Come Home To Comfort

Come Home To Comfort is the byline for Country Living magazine - my magazine pick of the day.

And I might as well fess up right from the start, I had very little time to read the actual magazine.

But Wait! Before you go penalizing me for slacking off on my Every Day (but the weekends) in May commitment - hear me out. The reason for my lack of quality mag reading time was because I went to the website first.....And Loved It!

Even the tour of the Double Wide Kitchen, made even more fun by the southern accent of the mobile home owner, was incredible. Wait until you see her kitchen island. Then, if you like what you see, take the tour of the Double Wide Bedroom, the Double Wide living room, and top it off with a tour of the Double Wide bathroom.

This is the first time in 28 years that Country Living magazine has ever featured a mobile home... and as the southern accented interviewer said "you could've knocked her over with a feather" when she saw it. (I couldn't help but think that you probably could've knocked the whole doggone double wide over with a feather in a good Florida storm...but I'm not one to stereotype.)

After the double wide tour, be sure to look at the video of the living room in the Country Living 2008 Show House living room - and pay special attention to the table in the foyer. Because I'm going to so steal that idea for my foy-a table.

On the website there are also videos on cooking asparagus and 99 other kitchen helps. There are also budgeting interviews, craft videos, and even a Country Living store.

The obvious question intelligent blog readers like mine may be asking is this: Why subscribe to the magazine when you can get all the same stuff, in video format, on the website?

Two reasons: Nothing can really beat the ease of a nice, glossy, lightweight magazine. Who wants to take a laptop out by the pool, or in the van while you're waiting for ballet to dismiss, ......or in the bathroom of a double wide? Nope, you need a magazine for times like those.

And then there's the problem of the cold sores. Well, actually cold sores won't be much of a problem if you just get yourself some Abreve. And I know this because I watched an Abreve commercial every. single. time. that I watched a video on the Country Living website. With a paper magazine you can skip those ads, but with videos you have to watch it every. single. time.

But you came here to find out if Country Living magazine had changed my life.

Well, I do love the covers of the magazine, as seen at the top of this post. And that porch belongs to a gal in the city I live in - which makes me wonder why it is not covered in pollen like mine. Every month, Country Living has an enchanting cover - One that looks great on my coffee table or thrown casually at the end of my couch, as if I had just spent a few leisurely hours browsing through it. And truth be known, that's the nicest thing about this magazine.

It's eye candy. Great pictures. Not alot of text. You can pick it up and relax for a few minutes, then pick it up a few weeks later. And if you're over 50, it will be like you've never even seen it before.

The issue I read today was May 2009. It's called The Big Bargain Issue, but I'm not sure why. (In fact, not to steal County Living's thunder, but I still think Real Simple is the best magazine for finding 'deals'- as I'm sure we'll all find out when I review it later this month.)

However, I did find three things I just have to share from this month's CL issue.
First, in the DIY Idea Notebook section, look at these adorable kid's hand prints. I would love some of my grandchildren's handprints for Mother's Day. (hint:hint).
I think the very-simple instructions are on the website under crafts.




I also enjoyed the recipe section titled "Just Like Mom Used to Make" where seven of America's best chefs shared a favorite recipe passed down by their mothers.
Here's the one I'm making ASAP (even though I'm sure my girls like their mother's chicken pot pie recipe better...)


One thing I really like about the magazine is the way they print "Steal this idea!", along with big white arrows, to highlight different decorating ideas that would be easy to duplicate. And I plan on legitimately stealing this one, since they are the ones who suggested it! (Darn, I can't get it to upload....Maybe they don't want me stealing it after all!) Anyway, ......it was a bunch of melamine plates hung on an outside porch wall. The wall was red and the plates were white and I'm a sucker for red and white, as you can see if you look through my blog archives under 'decorating'.

Here are a few things I didn't care for:


Yes, those are old tennis rackets resurrected as mirrors. Does Not Work For Me. And neither does the feed-sack upholstery.



And here's one I'm still not sure about. I think my tastes are 'maturing' from the teapot lamp stage....but there's an immature part of me, the Alice in Wonderland part, that would still like to read a book by the light of this whimsical lamp.



Here's one I won't be wasting a doily on. Collars for bottles? I think not.



So, what's the verdict on Country Living?

I think it's worth the money I paid to subscribe. And you can subscribe for even less than I did by going to their website to sign up.

As I flipped through it again just now I found several more bits of information that I'm too tired to find pictures for - So use your imagination, or go buy the magazine.

--Turning a metal tray into a magnetic message board...So cute for a child's room or kitchen message center. Just hang the metal tray on the wall with a plate hanger. It doesn't get easier than that.

--The supermarket bouquet challenge, where the florist separated the flowers in a grocery store bouqet and made 3 darling centerpieces.

-- I learned what a cloche is; AND I want one (yet another Mother's Day idea. If I gave birth to you, you are really without excuse this year!)

Being a Country magazine and all there are, of course, the obligatory articles on bunnies, trips to Idaho, and turning metal sheds into guest cottages (for real.)

But if you're like my friend Lea, who is on a quest not to spend ANY money this month, then you'll find plenty of great ideas on the website. Just give yourself plenty of time. It's that good.




