Bistopping Review 비스토핑

💥Cafe Gals: Cafe Review💥

Bistopping is a small ice cream shop in between Sinsa and Nonhyeon Station. It's definitely in an area that you need to map out! If you know how to use Naver maps then you'll definitely be in good hands! 
Bistopping has attracted a wide variety of clients. When we went there were lots of Japanese people and a few Koreans. They have definitely amped up their business via instagram. 
The system of ordering is pretty fun because you can choose your cone, type of ice cream, and your toppings! In their case you can choose chocolate stars, mermaid tails, chocolate pearls and other assorted goodies! 
When we went in Cheyenne customized hers but I showed the clerk an instagram picture and said, "This one pleaaaase!" 

They are super nice helpful here! This is absolutely a great place to come!

Now let's get into the details here:

Prices: 
5,000 +
Depending on how fancy you want to get
Menu:
Available in Korean, English, Chinese, & Japnese
Wifi: 
Absolutely! Bottom of your receipt! 
Pet Friendly:
No
Atmosphere: 
Very cute! The inside of ice cream shop is small and adorable!
Seating: 
Inside seats about 30
Outside about 8 
Instagram Worthy:
Of course! You can take a picture with their signature wall or the bubble gum pink walls! 

Thoughts:

Honestly I love coming to Bistopping because it's fresh and delicious! It's perfect on hot summer days or even lazy Sundays! Bistopping is great for casual meeting with friends or a family hang out! You should definitely come and check it out! You'll be glad you came!
🚨Cheyenne and I gave this cafe🚨 
☕☕☕☕☕/5

💕

Address:

Seoul, Seocho-gu, Jamwon-dong, Sinbanpo-ro 47-gil, 68
🌟Sinsa Exit 3 go straight and cross at Kia Motors 

Open
Everyday from 11AM - 10PM

Phone Number
070-7792-0409

 📷Their Instagram📷

Bistopping

Stay caffeinated my friends! 

xoxo

Cafe Gals

2 months later

previously on my blog.....

My last entry was my teary goodbye to South Korea

Coming back home has definitely had its moments...

I've honestly been wanting to write this but I've been struggling with how I want to write this.

I have felt a range of emotions the past 2 months

but the strongest emotion is

confusion.

As I started working this week the time has flown and I just think 

okay, i can do this. 10 more months ... it'll go quickly

but I cant help that I want to go back

I miss Kyu a lot

my insurance

my kids 

and

F O O D!

I want to start doing youtube videos again once I strike a balance with work and free time. 

I did bring back 3 suitcases full of skin care I want to share with you all!

If you have any questions about skin care of living in Korea please feel free to ask! 

Have a good week end!

xoxo

Julie

It's Skin Foot Peeling Pack Review && How To!

I have to admit 

there is something oddly satisfying about doing a foot peel

Watching all the dead skin just flake off and leave a silky smooth layer of skin is really nice hahah

I sound super creepy 

sorry haha

Anyways here's my video and stick around until the end 

to see my boyfriend's reaction to my feet! 

Thanks for watching!

week 17

hey hey hey

week 17 blasted by!

i cant believe that pretty soon it'll be half a year until i go home! i cannot wait.

i feel like it's so close... yet so far!

humpf!

anyways here my new video and the unveiling of my new do!!

xoxo

julie

Etude House Bubble Tea Sleeping Pack

Hey everyone!

Today's review is over my new FAVORITE product for summer!

It's the Etude House Bubble Tea Sleeping Pack! 

In this video I will talk about the product and show you how to apply it! 

Here are the ingredients for each of the masks:

Here is the direct link to purchase one of these AMAZING masks! 

BUY ME PLEASE  ^^ 

Hope you enjoyed this video!!

xoxo

Julie

Episode 8 & 9

sorry y'all 

I've been massively lacking these past 2 weeks! I apologizzze

but here is the awkwardness that happened last week

and then here is the follow up for week 9

Thanks for sticking with me you guys!!!

xoxo

Julie

Episode 7

Episode 7 y'all

Goal met! Video under 5 minutes!!!

woo hoo!

I feel like I'm getting better at this!

