You Win, Magazines!

I get a ridiculous amount of magazines delivered to my home. It's been a while since I've written about this. I have dropped a few and picked up a few new ones. My current reading material includes:

• Vanity Fair
• Texas Monthly
• In Style
• Glamour
• Marie Claire
• Rachel Ray
• Self
• Allure
• Mental Floss
• Entertainment Weekly
• Newsweek
• US Weekly
• People
• OK (This just showed up in my mailbox & I haven't paid for it)

I know that list is long. I'm kind of ashamed to see it. But you should know that I'm not spending a fortune on those magazines. The subscriptions are much cheaper than if I were to buy them at the store. Here's a little hint: if you subscribe to a magazine, don't renew right away. Often, they'll send you a cheaper rate because they don't want to lose you! And if you have considered subscribing to magazines, Amazon has some great rates on subscriptions. NOTE TO COSMOPOLITAN & SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:  I dropped you long ago because I lost interest. Please stop sending me letters begging me to take you back. I won't do it.

Now, those magazines have lot of ads. I usually blow right past them. But I saw one that caught my eye in a recent US Weekly.

I normally wouldn't notice a baby product ad. But this one really spoke to me.

It's not just the language. I mean, that is one of my "safe" curse words. Then, I looked at some of the smaller print.

So, congratulations, Huggies! You have an ad that made me stop flipping pages, read it and even brought out a little giggle. I'd like to see them top that!

One of My Addictions

My name is Nicole and I'm a magazine addict.

To the left are the ones I get every week. I believe US Weekly was my first subscription. When I first ponied up for it, the magazine only came out monthly. Now, I get the (guilty) pleasure of that in my mailbox every week! People, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek arrive on either Fridays or Mondays.

But that's not all.

I get even more magazines through the course of a month. These are the ones I read without guilt. Vanity Fair is fantastic! It is loaded with pictures and in-depth articles. Sometimes it's about celebrities, but it also gets into history a bit (via scandal). I've actually been getting that one since I was in high school! Texas Monthly is all about my favorite state. And I know, I could get enough of Consumer Reports at work - even get it for free if I were to ask, but I like flipping through the pages and seeing if what I buy is worth it. See? I am a savvy consumer!

I get a few more that I usually learn something from. Self has healthy tips for things like recipes or working out. Domino has some really cute decorating ideas (I have yet to pull one off). And then there's Everyday with Rachael Ray. Yes, she can be annoying. But in the magazine, you don't hear her. There are super easy recipes (even some for puppies!), travel tips, things to buy and taste tests. If I had my own magazine, it'd be like that - only it wouldn't have as many recipes. I'm not THAT good in the kitchen!

The rest are just candy. I love the "don'ts" in Glamour (and I fear being one of them! Marie Claire is very similar to Glamour, though they do a good job about including issues from around the world, so I feel like I get more out of it than what face mask I should buy. I've been an In Style subscriber since the beginning, I believe. It's the kind of magazine I can spend hours with, flipping through pages to look at the pretty pictures, then going back to read the articles. I've actually found things/websites that have helped me to choose good gifts for people over the years. Then, there's Allure. I love the annual list of what products/beauty tools to buy. I like to see which ones I have already!

Oh, and I've already mentioned Mental Floss on this blog. That one is only out every other month. If you haven't done the math, that's 16 magazines to which I subscribe. Before you get all "I can't believe she wastes her money on stuff like that," you should know that by subscribing I get such a fantastic rate, it's worth every penny! Once I've finished the magazines, I pass them off to my mom and friends. See? Isn't that like recycling?

I'm "Mental"

If you know me, that title is NOT news. But I'm not just talking about the fact that I'm a head case. I'm talking about one of my FAVORITE magazines, Mental Floss.
I've been reading the current issue and, like with every issue, I'm learning about some crazy stuff. Don't worry. My little brain will let go of it soon. One thing I read about are these crazy feats of architecture and engineering happening around the world. There's one in particular that I'm itching to see when it's completed next year. It's in Dubai. Watch this video if you want to see some animation showing what it will look like (turn your speakers down if you don't want the music).



It's being called the world's tallest building. They're being secretive about exactly how tall it will be, other than to say it will top off around 2,300 square feet! You can watch the progress of the construction here.

I'm accepting cash donations to send me there (round-trip, people - I'm not staying there forever). If you want this magazine, I'll give it to you. Just give me a good, descriptive reason in the comments section.