The Bittersweet Life

Has Christmas lost its magic now that you're all grown up? In this episode from our archives, Katy and Tiffany brainstorm ways to bring that holiday magic back even if you don't believe in Santa anymore. Katy tells the story of the time she played Santa's secret helper to someone she barely knew and they muse on those magical moments when heaven and earth seem closer than usual. If you're already feeling the post-Christmas blues, snuggle up with a cup of cocoa and this nostalgic episode from the past. ***The Bittersweet Life podcast has been on the air for an impressive 10+ years! In order to help newer listeners discover some of our earlier episodes, every Friday we are now airing an episode from our vast archives! Enjoy!*** ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is in the books! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

You know it. You love it. You hear it every Christmas, and if you're like us, you never get sick of the classic holiday song, White Christmas. But did you know that the song has a very special, and very poignant, history? On this mini-episode, Katy tells you all about it. ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is in the books! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Christmas traditions can be grounding when you're living in a brand-new place. Tiffany and Katy talk about the joys and challenges of being untethered during the holidays. They also discuss which of their traditions come from childhood and which were added after living in a foreign culture. Bonus: Check out two of our favorite Christmas books: • The Sweet Smell of Christmas (The Scratch & Sniff book Tiffany used to read when she was little and ordered for Aurelio) • The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (One of Katy's favorite Christmas books) ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is in the books! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Do I deserve to live a bigger life? Sarah McColl, author of the memoir Joy Enough, joins us to talk about the beautiful life she discovered while living alongside her dying mother. In this probing coversation from our archives, we also explore how fear, loss, and the expectations of others can limit our potentially terrific lives. Find McColl's memoir Joy Enough here. Find Sarah on Instagram or at her website. ***The Bittersweet Life podcast has been on the air for an impressive 10+ years! In order to help newer listeners discover some of our earlier episodes, every Friday we are now airing an episode from our vast archives! Enjoy!*** ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is in the books! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!  

The holidays aren't all fun and games. Sometimes you have to go to work. But is there any sort of magic to work this time of year? We discuss this topic on our latest bonus episode, and share some of the memories of times we had to work over Christmas. This is just a sneak peek of a much longer bonus episode, available exclusively to our generous Patreon supporters.  Want to hear more? Become part of the Bittersweet Life community by supporting just on Patreon! For as little as $5 per month—less than the price of a coffee in some places—you will have access to multiple bonus episodes every single month.  You'll hear conversations that would never take place on the main show, you'll be part of our new chat community, you'll have access to Patreon-only content in addition to bonus episodes, and you'll be invited to join us for regular live meet-ups.  But most importantly, you'll be doing your part to help keep this show alive—an independent podcast with no corporate support. (You'll also help keep it virtually ad-free!) Check our our Patreon page for all the details, and consider joining us at the $5 level or above. We are eternally grateful! ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is in the books! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!