Ah, New Year’s resolutions. Those elusive little promises to ourselves that somehow evaporate come Valentine’s Day, when you find yourself halfway through a bottle of pinot, cigarette in hand, a fridge full of Domino’s and double chocolate cake. Not you, not this year. Start 2011 off right with a great workout routine, the best way to keep your bad habits at bay and your bod in last year’s jeans.

Art has a home here in Dallas, and it’s not necessarily confined to the ambitious new Arts District, which has the big boy museums like the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art. The real artisan’s lair is considered to be Dragon Street, where smaller galleries flourish and monthly street fairs are held.

According to the International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association, Texas is second only to California in the number of fitness centers in the state. That means we have no excuse to slack off on our New Year’s resolution to get a tighter tush or cook off our turkey arms. If you are looking for a fitness club that gives you more bang for your buck, try one of these five local gyms that can take you from zero to hero in style.

If you’re still stuck on what your big New Year’s Eve outfit will be, check out the Celebrity Fashion Experience this Thursday at Lofty Spaces. Showcasing two television personalities along with local up and coming designers, this is a nice sure to garner national attention.

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.

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 newest installment to the Uptown stretch around Harwood Avenue is actually not a new building. Rather, the old Saint Ann school, the first school for Hispanic children established in 1927, has had a major face lift to become the hottest new eatery in town. The digs now house a restaurant, full bar, and the largest beer garden in the city, just waiting for warmer climes to be filled with local patrons.

It seems a rare thing for an actual nightclub to open in Dallas without a hint of pretension, apathy and bets on its rapid demise. Whether this is due to the fact that as Texans we’d often rather have a beer at the neighborhood tavern than a bottle of Goose at the latest hot spot, or perhaps nightclubs are, simply put, a suspicious breed in themselves, I won’t posit here.

Ok, so the gifts have all been given, the space under the tree is blissfully clean and all the wrapping paper and bows have been safely recycled or thrown out. So why would you want to do more shopping? Well, besides the fantastic sales, there have been new developments in the world of Dallas fashion, floral and everything in between. So if you plan on returning at least a couple gifts this year, you may want to trade them in for something in one of these fun stores.