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A Soft Restart

March 8, 2021 By Jodi

Well. Here we go again. A confluence of minor life events—a card we sent out, a drunken email I wrote to a popular website, the launching of a new happiness project—led to the unbearable, inevitable sentiment that I have to start doing this again. I want to start doing this again.

A Life-Changing Way to Create Community

May 30, 2019 By Jodi

Years ago, when I was in the midst of an impromptu solo road trip around the West Coast, I was Couchsurfing (that's a real thing!) in Vancouver, B.C. at the home of a wonderful man called Simon. Simon is a life coach and a magnificent person, and he had this knack for flipping my world...

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Shirts hanging in small shop

Are You Willing to Pay More to Shop Locally?

December 5, 2017 By Jodi

Here's a pertinent question for the holiday season: do you prefer to shop at locally-owned stores rather than big box stores or online? If so, are you willing to pay a higher price to do so? We lucked out in that our new town, Corvallis, has a great downtown and is plush with locally-owned stores....

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Boys sweeping the street

Life in Sweden: Community Cleaning Days

May 4, 2017 By Jodi

Now that spring has (finally!) come to our part of Sweden, communities are having their biannual fixardagar or städdagar (fixing days or cleaning days). Most communities, be they neighborhoods, marinas, apartment or condo associations, or parent-cooperative preschools, have a day in the spring (and another in the fall) when members of the community get together to do whatever...

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Christmas wreath on blue door

Happiness Project: Month 4—Community and Tradition

December 5, 2016 By Jodi

I'm plugging away with my happiness project despite the great lethargy I feel now at the beginning of my third trimester. I'm growing quite uncomfortable, and at the same time unsure of how I'm going to make it through the next three months. The darkness of winter is creeping in (sunrise: 8:25; sunset: 2:51) and our Vitamin D...

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The Blog that Made Me Want to Blog - A Cup of Jo

November 14, 2016 By Jodi

There's this blog that I've been reading for a couple years now. It's called A Cup of Jo and I've linked to it a few times from Dear Sabrina, including a couple days ago. While I don't love all the posts (I'm not particularly interested in beauty and fashion stuff, as you may have guessed already), I like...

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birthday-present-dear-sabrina

How Do You Do Kids' Birthday Parties?

October 4, 2016 By Jodi

We celebrated Leif's second birthday last week with a lovely, intimate party. One set of friends and the neighbors came, as well as one of the kids' former caregivers from dagis. We ate dinner together, then Leif opened a couple presents and the kids played while the adults talked. We sang happy birthday in English and Swedish before eating Leif's tractor-shaped ice...

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church-windowsill-flowers-jez-timm

Some Thoughts on a Friday

September 23, 2016 By Jodi

I went to a funeral earlier this week on the island of Åland. I hadn't known the person who passed very long, but I'd come to admire him in the months that I did. A friend and I went together, taking a ferry from Sweden to the Finnish islands lying in the Baltic.

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About Jodi

I just repatriated from Sweden to the US with my British husband and three young kids. I started this site while living in Sweden to build the conversations and community we've had with loved ones around the world, and to create a space to share thoughts about life, beauty, motherhood, and everything else. read more →

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Baby Girl Gets a Name!

March 22, 2017 By Jodi 5 Comments

Baby Zoe with mom and dad

Baby girl is three weeks old today, which makes it high time for her to get a name! We've been having a hard time making a decision, as our final contenders all seemed to fit. But, after three weeks of delaying and trying out the finalists, and then a couple days of calling her just one of...

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Adult Supervision (not) Required

March 8, 2019 By Sonia Ruyts Leave a Comment

small_animals_book_ruyts

Chances are you have a memory of something you did as a child that made you feel free, independent, brave, capable. Something that society has now decided is unsafe. Where once children were allowed to play outside unsupervised, such an action is now perceived as negligent and possibly criminal.

Winter in Sweden: the Basics

December 15, 2016 By Jodi 4 Comments

Fire outside cafe making for a cozy Swedish winter

It's time to talk about winter in Sweden. A while back I wrote about summer in Sweden, essentially saying that it's like heaven. And winter? Well, winter can feel like the opposite; or if not quite like hell, then rather like a long, slow slog uphill through waist-deep snow in the dark with clouds covering...

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Remembering My Dad

November 8, 2016 By Jodi 4 Comments

Bill and Jan Elliott

With my father's passing nearly a month ago, I wanted to create a small space here in the Internet where he could be remembered. My intention in writing this post is both to share his life story for those who are curious, and to provide a place for loved ones to come back to when...

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About Dear Sabrina

Welcome! Dear Sabrina is a lifestyle blog for the thinking woman (and man, if men read lifestyle blogs). I hope that visiting this site gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, or shows you something new. If you want to further connect, find me on one of networks below or send an email.
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