Thanks to everyone who continues to support me while I'm doing this silly thing! :D

xoxo

Julie

Episode 5!!!!

ITS FINALLY APRIL Y'ALL

check out my week 5 vid.

I didn't start the whole 30 this week because I got attacked by my sinuses...

so next week seems more promising! (haaazzaaaaa)

Shout outs in this video were a little heavy but necessary haha 

Again thanks for watching and keeping up with me being a giant mess... haha

Peace out Napoleon!

xoxo

How to apply a sheet mask

Hey everyone! 

I finally upload a quick video of how to apply a face mask.

Even though the video is fast I put little subtitles the order I do things in. 

In the description box you will find all of the products I used. I linked everything just so if you want to try any of these products you know where to go!

I hope you enjoy this! If you have any questions feel free to ask! I might do this again but will an explanation part!

Hope you are having a great week!

xoxo

Julie 

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 4

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 4

Hey y'all !

Week 4 out of 52! 

I wish I could say the weeks have been flying by since I started this.

 But I'm still going haha

I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! To everyone who has been watching and supporting me while I do this! It's been really therapeutic for me to just talk. 

Again Thanks everyone!

Love y'all

xoxo 

Week End Jeonju Trip

Hey y'all!!

Here's a little recap of our week end to Jeonju! 

It was great getting out of the city and into the fresh country air! 

I let Kyu have complete creative control over the video editing. If it were up to me this would have been a 40 minute video haha 

I may actually section the video out just to highlight where we went and what we ate. 

Anywaaaaaaaaaaaays

Enjoy!

xoxo

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 2

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 2

Hellooooooo everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great week! It's been a helluva week over here. 

I filmed my second video and it's down below....

Sorry about all the rambling haha 

Thanks for watching everyone!! 

xoxo

Julie

50 weeks left y'all!!! 

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 1

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 1

Hey y'all! 

I am now trying once again to start a video journal. All of my other videos I did one and then determined I sounded like a total douche lord and just gave up.

butttt

I'm not giving up this time! I still sound and look like a giant weirdo but I want to try and vocalize my thoughts and feelings about living in Korea the past 3 years.

So here we go:

Julie's Final 52:

Episode 1

Julie's Final 52

Pardon the awkwardness...

I'm still getting used to seeing myself talk. hahaha

xoxo

Julie

T-52 weeks :)

Edu farm!

EDU FARM!

 This was our first field trip of the school year! Since Dongtan is located outside of Seoul it's easier to do things a little more country. haha 

The inside was actually super pretty and there was a lot of things to see! 

They had all kinds of flowers and an assortment of things planted around and lots of photo ops! Because it's not a field trip without some quality photo's to show to the parents! ^^

After wandering around on the inside and taking LOTS of pictures we were led outside to plant potatoes!!! 

They each got 5 spuds and got to place them into each hole. After the planted them the farmer came around and covered them up with dirt and the kids got to pat it down. 

Time to wash up!

The view was country and it was silent all around!

After we washed it was time to get up close and personal with the farm animals. 

This frisky little bird was wandering around and getting really close to the kiddos. We kept the bird at bay as some of our babies freaked out. 

There was a turkey, two donkeys, and a mysterious looking dog. We didn't go near the dog. 

Overall the kids had fun looking and planting their potatoes! It would definitely be a great place to take your kiddos on the week end or just fun to check out! 

Here's all the info:

Edu FarmWebsite!

Happy exploring y'all~

xoxo

Julie 

Felice Piatto

행복한접시 Felice Piatto - Dongtan

So the first week end we moved here it was pretty hectic and there was a lot to do in a short amount of time.

Sunday we ventured out of our Metapolis bubble and across the major road into a whole new world of delicious looking restaurants and boutiques. I don't know the exact name of the area but the map at the bottom can provide some help!~ 

Here's the intersection.. a blurry version the restaurant is behind the white sign in the background. So we walked around and the restaurant is next to Baby Guiness... if that helps at all haha

We walked in and the restaurant was pretty empty so we got our choice of where to sit! 

There interior is cute and very clean and well organized. We ordered a pasta dish each and a margherita pizza. 

