The ladies who shop and shop and shop at Neiman Marcus are in for a special treat on Wednesday. Thirty or so of the store's top customers have been invited to an oh-so-select, invitation-only face-to-face with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and NM fashion director Ken Downing. The latest fashion trends will highlight the dish.

Wintour's long-time squeeze, Shelby Bryan, maintains Houston roots that have him returning to H-Town several times a year, often accompanied by the fashion media powerhouse. The duo has been spotted from time-to-time at the Avalon Diner, the River Oaks Tennis Tournament and at private family parties around town including at the Bayou Club.

It's our understanding that Bryan and Wintour are passing through Houston on route to his brother's swell ranch in West Texas for a family Thanksgiving.

Martha Stewart shops H-Town

Once Martha Stewart completed her talk before the sellout crowd at the Theta Charity Antiques Show on Saturday, she and her publicist, her book promoter and an assistant headed straight for The Guild Shop in Montrose, where she joined some of the city's savviest treasure hunters.

To the delight of Guild Shop regulars and volunteers, the diva of all things homeworthy bought a Beatrice Potter bowl and mug for her grandchild and a costume jewelry necklace in green and gold. Guild Shop volunteer Margaret Shilstone reports, "Everyone was thrilled to have her here. People tried to respect her privacy, but she was the talk of the shop."

Three decades of selling

It was an evening of mixing, mingling and reminiscing when Martha Turner Properties marked its 30th anniversary with a company-wide cocktail reception in the newly-decorated ballroom of the St. Regis Hotel. President Martha Turner and partner/vice president Tom Anderson welcomed agents, staff and guests from the independent broker's five Houston offices.

While Marshall Maxwell tinkled the ivories, guests such as Lynne Andress, Manley Nolan and Rochelle Pye circled around the buffet tables and congratulated company execs on three decades of success. As Anderson pointed out in his remarks to the gathering, 2010 was the company's best year on record and the prospects are good that 2011 will top that. Martha Turner Properties CFO Glenn Bauguss and Martha Turner extended their thanks to the 400 or so guests.

Among top agents in the mix were Jana Giammalva, Jay Monroe, Cindy Burns, Martha Adger, Robert Bland, Kellie Geitner, Karen Harberg, Robert Hamlin, Ruthie Porterfield, Philip Alter, Mary Elizabeth Mecom Hahnfeld, Marlene Rhoden, Pene Moore, Patti Garrison and Thomas Claffy.

National honor for Nau

While most Houstonians recognize John Nau III as the philanthropic president and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, those who know him well are aware of his keen interest in Civil War history and his role in historic preservation across the country. His efforts at saving Civil War battlefields, supporting national parks and serving as chairman of President George W. Bush's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (2001-2010) have earned him one of the nation's highest awards in historic preservation and land conservation.

Nau received the Cornelius Armory Pugsley Medal from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration at a celebratory dinner in Atlanta.

The commendation puts Nau in high company. Previous recipients have included Lady Bird Johnson, philanthropist Laurence Rockefeller, National Geographic Society former chairman Gilbert Grosvenor and two former Secretaries of the Interior — Bruce Babbitt and Stuart Udall.