America - she is complex. Every day of her history has included beautiful acts of bravery and humanity, and every day of her history has also included brutal acts of dehumanization and cruelty. These are 7 of the books that have given me a window into the diverse experiences of my fellow Americans who walk or have walked in different shoes than my own. As we celebrate and think critically about our country this July 4th, I hope you will consider one or more of these that might broaden your own perspective.

My brother Nick Eastman passed away in 2015. We celebrate his life by doing random acts of kindness all year long and especially on his birthday (July 3). In 2022, we’re focusing on increasing the number of people who are part of the bone marrow registry and raising money for Be the Match. Click to learn more on how you can help!

If you're looking for a great gift for Mother's Day 2022, let this guide support you. Whether you are looking for your own mother, for your grandmother, for your partner who is the mother of your children, or a friend who also is also a mom, these books will be a meaningful way to celebrate them on this day.

Here are our top tips for keeping your car organized, with videos and links!

No matter which father-figure you are finding a gift for this year, this list of 10 that you won't find on most Father's Day lists will support you to find a book that will be a fit for them.

As we fight to balance both the sobering truth and the needed hope about the climate crisis our planet is facing, families must incorporate these ideas into their bookshelves as well as their conversations. These 6 books are good for reading with children, and two of them are critical reads for all adults to help us inform ourselves so that we can take action and include our children.

Spring is about to spring, and if you’re anything like me you are eager for the warmer weather and are experiencing that urge to get some spring cleaning done. I pulled together a list of my favorite 7 books that are perfect for this season of the year.

I am a huge fan of our Instant Pot (we have this one, if I were buying today I’d get this one). We use it multiple times per week, and in this post I’ll share (and add to over time) our favorite recipes!

Below are brief descriptions of 8 that were some of my absolute top favorites of the year. I’d love to know in the comments what recommendations you have for me to read in 2022! If you’re on Goodreads, find me here: https://www.goodreads.com/jessicaeastmanstewart.

After being gifted an Amazon Echo Dot in 2017, it has become a super helpful tool in our household. We now use it 6 connected devices throughout different rooms in the house (we have 1 Echo Dot Kids, 1 Echo Dot with Clock, 3 Echo Dot 3rd Gen, and 1 Sonos TV Sound Bar). Here are some of my favorite ways we are using it. I know the skills keep growing - would love to hear in the comments how you are using yours!

There are few things that give me more satisfaction than the process of sitting down to write something to share with the world. This little space on the internet gives me a way to do that, and while it’s being viewed by millions, it has been visited by tens of thousands of people. That is meaningful to me.

This is the most popular content people read in 2020 here at jessicaeastmanstewart.com.

Thoughts on the compatibility of being a reader while also being a parent, and 15 books I most loved in 2020, including fiction and non-fiction.

If you have a theme or word for your year, how do you honor it? How do you keep it front and center so that you’re not wondering by March, “What was my word again?”. How do you squeeze all of the goodness of that strong reflection, dreaming, and planning? Here are some of the things that have worked for me over the years - which might be meaningful for you?

Know who you are, but don’t let it keep you stuck. Feel your feelings. Be intentional.

This year we’re about a month into enjoying a “Summer Fun List” for our family. We have two little kids, but there’s no reason this idea should be limited to families with kids. Everyone deserves a list of fun things to look forward to making happen!

11 ideas that I have learned about why goals matter, how to set them, and how to avoid the most common goal-setting pitfalls.

Once or twice a month, a friend or colleague will reach out to ask if I would be willing to connect with them or someone they know about the education landscape in Oakland or the broader Bay Area as they think about how they can best contribute in their own career. Here are my thoughts for people considering a career move, considering how to grow their skills, or wanting to build their network.

Being a parent is hard. Being a mom can be especially hard. Having a supportive community is important in all stages of life (research shows that human connections lengthen your life and improve your mental health, among other benefits).

A few years ago, I let go of guilt that I wasn’t reading many books. You can only do so many things well in a given life chapter. I opted to focus my time on doing impactful work professionally and being a good partner to my husband and mom to my kids. I knew that some day in the future I would get back to reading more.

A friend recently shared a picture of her newly-updated bedroom heading into 2020. She made sure to note that underneath the sheets was the heated mattress pad I had recommended to her several months ago. I love that mattress pad with all of my being, and knowing that my dear friend was also going to enjoy that coziness each night made my day. It also inspired me to want to share more about some of the things I love the most.

So here’s three things I’m loving lately.