What in the WORLD am I talking about? Well, I was contacted in mid May by Mrs. Miller from Hoffman Media. This company publishes Southern Lady, Taste of the South, TeaTime, Cooking with Paula Deen, Sew Beautiful, and Just CrossStitch. They also publish some beautiful books. And Hoffman Media is the company that will be bringing back Victoria Magazine!!! Hip hip hooray!!
Mrs. Miller would love to know what you love about these magazines? What would you change? I know that MANY of y'all subscribe to these magazines or purchase them as soon as you see the newest edition on the newsstand. I know that she visits this blog, so please share anything about the magazines that you love or would change. Just think... YOU could help make the magazines even better than they are!!!
Mrs. Miller sent me a huge box full of magazines and an incredibly tempting book about cakes! YUM! These are just a few of the magazines she sent me. The others are currently out on loan (Goodness knows that I can't GIVE these magazines away! There are too many wonderful recipes and beautiful photos in them!!!). :)
Here is the book Cake Expressions. Beautiful decorating ideas for cakes and some mouth-watering recipes in there, too!!!
So please, y'all, be sure and share your thoughts about all the magazines that Hoffman Media publishes!
18 comments:
I didn't know these magazines existed!!! I think I've been living in a vacuume of sorts. I was aware of Victoria Magazine, because my mom gave me a subscription to it when they were still publishing a few years ago. I also knew about Cooking with Paula Deen, but I MUST look into Taste of the South, Southern Lady, and TeaTime!
I love to cook, bake, and entertain, so anything (i.e. tips, shortcuts, recipes, PICTURES) that can make entertaining for a busy woman easier would be great! And I LOVE seeing pictures of the recipes.
That's my 2-cents worth!
And thank you so much for leaving a comment on my blog ... I can't wait to dive into yours and "meet you" ... think I will totally fall in love with your blog!
That cake magazine looks great!
I read Cooking with Paula Deen. I like that the recipes are uncomplicated and full of basic ingredients. My 4 small children always like her dishes and that is important. They really aren't impressed with "gourmet" they just want something yummy and filling. I also like Paula's love of family and friends. She doesn't entertain to impress she entertains to show love. I think all the articles in this magazine follow suit.
I love Paula Deen. My Grandma passed away in Jan. and I've sort of adopted Paula as my surragont Grandma. I love her country cooking and her southern sense of humor.
My tip would be to include recipes not only that look good in the picture but also that the reader will actually make. Some recipes look incredible, but they call for something like two teaspoons of some obscure ingredient I have never needed to buy and probably will never have the opportunity to use again. That makes the dish extremely expensive to make.
Or, ingredients that are not available at normal stores.
I would suggest having recipes that the reader would actually make; and if the magazine really wants to put those unusual ingredients in there, perhaps they could present them as options or variations. (for example, say 1 cup chopped ham or prosciutto.)
Many cooking magazines look great when I open them up, but I would never actually make their recipes. I like magazines that make me want to walk right into the kitchen and try out their ideas.
I read and LOVE all of these magazines. They are such great feminine inspiration. :o) I am honestly not sure what I would change as I do enjoy these magazines so much. Lean Not does bring up a good point about the obscure ingredients, though.
I just recieved my first copy of TeaTime mag. I loved it. The pictures of all the table arrangements were beautiful and something I could totally do. The articles were informative and fun. I really liked the recipes. Yummy!! All in all I really enjoyed it.
Thanks,
Tina Kay
I can't believe I just "happened upon" your blog and just read that they are bringing Victoria Magazine back!!!! I can't believe this! That is my all-time FAVORITE magazine, I still read all my past issued (have them ALL)for inspiration and just to get ideas! I'm so happy about that, I never understood why they cancelled it in the first place?! I don't read the others, I'm sorry I can't offer any help there! Oh I'm so happy about that!!!
I get Southern Lady sometimes when I see it in the grocery store. I should subscribe -- I've even had a coupon for a free issue and keep forgetting to send it in. It's a beautiful magazine. I love the photography and the articles. I can't think of anything I'd change.
