I am a lover of magazines. The glossy pages, the pictures, the smelly fragrance ads that I rip out and pile of the floor. My obsession started long ago when I was a little tweener girl flipping through the pages of Seventeen when I still had four years to go before I got there. I tend to pick up a magazine when I've had a bad day and I need to relax. Nowadays I hardly ever get through the first few pages before Lovey comes up and plays peekaboo over the top. I still love them nonetheless and I'm trying hard to devote more time to myself (the endless quest of mommyhood). I thought I'd share some of my favorites here. Sadly, some of my all-time favorites like Domino and Cookie are no longer (or in Cookie's case will shortly be defunct).

For fashion: I love Lucky. It is the sister publication of the aforementioned Domino. The best part is it comes with stickers you can put on the pages to refer back to. How cool is that? I also like Marie Claire, although not as much since they radically changed their format. InStyle is great too. I like to look at what the stars are wearing or how they live, even though I'll NEVER have a life like theirs. Nor would I want to. I'm an Independent Consultant for CAbi so I try to stay up to date on all the fashion trends.

For life: Real Simple. Plain and simple. My favorite part is Road Tested where readers test out shampoo or spaghetti sauce or black mascara and report back on what is the best one. I've spent lots o' money because of that section (Don't tell Honey.) I also love the recipes they suggest. Many of the ones we've tried have become family favorites.

For parenting: I seem to get a different parenting magazine at my door every.day. Most of them I got for free, I think. The thing that drives me nuts about parenting mags is that they all only cater to woman. News flash: Guys are parents too! And...they seem to dumb down parenting. I loved the intelligence of Cookie, but like I said, it's days are numbered. Parenting seems to be one of the only ones that gives logical advice in an intelligent way that doesn't overly cater to moms. Also, there are several different publications based on the age of your child so you aren't reading about homework when you really need to know the best diaper to buy. (The answer to the dipes question is Target brand by the way)