Category: Decorative Arts

ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Jane Sadek

Faberge EggTRAVEL THERE: OKCMOA, FABERGE AND CHIHULY, WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

OK, I’ll admit a lot of things didn’t go very well as I planned this trip, but one thing went very right.  I discovered a collection of Faberge artifacts were on special exhibition at the OKMOA.  We would have gone to the museum anyway, because they have wonderful, marvelous Chihulys, but to also see Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs?  We were in heaven.  I don’t want to go all nanny-nanny-poo-poo on you, but the exhibit ended  back in September.

Faberge Eggs I Have Seen and Loved

The story of the Romanffs and their Easter Eggs are not exactly a hidden gem of the art world.  I can’t remember not knowing about them.  However, my first opportunity to get up close and personal with them was at the Kimbell Art Museum in 1982.  Sometime around that time I also saw some Faberge items in New Orleans, but back in those days I had no idea I’d be a blogger one day and I can’t find a shred of evidence to prove I was there or exactly where I found them.  I’m guessing they were a few items on loan to the New Orleans Museum of Art from the famous Hodge collection which were later featured in a full blown exhibition of the collection back in 2008.   Faberge Book

I do however cherish the book I got at the Kimbell exhibit.  I have read so many books and watched so many movies about the Romanoffs that I can’t tell you what I’ve actually seen in person and what was delivered to me via various media.

The OKCMOA Exhihibition

The signature item of the OKCMOA Exhibition, featured on banners throughout the city, was a lapis lazuli egg decorated with gold filigree.  I made the mistake of assuming the entire exhibition would be eggs, which was not true, but we were in no way disappointed, because the exhibit was full of spectacular, awe-inducing items collected by an avid American fan of Faberge.

Faberge pelican eggThe first egg displayed in the galleries was this darling piece with the pelican on top.   It was a gift from Nicholas II to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.  Pelicans are not exactly my favorite birds, but according to the information provided by the museum, they symbolize motherly love and care, so that makes it more charming.  It was displayed as it is shown on this postcard, but a video showed how it opened up into a series of frames holding pictures of members of the royal family.  Quite a remarkable feat.

Along a wall, magnificent religious icons dripping in jewels and precious metals filled a case.  The lighting was low to preserve the artwork, but it also made it difficult to appreciate all the details.  However, you didn’t need much light to tell you they were spectacular.

The next case had a grove of gold, tree-like arms holding miniature eggs exquisitely decorated by Faberge.  The Pelican Egg, the icons and the miniature eggs filled the first room of the exhibition, but there were four other rooms full of treasures to enjoy.  There was everything from furniture, to serving pieces, to animals, to lots and lots of frames, to cigarette cases, to…well pretty much whatever you can imagine.  Photography was a new fad in those days, so a frame from your sovereign with a family photo was a real treat.  Pre-rolled cigarettes were newly fashionable at the time too, so cigarette cases are well represented.  I think the items which sparked the most interest for me were parasol handles.  Fashion demanded the well-put-together woman complete her ensemble with a parasol and woe to the woman who didn’t have an assortment of parasols to chose from.  Similarly, men carried canes with handles to rival the women.

The Technology

Audio tours were available on your smartphone and the museum provided earphones to cut down on the noise.  The information available, some of which I have shared here, is quite interesting.  However, the Kimbell has spoiled me.  Their acousti-guides are a little more user-friendly, because you don’t have to go in order.  You just input the number of the item you’ve happened upon and listen to what is said.  You really had to follow the order of audio guide on your phone at the OKCMOA, because there was no way to select a specific item.  You also used up a lot of phone juice.  I had to charge up after I left.

I also felt like they were stingy with their information.  There were so many wonderful items in the show and only a fraction were touched upon in the audio guide.  I know they can’t tell us everything about every single item, but the guide only explained 14 of the 230 items.  That’s not even a tithe of the objects.