I've heard of Tea Time but never got it because I don't like any tea but iced. I love the look of tea pots and tea cups, but don't like the taste of hot tea. I figured if the whole magazine was going to be based on hot tea or tea time, there wouldn't be much I was interested in.
I haven't seen any of the others, except Victoria, and I am so glad it is coming back. From what I have seen of the web site, it looks like it is going to be more like it originally was. I am so glad. It lost some of its charm in its later years under new editors. I loved the literary, old-fashioned flair it had in its early days, and the lush, beautiful photography. I didn't like so much the urbane sophistication they seemed to be going for in later issues.
Victoria magazine is the only one I'm familiar with. Though I never subscribed, I'd pick it up at the grocery store occasionally to treat myself. What I loved about it were the beautiful, feminine pictures -- lots of purple flowers, lace, pretty table settings. The photos inspired me to look around my home and pay more attention to trying to add touches of beauty. When I was done with the magazines, I'd cut out some of the smaller pictures I liked (about 2" x 2") and glue them onto the upper left-hand corner of some notepads my husband's old company gave him when they changed their name and logo. (I used the pictures to cover the old name and logo.) Voila, beautiful, feminine paper where I could make all my to-do lists!
I have read all these magazines at one time or another, but I felt there was some overlap between Taste of the South, the Paula Deen magazine and Southern Lady. (The new issue of Southern Lady, by the way, again has food on the cover, which makes me confuse it with Taste of the South.)
Victoria magazine had a much softer look about it, and the writing was very high quality. Will Victoria have some of those same intelligent writers we loved, or will it be full of "fluff" like we see in Southern Lady? (I like fluff, by the way! I just don't want to see it in Victoria!)
Thanks for letting me opine!
Taste of the South looks wonderful!I love a lot of Paula Deen's recipes,too.
Kim
I am happy to hear that Victoria is coming back. It was such a lovely elegant magazine. I hope that they bring back the wonderful writing as well. I especially enjoyed the articles about women entrepreneurs. Very inspiring.
But I hope they do not go overboard and make the magazine cluttered and cutesy (example Cottage Style and Mary Engelbreit)
After Nancy Lindemeyer left I thought the magazine lacked heart and warmth - although it was very pretty it became very slick and commercial. Just my 2 cents worth.. Thanks I enjoy your blog!
Personally, I really enjoy Sew Beautiful. i see it by way of my mother who has a subscription or by way of Barnes and Noble. I think it is much nicer than any of the other sewing magazines available because the clothing items are so tasteful and classy. That being said, some of the techniques are way above my sewing capabilities. I wouldn't change anything.
How fantastic that you were contacted by Hoffman Media! Magazines are one of the little "luxuries" I treat myself to & I can't wait for Victoria Magazine to return :-}. I am also a fan of Paula Deen and just love her magazine as well.
I haven't been too impressed with Paula Deen or Southern Lady magazines--both seemed a little light in text and paper quality, though the subjects themselves interested me.
I am very much looking forward to Victoria, though!
I agree with Babrbara H. in that the older issues of Victoria Magazine were the best. I had a subscription for years and years but I even decided to quit my subscription because they started lacking the beauty and substance the old ones had. There was a marked difference to me. I am so delighted it is coming back and I will give it another try.
Hi, and thanks for hosting this forum on your blog!
I am so excited about the return of "Victoria"! I subscribed for years, and still have every copy safely tucked away where I can look at them over and over again!
Firstly, I loved all the beautiful photos of "all things feminine" with a vintage feel. Some of them inspired me so much that I even tried my hand at painting them!
I loved reading about artists and authors, and was introduced to a lot of my current favorites through it's pages.
I love the recipes too - and the beautiful presentation of each dish, although I must admit I never tried any of them. (They seemed to be a little beyond my "beginner" cooking skill level.)
My kids always new that when "new magazine day" rolled around, mom would slip away and was not to be bothered until I had read it cover to cover - it was always so refreshing, just like a mini trip to the day spa!
I have also enjoyed perusing "Tea Time" magazine whenever I can find it.
Post a Comment