Cocktails & Conversation

There are so many aspects of what makes a community great. Unique people and events is just one of the contributing factors. We are celebrating 10 years of Pecha Kucha in Orlando, thanks to my friend Eddie Selover! If you haven't experienced this, I really hope you get a chance to, in real life, once we are doing that again! I got to chat with Eddie about his Journey to Orlando, what it was like being blocks away from the Twin Towers as they fell and how he fell in love with helping people share their stories. Plus we sipped some delicious Mango Tito's Handmade Vodka Cocktails, because why not? 

Stories on Stories on Stories with my long time friend Bonnie Barton Lewis! We could have talked all day, but we narrowed down to 2+ hours. There is too much to share. Bonnie's time spent in Oscar de la Renta's personal home, to being a part of Ralph Lauren's extended photo shoot family while traveling the globe, to being in Gwyneth Paltrow's personal home. Plus how she has helped pull off 36,000 masks being made in the last six months!  All while sharing a Tito's Handmade Vodka "Violette Squeeze." The perfect thing to drink as the summer is coming to a close.  Well official summer, we all know we still have three months of summer ahead of us! You will NOT want to miss this episode!

When a friend that you admire a lot comes over to share her life story, you really listen in. Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with my friend Dr. Shanta Barton-Stubbs about so many things! I learned so much about her life that I previously didn’t know! She almost got lost her life in a car accident, had a real culture shock when she started the New Image Youth Center and what it was like for her growing up in a white world. We sipped on some super summery Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktails and could have chatted forever. Hope you ENJOY this episode!

Time spent with Kelly Romano is always time well spent! Seeing her work ethic is really always an inspiration. Spoiler Alert: Kelly is an 8 on the Enneagram, the same as me. We had a REALLY great time chatting about what it is like to live inside the skin of a female 8. Fun Stuff! Plus I made Kelly my favorite cocktail of the moment: a Novella made with Waterloo Gin No. 9. ENJOY Kelly’s laughter to the fullest. You’re Welcome!

Listen in as I chat with Walter Phuego, Owner of Studio 17 Creative. We sip on some Tito's Handmade Vodka Summer Sips and chat about what Black Lives Matter means to him, ways you can engage with BLM, his growing up in Orlando and how I may have convinced him of the merits of the Enneagram. This episode is FIRE. You do not want to miss it!

When I hear of all the things Benoit has going on, I am simultaneously in awe and exhausted! If you have ever had the pleasure to take an Artistic performance at Timucua, you have Benoit to thank for it! As the conductor for Cirque du Soleil for nearly 20 years, Benoit is no stranger to bringing the Arts to life. I was so glad to be able to sit down and chat the Timucua Arts Foundation, his growing up in Canada and his love of many different types of bread. Things like Timucua are one of the things I love about Orlando. I hope you ENJOY learning about all the things Benoit is up to! Plus there is a Tito’s Handmade Vodka recipe is the so fit for SUMMER!!

In a not so recent time, when humans were gathering in person, you could find me drinking a Tito’s Handmade Vodka adult Shirley Temple for one, while I got to chat with my friend Ryan Adams, the local one. Ryan cares for the community at City Beautiful Church. We get to talk moving to America, his home bartending situation and my favorite subject: THE ENNEAGRAM. Ryan has a deep knowledge of this particular subject and he has offered several Workshops through the years to help people understand this tool and themselves better. Hope you will ENJOY!

What an immense pleasure to have such an immensely talented friend, Shawn Welcome over to chat! Shawn created DiVerse Word, which is Orlando’s longest running Open Mic night at Dandelion Cafe. It’s an Orlando institution and not to be missed. Shawn has quite the story to share and we did it which sharing a Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cocktails and some laughs. So please do ENJOY!

When you have been waiting patiently since you started this Podcast to have your Gal Pal Ashley Dishman over for a drink and a chat! Ashley is behind some of the most iconic gathering places / bars that Orlando has known in the most recent years. Not that it would be fancy enough for her establishments, but we sipped on Rosewater Thyme Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cocktails and talked about changing the trajectory of life, starting over and her favorite cocktail at her favorite bar. Enjoy this episode with this lovely lady!

I’m the luckiest girl to have a friend in Brendan O’Connor! He is a whirlwind of FUN and creativity. Our friendship has spanned almost a decade and we have been able to work together on a myriad of things over the years. So day drinking with this cute guy was a total dream. Listen in as we sip on my go to drink: a Woodford Reserve Whisky Sour and chat all of his world travels (as a TEEN,) his days of sleeping under a canoe and how he came to love Orlando!