. Try removing the closet doors and replacing them with a curtain.  Get desks and shelves that end with a curve instead of a point.
Making the décor softer, at least in its curves makes thing look a little more spacious. At least to me, it has always been that way. Plus, things look a little more exciting.

Meanings of the Top 5 Baby Girl Names in 2013

You may already know whether you have one of the more popular baby girl names of 2013 so far. The question is whether you know what your daughter’s name means? If you’re expecting a girl, you’re likely trying to come up with name ideas and knowing the meanings can really help with that. The meaning can help instil strength into your child and help her become the daughter you have always pictured.
Here are the tip 5 baby girl names in 2013 so far and their meanings.

Number 5: Ava-Hebrew for Life/Breathe

In Hebrew, the name Ava means life or breathe. There are different variations of the spelling, including Eve and Eva. It is a name that used to be extremely popular in Germany but also has links in Afghanistan, where the name means voice.
One of the variations, Eva, is the name of a very famous woman: Eva Person. Eva Peron was the second wife of Colonel Juan Peron, who was president of Argentina between 1946 and 1955 and then between 1973 and 1974.
Ava was given to the name of a nun in the 9^th century, who was later made a saint. Saint Ava was cured of blindness by St. Rainfredis.

Number 4: Olivia-Latin for Olive

The actual meaning for this will depend on the language that it is being derived from. When taken from the Latin, it is derived from Oliva, which means “olive tree.” However, there is an English origin, which means “Elf Army.”
The name became popular throughout England after the use of it in the Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Where he got the name from is unknown. It is possibly a female version of Oliver. Another speculation is that Shakespeare took the name from the word olive.
The name didn’t really become widely used until the 18^th century but it was the latter half of the 20^th century that England really started to use it for baby girls. In the United States, the TV show The Waltons in the 1970s made the name popular and it has reached number four for the past few years. It is number one in Canada!

A Book to Help You Decide on Your Baby Girl's Name

Find the perfect name for your baby with the Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenburg. It uses computer generation and research to help you find something that offers everything you want for your daughter's name. 

Number 3: Isabella-Consecrated to God

Isabella is a name that is popular in countries like Italy and Spain but it’s origin is Hebrew. It literally means “My God is a vow”. Many queens throughout history have been named Isabella; one of the most famous was Isabella of Castile, who was Catherine of Aragon’s mother (Henry VIII’s first wife).
Isabella was also the name given to Edward II of England’s wife. Edward II is the king known for his lack of leadership. Queen Isabelle led to Edward being overthrown by their son for the sake of the country.
There are many variations of the name, including Isabel, Isabelle and even Elizabeth! Some of the nicknames include Izzy and Bella.

Number 2: Emma-German for Universal

The name Emma was originally Germanic and a shorter form for those names that began with ermen, which means universal or whole. It was brought to England when Emma of Normandy came to the country, who was the mother of Edward the Confessor. It is also the name of an Austrian saint from the 11^th century, sometimes written as Hemma.
Emma has been on the top 10 list for baby girl names for a long time now. It has a timeless sound and is suitable for all ages. Depending on dialects, it can sometimes be pronounced as “Imma”. This is more common in some of the more northern parts of Scotland.
One of the most famous uses of the name was by Jane Austen in her novel with the same name. It was used in the poem Henry and Emma by Matthew Prior in 1709.

Number 1: Sophia-Greek for Wisdom

Number 1 on the top 5 baby girl names in 2013 so far is Sophia. This is a name with various spellings, including Sofia, Sophie, Sofie and Sophy. It is a Greek name originally, with the meaning of wisdom and was brought to England when George I of England came to the throne. Sophia was supposed to be Queen Consort of England but she died shortly before the death of Queen Anne; the last Stuart Queen.
There are stories and myths about a saint who died after her daughters were martyred. However, these stories likely came from the Hagia Sophia, which means holy wisdom, and was a large basilica in Constantinople. There were many misunderstandings of the phrase Hagia Sophia during the medieval times.
It has been in the top 10 names for baby girls for a few years now and reached the top spot in 2010, overtaking Isabella, which was number one at the time. The year before (2008), Isabelle wasn’t even in the top 5!
Interestingly enough, the top 5 baby names for girls have been virtually the same over the last few years (2009 onwards). There has been the odd slip from a couple but they have always been somewhere in the top 10. It shows how timeless the names are. This may help you with your decision for your bundle of joy—or it may give you names to stay away from because they are too popular!

