Can we talk about magazines for a few minutes? Do you like magazines? I love them.
No. I loooove them.
I love magazines. So much in fact, I prefer to pronounce it ma-ga-zeeeeeenes. Go ahead and say it to yourself. Ma-ga-zeeeeeenes. But you have to make your eyes pop really wide, and lean forward when you say it, for emphasis. Ma-ga-zeeeeeenes. See? Totally fun.
They’re just small, glossy, image-heavy booklet full of articles, and short stories, and recipes, and yet one can fit right inside your purse. And indeed, if you find yourself void of eau de toilet, you can just lie down and roll around in your magazines for a while so you can smell all fancy. (Don’t ask me how I know this.)
But I’m proud to tell you that my addiction has been tamed over the years, when you consider that my love for them really hit their peak when I was in my early twenties, working full time, but living at home (which meant I had all the time and money in the world to read and buy magazines) but when I moved into my own house, and recognised that storage would quickly become an issue, (no pun intended) I went to Ikea and bought the wooden magazine files I still use today.
I remember trying to determine just how many of these wooden boxes I’d actually need… counting, counting… It struck me then just how much money I was spending on these shiny books, and I was nearly sick to my stomach at my rough tally. Nearly. Once while I was in my late-twenties, a girlfriend kindly noted how much money I could save by getting subscriptions instead of buying off the rack… well, I just got MORE magazines after that. I do so love a bargain.
Over the years, some of my magazine loves have waxed and waned, but in general, I mostly read home decor mags, food and entertainment, one or two parenting mags now… I used to have everything Martha Stewart ever produced (which is precisely how she ruined my life), In Style, Rolling Stone, Gourmet, Canadian House & Home, Oprah, Real Simple… I had about sixteen file boxes, each with close to a year’s worth of back issues of all these magazines and more. I had separate ones just for catalogues like Ikea and Restoration Hardware.
I kept one box for each title, but forced myself to only keep as many as could hold in each box… after a few months, I had to toss the three or four oldest of the lot, to make room for the most recent ones.
Sidenote: Did I ever mention that I once worked in a small library of an actuarial firm? Yes, well… I think filing things is one of my most favourite nerdy-anal things to do.
When I flip through pages of a mag, I turn down corners on pages of things that thrill me: a pair of shoes maybe, or a dress I like very much. Or an awesome couch. Or a recipe. Or a stone fireplace. Or paint colour… you get what I mean. Sometimes the whole page just evokes a mood that suits me. I just make note of it.
As I get set to recycle the oldest issues (usually about a year later) I flip through the mags to the pages I’ve noted, and tear the stuff that still interest me. Sometimes I look at a page and have no idea why I wanted it in the first place. Sometimes when I file the torn out image, I see the identical thing already in the file. I’ve selected it twice. Or thrice, even. It’s interesting to see what I chose over and over again. It helps me be clear about what I want.
So, it’s ten boxes I now have, times three to four magazines… yeah, it’s a bit of a job, but it’s one I like, and at the end, I have a short stack of images of things I gravitate towards… it’s like having a super-large mood board, only the topics branch out – house things, clothing things, food things. (I did say nerdy, right? Well.) It feels a bit like window shopping, only better somehow. It’s lifestyling.
It helps me dream.
I tuck the pages into big, fat style files that I look at (and purge) fairly often. This comes in rather handy when it’s time to renovate, paint, or purchase. I have images to show my husband, so I’m not all, “I want it like THIS! But not like, you know, this… and I want it square over here, but kinda rounded at this part over here…” That kind of stuff drives a non-visual person crazy you know. Pictures are easier.
Glossy, gorgeous magazines try to sell you a dream… everyone knows that. But still, I can’t help that I’m drawn to beautiful things. I can’t have them all, but I can use the collection to help make my vision a reality – no matter what it is – and I feel like I’ve really used up my magazine entirely… which feels like money well spent in the end.
Also, will never call this a guilty pleasure. (Guilt and pleasure have no business being in the same sentence… a rant for another day, perhaps.)
