Some November magazines to check out

When the Christmas issue of Tea Time arrived in my mailbox this week, it was a nice reminder that I need to get hopping on planning and shopping for the holidays! All the "good" decorations seem to get scooped up early, so I need to quickly decide what sort of tree I'll have and how I want things to look. I haven't even thought about what treats to make this year, so this November/December 2013 issue is most welcome. It's also the biggest holiday issue ever for them, and it has plenty of great ideas as always. I loved the Hanukkah tea menu, the Yuletide Tea menu, and the Christmas Splendor menu featuring "dainty tea delights." If you're not a regular reader, this is an issue I definitely think is worth purchasing!

My favorite non-food feature in this issue is titled "A Unique Collection of China at Auction." If you haven't read this yet, you will probably be like me and think, "Why, oh why, couldn't I have been there?" Some 2,000 pieces of china once belonging to the Spode and Copeland families were sold at auction. Now wouldn't you have loved to pick up one of these amazing tea sets? I sure would have. I console myself only by the thought that the $7,000 Spode set I most admire was "a little" out of my tea budget!

And there's another magazine I wanted to mention, the November issue of Martha Stewart Living, although I suppose I could be personally offended since Martha mouthed off about bloggers this week and invoked the wrath of cyberspace. "Who are these bloggers?" she said. "They’re not trained editors at Vogue magazine." Now that just made me laugh! Martha knows very well who bloggers are, and if she is smart she will court some of those wildly popular lifestyle bloggers out there today to her team, not tick them off. At any rate, I still like Martha's recipes!

Ever heard of Cranberry Curd? I had not, but I love the idea! The recipe is in MSL's new issue, and I will definitely be trying it … whether or not Martha continues to stick her well-heeled foot in her mouth!