It's back again at 50% off.... all Victoria issues on DVD or USB

FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS...

Hoffman media is once again offering all Victoria magazines on either DVD or USB drive, both the Hearst versions and the Hoffman versions, for 50% off the normal price!  That means you can get them all in digital format for only $49.99!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ON THE HOFFMAN STORE

NOTE: I do not receive any compensation for passing this information along to you, but know my Victoria friends want to know about these special offers.

Ending Today: 40% Off Victoria DVD from Hoffman

Today only, Hoffman Media is offering the complete collection of <em>Victoria</em> magazine on DVD (including the fabulous photography of Toshi Otsuki and the wonderful editorial staff headed by Nancy Lindemeyer) for 40% off the regular price.  It is normally $99.99, but today they are offering it for $59.99.  So, if you want to have access to every issue (through 2012), then don’t delay!   Click the image to visit the Hoffman Media Store.

 

Tribute from Another Gentle Reader, Zuni

Zuni writes:

I’m so happy to have found your blog with the information about Hoffman Media’s offering of Victoria magazine. I still remember the day I found the very first one—at the most unlikely, unromantic of places: a UDF convenience store! I’d walked in with my then-young sons, and I still remember that the cover was captivating. It had a huge white flower, perhaps a peony. From that point forward, it was true love. I gave gift subscriptions to my grandmother, and we would peruse it “together” by phone…”did you see page___?” or “isn’t that the most beautiful tablecloth on page ___?” It was a wonderful pastime for us that we shared until she passed away.

I had, and treasured, every issue, until moving day from the “big house” to downsize, and in the last hours of moving out I decided to let most of them go…a decision I’ve regretted for eight years now. Some, that were in other areas of the house, managed to make the move, so I especially treasured those, until an incident with water in our basement damaged them. Sad day.

Happy day: When Victoria was published again!

Visit Zuni’s blog, Chickadee Home Nest, here.  Her latest post “Dad’s Old Suitcase” is just wonderful!

Thank you, Zuni, for sharing your Victoria story with us.

An Exciting New Offer For Victoria Magazine Lovers…

I am thrilled to share with you that Hoffman Media has released an incredible offer for Victoria magazine lovers:  Victoria  The Complete Collection.  This is a DVD with every issue of Victoria in a searchable, indexed format.  Here are the specifics from the Hoffman site:

Pre-Order Today!  DVD will ship November 1, 2013.

Discover 20 years of timeless treasures from Victoria magazine.

Find all your blissful favorites on two easy-to-use DVDs.
✥ 278 issues in all, including out-of-print issues
✥ More than 5,000 searchable articles
✥ Hundreds of easily accessible recipes
✥ Beautiful photography by Toshi Otsuki

Robust search capabilities let you...
✥ Find a specific article
✥ Search for favorite recipes, décor, and gardens
✥ Browse by issue or search all issues

This is an amazing opportunity for those who may not still have all their Victorias  or would just love to have the whole collection in digital and searchable format.  It is expensive, but not as expensive as trying to replace every hard copy.
I know for many of us, the joy of holding our magazines in our hands and turning her pages does not lend itself to wanting the digital format.  But what a lovely thing to have a backup of every issue, should anything ever happen to our hard copies.  I just had to share this offer with those of you who have visited and shared here, as we are all kindred spirits when it comes to our favorite magazine!

Click the image above or click here to view the Hoffman page with ordering information.

A Very Victoria Giveaway...

It has been a while since I have posted here, but I have been wanting for some time to get back to it.  I was out reading some of my favorite bloggers' most recent posts yesterday when I discovered a wonderful Victoria-related giveaway.  Brenda Leyland at It's a Beautiful Life is giving away a beautiful book by one of Victoria's artists in residence, Aude Kamlet, with images from her Victoria days!

What a treasure.  If you would like a chance to win the book, hop over to Brenda's Blog and leave a comment... but hurry because the drawing is tomorrow!

Fond Reminiscence...

"If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle, or as it were, fondle them -- peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; at any rate let them be your acquaintances." - Winston Churchill

Thank you, Mr. Churchill, for this glorious quote. This is precisely how I feel about my Victorias. I can scarcely go a day without at least looking at one, putting one on my bedside table so it is easily within reach should I have a moment to pick it up.

There is something deeply reassuring about just knowing they are all there whenever I get ready to read or even just look at one... and, for me, that is often. There are days that are so busy and technical-information-laden that the mere sight of the beautiful cover of one of my Victorias causes my blood pressure to settle and my nerves to calm. If you think it odd to make such a statement about a "mere" magazine, then you have obviously not had the pleasure of her company.

Sometimes I feel as L.M. Montgomery so aptly describes in this scene from Anne of Green Gables:

"Anne was curled up Turk-fashion on the hearthrug, gazing into that joyous glow where the sunshine of a hundred summers was being distilled from the maple cordwood. She had been reading, but her book had slipped to the floor, and now she was dreaming, with a smile on her parted lips. Glittering castles in Spain were shaping themselves out of the mists and rainbows of her lively fancy; adventures wonderful and enthralling were happening to her in cloudland -- adventures that always turned out triumphantly and never involved her in scrapes like that of real life."

Shirlene Tomanek-Lowdermilk - An Accidental Encounter with Victoria

I can still remember clearly when I discovered Victoria Magazine. It was a Sunday, and I wanted a new magazine to read. So, I went to the store to pick up my usual "fashion" magazines to have an afternoon of reading. As I reached for my favorite magazine, this "other" magazine fell to the floor. I picked it up, not looking at it, and placed it back on the shelf. Again, it fell to the floor. This time when I picked it up, I turned it over and looked at the cover. I was just amazed at such a beautiful cover. This "other" magazine was the premier issue of Victoria, 1987. I quickly thumbed through the magazine, but I knew immediately this magazine would fulfill me more than any of all the fashion magazines I usually purchased. From that moment it was a love affair that lasted until the very last issue. I had kept all the old issues of the magazines at my office so I would always have some inspiration with me though out the day. Unfortunatley and sadly our office closed when the owner passed away, and the building was sold with all its contents very quickly so that I was unable to retrieve the old issues. I didn't realize this until after some time had passed. I may not have the magazines, but I will always have my memories of those beautiful magazines. I am so pleased that Victoria came back.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you.

Sincerely,
Shirlene Tomanek-Lowdermilk