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Sometimes simplicity is best

Sam Sparrow September 9, 2012

Here at The High Tea Cast, we’ve railed against mainstream female media – especially magazines aimed at women. Magazines that tell us we are too thin or too fat, should have sex, how to have sex, when to gave sex, how to please men, how to apply make up, how much to spend on fashion, how to accessorise our vagina – honestly I’m tried just thinking how inadequate I am. And we’ve had enough.

And so with the odd exception, we’ve steered away from mainstream mags for some time. They are expensive, they are crap and instead of allowing me to relax with a cuppa, they stick me on edge.

But, no more. There is a new magazine in town, and it is telling us that simplicity is best. Enter, The Simple Things.

With Issue 1 out just this week, The Simple Things aims to celebrate the things that matter most. For them, it’s about slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of enjoying the company of friends and family and making simple food for simple gatherings. They like to grow some of their own vegetables, visit their local markets, rummage in thrift shops and decorate their homes with their plunder. Now this is something that I can get down with. So I hopped on board and subscribed straight away.

When my copy plopped through the letterbox this week, I got up a little earlier, made myself some proper coffee and sat myself down outside in the rising sun to flick through. And I was engrossed. So much so I was almost late for work. This is a magazine which doesn’t preach. It doesn’t tell me how to live my life. Instead it gives me plenty of inspiration on ways to make my life even more awesome, and speaks to my need to enjoy simple pleasures. Using the sections of Dawn, Day and Dusk (which I loved!) – it takes me through my perfect weekend day with ease.

This isn’t just a magazine full of pretty pictures and nothing else (although the pictures were very pretty indeed). This magazine had some brilliant and incredibly interesting features which I’ll be referring to in the months to come, some of which I’ve re-read twice already.

Berlin City Guide – I love Berlin and this has now made me even more determined to book a trip in 2013
A whole section devoted to cheese. This is a win all over for me.
The Collector – what I hope will be a regular feature, this time featuring a collector of vintage radios
An engrossing article on The Slow Food Movement
A section at the back called The Miscellany, which gives some lovely quick ideas for a simple life

This magazine feels beautiful and intellectual all at once. It doesn’t dumb things down for me. It seeks out features from the periphery of life – you wouldn’t find anything like this anywhere else, including magazines like Good Housekeeping. It uses the most spectacular of imagery, and most of all it inspires me. This is more than lifestyle – this is life-transforming!

The magazine retails at £4.99 a month (pricey, but it is full and has barely any adverts), and they have a 3 for £5 subscriber offer on right now. As well as subscribing (which I suggest you do right now), they also have a brilliant Twitter account, and a very beautiful set of boards over on Pinterest.