feel closer to the places & people of the west!

I first came across Sunset after moving to Oregon and seeing it in a local store. Wanting to immerse myself in all things related to my new home, and hoping this was the regional equivalent of Southern Living (which Amazon[.com] also sells and which I recommend heartily), I bought the current issue. After looking through the copious pictures, travel news, and recipes, I immediately sent away for a subscription, and I've not been disappointed by any issue I've received.

Every month, I've seen places in the area that I wouldn't have known about, or maybe wouldn't have had time to take a trip to see. The recipes every month have also sounded very tasty, though until now I haven't actually tried to use any of them. The only weakness I see is that, for a regional monthly magazine, it's a little skimpy in its listing of upcoming local events, even for "large" cities like Portland. However, over the long term that won't matter much - these are magazines you'll want to keep long after those lists are stale.

I've just had to relocate away from Oregon for employment reasons, but this subscription is like a monthly present from the area, reminding me why I moved there in the first place, and bringing bits and pieces across the country into my new home. Just writing this has got me anxious to try a recipe or two, as I'm sure they, like the magazine, will bring back the "flavor" of the region for me once more.

Your Guide to West Coast Living

This magazine is an excellent reference. My wife and I frequently turn to the current and past issues looking for reciepes, weekend getaways, gardening, and ideas for design and decorating. The magazine's focus is on the west, so most articles relate to activities and places in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Western Montana. Sunset has great ideas for your life on the West Coast.

A must have for gardener's in the west

The rest of the country be...well, anyway, the problem with most gardening books and magazines is they seem to be speaking to people who live in the tundra for 1/2 the year. Those whom God has blessed by ordaining us to live in the wonderful west do not have that problem. So it becomes tedious each year to read about how to "winter" your garden when you are still weeding and caring for it and would probably fined for stopping. This magazine is the answer to that annoyance.

Aside from gardening information they also have ideas for decorating and camping and other family fun things. The only annoyance in this magazine can be found in their recipe section. It is nothing if not gourmet. To be perfectly honest, in CA I don't have time to be a gourmet cook. The weather is too nice to be stuck inside doing all that work. But, I do use their recipes once/month to have our "formal" meal. And they are quite delicious.