Upstairs was a hands-on craft area for families to enjoy.  Many people had designed plans for their own Faberge Eggs using colored pencils and glued on rhinestones.  There was also a timeline with photos of all the Romanoff Easter Eggs.  The rest of the floor held the bulk of what was being displayed from their permanent collection.  We strolled through, but we were getting antsy to see the Chihuly’s

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I hope each and every one of you has a marvelous day.  I hope you come back next week and check out the Chihulys.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

San Antonio’s King William District

Jane Sadek
The Guenther House, King William Historical District, San Antonio TX
The Guenther House

TRAVEL THERE: KING WILLIAM HISTORICAL DISTRICT IN SAN ANTONIO TX

If it’s art, I love it. If it’s Decorative Arts, Architecture and History, well I’m there.  That’s the reason we spent our first morning in San Antonio at the McNay.  It’s also the reason our next stop was the King William District.

The Guenther House

To be exact, our  next stop was The Guenther House, because I also like food.  The Guenther House is one of the jewels in the crown of The King William District.   The Guenther Family founded the Pioneer Flour Mills.  Ever hear of Pioneer Biscuit Mix.  Yep, that’s them.

The mill is still producing and you can sample their wares at the restaurant, right there at the home of their founder.  The home also serves as a museum and has a great gift shop.  Deb and I took a look at it all while we waited for a friend to arrive.

I met Clark in my SFA days and stay in touch on Facebook, but it’s always great to get a chance to chat in person.  We were able to get a seat right there on that covered patio.  Deb had a salad, I opted for the Champagne Chicken Enchiladas and Clark just kept us company.

Of the two dishes, I think Deb chose the better one.  Not that mine was bad – it just wasn’t everything I’d dreamed of when I read, “Tender slices of chicken breast and Monterey Jack cheese wrapped in Pioneer’s White Wings flour tortillas.  Baked in our special sauce made from San Antonio River Mill Champagne Chicken Gravy mix, garnished with jalapenos and cilantro.”  The tortilla was a little tough and by the time the melted cheese made it out to the patio, so was it.  The flavor was great, but I’m a real stickler for texture.

Steves Homestead, King William Historical Distict, San Antonio TX
The Steve’s Homestead

The King Willam Walking Tour

Soon Clark had places to be and I had the map a walking tour of King Williams in my hand.  Now I’ve been to the King William District numerous times, but I’ve never been to San Antonio with anyone else who is as patient with my passions as Deb is.  Every time I’ve been to San Antonio I’ve told my traveling companions how great it would be to walk through the district and spend some time looking at each house.  So far no one had taken me up on it.  I’d been through it on a trolley tour, I’d gone on the Steves Homestead Tour and I’d driven through on the way to Guenther’s, but walking tour and San Antonio had not clicked with any of my potential walking tour companions.

Villa Finale, King William Historical District, San Antonio Texas
Villa Finale

Of course, Deb thought it was a great idea and it turned out to be just that.  We left Guenther’s and figured out where we were on the walking tour map.  Then we did just what I’d wanted to do, strolled along and discussed all the beautiful homes with the Walking Tour Map & Guide as our reference.  Along the way we did take in the Steve’s Homestead Tour – delightful, by the way.  We were a few minutes late for Villa Finale, so we just enjoyed the grounds.  As beautiful as these homes are they only scratch the surface.  Each home in the five block area is a treasure.

So, yes, if you go to San Antonio you should do the walking tour.  San Antonio is notoriously hot and humid, and we walked the whole thing in ninety something  weather, but it was fine.  In fact, the tree-shaded sidewalk made it very pleasant.  On the way back to Guenther’s we dropped down to the River and enjoyed the serenity.  This is one of my favorite memories of this trip.

But the Riverwalk was calling.  We had reservations at Hotel Contessa and we wanted to see the Fiesta Noche del Rio at the Arneson River Theater.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you all about it!  In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the King William Walking Tour.

In the Villa Finale Garden
The Joske House – important because my Mom worked for Joskie’s Department Store for years.

 

 

 

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Morning at the McNay Art Museum

Jane Sadek
Marion Koogler McNay Sculpture, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio TX
Incoming Message from the Big Giant Head!

