Great discovery at garage sale!

I came acrossed an older stack of this magazine at a garage sale for $1.00. I have never spent such good money, not only have I poured over every magazine at least twice, but everyone that has been to my home and picks one up, begs to take them home with them. I have now subscribed, and plan on saving every one indefinitley.

I hate Mary Englebreit's stuff, but I love her magazine.

I can't stand the cherries, the cartoon scotty dogs, the rosy-cheeked kids, or the cutseyness of her artwork, but I seriously love her magazine. It's a home magazine for creative types-- not glue-gun-and-wooden-geese types, but truly passionate people (probably mostly women) who have a love of old things, a willingness to jump in and experiment on their homes, and a desire to "live the creative life."

Yes, you'll flip past some ads for her products, but inbetween you'll find pictures of homes decorated by their owners (not a hoity-toity design firm) and instructions for unique projects (dare I call them crafts?) that won't look--- well, like you did them yourself.

It's definitely a magazine I'd recommend-- even though I will never, never own a ME teapot, card, gift box, wall hanging, print, wallpaper, tea set, christmas tree ornament, hatbox, figurine, pillow, stationery, purse, journal, doll, rug, fork, candle, poster, screensaver, needlepoint kit, pincushion, or tin.

Fun, Sweet and Relevant! Perfect for Mom AND me!

This wonderful magazine covers a variety of home-happy topics such as decorating, gardening, cooking (lovely themed menus and yummy recipes), reading, pets and so much more. It arrives every other month and is devoured cover-to-cover immediately. Each issue contains ideas and articles for holidays and seasonal events, and even includes a "Breit Ideas" catalog of Mary Engelbreit-produced items in the back.

Seriously, I wish that this magazine were a weekly publication -- it is really that good -- but there is just NO way that all the great features would survive such a punishing schedule. I've been a subscriber since the premier issue way back in 1996, and have always been pleased and surprised at Home Companion's quality, relevance and cleverness. Even the advertisements (which do not overpower the issue's contents) are appropriately themed and often lead me online to look for items!

If you are looking for a gift for a mom, aunt, grandma or sister, this is a perfect selection. I had to get a sub for my Mom because I certainly wasn't giving up any of MY issues!