This was my chicken carbonara ! I am very picky when it comes to cream sauces in Korea. It's always very runny and the consistency of soup, but this was perfect! It was thick and velvety and it left me wanting more! 

This is what my boyfriend got. He prefers red sauce and anything spicy enough to set your bowels on fire. His was called Arrabbiata and it was pretty delicious. I only tried a bite but he gave it rave reviews. He practically licked the plate. 

 

The pizza may not look like much but the crust was nice and thin. The sauce didn't over power the pizza and it was delightful! I highly recommend it! 

The presentation was nice and clean and we pretty much left the plates clean. haha I cleaned mine with the pizza crust. 

I thought the meal was over but all of a sudden FREE dessert came out! We got to choose between chocolate cake and cheese cake. The chocolate was pretty delicious! 

Since it was late I opted for the free orange juice and my boyfriend got tea. 

This is the entrance to restaurant, I am a sucker for a lemon painting. haha 

This is what it looks like from outside! Sorry it's so dark, we went spur of the moment Sunday night! 

Overall 

Atmosphere:

4/5

Quality of food:

4/5

Service

3/5

Value

4/5

Overall experience

5/5


Overall I can't wait to eat there again and try out some new dishes! The prices are moderately priced. Definitely not cheap, but it's about 10 bucks a plate, which isn't bad for the portion they give you. If your in the Central Park neighborhood check it out and let me know what you think. 

Here's a map of the location and the address in Korean. 

Friends

Friends.

As simple as the title may seem this word comes with a lot of complicated feelings and situations.

I am not stranger to home sickness even on the brightest of days. Being millions of miles away from your friends and family can take a huge toll on your heart. 

Last Sunday I went into full out fetal position because I was on facebook seeing all my beautiful friends getting married, buying houses, and having beautiful children. 

The thought that echoed through my mind was:

What if they forget about me... I'm so far away and they only see me once a year, it just seems like I will slip away from their new adult life. 

I went immediately into panic mode and just started bawling. 

Sometimes being here makes me feel lonely and lost in translation. When I see my friends doing well, I am absolutely over the moon for them, but secretly jealous and questioning my own life choices. 

I know before I came to Korea I had some critics saying, 

"What are you running from?"

"You can't live there forever."

"You should be an adult and start your life here"

Without a doubt it hurt hearing those things, but ultimately I got here and I'm actually pretty proud of myself and the life I have chosen. sometimes.

Let me get to the point:

The point is I've been personally struggling with friendships here (in Korea) and my friendships at home (in America). 

The way I see it is, in Korea there are different categories of friends; work friends, party friends, and actual friends. 

Sure the same applies no matter where you are from in the world BUT making friends in a foreign country isn't as easy and some people may think. 

It's absolutely true when people say,"Foreigners judge other foreigners." Hell I'm guilty of it. But here to find genuine relationships that will last forever is difficult. Different circles of friends, gossip, and constant 1-ups on people becomes childish and dull. 

Lately the pressure of putting a smile on and being tight lipped has really gotten me down. 

The point of having friends is to enjoy their company and to foreign together. 

Lately I've been keeping to myself and hanging out with my boyfriend and just trying to work on myself. 

I have to admit going home in July in always bitter sweet. Last year it felt great to see everyone and I realized I wasn't missing much... but this year I may feel different. 

Life abroad isn't always rainbows and butterflies and there are some personal hardships that come with it. 

I just the moral of the story is to stay true to yourself and have fun. Find people who uplift you, instead of tear you down. 

To all my friends I love you and miss you. I don't tell y'all enough but you guys mean to world to me. At some point I will come home for good....

For now I'm not done exploring. 

xoxo

Julie

New city New start

Hey y'all

It's me ! I have been away from here for a long time. My previous job was pretty demanding and it was really hard to have some personal blogging time. All I wanted to do was eat, sleep, and sleep some more. haha Now that I've moved to a new city and a new school I will have more time for hobbies and doing things I like to do. 

I have just moved to Dongtan which is outside of Suwon. I am working at a brand new school with some pretty amazing people. Overall I am super happy!!

I am going to start blogging about different restaurants and activities I do around here! I live in a pretty central location so I am stoked I don't really have to travel far for anything. 