TRAVEL THERE:  SAN ANTONIO’S MCNAY ART MUSEUM

Diverting Diversity

There’s more than one reason I have a blast traveling with my bestie.  One of the benefits I truly enjoy is her encyclopedic knowledge of movies and TV – especially movies and TV she enjoyed with her boys.  Since I didn’t have kids at all and tend to know more about concierges than coneheads, I can be seriously entertained by things most everyone else already knew.  Enter the sculpture garden at the McNay.

You can usually tell what is most important to me on a trip, because I will schedule it first on the agenda if at all possible.  That’s why the McNay Art Museum was our Friday morning destination.  As we pull into the beautiful grounds of the wonderful museum, Deb says, “Incoming message from the big giant head.”  This made no sense whatsoever to me.  Yes, there was a large sculpture of Marion Koogler McNay‘s head there on the lawn, but what was that “incoming message” stuff about?

That’s when I got a lesson on sci-fi sitcoms.  Most of you don’t need an explanation, so I’ll leave it at that.  We arrived a few minutes before the museum opened which gave us some time to explore the garden.  Deb posed before the big giant head in the appropriate stance and we captured a few of the other lovely sites on the grounds.

McNay Art Museum, San Antonio TX, Marion Koogler McNay, Sunset Hills
Welcome to Sunset Hills

Getting to Know Marion Koogler McNay

Though I’ve mentioned the McNay before, I’ve never really told you how wonderful it is.  Marion Koogler McNay was a patron of the arts and one of her husbands (she had several) built her a palace in what was once a rural area outside San Antonio.  Now the estate is just minutes from downtown, surrounded by accouterments of the bustling metropolis.  Learning more about the heiress’ life is just one of a plethora of reasons to visit the McNay.

Ms. McNay is one of those people who had everything other people want, but was denied the one thing she really wanted.  Over the years as I’ve visited the museum, I’ve learned tidbits about her life and it is a haunting story.

Born in Ohio, to a family with money, she was exposed to great art at a very young age and it captured her heart.  She was one of the first to collect works of Impressionism, which led to an appreciation of the schools which followed it, like Cubism and Fauvism.  But the modern art of her day was not her only interest.  She collected religious images from the Middle Ages and classic sculpture also.  She was an artist in her own right and played a role in the artistic community of Taos New Mexico.

But all she really loved was Don McNay.  She was still quite young when the pair met and married.  Though she was well-to-do, her husband was not.  He was just a soldier who was about to be posted to an assignment on the Texas-Mexico border. She came along and they lived very happily in a very modest house near his posting.  In spite of her affluent upbringing, this was the best time of her life.

Unfortunately it was not happily ever after.  Don was reassigned and shortly after leaving the border area, he died from the Spanish Influenza epidemic.  Ms. McNay had not followed him on his second assignment, but settled in San Antonio, where the two had honeymooned on their way to the border town.  There were other homes and other husbands, but her heart would always belong to Don.

McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio TX
From the courtyard

One of her husbands built this beautiful mansion, called Sunset Hills, for her, and even though she made it a beacon of art and beauty for others, she had sad experiences there.  It took years to build the complex residence and when it was done, our country had fallen into the Depression.  She held a gala housewarming, but the pictures of it seem to echo with disappointment, rather than glee.  In just a few years her marriage ended and she took back Don’s surname as her own.  I can imagine her walking the halls of her beautiful home wishing she could trade it all for just a little more time with the love of her life, Don McNay.

The McNay Today

Though her own life was sad, she brought opportunity and great art to San Antonio for others to enjoy.  A visit to the McNay to learn more about Marion and enjoy Sunset Hills is more than enough reason to make the pilgrimmage, but on top of it all is the art – some of it hanging on the walls, other items actually a part of the walls, like the beautiful mosaic in the courtyard.

Membership having its privileges, Deb and I got in for free, thanks to my membership at the DMA.  Then we began to roam the museum enjoying first the permanent collection, then wandering back to the theater area for some special exhibitions out there.  One was called “All the Rage in Paris” and it had posters, costumes and other artifacts from the days of the Ballet Russe in Paris.  What and interesting and beautiful collection!

