Guest Post-New Years Eve in Austria

Our second New Years Eve post is from the lovely Ivana who writes the blog Macarons & Pearls
She is originally from Slovakia, has lived in Paris and has recently just moved to Austria.

What would be your ideal New Years Eve?

I´m definitely not a party girl and I don´t like crowded nightclubs, so my ideal New Years Eve would look as follows: a dinner party at our place, with a few of our best friends, loads of delicious food, cupcakes, macarons, great music, loads of laughter and bubbles of champagne!

This year's New Years Eve outfit will be.......
Sequins, sequins, sequins! I love myself some sparkle, so I´ll go for a sequin minidress, sky-high heels and a cocktail ring or two. And a smoky eye, of course :)

What traditions do you have in Slovakia?
Definitely the fireworks. Everyone stocks up on the boxes of fireworks, and at midnight all the hell breaks loose :) You can watch it from your balcony, and it´s really beautiful. Unfortunately, we don´t do this anymore at my parents´ place, because we almost set the house on fire a few years ago... We also love to go downtown to watch the city fireworks, meet some more friends and wish everyone a Happy New Year

This year it´s the first time ever that I won´t be celebrating the NY Eve in Slovakia. I´ll be in Graz with my fiancé and a bunch of friends, and I´m really excited to discover the way the Austrian people celebrate and all their special habits!

What beauty product can you not survive without during the festive season?

A great moisturizer! The weather is so cold in Austria, and my skin suffers a lot, so I try to take special care of it. I´m more than addicted to Dior´s Hydra Life Skin Perfect and Clarins´ HydraQuench Mask. And since my lashes are virtually non existent, I couldn´t survive without a great mascara, no matter the time of the year :)

Best Stress Reliever?

When I feel stressed out ot unhappy, I just need to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and a great book (I´m pretty much obsessed with Hunger Games series right now, and these books make me forget all the stress and problems!)

What your hopes and dreams for 2012?
Wow, this is a tough one. I gave up on New Year resolutions a long time ago: if I want to change something about my life, I try to do it immediately, I don´t see the point in waiting until the new year. But each December I love to put together a list of things that I´m sure will make me happier. I want to spend as much time as possible working on my blog and my new career, because it brings me so much joy and fulfilment! I hope I´ll soon be able to have a proper conversation in German, and I want to discover all the wonderful things and opportunities my new country and city have to offer. I want to read tons of amazing books, watch all the new movies, get inspired by everything around me, design my own clothes, bake the best macarons in the world (watch out, Ladurée :), learn one new thing everyday, become a better person and leave a little trail of beauty behind me... Plus, I´m really looking forward to planning my wedding and I hope everything goes well :)
And I really, really hope to spend as much time as possible with the people I love the most: my fiancé, my parents and my best friends. Here´s to an amazing new year 2012!

Wow! great resolutions Ivana, and thank you SO much for guest posting for me. It just remains for me to say I wish you all the best for 2012, and thank you for all your wonderful support on my blog (and off the blog) this year. It's been wonderful getting to know you :-)

And to all my wonderful followers and friends, I want to wish you ALL a fabulous 2012. Thank you all so much for your blog support, and also for the wonderful "friendships without borders" I have made. Here's to another year of sisterhood support xx