Things That Made Me Smile: February

List of things I'm thankful for, things I'm loving, things worth sharing...

• •We booked our three week trip to Japan! We've been saving credit card miles and only spent $90 on our round-trip flights. We're thinking Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and probably another town in the mountains to enjoy some hot springs. I'm so excited to get dinner and drinks with a new Chicago friend who has been to Japan multiple times. Naturally, we're going to get ramen for dinner, yum!
• •Winter is almost over! We've had some lovely sunny days here, but knowing that the summer is closer now that it's March, I can almost taste the summery cocktails! 
• •Self tanner. Seriously. I did not realize how pale I felt/looked. I had an afternoon to myself so I thought I'd put this on, and now I feel back to my usual skin tone. (This is the only self tanner that I've used, but I definitely recommend it. It comes out of the bottle somewhat green, which eliminates any possible orange-tones).
• •Espresso at home. I've been trying to perfect a vegan latte, however, it always tastes much better with dairy milk. There's something so very sweet about steamed milk, that I don't need any sugar in my espresso with dairy. My cashew milk is not cutting it, but a sugar cube in my black espresso has been a nice treat on weekends.
• •Relationship goals.
• •Speaking of relationships, we had brunch with a big group of friends on Valentines Day. A friend works at a Brazilian restaurant, and it was such a good meal. We ordered things that my Brazilian grandmother makes at home, and I must say, it came very close to being as delicious as hers. 
• •VICE released the first episodes of the shows that are going to be on their new cable channel, Viceland. I already love Gaycation with Ellen Page. Her personality is contagious.  The Viceland channel premiered on February 29th.
• •We went camping! A group of friends set up camping in Ocala National Forest while we were visiting Florida. Equipped with my dad's Brazilian grilling spears, we cooked some sausages over the fire. The camp was close to Juniper Springs, which I wish we had more time to enjoy. We arrived with the last of the day's sun, so the water was cool and in the shade. 
• •My mom babysits the sweetest little girl with the cutest name - and nickname! Growing up, I never liked any nicknames that stemmed from "Danielle." Now that I'm older, I like Yelle, which is what I go by on this blog. But, the little girl that my mom watches has the sweetest nickname. I recently was able to meet her mom and dad, and her parents are just as wonderful as she is. (Hi Caroline!)
• •Lastly, the blog rebrand. When I launched my shop, I did not know what direction I would go with my blog. I thought about it for a bit, and then I worked with Labina Studio on the custom theme. I don't know why I've been putting off a custom theme for so long. It feels so right! I'm so glad that I got to work with her. She listened to everything I wanted, she made little changes for me, and it looks better than I ever could have imagined. My new blog makes me smile!

Tomorrow is Mordechai's 5th birthday! Besides getting to enjoy more treats than usual, we celebrated today with a little doggie play-date with another greyhound. He slept in this weekend, and we are excited to join some classes with him starting this week! There is a place nearby that does classes specifically for greyhounds. We are looking forward to doing an agility class with him, but first we're going to do an obedience class as a refresher. (He's been a bit stubborn lately when it comes to commands. Could it be old age?). I'm so looking forward to spending the extra time with him. Since going to Florida, I really missed him and our routine together. He's the sweetest and silliest greyhound!