While visiting the museum we watched a video on Ms. McNay’s life, which reminded me of some of the things I’d learned about her.  We also relaxed in the courtyard.  I love that courtyard so much that there is even a chance that I actually go there for the fountain and mosaics rather than the art. (Don’t tell anyone!  I’m still trying to impress people with my art appreciation skills.)  The museum also has a whimsical and wonderful gift shop, but I managed to leave without buying anything this time.

After a couple of hours, it was unfortunately time to move on.  We had many plans for our day and lunch at the Guenther House was one of them.  Come back next week and find out about Champagne Chicken Enchildas!  In the meantime, enjoy a few more pictures of the McNay.

Arches in the Courtyard
A More Modern Part of the Museum
The Koi Pond in the Courtyard


 

 

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

The Sportsman’s Lodge – Studio City CA

Jane Sadek
Maserati, Venice Beach, CA
And yes, that is a Maserati we’re driving!

WHERE TO STAY IN LA

Now we’re on our way to LA, the last stop in our 2014 California Adventure. Our accommodations were quite unique. Let me tell you about them.

THE MASERATI

Have I mentioned that we have the coolest nephews in the world?  I know I told you all about the one in San Fran – you know Jack’s dad.  Well, I have another nephew.  Bassem lives in LA, across the street from Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center.  At least he did until a few weeks ago.  And that Maserati?  Well, it’s Bassem’s.

One of the primary reasons we were in LA was because several members of Bill’s family were going to be visiting, including a niece and grand-nephew from Egypt.  Usually, we’d just bunk with Bassem, but he already had a houseful.  Since he couldn’t offer us a place to stay, he insisted on giving us his car to drive while we were in town.  That would be kind under any circumstances – when the car in question is a Maserati, well, it’s more than kind.

BUT WHERE TO STAY?

With Bassem’s home full to capacity, we needed to find a place to stay.  Some other family members chose The Standard, but it just wasn’t what we were looking for.  Even though we wanted to be close to everyone, we really didn’t want to be in Hollywood.  And besides, there was just something about a hotel with an upside down sign that irritated my OCD tendencies.

THE SHORT LIST

You have two choices when it comes to hotels around Hollywood – expensive and bedbug bait.  I spent two days on Trip Advisor and other sites trying to come up with realistic options.  The Sportsman’s Lodge was very high on my list for several reasons, but I was afraid Bill would think I was nuts.  So, I included it on the short list and waited for Bill to give me his favorites.

He came back to me and asked for more information about The Sportsman Lodge, so I knew I hadn’t been crazy at all.  It was both geographically and financially desirable, with just enough edge to be interesting.  I booked a room and looked forward to our stay.

COOL AND FUNKY

The reason I thought Bill might assume I’d lost my mind, if I suggested this hotel, was that it had (shall we say) unique decor.  Sort the Jetsons meet John Wayne.  The lobby had odd things like a rack of antlers (painted white BTW) juxtaposed with chrome stools upholstered in orange and glass tables with lime green accessories.  We’re usually more into French antiques.  The whole thing was sort of upscale meets resale.  The parking lot was definitely upscale and our Maserati fit right in.

Everything in LA costs a whole lot more than it should – and The Sportsman’s Lodge is no exception, but once you get past the sticker shock, you can really enjoy yourself.  The rooms are sparsely furnished in a minimalistic way, but you have everything you need.  The bed was comfortable, but the view was the parking lot.  There were rooms which overlooked the pool, but since it was crowded 24/7, I think I was very satisfied with the parking lot vista.  And speaking of the pool, I wish I’d gotten brave enough to spend some time there, but everyone seemed so cool that I was a little intimidated.

Still, if I were to need another hotel room near my nephew’s place, I’d probably just return to The Sportsman’s Lodge – and who knows, I might get brave enough to hang out at the pool.

