The Art and Labor of Making Home

May 15, 2026 by Heather Reid in adulting, home, pop culture

In the 1990s, when I was figuring out how to “make house”—starting with roommates and then with my first husband—Martha Stewart’s Omnimedia was in full swing. The “Upscale Domesticity” phenomenon was everywhere, and Martha was the walking, talking, flower-arranging face and voice of the brand. I was a devotee. I subscribed to Martha Stewart Living, saved recipe cards, collected cookbooks, and pored over seasonal offerings like Martha Stewart’s Homemade Christmas.

Lifting the Weight of BMI, For Good

April 16, 2021 by Heather Reid in adulting, COVID, family, food, guilt

I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t worried about being fat.

I suffered through the indignities of having my BMI measured and announced publicly in gym class and struggling through the Presidential Physical Fitness test twice a year (fuck you, flexed arm hang). I did endless sit-ups in my room in the middle of the night to ensure I would pass. I went on ‘diets’ where I restricted my eating before I was 10. I wrote down everything I ate in my diary.

It is a very boring diary.

LiketyLikeLikeLike

November 01, 2017 by Heather Reid in adulting, politics, feminism

We all want to be liked, even powerful, strong people have that basic human need for approval at some level. But not everyone has public polling numbers following them around to remind them of their ‘failure’ in this regard.