Saturday, September 26, 2009

Magazines

On my living room table: my laptop, my glasses, a phone, a notebook, folders in different colors, a stapler, a pencil, a black marker and a huge stack of magazines.

I am going through said big stack of magazines page by page, ripping out interesting tidbits and putting them in places where I can put them to use.

I like O Magazine’s recommendations on books - which go into my book wish list on Amazon - and movies, that I enter into my Netflix cue so we only get really good picks we really want to watch.

I make a note of good blog or website recommendations, check them out, and then put my favorites up on the list on the right - because what’s the fun in finding something good if you’re not going to share it?

I have a file for products I might try one day or pretty things I like to look at and at least four fat binders (subdivided by ingredient) of recipes that deserve a whirl. Another for things I don’t know what to do with now but that I know someday will save the day (such as Real Simple’s “new uses for old things”). Another folder is for things Luca might find useful or interesting: for example, he just downloaded an app with international etiquette tips so he doesn’t do something considered rude in another country (never slurp soup directly from the bowl in Korea.)

Sunset Magazine is a treasure trove. I have a file filled with beautiful backyards that have contributed to turning my former strip of concrete into a place we want to hang out in. Two files for vacations – one for day trips and another for long weekends, all with places to discover up and down the West Coast. A dream file, for the day we build a green, sustainable house or go live on a lake or grow our own vegetables or design a Japanese garden.

Once all relevant information has been extracted and put in its proper place, then I can take my big stack of magazines and throw them in the recycling bin and get a cup of tea and put my feet up on my now mostly clear living room table.

If only I had a magazine to flip through.

Photo: www.sunset.com

5 comments:

Rhona Marr said...

I'm amazed at how similar we are in this habit. I have files and files of books to read, movies to watch, skin care products to try, projects to make, and on and on. Jim thinks I'm crazy but I enjoy this habit no end. I usually come home from a trip with a stack of things I've puled out of magazines I've read on the planes. And I love to mail people articles or things I"ve pulled from magazines.

love this post!

Dushka said...

Rhona!
Some day we can have a magazine clip party. :)

Carol Miller said...

"Sunset" was my stepfather's favorite magazine. He was a driving nut, who loved day-trips or weekend excursions, especially around the California hinterlands and coastal stretches, which are completely magical, even when enveloped in fog. Which is how we misplaced Carmel, but that's another story. How to make a city disappear!

Mexico Cooks! said...

What a lovely blog, Dushka. It's just terrific.

I wonder if you've seen Mexico Cooks!--I notice that you have some interest in Mexico.

Give it a try: http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

If you'd like to add it to your blog roll, that would be great.

Best
Cristina
Mexico Cooks!

Dushka said...

Thank you for visiting, Cristina. I'll check out the magazine.