I had a great time with our family in LA, beginning with a trip to the Getty Malibu.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you all about it.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Winchester Mystery House

Jane Sadek

Winchester House07032014

TRAVEL THERE: IT’S A MYSTERY ALRIGHT

Next stop on our California adventure:  The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.

The Real Mystery

Several years ago, I asked my mother which San Jose attraction was better, the  Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum or the Winchester Mystery House, because she’d been to both.  She didn’t stutter or stall – she was all about the Egyptian Museum.  So, on that trip I went to the museum and promised myself I’d see the Winchester House another day.

Well, on this trip to California I carved out some time for the Winchester Mystery House and learned the real mystery is why it’s become so popular.  Remember last week when I told you Lotusland was worth every penny of the $45 tour price – and more.  Well, the Winchester House, in my opinion, is not worth anywhere near the $33 per person they’ll hit you up for – and that’s just the basic tour.  Some people pay more for extended and special tours.  Ten dollars?  Maybe.  Anymore than that?  Rip off!

Don’t Judge This Book By It’s Cover

An exterior shot of this rambling edifice leads one to believe visitors will tour a beautiful Victorian mansion.  Well, the exterior is very pretty and I do recommend that you at least drive by it on South Winchester Boulevard, but what you can see from the street is really all you need to see.  The interior of the house is pretty scary – and I’m not talking about the spirits some people claim they encounter.

We found the house, parked the car and went to the entry booth.  We actually discussed getting the more expensive ticket which included a behind the scenes tour, but we were supposed to be in San Francisco by six thirty.  We were afraid we wouldn’t have time for more than the basic tour – thank goodness.  That’s when things started to get weird.

Right This Way for your Cruise Photo

I’m used to lining up to go on a house tour.  At the Winchester House, the tickets are timed.  A sign tells you where to wait for the next tour and there’s a velvet rope hanging between stanchions.

However, I am not used to lining up for cruise-type photos at historic homes.  (They do the same sort of thing at Hearst Castle, but that’s Hearst Castle.)  At the Winchester they put you in front of a green screen and hand you a fake rifle.  We were not enchanted.  Bill resents having his picture taken on cruises, so this really set him off.  “I made an ugly face,” he told me.

Welcome to….the Stables?

After all the people on our tour had their obligatory rifle picture taken, we were allowed in the house.  We were herded into a sort of holding pen and given a very canned speech by an eager young guide.  In his defense, he was fairly new to his job as a guide, but it came off like, “I am thoroughly bored with this speech, and hahaha you’re stuck listening to it.”  It did not improve as the tour continued.

From the holding pen we went to the stables, but it was a little confusing, because it was also a sort of warehouse.  I thought to myself, “This isn’t a very engaging place to start.”  I didn’t realize then that it wasn’t going to get much better.  From the stable we used a very bizarre staircase to get to another floor.  I hoped better things were coming.

Most of the House is More of the Same

With very few exceptions, things didn’t get any better.  The floors were linoleum.  The walls were, for the most part wood, though there were some that were wallpapered.  Any room looked pretty much like all the rest of the rooms.  They had millions of visitors to the house and it looks like it.  It also doesn’t look like they’ve done anything to preserve what people may have come to see.

Part of the problem is that most of the rooms are unfurnished.  When the builder/owner died, everything was taken out of the house and sold for cash, per the little old lady’s will.  There are a few rooms that have items in them, but the furnishings matched everything else about the house – sad and worn out.

I think one of the reasons the house is so empty and so unfurnished is that they want to impress upon visitors just how nuts Mrs. Winchester was.  The story of the house is that she bought it and kept building on to it.  Another part of the story is that she was trapped in part of the house after an earthquake and after escaping closed down that part of the house, damaged as it was, and kept on building.

Okay, so I get the part about the lady being nuts and I realize her original belongings were sold, but if you’re going to charge me $33 dollars, I want to see more than an empty house in disrepair.

On to San Fran

On any other tour, we might have tried to sneak away and go on with our business, but in this dreadful rabbit warren of a place, who knows where you might have ended up.  We endured the rest of the tour and were relieved when we escaped.