Differences Between the Flu and Colds

Being sick is not fun at all.  You have to learn to take care of yourself. Remember that health is wealth that is why you should learn to take good care of your body. However, regardless of your effort to maintain your healthy body, there would always be time that you will get sick. The most common sickness you can experience is flu and cold. The flu and colds are likely to happen during cold season but, they can hit you anytime, anywhere and it is hard to identify the main difference between the two. A lot of people today do not really know the main difference between flu and cold and it is quite confusing and challenging to evaluate the two since they are quite similar to each other.

What are Colds and Flues?

Flu and colds are both viral infections that can attack your respiratory system. However, the influenza virus is the main cause of flu whereas rhino-virus is the one that causes a cold. Flu happens in unexpected situation and can come upon you quickly, while cold typically develops slowly. In general, flu may appear like a cold at the start which is a milder illness as compared to flu. And while the symptoms of a cold can make you feel quite bad and lousy for a few hours or even a couple of days, the symptoms of flu can make you feel really bad for many days to weeks. The after effects of the flu can affect your for even weeks.

To help you more in identifying if you have flu or cold, you should fully understand their main differences in terms of their main causes, signs, and symptoms.  You have to know which one you have in order to know what treatment is correct.   
You should know that he common cold is an inflammation in the mucous membrane which is usually caused by 200 different types of viruses. If you are about to have a cold, you will start having a sore throat which usually happens on first day. After that, you will experience nasal problems, a runny nose, coughing, and congestion. During the first two days that you have symptoms of cold, it's better for you to stay home and get enough rest since you are already contagious. Cold viruses can spread easily through nose-blowing, nose-wiping, and sneezing. So basically, you can be affected by a cold if you are able to come in contact and inhale viruses from someone who is infected with a cold.
Some of the common symptoms of cold are nasal stuffiness, headaches, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, nose and throat irritation, and muscles aches and pains. They can cause you to feel terrible but mostly these things are just uncomfortable and drain you physically.
If you experience these symptoms, you definitely have a cold and it will typically last for no more than a week. However, if your cold symptoms do not go away after a week and you still feel very weak, it would be advisable that you check with your doctor right away because you probably have developed sinusitis or other allergies.
On the other hand, flu, which is also known as influenza can cause a much serious effect on you as its symptoms are more severe as compared to a cold. It is a highly contagious disease that can infect you through touching contaminated areas such as tables, chairs door handles, utensils, door handles and the likes.  You can also catch the influenza virus by merely being around someone who has flu and keeps on coughing and sneezing.  The influenza virus is considered as an airborne virus and therefore, flu is contagious just by being in the presence of someone having the disease.
One common complication of the flu virus is pneumonia, which can be very risky for both young and adults especially those with heart and lung problems. Flu viruses usually start by entering your body through your eyes, nose, and mouth's mucous membrane. Again this is an airborne disease and since we rely on our breathing and touching things, we are more susceptible to the contagious virus.
Among the common symptoms of flu includes high fever, headache, sore throat, hoarse cough, and aching arm, legs, and back. If you experience the following symptoms of flu, you will feel very weak due to fever for the first 2 to 4 days and coughing and tiredness can last for more than a week.
Once you experience any of the signs and symptoms of flu and cold, it's very important that you take the right medicines to control them from spreading. And since both flu and cold have similar symptoms and it seems so hard to tell their differences based on signs and symptoms alone, it is best advisable that you visit your doctor as soon as possible so you'll know exactly if you have a flu or cold as well as you will be provided with the appropriate medications to take, and be further examined for other illnesses.

