favorite magazines

I am not exactly sure what this will say about me but, in the course of many years these are my favorite magazines these days. I haven't really purchased magazines to read for years, I often just purchase old issues from second-hand bookstores for clipping and collage. When I was much younger I went through the phase of reading Vogue and Cosmopolitan and Glamour, and an occasional InStyle, plus lots and lots of travel magazines that sometimes got me feeling sad and stuck and longing. But lately I'm discovering fresh and interesting reading materials, not to mention very useful tips, tricks, and lessons, in magazines. If ever I did indulge once in a while, I got a National Geographic (yes, it's rather geeky, I've been told).

Thanks to the advent of the iPad and other digital readers, magazines have become more affordable (and more tree-friendly) in digital format. I get mine through Zinio and the Apple Newsstand.

Country Living UK won over House & Garden and Homes & Garden. It's my top favorite now because everything is simply readable and relatable (even if I don't live in the UK and instead live in a tropical third-world country). It's about living with nature and savoring simple joys. I also have a very soft spot for England ever since I was a child, for reasons I could not exactly explain. Maybe I was a princess or a happy peasant there in one of my past lives. I love the section Simple Pleasures : Thing To Make, Cakes To Bake, places To Go, Lessons To Learn. Also the section on Country In The City.

Next I love Saveur. It's a food magazine that is more than just recipes and expensive restaurants. It writes about food culture and history and instead of making me feel how much I'm missing and how out of the cool trendy food loop I am, it makes me feel how rich life is and teaches me to see ordinary food in a fresh light. This magazine is about food and gives delicious food for thought.

Next I love Real Simple because of all the practical and very useful information. And the thing is, whatever they teach is applicable regardless of where I live. Again, like Saveur, it does not make me feel inadequate, instead it empowers me to make the best of what I have. This magazine also deals with real-life daily-life concerns and offers possible paths for resolution.

Next is Mollie Makes. This one makes me dream and drool with all the projects and simply bursts with creative ideas.

Last but not the least I like Better Homes And Gardens. It's like Real Simple with a lot more pictures, and again, the practical applications of the articles are much appreciated.

I look for old issues in second-hand book and magazine shops. Sometimes I like the paper version so I can cut out the pictures I like and use them in my collage art or in my journal as part of my wish list. But seriously, I love the prices of the digital versions. They cost less than half if I bought the paper version brand new.

National Geographic is an established favorite so that one's still around. I alternate between buying digital and paper depending on whether there are nice unfolding maps inside. :D

What are your favorite magazines?