Magazine subscriptions mark the big changes in my life.  Moving to New York?  Saveur.  Moving to California?  The New Yorker.  Dropping out of grad school?  Elle.  A few years ago  I purged all paper subscriptions in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.  Maybe it was the marriage effect.  Santa, take note.  This year these glossies are calling my name.

You know it’s going to be good when a famed food photographer and the kitchen director of Saveur decide to do it their way. A pricey Canal House subscription ensures you three books per year, each chock-full of seasonal recipes and Christopher Hirsheimer’s maddeningly beautiful photos.  You’ll recognize her photographic signature- dreamy light and moody vegetals – from articles in Saveur and Bon App as well as a cajillion cookbooks.

You can also get a box set of the year’s issues slip-cased in blue.  Worth every penny.

A near peer in the price per page ratio, Anthology failed to convince me with its first editions.  I just didn’t get it.   But now, at the ripe old age of one, this ode to the creative life is finally hitting its stride.  Anthology favors thoughtful collectors and craftsmen like the father-daughter team behind Herriot Grace and showcases how they’ve made their houses homes.  It’s a little bit boho and that’s why I love it.  Each home is an actual expression of its owner, her quirks and eccentricities, rather than a display of popular trends.  There’s an element of surprise here that’s missing from other shelter mags.

While the overall preppiness quotient comes close to hurting my teeth, I’d like to give a nod to the online Matchbook.  It’s bright and shiny and the articles are good!  Detailed histories of products we love like the pea coat and Juliska ceramics sit side by side with great market finds and fashion reminiscences from up-and-coming writers.  I like it.

Are you giving any subscriptions this year?

xoxosl