How to Treat the Flu and the Cold

The Center for Disease Control says you should get plenty of rest.  This will mean you should take off a couple of day from work or school.  You should not go around others for at least 24 hours after you stop having fever.  Fever is a sign you are contagious and your body is heating up to fight off the virus.
Get the rest you need. Your body needs to use all its energy to fight off this virus.  Stress can cause the virus to move and reproduce faster.  If you are resting, those resources can be used to fight off the virus.  
If you have a cold or flu do not eat or drink after anyone.  Do not let anyone eat or drink after you either.  You need to disobey your parents on this one and do not learn to share, at least do not share this virus.
You should drink plenty of liquids.  This will help directly by fighting off the virus.  However, indirectly it will help you to keep from getting dehydrated, which is a common occurrence with having a cold.
To help relieve some of the congestion, you can take a hot shower or bath.  This will help you relax as well.  The steam will help relieve some of the congestion as well.  To also help with the congestion, you can get a humidifier and place it in the room you are staying in most of the time.
To help with the sore throat you can gargle with warm salt water.  You will most likely have muscle pain associated with the cold.  You can take aspirin or acetaminophen, or ibuprofen.  You can take over the counter medications with antihistamines in them to help combat the runny nose and irritated eyes.  Take cough suppressants to help with the coughing that you are having.  However, you do want to get that stuff broke up and coughing does help with theat.  If you are coughing and it is breaking the mucous up, you might want to go as long as you can.
You should always see a doctor if you condition gets worse or last for more than a week.  I am not a medical doctor and this article should not replace the great information you would get from a physician that knows you and your situation.

Selena Gomez Looks Happy, Flashes Cleavage After Justin Bieber Breakup

In her first post-split appearance, Selena Gomez showed her ex what he's missing by wearing a cleavage-baring, turquoise Alberta Ferretti dress in L.A. Jan. 10.

At the Vogue event in the designer's honor, an upbeat Gomez chatted with Chelsea Lately host Chelsea Handler, 37. The Spring Breakers star has yet to publicly comment on her split with Bieber, 18.

The exes were first linked in November 2010 after a "cuddly" IHOP date, though they denied dating until the spring of 2011. The Wizards of Waverly Place actress and the "As Long as You Love Me" singer called it quits in November 2012.

"Selena broke up with Justin about a week ago. It's been a really challenging experience over the last year because of their crazy schedules," an insider told Us Weekly at the time. "Selena definitely had some major trust issues with Justin."

The pair soon reconnected and were spotted kissing and holding hands at an American Music Awards afterparty weeks later. While vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a New Year's trip, "They had another huge fight, and Selena won't forgive him," a source reveals in the Jan. 21 issue of Us Weekly (out now). "Selena is done with him."

In the wake of their split, Bieber was photographed smoking what appears to be marijuana on Jan. 2, just one day after a paparazzo was killed chasing his Ferrari. (Bieber was not in the vehicle at the time.)


Bieber is now being accused of assaulting Moshe Benabou, an ex-member of the Israeli army who worked as his bodyguard from March 2011 to October 2012. Benabou is seeking unspecified damages for assault and battery, in addition to $420,000 in unpaid overtime.

A source close to Bieber, however, insists the "whole thing is baseless and meritless. Justin never hit him and couldn't! He is so much smaller. This whole thing is a lie."

epic Makeup Before and After

The history of cosmetics spans at least 6000 years of human history, and almost every society on earth. Some argue that cosmetic body art was the earliest form of ritual in human culture, dating over 100,000 years ago from the African Middle Stone Age. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilised red mineral pigments (red ochre) including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa.
Archaeological evidence of cosmetics certainly dates from ancient Egypt and Greece. According to one source,early major developments include the use of castor oil in ancient Egypt as a protective balm and skin creams made of beeswax, olive oil, and rosewater described by the Romans. The Ancient Greeks also used cosmetics^. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament—2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well. Cosmetics were also used in ancient Rome, although much of Roman literature suggests that it was frowned upon. It is known that some women in ancient Rome used various substances, including lead-based formulas, to whiten the skin, and kohl was used to line the eyes.