One of the key ingredients for a cozy weekend, in my opinion, is reading material. One of my favorite magazines is Coastal Living. I love this magazine for a number or reasons. First of all, it does a superb job of showcasing a variety of coastal habitats. It doesn't have much of a touristy bent, if any and it gives what I think is a real and authentic view on what it means to spend time on the water. If the magazine IS promoting tourism in a certain coastal location, the writers and editors tend to suggest B&Bs and local watering holes and locally owned proprietor ships v. the usual chain hotels or eateries. I love this. LOVE it. I am a huge fan of traveling but I detest tourist traps. I feel like such a sell-out if I end up doing really touristy things during my trips. Bleck. Depressing.
I particularly like how Coastal Living comes alive in the colder months.
I've never worked for a periodical or publisher (much to my own chagrin), but I would have to imagine that there would be a surge of material for a maritime mag from, oh say, about May through August. After that, you gotta get a little creative while not losing what's become the familiar tone of the publication.
I love the beach in the Winter. I also love predominantly coastal towns and ports in the Winter. I enjoy them in the Summer,but the off-season is probably my preference. It may have something to do with the fact that I can't spend more than I'd say about 20 minutes in the sun and I have to be constantly slathered in SPF 65. Sort of takes the whimsy out of Summer time at the beach, ya' know?
Maybe it's the sort of in -your-face rule breaking irreverence that I revel in. Being on the beach in January, in a coastal cottage with clapboard exterior and whitecaps and a fireplace crackling on the inside. It just seems so...so...defiant. No sign of water toys, rafts, shovels and pales or the other detritus usually found surrounding the coastal mini-compound. Nope, just the delicate puffs of smoke emitting from a weather beaten cottage. And a backdrop that is usually used for Fourth of July calendar photos in the background. I always get a kick out of people having to "winterize" their houses. If I had a cottage on the beach, my form of winterizing would be the setting I just described. I got your winterizing right here. Where do I sign up?
Another brilliant (well, to me it's brilliant) component of Coastal Living is the recipes AND menus. The menus are such a great detail. Sure, recipes are nice. I love them. I love to cook. I love cookbooks, so recipes are their own genre to me. But I love that Coastal Living goes the extra mile to not only supply you with the tools, it gives you an example of what the true final product can look like. It's also a cook's best friend when you find yourself wanting to entertain but unable to come up with a full cast of edible characters.
Coastal Living is best in hard copy, but they do a great job of making their website as interactive and updated as possible. My favorite aspect of their website is the free computer backgrounds you can download for your computer. They are seasonal and they span an array of aquatic landscapes. For those days, like today, when I'd rather be anywhere than here, these little bits of digital wallpaper definitely make a difference. Check it out.
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