Sip With Me

Humans have come to love charcuterie boards and grazing tables during the pandemic. But what about our furry friends? Well, Amanda came up with the perfect idea- CHARCUTERIE FOR DOGS! SO CUTE!

Curating charcuterie boards for your dog, Amanda combined her passion for dogs and love of food, or vice versa, into the idea over text message! Each board is handmade and influenced by the popular world of charcuterie boards. Featured in the New York Times and growing rapidly, her business is one to watch in the world of entrepreneurship.

Amanda joined us to discuss the founding process of her business, which launched last year in the height of the pandemic. Based out of Georgia, we learn how she sources natural and local products for her boards. Plus, we ask about differences in dog breeds, what treats are trending, and we hear about her adorable holiday boxes! Amanda also highlights how she partners with other local, small businesses to create a network of only the best dog products!

We bark for joy at the end, playing a round of rapid fire to hear about her favorite dogs, misconceptions about dogs she wants to clear up, and her favorite cocktail (hint, it’s not a puppuccino)!

Tianna Gawlak is a mother & baker in the suburbs of Chicago. Baking for her family inspired a series of entrepreneurial ventures, including her first children's picture book “When You Dream of Chocolate Cake” and her business, The Bakery Box. The Bakery Box is a 24-hour dessert ATM with several locations in the Chicagoland. It might sounds complicated, but it’s literally what it sounds like! We’d pick dessert over $20 bills any day!

We sat down for the best part of any meal, dessert, to learn about founding a food-based business in the middle of the pandemic and how that impacted operations. Plus we learn how she keeps the ATM’s stocked with the tastiest, freshest desserts 24/7! We mean, what a dream! And we hear about her darling Children’s book inspired by her children.

Instead of coffee, we finish dessert with a round of rapid fire to discover Tianna’s favorite favorite cupcake flavor, how she likes her cookies, future items she’d like in her ATM’s, and of course, her favorite cocktail!

Tianna also expresses her Thanksgiving gratitude for her local Chicago business partners. And we featured “Stratford Sodas” as our drink of the week!

Caroline Ripa is a viral wedding TikToker, blogger, freelancer, AND content creator! She came equipped to our interview with wedding tips for Ioanna and a delicious Olive Oil Chocolate Cake recipe.

We chat with Caroline about her recent wedding and get some help in planning for Ioanna’s Grecian wedding next summer! Caroline talks about her engagement, planning for her big day, and making last minute decisions in the era of covid wedding planning.

Caroline also talks with us about her famous “Olive Oil Chocolate Cake” recipe which is a decadent chocolate twist on the olive oil cake trend made famous by The Kardashians (though Ioanna & Aaron accidentally made olive oil brownies nearly six years ago). Plus, we play wedding rapid fire to hear her favorite part of her wedding, any regrets she had, and her favorite cocktail! https://www.carolineripa.com/blog/chocolate-olive-oil-cake

Jake Draviczki is a Registered Dietitian who creates easy to digest nutrition, fitness, and wellness content on Instagram and YouTube that has earned him a loyal and continuously growing fanbase. In light of ongoing stay-at-home habits and the approaching winter months, Jake joined us to share some of his expertise and tips on how to stay well healthy during the holidays.

We learn from Jake about different foods and nutrients and how they impact the body. We discuss popular ones like alcohol, sugar, and caffeine, plus hear his recommendations on macronutrients and which vitamins are most important.

Jake also taught us how to pick which foods we eat, what not sleeping enough can do to the brain, and why Aaron’s eye twitches when he has too much caffeine.

We end the episode with a round of rapid fire to find out Jake’s favorite healthy cocktail and hear which vitamin he’d vote his favorite!

Andrea O’Bert is an Arizona-based wedding photographer with an eye for capturing the most beautiful moments between her clients. Her unique style, ability to frame masterfully, and the genuine rapport she builds with couples makes her one of our (and yours after you see her work) favorite photographers in the country. Seriously, if you’re getting married, check out her portfolio, she does travel for weddings!

We met Andrea at a Tucson wedding this summer and she lit up the wedding venue as much as the bride and groom, so we knew we needed to find out what makes her passion for photography work so well.

We chatted with her about covid impacts on wedding photography and trends she saw emerge during the flood of 2021 weddings. Plus, hear about some of her favorite spots to shoot and what it’s like being a travelling photog. And of course, since Ioanna’s wedding is rapidly approaching, we had to ask how she works with clients from beginning to end.

We stroll down the aisle to end this episode with a round of rapid fire to find out her fave cocktail, the best wedding food she’s ever seen, and whether or not she’d ever say no to travelling too far for a shoot.

Lisa Jacobs is the founder and CEO of Imagine it Done, a business she founded in 2004 after discovering her innate ability to organize whatever chaos came her way. With a trained team of 12, Imagine it Done provides home organization services to clients throughout the NY and Tristate area. Featured on Business Insider, HomeBeautiful, Pop Sugar, and Fox News, Lisa and her team “teach you how to edit your belongings, keep what you need and love, while discarding what you don’t”.

