Merry Christmas Dallas. If you didn’t get everything you ever wanted this year, don’t pout. H&M, the Swedish fashion juggernaut known to bring the runway looks to your wardrobe for way less than their suggested retail, just got way more local. Instead of centering your entire seasonal shopping event around a trip to NYC, stay in the Big D and pull looks from H&M inside Northpark Mall.

Rumors of the brand making Dallas its first Texas location started months ago, but the concept was widely regarded as hearsay. When Dallasites got the real thumbs up in October, that H&M would definitely debut at Northpark  in the second half of 2011, it was excitement all around for the fashion forward.

And yet, maybe it was the charitable atmosphere of the season, or perhaps the blogs, tweets and other social media urgings paid off, but the folks at H&M decided to give a little of their own Christmas cheer to us this year, by opening their first ever preview store in the old Express location inside the mall. That’s right, this 4,500 square-foot “pop-up shop” is already available for perusal at Northpark, as a token of good faith for what we can expect to come.

Shoppers, you have been warned.

Northpark Mall, 8687 N Central Expressway, 214.265.6870

With just three days remaining until the end of 2010, it’s time to brainstorm some New Year’s resolutions and secure those NYE plans. For those who need a little party inspiration, here are some swanky events that will surely help you ring in the New Year with a bang.

There can be a lot of pressure to figure out the perfect spot to spend New Year’s Eve.  After all, it is the culmination of a year of revelry and the launch to a new year ahead.  It has to be perfect, doesn’t it?  Truth be told, it matters more who you are with more than where you are. So be sure to grab your best friends, closest family members or that certain special someone and head to one of these top 5 New Year’s Eve parties in Boston.  And who knows, maybe you’ll meet some new special someones before the clock strikes midnight…

Tick tock, tick tock. The countdown to the end of the year has begun. It’s time to dust off your dancing shoes and get your hats and horns out of the closet. If you’re still looking for a place to sing a round or two of Auld Lang Syne, these top 5 haute spots will be kicking off the New Year in serious style.

Parties are notorious in Dallas, and New Year’s Eve is no exception. Whether you’re a native or a visitor to our lovely abode, you’ll get a head start on your New Year’s resolution by counting down to midnight at one of these amazing spots.

The hubbub on the Strip gets going around 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve when police barricade Las Vegas Boulevard from traffic and revelers spill out on the streets to prepare for the countdown. Then at midnight, fireworks explode from the rooftops of seven casinos, including the MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, the Venetian and the Stratosphere. But that’s just the party if you don’t have the ticket. Check out these great New Year’s Eve shindigs in Las Vegas. Call fast and you can still get in on the celebrity sightings.

Untitled, 2010, by Ebru Uygun

Opening on January 10th at the Green Art Gallery in Dubai is “Lucid Dreaming”, an exhibition of works by emerging Turkish Ebru Uygun. The show will inaugurate the gallery’s new space on Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz.

Jagged, edgy and displaced, Ebru’s work centers around the deconstruction of traditional oil painting. She reverts back to customary techniques of painting creating works which consistently show a demolishing of her oeuvre and then a reconstruction. Such a practice couldn’t be better exemplified than by the technique of adding and then tearing of strips of her paintings which often led to the appearance of “scars” on her canvases. The artist then used scissors to cut up her canvases before putting them back together.

Ebru now works with four sheets of canvas which she paints and then deconstructs by hand. She also works with sound in her painting recording the process of deconstruction and reconstruction as if it were a performance.

Green Art Gallery

Al Quoz 1, Street 8, Al Serkal Avenue, Unit 28

04 346 9305

There is no lack of activity over New Year in London and in fact choosing just one party to attend is usually the tricky part. Here’s just a taster of some of the conventional and the original ways to bring in the New Year.

Counting down doesn’t have to be the same old routine. If you’re looking for a chic way to ring in 2011 and you’re strapped for time,  just check out this top 5 list of New Year’s Eve parties — from the St. Regis to the Pacific Ocean’s waves, there’s something for you no matter what your mood. And when the clock strikes 12, raise your glass and get that kiss in high style.

Count down to 2011 at one of these hot spots, the best places to spend New Year’s Eve in Miami.