Lifesize edible gingerbread house

The 2010 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book is out and one of the Fantasy gifts is a page out of my childhood dreams. A munchable manor house (which is probably bigger than most studio apts in NYC) is 6.6 feet high by 5.25 feet wide by 4.1 feet deep.
The Candyland come to life dream mansion  is handcrafted of 381 lbs. of gourmet gingerbread and 517 lbs. of royal icing. This magical creation features thousands of gourmet sweets including giant cookies, lollipops, gummies, mints, gumdrops, and a candy-encrusted roof. There's also a lollipop tree inside (because you can't give someone an empty house).
All this wonderment can be yours for the mere price of $15,000. The sugar coma is free.

Congress recognizes U.S. hardwoods as sustainable and preferable

The Hardwood Council has announced that Congress has given its stamp of approval to the U.S. hardwood industry and U.S. hardwood products with the passage of Senate Resolution 411 and House resolution 81. The resolutions recognize hardwood trees grown in the U.S. as an abundant, sustainable and legal resource. Dept. of Agriculture data show that U.S. hardwood inventory has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Also, U.S. hardwood growth exceeds hardwood removals by a margin of 1.9 to 1. Net annual growth has exceeded removals continuously since 1952.

New seating design fits multiple applications

The CH bench from Itoki Design is a one-piece plastic form that can be used in multiple configurations for seating and surfaces. The design won an Innovation Award at NeoCon 2010. The pieces can be moved around easily and are light enough to be stacked. Itoki suggests that it could take the place of small upholstered lounge seating or steel and wood side tables. It is made of linear low-density polyethylene, can be recycled, and has no parts to assemble or disassemble.