Today we continue our series, "My Favorite Magazine," in which we talk to a magazine reader that is passionate about a particular magazine. This month's reader picked a Magazines.com customer favorite--Real Simple magazine. This year has been a big year for Real Simple--the Time Inc title is celebrating its 10th year, no small feat in the magazine industry.
A little bit about Real Simple magazine: A little bit about Real Simple magazine: Real Simple magazine features creative solutions for everyday challenges of busy women. In each issue you'll find advice on beauty and style, entertaining, etiquette, family, finance, food and health, home, pets, technology and more.
1. Tell us who you are, what you do and what you are passionate about.
My name is Brittany, and I live in Nashville, where I work as a part-time nanny and the managing editor of Fringe Magazine. When I’m not dancing ballet with a 2-year-old or burying myself in a stack of unedited articles, I enjoy exploring East Nashville, cooking, camping, drinking tea and being with my husband, Ben, and our new puppy, Tilly.2. When did you start reading magazines?
To be honest, my first magazine was probably Highlights, a kids magazine that taught me about animals and letters and seemed to always have a hot air balloon, or something of the sort, on the cover. From there, I moved on to whatever my mom kept in the bathroom—primarily Reader’s Digest, which sucked me in with its "Drama in Real Life" feature and the jokes used as space-fillers after articles. As I grew older and had my choice in magazines, I began reading RELEVANT magazine, GOOD, Paste magazine and Real Simple.
During my junior and senior years of high school, I worked at Barnes and Noble, where I frequently spent my lunch break at a table in the cafe, accompanied by magazines of all genres. Since I didn’t actually have to purchase any of the magazines, I read anything from The Economist and Time magazine to wedding magazines and Martha Stewart Living.
3. What is your favorite magazine?
After reading plenty of national magazines and working for local ones, my consistent favorite is Real Simple magazine. It’s simple. Really. Every time I get it in the mail, it sits on our kitchen table for a couple of days before I have time to even open it, and I just admire the cover. I can’t think of another magazine with the ability to make me giddy month after month just by gazing at that cover. Maybe it’s a vintage chair by a hanging red dress in a perfectly organized closet. Perhaps it’s a shoe—just one shoe—and a handbag. Whatever it may display on a given month, the cover of Real Simple is always stunning.
And it doesn’t end there. Once I’m thoroughly entranced by the front and finished impatiently waiting for an available moment, I actually get to enjoy the magazine cover-to-cover. I love the tidbits and tips that make me smile and then make my life a little easier. Really? I can store my jewelry in an ice cube tray? I can take a scratch out of a wood floor by rubbing a walnut over it, releasing its natural oils? Thank you, Real Simple. Thank you very much.
4. Why and when did you start reading Real Simple magazine?
Hmmm … I think I started reading Real Simple during my time working at Barnes and Noble. Because of its aforementioned cover, the magazine was consistently displayed at the front of the store by the cash registers, where innocent shoppers (or booksellers) couldn’t help but pick up the beautiful thing and want to take it home. I guess I was originally caught with that crowd, and I’ve been subscribing to the magazine ever since.
5. What are your magazine-reading rituals?
Generally, my husband gets the mail, since he often works from home. I’ll come home from a day at work and see a new issue of Real Simple lying on the kitchen table under a small stack of mail. After some form of rejoicing (rapid girly-clapping or maybe a little jump or the “ca-ching” arm movement), I’ll comment to Ben about how magnificent the cover of the magazine is. I may flip through it then and there, but I usually wait until I really have time to dig in. I’ll move the magazine to my bedroom and eventually start devouring it page-by-page before I fall asleep at night. Oh, and I prefer it with mint tea, but I’ve been known to make an entire pot of tea and fall asleep before it’s even cool enough to drink. There’s just something about reading a magazine with a cup of tea—even if it is just sitting there steaming.
6. What is your favorite column or writer in the magazine?
I would say it’s a tie between the “Your Words” and the “Solutions” departments. I love hearing from other readers in “Your Words,” because they often tell sweet stories of childhood or talk about what their kids mean to them or something inspiring like that. It’s always honest and happy. Then, in the “Solutions” section, they never fail to provide me with original ideas about how to use around-the-house items for other purposes. (For example, did you know a tea bag can double as a fragrant sachet?) It’s this mix of depth and minimalism that makes Real Simple just what it is—real and simple.
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