The story of the Winchester Mystery House is well worth your investigation.  The owner was the widow of the man who invented the Winchester rifle.  Her idiosyncrasies are fascinating.  The Winchester Mystery House as it stands today, is not.

Our trip to California gets better though!  come back next week.

 

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Santa Barbara’s LotusLand

Jane Sadek

Lotusland, Santa Barbara CA

TRAVEL THERE: LOTUSLAND, BEYOND BEAUTIFUL!

First atraction, first day: Santa Barbara’s Lotusland! Talk about a great way to start a vacation – this was it!

Hanging in SB

So, if our adventure started in Santa Barbara, why did we fly to LAX and stay in Carpenteria?  Well, this was a road trip which would end in LA, so it was cheaper to fly into and out of LAX, not to mention avoiding a one-way rental car charge.  And Carpenteria is only ten miles away from Santa Barbara and about a hundred dollars cheaper than any accommodations I could book in the more famous city.Santa Barbara CA

 

The Beach

 

We left Carpenteria early enough to spend some time in Santa Barbara, because it’s one of our favorite cities.  The list of things we would have loved to do would be quite long, but all we had time for was a leisurely visit to the beach.  Next was lunch and we had fast food.

 

Lotusland Brochure, Santa Barbara CAFinally, Lotusland!

Lotusland is one of those hidden travel gems people talk about, but it shouldn’t be such a secret.  Their website says they’ve been having tours since 1993, so I don’t know why more people aren’t raving about it.  I lived on the Central Coast of California for six years and in all that time I heard one person mention it in passing and they made it seem like a cactus farm.

Listen to me – you need to go to Lotusland.  Beautiful, serene, amazing – these are the words that come to mind.  Yes there are cactus gardens, but that’s only the beginning.  There are twenty other gardens there, also.  From a Japanese Garden to a Water Garden full of water lilies to a Topiary Garden – and the list goes on!

Lotusland Map, Santa Barbara CA

Here’s a map from our tour.  At least, Trip Advisor lists it as the number two attraction in Santa Barbara,behind the famous Courthouse, but I’ve been to the Courthouse and it doesn’t light a candle to Lotusland.  Santa Barbara Mission is pretty wonderful, but Trip Advisor rates that as number seven.  What’s wrong with these people!

First you need to know Ganna Walska, the lady who planned and planted Lotusland, should have her own mini-series.  A famous opera singer with five different husbands, ties to both the Polish and Russian royal families and over thirty acres of gardens in Santa Barbara – what’s not to love?  Then there’s the gardens themselves.  Breath-taking!

Next, you need to know that you can’t just show up at the address on the internet for a stroll through the garden.  All tours are docent-led and there are two each day.  To tour the garden you have to go online, make reservations and pay for the tour.  Then you will get directions about where to show up for the tour.  I have to confess that you might get a little sticker shock.  The tours are $45/adult and $20/ child, but I am telling you it is completely worth the price of admission.  Trust me on this.

We had quite a tour.  About half-way through a sweet little old lady fell INTO a cactus plant, which sort of threw everything off – and certainly slowed us down on the next leg of our trip – but that’s for next week.  Lotusland is one of those places that I could wear myself out talking about and still not capture the essence of it, so now I’m going to shut-up and show you some of our pictures.  Just be sure and come back next week.  There’s more fun to come.

The cactus mishap is just about to occur!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Remembering Neiman Marcus Fortnights

Jane Sadek
My Fortnight Christmas Ornaments

TRAVEL HERE: NEIMAN MARCUS FORTNIGHTS

So you think Black Friday is a shopping experience?  To me, it’s just a feeding frenzy.  If Sam Walton has been successful at anything, it has been getting us to focus on price.  I sort of liked the world better before Walmart.

The World Before Walmart

In those days price was certainly a factor, but it wasn’t the only factor.  Designer names were guideposts, not a decoration plastered across the seat of a pair of sweat pants.  Developing your own style was more important than being in style.  In other words, going shopping was about more than consuming.

