Welcome back to Victoria Magazine

When I saw the new issue of Victoria Magazine at my local grocery store, I had to buy it. This is very unusual for me - I am not prone to impulse buys, but this one tugged at my heartstrings. I first discovered "Victoria" when I was 14 years old. It was such a beautiful magazine dedicated to a simpler time. All the women featured were gorgeous in their 19th century dresses and all items were antiques or antique reproductions with plenty of flowers and ribbons and cameos thrown into the mix. Places featured seemed stopped in time. Needless to say, it appealed to my young romantic spirit and my historical appreciation. As the years went by I would use pictures cut out of the magazine to decoupage boxes and create Christmas ornaments and as inspiration for watercolors. I even got my first rejection letter ever from them at age 15 when I sent in a poem for publishing consideration. (I still have the letter safely tucked away in my journal from that year). So, needless to say, I was sad when it ceased publication several years ago. Of course, by then, the romantic teenager had grown up and gotten married and was no longer so interested in such flights of fancy.

Still, when I saw the magazine, I had to splurge and spend the $5. I enjoyed my time with it immensely as did my children. Together we cut out many of the pictures. I saved some of them in my "picture box" and others they taped to their bedroom wall (which is a veritable collage of pictures). It brought me back to an earlier time, and resurrected some of the 15 year old girl I used to be.