Better with Joy

Better with Joy A sprinkle of joy with every slice of life. Dispatches from Vancouver and beyond—food, dining, travel, art and just living to the funnest.

Thankful for another year of this life filled with wonder, sweet chaos, and the mosh pit of everything in between. I don...
07/25/2026

Thankful for another year of this life filled with wonder, sweet chaos, and the mosh pit of everything in between. I don’t know how I made it to almost five decades, but I do know how wonderful it’s been to have family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers (I talk to too many 😂) enrich this journey.

Grateful, always. 💝
If we know each other—consider this a thank you for being a part of my life. 🙏

Hong Kong, it’s been 10 years since I last visited, I almost forgot you are such a vibe. Even when my brain melted from ...
06/23/2026

Hong Kong, it’s been 10 years since I last visited, I almost forgot you are such a vibe.

Even when my brain melted from the heat and humidity, and drenched in the monsoon rains…you are a great time.

Discover Hong Kong


Arrived around midnight. Highly recommend. Quieter times, ready for bed and and early start for adventures.

06/20/2026

That rooftop life at Harbour Grand Hong Kong

06/17/2026

Hong Kong Museum of Art 香港藝術館

Apple galette. Our rustic apple pie for yesterday’s Apple Pie Day.Baked with some of our backyard apples from the previo...
05/15/2026

Apple galette. Our rustic apple pie for yesterday’s Apple Pie Day.

Baked with some of our backyard apples from the previous fall harvest. 🍎 Those frozen Spencer apples sure come in handy for baking. And they’re are incredibly delicious in pies.

Finally picked up a tube of Potter’s Pink watercolour, plus the .3mm sepia fineliner after seeing it on the website. P...
05/09/2026

Finally picked up a tube of Potter’s Pink watercolour, plus the .3mm sepia fineliner after seeing it on the website.

Potter’s Pink: Plays well with others. Such a nice mingler of a colour! Looking forward to experimenting with it more.

Fineliner: Love the fine line that doesn’t stand out as much as black. Waiting for Opus to stock the grey fineliner because I think that would give a pencil look, but permanent.

05/08/2026

La Poste du Louvre—the central post office near the Louvre, inaugurated in 1888—remains one of Paris’ iconic landmarks. After a massive transformation that took half a decade, the modernized building reopened in January 2022 as a mixed-use space with a post office, hotel, housing, police station, shops, offices, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.

You can count me among the minority of tourists who scope out postal buildings. 😄 I first visited the building in 2023 to get Paris Olympic stamps, but I didn’t realize then that this central post office also has its own swag—from tote bags and socks to branded shoes. And they even sell electric city bikes.

Sometimes, even a simple stamp-buying errand becomes an unexpected destination.

👉 📫 La Poste du Louvre is open every day of the week, except on certain holidays. Great for those last minute postage needs.

Do you send yourself a postcard while you’re away on vacation?I started sending postcards to myself during trips, at the...
05/08/2026

Do you send yourself a postcard while you’re away on vacation?

I started sending postcards to myself during trips, at the same time I send mail to friends and family, to see how long they take to arrive. Over the years, across different cities and countries, they’ve become one of my favourite souvenirs. Not only do I get stamps and postcards from different places, but I also get to revisit the trip weeks later when the postcard finally shows up in my mailbox.

I painted this postcard on my trusty travel watercolour block to try out the new paints I bought in Paris, then I just trimmed it to 4x6in. Easy.

What do I write to myself? Usually little highlights of the trip, thoughts from the day, or simply where I am in that moment — anything I’d like to remember later.

SnailMailStories EatPlayTravelSpark

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