Ginza Japanese Restaurant

It's hard to believe that Miss VJK's Picholine at Prefere (known in these parts as "Olive", "Baby Puppy" or "Dark Menace") is 2.5 years old. It seems like just yesterday that we asked the internets to help us name her, and now she is dam to a litter of four stunning puppies who are already well-loved family dogs that are going to do beautifully in the ring.

There have been some truly hysterical moments this year, but somehow our visit to the puppies when they were a week old really encapsulates the joy of laughter for me. This was a laugh that came from a place of pure love, of the euphoria of watching four little hamster-sized critters develop their own personalities at such an early age. There was nothing particularly comical about this moment (oh, who am I kidding?) but I smiled and laughed so hard and for so long that my face absolutely HURT.