Wonderful, Wonderful Fortnight

A perfect example of this was Neiman Marcus Fortnight.  During a two week period in the fall, Neiman’s would transform their Dallas stores into reasonable facsimiles of some exciting destination.  The straw ornaments above are from Bavaria and were purchased in 1983 during  the German Fortnight.  D Magazine gives you the details of Fortnight, but I want to convey the experience.

For a middle-class kid living in Dallas in the Sixties, Fortnight was a window to the wider world.  On a special evening, Mom would dress us up in the our best.  The minute Dad got home from work he’d load us in the car and take us to Neiman’s flagship store in downtown Dallas – but it didn’t seem like a store at all.  In fact, once I entered Neiman’s, I felt as if I’d stepped off a plane into a faraway place.

Granted, back in those days I’d never been on a plane, but I thought what was happening to me then must be just like arriving at a long awaited destination.  See, Mom didn’t just dress us up and make us go shopping with her for the evening, she carefully primed us for the experience.  All year we played a guessing game about what country Neiman’s might focus on for Fortnight.  If the evening news mentioned a place we’d never heard of, we discussed why or why not it might be a good country for Neiman’s.  As we studied our history and geography lessons, Mom would ask, “If this country were featured in a Neiman Marcus Fortnight, what products do you think would be stocked in the gourmet food department?”

In additon, Mother took us shopping at Neiman’s all year long, so we’d know the latest in fashion and appreciate quality.  Then we’d go to Titche’s and buy our wardrobes with Mom’s employee discount.  But a splashy ad in the Dallas Morning News Neiman’s would announce our Fortnight destination and I’d be giddy for weeks until our annual Fortnight visit was scheduled.

During Fortnight, we’d wander through the retail wonderland all agog.  The ultimate treat was dinner at one of the NM cafes tricked out like the featured locale and serving their traditional fare.  Along with many items from the featured country for sale, each floor of Neiman’s hosted special exhibits and demonstrations.  We’d watch traditionally garbed dancers perform exotic dances.  We’d see animals, artisans and actresses.   Our family added very little to Neiman Marcus’s bottom line during this annual pilgrimage, but Fortnight was such a retail success, in spite of folks like us, that many stores attempted copy cat experiences.  Yes, shopping was fun back in those days.

During the years I was busy going to school and living the disco scene, Neiman’s sort of fell off my radar.  Then I became an official consumer with a credit rating.  A Neiman Marcus charge card provided a plastic invitation to another world.  Among the most important privileges offered was postal delivery of the famous Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog with its legendary His and Hers gifts of opulence.  Trust me, nothing on the internet can replace that catalog.  The recipient of a gift, in the store’s  traditional shiny red Christmas box with the gold Neiman Marcus logo, expected no additional wrapping paper and bows.  Adulthood arrived when I received my own Neiman Marcus credit card.

I have to confess I did not inherit my parent’s frugality.  I found it impossible to merely visit Fortnight and buy nothing but dinner.  I went to the store as often as I could during those special two weeks to buy myself and others as many little treats as I thought I could get away with.  Being at Fortnight was one of those particularly Dallas experiences, like visiting the Great State Fair of Texas or seeing the Christmas decorations on Beverly Drive.

Now Neiman Marcus has stores all over the world and they belong to some big corporation – not Mr. Nieman and Mr. Marcus.  Most middle class kids in Dallas have flown somewhere before they reach their sixth birthday.  Someone took Fortnight out of the Neiman Marcus budget, but I miss it.

I still have my Neiman Marcus credit card and it gets plenty of use.  Neiman’s is my luxury store of choice.  Having lunch at Neiman’s is one of my favorite indulgences.  I will always love giving gifts wrapped in nothing but a Neiman’s logo.  Nowadays I shop at Neiman’s and buy my wardrobe at the Allen Outlet Mall, because even though Mom retired with her discount intact, department store shopping isn’t as much fun as it used to be.  Drat that Mr. Walton.

Update:  This is by far the most popular post on my blog, so even though I have created Miscellaneous Jane for the purpose of offloading things from this blog, this post stays.