Dining With Dana

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...

When you get 8s together, it gets pretty interesting! This podcast was no exception. Getting to chat with my friend Benjamin Collins of Laughing Samurai was as intriguing as that name sounds! Making my favorite cocktail, a Whisky Sour with Smooth Ambler Contradiction Whisky doesn’t hurt either. Join us as we chat the impact of growing up as an 8, starting something from nothing and real world educ...

Well you never know what you are going to get when you sit down with a Guest. Spending time w John Rife did not disappoint! With having a vision for community and healthy eating, among the loads of other business developments he has been lucky enough to be a part of John envisioned and brought East End Market to life. It was a real pleasure to sip on Tito’s Handmade Vodka Summery Drinks, while in...

When don’t I want to have Major over? It doesn’t happen as much as I would like to, but when it does happen, it’s pretty wonderful! I sipped on some New Moon Market Juice, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Tonic. Major just had juice, per usual. ; ) We got to talk about how her childhood shaped who she grew up into and all the millions of things she has going on. It will make you want to take a nap just t...

When it’s the Holidays and you get to sip on Tito’s Handmade Vodka & New Ground Chai Lattes and chat with a long time dear friend, Jessica Bott about the meaningful things. It’s kinda magic. There is nothing like a steady friend. Jessica has been that for me over many years. There is a beauty to listening to wisdom, having been through some tough moments and coming out the other side with clar...

When I think of fearless leaders in Orlando, I often think of Kelly Cohen. While Orlando wasn’t in the plans as a long term stay, it became the place she wanted to invest in! And I feel we are all better for it. Listen is as we drink Cinnamon Vanilla Glenlivet Whisky Sours, on how she was instrumental in bringing the Orlando City Soccer Club to Orlando and keeping our favorite Mayor Buddy Dyer in...

We get one shot at this life. So we should make the most of it right!? Well that’s the MO of our Guest Nathan Clark. Nathan, along with his wife Jenn, started Wondermade about 7 years ago, which has had explosive success! We chat how he enjoys managing 6 children, a thriving business and ANOTHER full time job! Plus we sip on Italian Lemon Malfy Gin & Tonics and dig into the benefits of the Enn...

When you think of a life or health coach, you might not know what exactly to think. My Guest this week is Christen Rodgers who has quite an incredible story of her Journey to health, including losing over 100 pounds. She has also helped over 450 people reach their health goals as well! This take such patience and care, that I’m consistently blown away. We get to sip on my new FAV cocktail the Blac...

We you get to have a Dearest Friend on and chat your Favorite subject, it equals a GREAT day. We chat ENNEAGRAM with a local expert. Stephan Monteserin is a LMHC who practices out of Solace Counseling . We dig in so deep with this episode that we are almost in China. Stephan walks us through the multifaceted world of the Enneagram and how this can help us get in touch with our truest self! I sippe...

When you think of that friend that lights up the room with just their laugh, that’s when I think of my pal Ansley. Founder and Owner of Dora Mae Jewelry . We weren’t ashamed to do some morning drinking, a Bootsy Collins to be exact - Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Lillet Rogue, Lemon Juice and Simple Syrup. SUH Simple. We chat the ups and downs and sideways of life. As a fellow female Business Owner, it’s...

When you think of places where people ACTUALLY like their jobs / bosses, not a whole lot of places/people come to mind. When I think of Hawkers Asian Street Fare , now an Orlando institution, I think that’s one of those places. I was honored to sit down and chat w one of Hawkers Asian Street Fare’s Founding Partners and now CEO, Kaleb Harrell about the twists and turns it took to grow Hawkers into...

Most Bloggers have come to prominence in the past couple of years and usually last a couple of years. What I love about this week’s Cocktails and Conversation Guest, Kristen Manieri, is her dedication to pumping out quality content over the past 14 YEARS! That’s pretty impressive, as is her story of how she started Orlando Date Night Guide . If you are in a relationship, this site is a no brainer....

Well when you sit down for a drink with one of your dearest friends, it never feels like work. Getting to chat with Katie Johnston, the Director of Pulptown , was a real pleasure. Even I learned some things I never knew! We share childhood stories, Tito’s Vodka Cocktails and why Orlando is FULL of amazing things to explore! You won’t regret your time listening in!

What’s better than sharing a VERY delightful summer cocktail with an old Friends? Not much really. I’m so excited for you to listen in to my conversation with Laura Youngkin, who Co-Created “Women Lead Orlando” with me. She currently lives in LA and is starting a big new FUN job, but it’s always fabulous to have her in town. We shared the perfect summer drink: a Tito’s Handmade Vodka Watermelon &a...

Cole NeSmith has been a long time Champion of Orlando. He has also been a long time friend of mine. Cole had a vision to Celebrate the incredible things he saw his friends making and the Arts scene in our city. Thus the Creative City Project was born! If you haven’t attended yet, THIS IS YOUR YEAR! I made a simple and delish Campari / Tito’s Handmade Vodka Summer Cocktail to sip on as we chat! I k...

Sitting down with Brittany Lyne of Farm & Haus was such a Delight! We got to talk about how our businesses were coming up at the same time! Brittany is an amazing Entrepreneur, Marketing Guru and Boss Mom! We got to chat how (real talk) she keeps it all together. Plus we did some early day drinks with some REALLY delish cocktails. You can learn how to make this Summery Lillet & St. Germain...

Well I was so excited to sit down with the Orlando Weekly Restaurant Critic Faiyaz Kara about all things Drinks / Eats and how he made his way to Orlando from Canada. I can honestly say it’s amazing what people have lived through and all the restrictions to freedom still active in the world. This conversation made me count my Blessings for sure. We were getting a head start with this easy and deli...

A chat with the Founder of Downtown Credo, Ben Hoyer.

What a pleasure to chat with such an inspiring businesswoman, with SUCH a caring heart and brave soul. I crafted a Tito’s Handmade Vodka drink called “Pretty in Pink” Cocktail that was an easy favorite of mine. In this episode: Cocktails (or lack thereof,) Story - she’s got a Powerful one, Enneagram - such a game-changer for us REST - she has such wisdom to share!

It was SUCH a pleasure to share a Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktail with Kay Rawlins. Kay has been building up the Orlando Community for so many years. One of the ways that she does this is through her Role at the Orlando City Foundation! Listen in as she talks about life, love, loss, family and her overwhelming Pride for Orlando!

Let's Chat Cocktails, Story, Enneagram & REST!