Lisa has a podcast, among many other things, and she joined us to talk about her business and to help some of you navigate the challenging process of organizing our most personal spaces. We talk about how her business and organizational skills have evolved since the early 2000’s, and learn what it takes to actually “imagine it done”. Plus, a round of rapid fire to find out Lisa’s favorite cleaning tools and her fave NYC restaurant! This interview is a must-listen for anyone looking to tidy up their space for the coming winter months!

Hey all you cool cats and kittens. This week’s guest needs no introduction. One of the most famous and viral folks to emerge from consumer pandemic habits, Carole became a globally recognized name after appearing on Netflix’s “Tiger King”. Beyond being a television star and appearing on Dancing with The Stars, she is first and foremost the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, her non-profit organization.

We caught up with Carole to discuss her long career advocating for Big Cats and stricter laws protecting both their habitat and treatment by humans. Plus, we hear her true thoughts on how she was portrayed in Tiger King and what she thought about the show itself. And a chat about Carole’s Big Cat legislation that is currently making its way through congress!

Plus, a purrrrfect round of rapid fire to find out Carole’s favorite cat, the highlight of her career, and what three words she would use to describe Tiger King.

Joanne Lee Molinaro, known widely as “The Korean Vegan”, has always been a leader. A Lawyer, activist, runner, mentor, & viral TikToker, she’s done it all & more! With 3.5 million social fans and growing, she now has a best-selling cookbook!

Like her TikTok, the new cookbook, “The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma's Kitchen”, weaves together delicious veganized recipes with intimate stories and details on her life, both past and present. She talked to us about some of the recipes in the book and how her family influenced not only her plant-based diet journey but who she’s become as a human.

Beyond the food, Joanne explains some of the myths behind the popular notion that you can’t veganize Korean food. And we hear about the concept diaspora and how she navigates her identity as Korean American.

Last, we play a riveting round of rapid fire to find out her favorite vegan spot in Chicago, what her favorite cocktail is, whether she has a favorite TikTok, and her most loved recipe!

In this special investigative episode, we speak with Celine Wysgalla, the Chicago resident who formed a now viral petition to save the Crystal Gardens, a free indoor botanical garden located on the famous Navy Pier. Plus, we discuss the muddied political history of Navy Pier that she found as wild as we did.

With almost 20,000 signatures in just a matter of days, it would appear it is only the beginning of the fight to save the Crystal Gardens, currently slated to be replaced by Illuminarium, a completely virtual attraction that utilizes footage from places like the African Safari and Outer Space to transport visitors elsewhere.

Opponents of the closure cite the increasingly important mental and emotional health benefits of green space as a reason to keep it open, and say the replacement of the gardens by an attraction that is completely devoid of any real nature, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, is “dystopian”.

The new attraction will cost you $30-50 per visit based on estimates and is seen by Navy Pier as being part of their longer term strategic plan for financial longevity and modernization.

We talk with Celine about her motivations for starting the petition and what she sees as a possible path forward. Plus, a statement to Sip With Me from Navy Pier, Inc.

But it doesn't end there. Did you know that in 2011 Navy Pier was spun off from government ownership, infused with millions in taxpayer dollars, and left to operate independent of taxpayer accountability as a not-for-profit organization? While that might sound nice, it leaves us feeling uneasy. In true Chicago political fashion, we discuss the complicated and sometimes corrupt history of Navy Pier and why several Local lawmakers have introduced bills to push for increased transparency with the non-profit following scandals involving former Governor George Ryan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Follow the petition movement on Instagram:

@savecrystalgardens

Sign the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/navy-pier-save-the-crystal-gardens-at-navy-pier-chicago?lang=en-US

Follow “Sip With Me” or sign the petition:

https://linktr.ee/sipwithme_

Sources:

https://www.bettergov.org/news/greising-scrutiny-of-navy-pier-s-operations-is-long-overdue/

https://chicagoonthecheap.com/navy-pier-events/

https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/09/27/navy-piers-crystal-gardens-are-being-turned-into-virtual-scenery-but-residents-are-pushing-back-with-a-petition/

https://navypier.org/assets/Navy-Pier-Form-990_2019.pdf

In episode 32, we get some help walking down the aisle from Wedding Planner Jove Meyer.

Founder of Jove Meyer Events, Jove started his business after planning his best friend's wedding (how cute)! He is all about making your wedding personalized, reflecting each couple’s unique personality. This was all Ioanna and I heard before we knew we needed to chat with him!

Featured many times on our fave “The Rachael Ray Show” and in all the biggest wedding publications, Jove’s talents have been recognized by Harper’s Bazaar, Martha Stewart, US Weekly, Brides & more! Jove has also been recognized not only for his design but his work supporting marriage equality and inclusion, creating the viral “Totes Getting Married” tote bag to raise funds to support this cause!

We chat with Jove about his inspirations and how he works one-on-one with his couples. Then we dive into some of the post-quarantine wedding trends that are here to stay and ask him about Ioanna’s wedding! Last, we play a round of wedding rapid fire and discuss his famous colorful home!