I'm a Subscriber

You know that song by Destiny's Child, "Survivor"? I know you do.


I'm a survivor (what), I'm not gonna give up (what), I'm not gon' stop (what), I'm gonna work harder (what), etc.....


Anyway, I got my first subscription magazine in the mail yesterday. Well, the first since college, the first to my own place in Chicago. So all night and day I've been singing, "I'm a subscriber, I got Real Simple, It's gonna give me, good tips on livin,'" which sounds really lame, but you don't know how much I love this magazine.

I love watching PBS home & cooking shows on Saturday afternoons. It just so happened that the lifestyle show, Real Simple, is the bridge between The Woodwright's Shop and Christina Cooks - a vegan cooking show, which is interesting enough but not my favorite. So I watched and enjoyed its laidback cooking, home, fashion and living segments. It's like Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food (a Martha Stewart PBS joint) without the closeted, anal-retentive hosts.

I forgot that RS started as a magazine until I saw it on the racks at my grocery store. I bought my first issue in November, which I read cover to cover during an extensive bubble bath. Since then, I make it a point to look for the new issue every time I'm at the store. Last month I decided to subscribe, and now I will have the fresh beats delivered to my home every month! Squeeee!

The focus of this little empire is to bring class back to modern living, kind of like a practical Emily Post. They give you tips on how to better organize your home, what clothing staples will last you a lifetime, how to make more informed purchases on everything from cookware to produce. And there's always a sweet little section asking readers how they live one aspect of their life to the fullest. I think February's topic included how couples keep their marriages alive, and there was a nice piece in which a wife wrote her husband - and vice versa - with thoughts on their 15-year-old marriage.

I don't know. You just need to read this stuff. Check out http://www.realsimple.com/. I might just gift you this magazine - Manda and Michelle - it's awesome!

So there's that,

Laura