Lunch special at The Phoenician: Falafel, spinach and feta fatayer (pie), fattoush salad, and a great lemon tahini sauce (not pictured).

Before eating at Rocoto Chicken in El Jardin Market on W. Broad, you are presented with a serving of fried cracked corn kernels.  Stay for the… everything else.

These two bottles of wine were given to Karen as a Christmas bonus. We’re assuming they’re beyond our usual spending limit. Looking forward to a night when we have dinner after the kids are asleep and we can kick back and enjoy the juice.

I couldn’t convince Jasper that he looks extremely handsome in the hat I’d just bought him on clearance for $0.97.

These fishes jockied for my attention on Christmas Eve. The bug-eyed guy and one of his friends came home with me and were turned into pescada Veracruzana. They’re “pink snappers” from a sea-food shop on Belt Boulevard.

Snazzy labels could be just the enticement you need to start using Kecap Manis sweet soy sauce. Tan-A has the un-snazzy bottles, but these were on a shelf in the little Asian store by Maldini’s on Forrest Hill Ave.

I forgive Family Thrift Center for their unsafe carts, since they’ve provided Emerson with a light-saber and me with a 1972 cookbook by Diane Kennedy.

Our pug, Frankie, loves to bask in the sun on this glider. Occasionally, he falls asleep. Even less frequently, there’s a pillow handy. (not a full-sized basketball, by the way)

IThis is the best tres leche cake I’ve ever had. My coworker lived in Mexico for 25 years and now she brings one of these to every party the office throws. Actually, I just left that job. The cake might be the thing I’ll miss the most.

Feel free to pretend that Jasper is connecting with Picasso in this picture. I asked him to look at it. He did. I asked him what he sees in the picture. “Nothing.”

The Family Peace Festival took place in Byrd Park this past year. I’d always wondered what the event was like. Turns out, it’s awesome. The music, the food vendors, the kids activities and crafts. Don’t miss it next year, Richmond.

I wanted to conclude with a picture of my beautiful wife, but they’ve all got kids stealing the scene. There’s a new priority for me: take more pictures of Karen.  This one captures her ascending the steps of the National Museum of Art with Jasper in tow.