Transitional phases & doing what brings you joy with Dakota Wallace

My first official guest on the show, Ms. Dakota Wallace….who also happens to be one of my best friends. We get into the story of how we met studying abroad in Florence, Italy where we were randomly assigned as roommates. We have some juicy dating stories while we were abroad and get details on Dakota's dating story with a man named Nico while tasting another great Pinot from Longboard Vineyards in Sonoma County. Between night clubs in Florence to a night at the hospital with Italians to Dakota getting a ring, our abroad experience was definitely a memorable one.   Besides these fun stories abroad, we also get deep into being in a transitional phase. Dakota shows us how it's important to share your journey when you are in the "messy" "transitional" phase in order to inspire and help others. When Dakota was going into college, she actually wanted to be a Chef but ended up studying Hospitality & Events instead.  The experiences she has had in the events industry up until today have led her back into transitioning into what she always wanted to do from day one at college. Taking over her family business, Bitter Sweet, in 2024 she has big plans for the food industry to really shine light on the importances of eating whole foods with creative recipes while creating an environment that supports health, wealth and longevity.   Tune in now as we get into deep conversations involving doing what you love, joy, spirituality, self-development and surrounding yourself with the right people.     1:11 - Intro to Dakota Wallace 2:20 - How we met studying abroad in Italy 5:00 - Dakota was scared of me before we met 6:10 - Intro to today's wine 6:45 - Story behind the wine we are drinking 7:35 - Tasting notes with back story on our wine expertise 9:30 - Phenomenal Pinot, persistent but not overpowering 10:50 - Nico, an Italian dating story 13:30 - Nicole dates Leo, an Italian Albanese man 16:50 - 2am at a club in Italy 17:45 - Jaw dropping moment for Dakota 20:45 - Nico saves Dakota's life 22:25 - Nico give Dakota a ring 25:45 - Random woman texts Dakota about Nico 28:00 - Sugar momma status 30:15 - Plot twist, the ring is returned 33:00 - Transitional phases & importance of sharing the "mess" 34:55 - Food makes people happy 37:22 - Landing a "dream job" 39:20 - Having it all doesn't mean you "have it all" 43:35 - Everything makes sense in reverse 45:45 - Elevating your circle can change your life 47:25 - Becoming an Herbologist  49:00 - Dakota's tea company is created 51:25 - You don't have to do everything alone 54:45 - Events company was born by word of mouth 58:00 - PCOS and reevaluating lifestyle 1:02:45 - Taking over her father's company Bitter Sweet 1:04:40 - Creating an amazing company culture for the people       Today's wine: 2021 Pinot Noir "Meant to Bee" Longboard Vineyards $64 https://www.longboardvineyards.com/xe/xe.asp?page=viewitem&p=1025&cat=wine        Connect with me on IG @sipandgrowpodcast   Get your FREE Wine Aroma Wheel at https://stan.store/nicoledipasquale    Check out my Italian Wine Guide at https://stan.store/nicoledipasquale