In the season one finale, Carla sits down with her husband, Porter, to talk about taking a leap of faith on love, building a marriage between two fiercely independent people, and why gratitude and a steady habit of curiosity keep them growing together.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Carla welcomes her husband, Porter, to close out season one, bookending the solo episode that opened it

01:24 — Porter on why he said yes, and why love is worth the risk

02:45 — Meeting in the vending industry and building a life together in Chicago

05:06 — Two fiercely independent people: not taking his last name, becoming "Carter," and the turtle tattoo

07:09 — Marrying before they had spent more than a week together, then seven straight weeks together in the pandemic

10:08 — Five-one and six-three: learning to see from each other’s view, and saying yes to new adventures

13:37 — Gratitude as the starting point, and Carla’s honest struggle with the first two hours of the morning

17:15 — A quiet morning early in Covid, and the big gestures, like Carla’s first fish in the Bahamas

24:03 — The question game, and why Porter is a turtle and Carla is a hummingbird

26:34 — A coin with a message, finding faith and community, and the courage to share your story

About Our Guest:

Porter is Carla’s husband and the chief operating officer of Canteen North America, part of Compass Group, where he has spent nearly three decades in the food and vending industry, the same industry where he and Carla first met. A Belmont Abbey graduate and father of two, Addie and Thomas, he has been Carla’s steadiest partner through more than a decade of rewiring, her number one fan, and the reason the show exists.

Tool to Use:

Keep asking questions: play a simple question game with the people you love, like "what was your first concert?", because people keep changing and so do their answers, and start each day with one small act of gratitude.

Connect and Resources:

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rewiring-with-carla-v/id6795619317

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033XqpisjbnHw94qqE1d0B?si=5f039c284d604fa0

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

The same year she sold the family business, Carla revisits the day she and her brother Vince jumped off a ferry into the San Francisco Bay for the Alcatraz Shark Fest swim, and what it taught her about fear, purpose, and asking for help.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Carla welcomes her brother Vince back to talk about the Alcatraz swim they did together, and the terrifying yes he talked her into

01:36 — Carla on losing her sense of purpose the year they sold the business, and why the swim was never her idea

03:01 — Vince on missing the challenge of running a business, and searching out marathons, backpacking trips, and open water swims instead

04:31 — How Vince talked Carla into the Alcatraz Shark Fest swim, and their shared swimming background from high school

06:21 — Training solo in the pool for an open water swim, and the mental toll of being alone with your thoughts

07:32 — Race day in San Francisco: walking barefoot to the ferry with family and friends there to cheer them on

09:27 — Jumping off the ferry into the cold, dark Bay, with sea lions, sharks, and a shifting current to contend with

11:28 — Carla's panic attack mid-swim, and the volunteer who told her, “you're already doing it”

15:04 — Finishing the swim, reuniting on shore, and finding Vince already chill and eating a banana

19:58 — Vince's advice for finding your own version of the swim: set a goal, build in structure, and use every tool available

About Our Guest:

Vince is Carla's older brother. A Navy veteran and Eagle Scout, he's spent the years since the family sold their vending business chasing physical challenges, from the Tampa Bay Frogman Swim to the Cleveland Marathon to backcountry backpacking trips, using the training and structure to stay grounded. In this episode, he and Carla revisit the day they swam from Alcatraz together, and the panic, and the payoff, that came with it.

Tool to Use:

Pick a physical challenge that scares you a little, a swim, a race, a multi day hike, and set a concrete goal, then let the training structure do the rest: it will keep your mind calm and prove to you that you can handle hard things.

