Real Simple

DREAM JOB. I’ve never been one to use the phrase—it always struck me as kinda cloying, juvenile. I’ve loved my career (who knew an English major could even have one?!), and I’ve worked at some pretty awesome places with some pretty amazing people. But dream job? Not a thing. Then, three years ago, I landed mine. I love what I do—no, I mean I really love it. First and foremost because I get to work with the most brilliant team of creative minds in the media. (Hi, gang! If I haven’t told you yet today, you rock.) And because I truly believe in our mission. REAL SIMPLE has brought me and countless others a sense of peace and calm, of beauty and balance, of (relative) control over our corner of the…

I love my family. I’m also a workaholic. REAL SIMPLE has taught me that it’s important to carve out time. Reading the magazine is one of my favorite things. CARRIE STYLES ESPERANCE, NEW YORK In an attempt to create more peace of mind for myself, I made a commitment: no social media or news in the morning. When I have a new REAL SIMPLE, I take half an hour or so to read through the entire magazine. It’s a wellness practice that has changed how I start my days. It’s probably the best thing I’ve done for myself in many years. JILL ZAMPERETTI HEINTZ SHERRILL, NEW YORK The recipes! Years ago, my doctor was talking about eating healthier, and he suggested I take a look at the recipes in REAL SIMPLE. I was already…

MEAL PLAN REMIX Lessons From Julia Child’s Kitchen As much as we love meal planning, we may be doing it backward. That’s the opinion of Makenna Held, who runs the Courageous Cooking School out of Julia Child’s former summer home in Provence, France, and who just wrote a new cookbook, Mostly French. “I plan from the place of seasonality, rather than a strict grocery list based on specific recipes,” she says. In other words, she sees what’s available and what looks good, and then plans her meals. Of course, she’s often shopping in quaint European markets where options can vary, but you can follow her lead in regular grocery stores too. Buy what’s fresh and build meals around that. No to barely red strawberries and limp Swiss chard! Yes to stalky asparagus…

FOR SELF-CARE, HOME CARE & ALL YOUR OTHER CARES THE LAST STRAW This amazing straw has a microfilter that traps 99.9% of microplastics, bacteria, parasites, and dirt in tap water. For each one sold, a child in need gets safe water for a school year. GREAT GRINDER Not your average spice mill, this battery-powered one has interchangeable pods that click into place, so your ground cloves don’t wind up tasting like fresh pepper. SMART LABELER Organize all your stuff with this pocket-size label maker that uses BPA-free thermal printing instead of ink. (No need for refills!) It’s wireless, and you can print directly from your phone. TOP GEAR Pare down that mountain of lids with this universal one that fits pots and pans from 6 to 12 inches. It reduces cabinet clutter—and time spent hunting for the just-right…

YourDaDa Super Sticky Insect Traps “I made the mistake of bringing one of my outdoor plants inside last fall. A serious gnat problem ensued! I used these traps in most of my houseplants and completely resolved the issue within a couple of weeks. I really appreciate that they stay sticky, even if they get a little wet when it’s time to water Fernadette Peters and her friends.” —Leah Lopez Cardenas, senior special projects editor $5 for 40; amazon.com Madewell Softfade Cotton Boxy-Crop Tee “Here we have the Platonic ideal of a T-shirt. As the name implies, it’s cropped—but not too much so. It’s also plenty substantial and slightly stretchy. I wear it (often!) with high-waist jeans, and it hits just right, with nary a hint of midriff.” —Lauren Iannotti, editor in chief $28;…

Mysterious Journey In Heartwood by Amity Gaige (Sea Wife), 42-year-old Valerie is nearing the finish line of her Appalachian Trail hike when she disappears in the Maine wilderness. Beverly, the law enforcement officer directing the search, grows increasingly worried as the days slip by without any clues. A few hundred miles south, Lena, a 76-year-old in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes enthralled by the case. Both a suspenseful page-turner and a poignant exploration of human connection and bravery, this powerful book is unputdownable. Tale of True Grit When NBC News correspondent Vicky Nguyen was an infant in 1979, her family made a harrowing escape from Communist Vietnam across the South China Sea, where they were attacked by pirates. This scene in Boat Baby, her memoir, is so dramatic it reads like fiction. After…