Even though we still have another month until summer officially begins, the heat here in Houston and Memorial Day coming up this weekend has me dreaming about summer vacations, and better yet, vacation homes!! My husband has always wanted a ski home in Colorado. He worked as a ski instructor in Vail after college for three years, and he still goes up 5-6 times a year to ski. I think I would love the summers there, but I am much more of a beach person, and I’ve been trying to slowly convert him over to my side!!

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Although I don’t think I stand a chance, while I was surfing the web for beach spots, I read about this fascinating building project in Dubai called The World and had to share! It’s a collection of 300 private, man-made islands that together form the shape of a world map! Here’s the aerial view. The coolest part… each island is for sale!!! So, if you’ve ever wanted your own island, Dubai might be the place to look!

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While some will feature resorts and restaurants, most will be ultra-luxury private villas with their own beach!!! Different developers have designed special floating homes, perfectly suited to the islands. My favorite is this Floating Seahorse design!! You can see more of the renderings below…

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Design firm Kleindienst Group spent more than 5,000 hours researching and 13,000 hours designing and engineering to develop the Floating Seahorse. Priced at $2.8 million, the centerpiece of the home is the underwater master suite surrounded by a sunken coral garden.

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Look at the master bathroom – so gorgeous!!

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Can you imagine waking up to this view every morning?

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The above-water upstairs is just as luxe with an observation deck at the top and a patio for sunbathing. Each outdoor space has its own glass-bottom hot tub jacuzzi!

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The very first Floating Seahorse was just put into position in the Heart of Europe, the European section of The World, in early April. They’ll finish installing the other 42 this year!! And if you’d rather have your own Seahorse closer to home, Kleindienst has announced plans to make the concept available for sale.

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Here’s another fabulous floating home design!!! Created by Ogyana Real Estate and Amillarah Private Islands, these luxury private islands, each featuring its own garden, pool and beach, will be part of the Australasia section of The World!!

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Even though The World will only be accessible by boat or air transport, once you’re there, you don’t have to leave! The project is divided into private estate island zones, commercial zones, which will have a variety of different resorts and clubhouses, hubs for ferry transfer points and public visitor areas. Lebanon Island is already up and running with a restaurant, beach club, pool and bars!

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It’s fun to dream!! But, in the end, John won the battle… see the pics below of our new vacation townhome in Colorado! Of course, part of the compromise is that I get to redo, so stay tuned for my next project!!!! I will have to come up with some very creative ideas because this one will definitely need to incorporate cost-saving ideas and budget-friendly purchases!

What about you? What would your perfect idea of a vacation home be?

Hope you all have a good week and a great Memorial Day weekend!! Till next week!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the Miracle & Skinny Noodle Challenge – Win a signed copy of Segreto Style!!!

The challenge is simple: send me your recipes that use Skinny or Miracle Noodles (and any photos you have of the finished dish). Then either 1) subscribe to this blog if you are not yet on our list, 2) follow us on Instagram and leave a comment below, or 3) if you’re already following us on Instagram, you can also enter by sharing this post on Facebook and then leaving a comment below!

The contest is only open until Friday, June 10th at noon! We’ll be posting our favorite recipes on the blog and picking a winner based on creativity and taste. The lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Segreto Style, so tell all of your friends!!! Click here to submit your recipe! Good luck!!

Here’s one of the great recipes we got last week, from Karen!!!

Angel Hair Pasta Salad

created by Karen D.

Ingredients

1 package (7 ounces) miracle noodle angel hair pasta
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Drain water out of the package of the miracle noodles and rinse them in a colander. Add the noodles to a lightly salted water and boil for 2-4 minutes.

Place the noodles in a skillet on medium heat to remove the excess moisture and transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, yellow squash, green pepper and onions.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over pasta mixture and toss to coat. You can add any protein you like. I added shrimp! Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.