I’m still terribly sad that Gourmet has gone… it won’t be the last of my favourites, I’m sure. And I can’t seem to read them cover to cover the way I once did, so decisions on subscription renewals are often easier now. I buy fewer… but I also buy more randomly. And I will purchase just about anything with Johnny Depp on the cover. Likewise with Robert Downey Jr. Or Javier Bardem. Purrrrrr…
But isn’t that the thing about magazines? It’s a fleeting glimpse into a shiny, happy life for sale, starri
ng some of our favourite people (or designers of clothes or houses) with some colourful anecdotes about saving money, or how to arrange a photo wall, or about the finer points on lobster-catching in Maine, or about how to roast a perfect chicken, or how to live with the colour orange… it makes you feel that life could be a dream, sweetheart.
ng some of our favourite people (or designers of clothes or houses) with some colourful anecdotes about saving money, or how to arrange a photo wall, or about the finer points on lobster-catching in Maine, or about how to roast a perfect chicken, or how to live with the colour orange… it makes you feel that life could be a dream, sweetheart.
Sha-boom…
What kind of magazines do you like? Tell me your favourites – I want to know!
Endnote: All that filing I was talking about before… going through the back issues and tearing out pages and stuff? This isn’t something I do in one sitting, and it’s usually at night in front of the TV. I don’t forgo plans saying,”Oh, sorry… I’d love to join you tonight, but I’m going through my magazeeeeeenes…” I’m not a loser, you know.)
My house has the weirdest magazine subscriptions: Runner’s World, Interweave Knits, Chirp and Chickadee.
I gave up on Martha and design mags a long time ago because I realised they always made me feel like my house was not good enough. So I tossed them. And I love my house again!
Seeing Real Simple on your coffee table though made me want to get a subscription pronto! I used to pick this one up regularly back in my Bell days and loved the layout and how practical and do-able everything seems in there. But right now, what I miss and crave are good old girly magazines. Marie Claire was a fave for a long time…
Oooh. I love magazines too. I try to keep them to a minimum though. However, old favourites are Martha Stewart Living & Canadian House & Home. I stopped buying them when I realized I would never have a house like that or be able to entertain like that again. I used to read Cosmo and Shape. Now I read Mother Earth News, Mothering Magazine, now only in digital 🙁 I sometimes read Today’s Parent magazine, but I often find it too mainstream for me with sleep training etc.
You are one organized dudette. I need the boot camp baby!
I don’t think you’re missing much on TV these days, Village. Seriously – there’s a LOT of crap on the airwaves. Terrible. Ma-ga-zeeeeeenes neverlet you down though… okay, hardly ever. Have you seen MORE mag? Try it.
Chillaxin’ is good.
truth? I don’t have any time for mags or tv. I find I am no good at relaxing anymore. I hit pillow and fall dead asleep. I am always overwhelmed it seems. Need to work on this.
Dude, I know. I always have trouble buying off the rack now though, because some of them are, about $7 bucks each, and I’m always rolling my eyes and wondering if I’m REALLY going to read it… do I HAVE to have it… but I don’t have a coffee habit, so I give in sometimes.
And yes, get Real Simple again. It’s come such a long way… in the beginning I thought it was so weak and limited, but it’s better now – better contributors, and better editing, I think.
I know JUST what you mean, Hayley – there’s something about being able to just read something from start to finish in a short amount of time that makes magazines so appealing. (Don’t get me started on the last time I read a book properly… oy.)
Yes, FUN, right? I never was a reader of Chatelaine or Canadian Living… I should check them out more closely – Canadian content is good (when you’re looking to stay informed) and the sticker price is usually excellent – and likely under $25/year for a subscription. Worth it. And how nice it is to come home to one in your mailbox, instead of always the dreaded bills and stuff. (Boo! Suck!!)
Dude – I always say that the first thing I would do if I won the lottery is get a subscription to every magazine that there is. I’m fully addicted but now that I had to curb my spending – I allow myself a couple a month. Marie Claire. Esquire. Nylon. Rolling Stone. I think as a house warming gift to myself I’m reactivating my Real Simple subscription!
Magazines to me are an escape…or maybe more appropriately a mini vacation. I love Reader’s Digest, Woman’s World and Today’s Parent. With 4 children and a full time job it is very rare that I actually get to read for longer than 10 – 15 minutes at a time let alone a novel! Magazines let me start and finish a story all within the same sitting without causing my children to become hoarse from yelling “Mom, MOM!” 🙂
it is fun! mag-a-zeeeeeeeeene. i’m just a chatelaine girl with a side order of canadian living. i’d go nuts, too, if i had the money. i love going to my mom’s house cuz she’s usually good for 2 or 3 different ones!