Connect and Resources:

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RewiringwithCarlaV

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

Carla sits down with her dad, Jim, and her brother, Vince, to trace the story of Cuyahoga Vending Group, the Cleveland food service company Jim started in 1988 after losing his job in a recession and the family built together for 33 years, and to talk honestly about what it took to rewire their identities once the business, and the community that came with it, was gone.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Introducing Carla's dad, Jim, and brother, Vince, and the story of building Cuyahoga Vending Group together

01:44 — Jim on losing his job in a recession and starting the business with a partner and nothing to lose

03:53 — Growing to nearly 8,000 vending machines, over 150 micro markets, and a dozen dining accounts

09:18 — Vince on their mom's role, growing up in Maple Heights, and learning the business on the routes as a teenager

12:09 — Vince's path through ROTC, the Navy, and Iraq before coming home to run the Columbus branch

15:09 — Jim's philosophy of handshake deals, reactive service, and constantly adding new lines of business

18:23 — Life changes collide: a divorce, a move back to Cleveland, and the call to sell

20:32 — Surviving a 50% Covid sales drop and selling the company in December 2021

21:25 — What nobody tells you about the morning after: Vince's new role, Jim missing the action, and Carla's loss of identity

25:03 — The “Jim-isms” that still guide the family today, and advice for anyone starting over

About Our Guests:

Jim is the founder of Cuyahoga Vending Group, the Cleveland-based vending, micro market, office coffee, and dining services company he started in 1988 with a partner after being let go from his job during a recession. Jim grew the business from two people to more than 300 employees at its peak, built on handshake deals and a reputation for taking care of clients, before selling the company to a private equity firm in December 2021 after 33 years.

Vince is Carla's older brother. He started working the family's vending routes as a teenager, then earned an ROTC scholarship to Miami University and served nearly seven years as a Navy officer, including a deployment to Iraq. After his son was born, he came home to run the company's Columbus, Ohio branch, eventually becoming its president, and continues to work in the industry today for the company's new ownership.

Tool to Use:

Borrow a Jim-ism for your own hard season: take the good with the bad, remember that all education is expensive, and keep showing up, because nobody gets through life without a few bumps.

Connect and Resources:

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RewiringwithCarlaV

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

Ashley Manning, founder of Watch Love Grow in Charlotte, joins Carla to talk about noticing one grieving preschool teacher's pain and doing one small thing about it, the eye injury and thirteen surgeries that cost her her vision, and how that loss deepened a five-year-old ministry that now delivers flowers and connection to thousands of widows and bereaved mothers across the country.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Introducing guest Ashley Manning, founder of Watch Love Grow

02:06 — How honoring loss with love became the heart of the ministry

02:48 — Meeting a grieving preschool teacher and the flowers that started it all

06:02 — Faith, mission trips, and learning to listen to the Holy Spirit

08:48 — Accidentally becoming a florist during Covid

11:53 — The first Valentine's Day outreach: 125 widows named and funded in ten days

16:12 — An eye injury leads to 13 surgeries and the loss of her vision

20:51 — Losing her sight and leaning on community to survive

24:05 — Growing from Charlotte to eight cities and 5,000+ people served a year

27:56 — How Carla and Ashley's Galentine's partnership began

About Our Guest: Ashley Manning is the founder of Watch Love Grow, a floral outreach ministry based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that delivers flowers and encouragement to widows, bereaved mothers, and others walking through loss. What began in 2021 as a small Valentine's Day outreach to a handful of local widows has grown into a nationwide ministry now serving more than 5,000 people a year in cities including Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Nashville, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Columbia SC, Lancaster SC, and Minnesota. Ashley is a floral designer, wife, and mother of four. Tool to Use: Listen for the nudge and act on it. You don't need a plan, a platform, or even much time, just the willingness to notice someone's pain and do one small, specific thing about it. The rest can grow from there.

Connect and Resources:

Watch Love Grow: visit https://www.watchlovegrow.org/ to nominate a widow or bereaved mom, or donate.

Volunteer: https://www.watchlovegrow.org/

Follow Watch Love Grow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watchlovegrowcharlotte/

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RewiringwithCarlaV

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

Maria Lumb, founder of Eternal in Charlotte, joins Carla to talk about leaving Slovakia for Miami, rebuilding her life across three cities with no plan and no safety net, and turning that journey into a thriving styling business built on connection.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Introducing guest Maria Lumb, founder of Eternal

01:22 — Leaving small-town Slovakia for boarding school and independence

03:00 — College, sociology and psychology, and the feeling something wasn't right

04:17 — A first trip to Miami and falling for a new culture

05:50 — Moving to Miami on a three-month tourist visa at 23

07:08 — Learning English, becoming an au pair, and starting over

09:10 — Climbing the ranks in luxury fashion retail

11:13 — The leap to New York and losing her sense of home

14:12 — Moving to Charlotte with no job, no plan, and no connections

19:07 — Founding Eternal and building community through styling

About Our Guest:

Maria Lumb is the founder of Eternal, a luxury consignment boutique and personal styling destination in Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally from Slovakia, she built her career in luxury fashion across Miami and New York before relocating to Charlotte, where she opened Eternal to bring curated, accessible luxury and genuine connection to her community.

