Jordan Reid's Blog, page 11

National Fragrance Day Giveaway: Riddle Oil Gift Set

I’ve gone on (and on, and on) about how much I love Riddle Oil’s pheromone-based scents – I discovered them about a year and a half ago, when my mom and I stopped into a little boutique in Malibu filled with many, many things that I wanted to own but could not afford. My mom felt similarly, but nevertheless decided to try on everything in the store, so I ended up wandering around by the cash register, picking various things up and putting them back down while trying to keep my children from doi...

Those Pesky Pandemic Habits

Yesterday, my therapist asked me what I’ve been doing for self-care lately.

“…I ordered a new bed?” I said.

And – according to my therapist, anyway – that’s great! The bed is essentially an oversized hospital bed – it goes up, it goes down, it vibrates at different speeds (!) – and it’s a gift to myself that will theoretically have a positive and long-lasting impact on my physical and mental health. Which: Hooray.

But that is not the only thing mama’s going to have to do in order to emerge from...

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Menstrual Cups

 

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I’ve been working with a new client, MyBoxShop, which makes 100% organic, BPA-free, non-toxic tampons, pads, and liners. It’s not a difficult company to get behind: It only makes sense that as we pay increasing attention to what’s in the stuff we eat and drink, we might want to also turn that attention to…ya know, the things that we put into the other end of our body, too. Let’s skip those vagina-chemicals, shal...

(Finally) Fixed It: Truly Hideous Kitchen Floor Before and After

Move-in day; also an excellent approximation of my feelings about my kitchen floor

I hate my kitchen floor. I have hated it from the moment I moved in, when it consisted of paint-splattered linoleum in a shade that could generously be called “vomit.” I hated it after I tried to fix it by covering the linoleum with peel-and-stick tiles, which – as it turns out – reallllly aren’t the best choice for this large or well-trafficked of a space.

They look alright here (mostly because they’re covered ...

Ready For A Jaw-Dropper?

Me, with one of the cars that I killed

I grew up in what you could call a “car family,” if you wanted to make the understatement of the century. Throughout my childhood my father owned a series of Porsches, all of which he cleaned both before and after driving – to my significant consternation, because he insisted on involving me in these omg, very extensive cleaning sessions. The idea of introducing a single atom of food into his vehicle gave me heart palpitations. Touch the windows, or any sp...

What To Do With All Those Mugs and Teacups That Have Multiplied In Your House Like Rabbits

I’m currently working on a book about teachers, which means that I am thinking about mugs (a.k.a. the very last thing the teachers in your life want from you) more than the average bear.

I’m not particularly overextended in the mug department myself, but teacups are another story. My mom – like many, many moms out there, apparently – has always collected teacups, and over the years she’s passed off a handful to me as “gifts” (a.k.a. “things she has too many of and no room for”). Which means I, ...

Small Business Spotlight: 9026-Eyes, Malibu’s Very Best Optical Shop

Please click over to my IG to understand the miracle happening in this pic

One day last January, during school dropoff, a car pulled up next to me, and a man’s head poked out. “You’re the one with the Tom Fords,” he said. This was an odd thing to hear from a person you’ve never met.

“You need to give them to me,” he said.

This was odder.

But, as it turned out, Steve (along with his wife, Jen) is the owner of 9026-EYES, a gorgeous sunglasses shop in Malibu in which I’d done quite a bit of window...

Nothing Fits

The jeans made it on eventually, but it was NOT a pretty process.

Over the weekend, I went into American Eagle to pick up a bra. The clerk asked me what size I was, and I told her that I honestly had no idea, because nothing about my body is as it was the last time I shopped IRL (say, oh, a year ago). When she measured me, it turned out that I am…um…bigger.

On Tuesday, my kids and I played hooky and drove up to Santa Barbara. After sushi and ice cream, I bribed them with my phone so I could spe...

Mostly Just Talking

Me and Dad, 2016, somewhere in California. (Photo by my son.)

My father, as with many men of a particular generation, can be a tough nut to crack. He’s just so opaque.

A holiday – a birthday, say – arises. A question is voiced – “Is there anything you want?” And the response, every. single. time?

(You know what it is. Your dad does this to you, too.)

“I don’t need anything.”

Cool, cool. Except it’s your birthday, and I’m your only child, and I’m OBVIOUSLY GOING TO GET YOU SOMETHING SO HELP A GI...

The Quietening

Read all my posts about divorce here. 

On Valentine’s Day afternoon, I took a nap with my kitten (pictured above having mixed feelings about this choice). I sat on a patio in the valley with my friend Margo, and ate some good sushi. I Facetimed with the kids, who were spending the weekend with their dad. I asked him to handle their Valentine’s Day presents, and didn’t beat myself up about opting out of this particular task. I fell asleep again only a few hours after I’d awoken from my nap, then...