P.S. I'm leaving town in the morning (Fri) to watch my 17yo compete in a regatta in Tenn. I'm taking my laptop in hopes of blogging. But I may have to pick something easy....like the Land's End catalog :)

AARP AND ME ... Can it really be?

It kind of goes against my bloggy grain to do a review on a magazine that is SO Not Me. (Of course, Cooks Illustrated wasn't really ME either, it was more a WANNABE.)

There oughta be a law against sending people magazines in the mail that are inappropriate, not-requested, irrelevant, and totally-unappreciated. Such has been the case with AARP: The Magazine (not to be confused with AARP: The Card that gets you the Grand Slam for $3.99 at Denny's.)

I guess they knew if they put Dolly Parton on the cover that a few of us would be interested enough to look inside. And after all, she did give me that great advice yesterday about cotton field fitness. And at least when they send us AARP: The Magazine they have the good sense to address it to my (much) older husband, not me. So, I suppose I won't report them for false solicitation (although don't you think it's funny that I'm using the words 'false solicitation' in the same paragraph with Dolly Parton? Cuz I do :)

I did find a few things in this magazine worthy of calling your attention to. You youngun's should just tuck this information away until one day when you wake up and find your waist has disappeared, your neck has tripled, your boobs keep hitting your elbows, and you speak your fast food order into a trash can in the drive-through lane. Then perhaps you'll be ready to appreciate the following:

(1) There are four regions of the world where people live vital lives into their 90's.
They call these the "people who forget to die". To find out where you should move, go to aarpmagazine.org/longevityquest

Just a hint, none of them are in the United States.

(2) In this month's issue there is an 'interview' with Stump - who shocked the dog world by winning Best of Show at Westminster. I knew retired people talked to their dogs, but I had no idea they talked back.

(3) The latest in self-defense: Protecting yourself with a walking stick -complete with a 3 step illustration on how to jab. If you'd like to find out more you can check out the Cane Masters International Association. I wonder if we can get a bumper sticker that says, Canes Don't Kill, Old People Do.

(4) Hot Reads for geezers this spring include: Fifty is the New Fifty by Suzanne Braun Levine. Just a warning, this is by the former editor of Ms. magazine and she is definitely anti-botox if you know what I mean. If you click on that link and find the back flap of her book you can see her picture - very hippyish, especially that jacket - and the metal belt. I think she's trying to distract people from looking at her wrinkled face :) Maybe that's the key! Dress weird if you're over fifty and no one will notice you need a face lift.

(5) On a serious note, there was also a book review of Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir, a book about the death of parents.

I could especially relate to the answer to the question "It has been said that the relationship with one's parents doesn't end with their loss, but it does change."
A: "It never goes away, and they never go away. Your parents are your ultimate protectors, and no matter what difficulties you're having with them when they're alive, you can always pick up the phone and hear their voices. They provide a certain level of comfort - just knowing they're there. They're like fire extinguishers mounted on the wall behind glass. You know if it really comes to it, you can break the glass. And now they're gone."

That sure makes me miss my mother and father - and those phone calls.

If your parents are still alive.....Today would be a good day to call them.

(6) Not surprisingly, the magazine is full of health advice.

Two things I found interesting were:
Dieters who wrote down what they ate lost an average of 18 lbs during a 20-week study. Those who didn't keep diaries lost only 9 lbs. Wow, oh Wow! I never knew you could lose so much weight just from writing. I need to get my pencil out and get skinny!

And, as you age your body has a harder time extracting vitamins from foods, so it's a smart move to take a supplement, particularly Vitamin B if you want to improve your mental speed.
Also, sleep becomes more important because the brain moves memories into long-term storage during deep sleep only.

Note to self: Sleep more, and Quit eating healthfully and just take a supplement.

Hey...Maybe getting old is not so bad after all!

(7) I was a little disappointed in the 50 Thrifty Ideas article. I dunno, I guess they just seemed a little out of touch with reality. What do you think?

-Split the garbage collection bill with your neighbor. (We're not quite that close to our neighbors. And I wouldn't really want them over here every time they needed to throw something away. Whoever wrote that thrifty idea has not been taking their supplements.)

-Cross the border for a doctor. For major dental work go to Costa Rica to an internationally known dental clinic and save thousands. (Costa Rica....for a dental appointment? really?)

And lastly, (and I am not making this up, friends...)
-Freeze your assets. Put your money into a plastic container with water and freeze it. When you see something you want, by the time the money is defrosted, you might not want the item anymore. (Of course, if you're on your way to Costa Rica for a dentist appt. you'll have plenty of time for your money to come to room temperature.)

Bottom line on this magazine:
Although I learned a few interesting things, the best thing I can say about AARP: The Magazine is that it only took me about an hour to read through it...if you don't count the crossword puzzle.
Other than that, it makes old people seem mainly interested in health, trips, saving money, dogs, and Dolly Parton.

Tomorrow: Country Living - Beautiful covers, but is there anything inside?
Find out when Cheaper By the Bakers Dozen, Magazine Edition, returns.