Tool to Use:

Stay grounded in self-awareness and faith. Know who you are and what you like, and trust that faith will carry you through the uncertainty.

Connect and Resources:

Eternal: visit the boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina, to shop curated, styled looks in person.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RewiringwithCarlaV

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

Carla sits down with Petey Farina, her best friend of more than twenty years, to talk about how their friendship has survived cross-country moves, a marriage, Covid, and Petey coming out, and the small habits that have kept it strong the whole way through.

Episode Navigation:

01:33 — How they met at Ohio University in 2002

06:33 — The skydiving trip that sealed their friendship

09:06 — Reconnecting as adults after both landing in Chicago

12:03 — Welcoming Porter, Carla's now husband, into the friendship

15:22 — Riding out the start of Covid apart, three months stuck in Cleveland

17:24 — The phone call where Petey came out, and what it meant for them

21:44 — Calling each other chosen family

22:55 — The small tools, calls, texts, and postcards, that keep a friendship alive across the country

33:04 — Petey's advice for anyone afraid distance will end a friendship

About Our Guest:

Petey Farina has been Carla's best friend since they met at Ohio University in 2002. Their friendship has stretched across Chicago, San Francisco, and now opposite coasts, through his coming out, her remarriage, a shared love of national parks, and a standing spot in the Beyhive. He is a longtime world traveler who has visited every continent, including Antarctica.

Tool to Use:

Always stay connected to the people you care about - you can call them while your walking, book the ticket, send a postcard, etc.

Connect & Resources:

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RewiringwithCarlaV

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/

Carla sits down with longtime friend Natasha Pearl Hansen for a wide-ranging, deeply personal conversation about grief, resilience, and the "bonus sphere" of chosen family. Natasha shares how a canceled wedding led her to build My Breakup Registry, how she found comedy almost by accident at Second City Chicago, and how the sudden loss of her best friend of 17 years, Matthew Botas, reshaped her life, eventually inspiring a TEDx talk that released exactly one year to the day of his death. The two also open up about Natasha's more recent loss of her father, and how grief shows up differently every time.

Episode Navigation:

00:03 – How Natasha got into comedy: From a theater minor to Second City Chicago, almost by accident

02:19 – My Breakup Registry origin story: Born out of a canceled wedding and launched during the pandemic

04:09 – On grief hierarchies: Why breakups are treated as "less than" other losses, and why that's unfair

06:50 – Meeting Matthew Botas: The bartending job, the whiskey tips, and a 17-year friendship

12:41 – The day Matt died: Natasha recounts December 23, 2024, in detail

22:00–25:29 – The networking event: How wearing "disco pants" and refusing to ask what people do led to her TEDx invitation

27:25 – Writing the TEDx talk: Choosing not to say the word "grief," building the talk from stories instead of lessons

31:12 – The response to going public: Screenshotted messages from people helped by her openness

33:19 – On grief being different for everyone: Anticipatory grief with her father vs. sudden loss with Matt

36:08 – Practical advice: Making a list of people to see every day during the hardest weeks

40:44 – The "bonus sphere": How losing Matt brought his circle of friends together as chosen family

About Natasha Pearl Hansen:

Comedian, actor, founder, and speaker. Founder and CEO of My Breakup Registry and creator of the Hustle & Chill newsletter. Delivered a TEDx talk on using laughter to move through grief, released one year to the day after the death of her best friend, Matthew Botas.

Connect & Resources:

Newsletter: https://hustleandchillwithnph.beehiiv.com/

My Breakup Registry: https://www.nphcomedy.com/mybreakupregistry

TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWMnZPGpaQw

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Website: https://5683justbe.com/

Follow Carla V. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carla_variglotti_/