Though I loathe the clutter they create, I enjoy receiving magazine subscriptions (thanks C.! thanks mother-in-law! thanks CP! ) I was thus thrilled to see a feature on excellent subscriptions at The Morning News. This year, Santa is giving my daughter a subscription to Discovery Girls mag, but I'm reminded of how much more delightful and innocent Cricket is. Maybe next year. I love the shout-out to The Week, a fave of my dear friend Lynn (and rightly so! tis the thinking girls' Reader's Digest), and of course I am in lust with Cook's Illustrated.

That said, I don't know why, as today's neighborhood treat cooking went strangely awry. How in the world will I ever do something even slightly complicated?