So stay tuned and I will try to update as much as possible!!

Love y'all!

xoxo

Julie

Beginning of a new adventure

Hello everyone!

So I will be starting a new segment on my blog about my new adventure.... hahah As of 12-13-14 my boyfriend moved in with me! 

I have never lived with a boyfriend and he's never lived with anyone other than his parents... so this should definitely make for some interesting times. Check out our introduction video! ^^

This video is just an introduction and he wanted to say hi to everyone ~ ^^

We are going to try out best to blog together and separately to let everyone know how this is going. 

Stay tuned for more fun and awkwardness!

Hooray!

xoxo

Julie & Kyu

100 day photo challenge summary

My 100 day photo challenge summary:

100 days ago I challenged myself to post 1 photo each day on instagram about what made me happy.
I will be completely honest some days I had to dig deep.

As I review my photos I noticed I posted a lot about friends, family, food, work, tattoos and medicine. This all seems pretty shallow at first glance but for real these are things I can appreciate.

Friends & Familia

My friends and family mean so much to me that its unreal. I can even put it into words. I love my coworkers that have become family and my friends that are pretty much my backbones. I miss my friends in America beyond belief. During my 100 days I went home and had an absolute blast. I want you too to know how much i love and value your friendships. I feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such strong and amazing individuals. 

My kiddos ! 

As I am quickly approaching my 1 year mark I can safely say I have made it this far because of the kids. When I first got here I thought, what did I get myself into? Times have been a complete struggle. The hours are long and giving 100% of yourself on a daily basis is unbelievably draining, but I can say I wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world. When my first class of kinder babies graduated this past February I cried my eyes out and I know when my pre kinders graduate in February and I head back to America for some R&R it will be bitter sweet. These kids absolutely mean the sun and moon to me. 

Food !

This is all very self explanatory hahaha I LOVE FOOD. I miss my steak and potato meals back in the good ole US of A, but I have found food that has soothed my soul. My partner in food crime Karla and I seem to demolish everything in sight. Korea is a melting pot of deliciousness. From sweet treats at Hello Kitty Cafe to my all time favorite Coco Curry. Since I've been here I'd like to think I have expanded my horizons as cultural eater. And lets just talk about the chocolate pancakes with cookies and cream ice cream on the bottom picture. If your ever in Gangnam and want to drown your sorrows in delicious chocolate go to Butterfingers and they will hook it up! 

Traveling 

It's a blessing to be living my life overseas immersed in a completely different culture. In my 100 day journey I have gone to Nami Island (top left) which is north of Seoul, Ulsan (top right), Gapyeong country side, The Palace in Gwahamun, Ulsan (bottom right), and my neighborhood (bottom left). Traveling within Korea has been so much fun. I actually never realized about beautiful Korea was until I #GetOutandLive (thanks for the tag Jackie). No matter where you are in the world travel and explore! It's important to take little week end trips to escape life sometimes! 

But first... Let me take a selfie

So in Korea... rather world it's the "selfie generation." I am totally guilty of taking seflies anywhere and everywhere. I also like to get my friends and family to participate or photo bomb haha We are all guilty of it. Mirror pics, duck faces, selfie with the front cam, we have all become masters of working the angles and filters. During my 100 days I took some cute selfies and there's one that I didn't actually put in the collage of a selfie when I was just down right tired. Life is happy and I try to show that through funny selfies or selfies with my friends or animals. You gotta love the way you look! :)

My boyfriend 

(mushy alert)

I actually try not to spam instagram with our lovey dovey gayness. haha but it can be hard to hold back. I'm lucky that I found someone who is just as crazy as I am. I'm so happy to have found a boyfriend who feels like my best friend. On day 25 we had our first day and on October 18th we will be celebrating our first 100 days together! So in short I'm over the moon and just super blessed to have met someone I click with!

So to wrap up my 100 day summary a lot has and can happen in such a short time. I honestly didn't think I was going to keep up with this challenge but I made it!! 

I want to say thank you to my friends, family, students, boyfriend and everyone who do things out of the kindness of their own hearts. Sometimes it's the littlest things that can make someone's day. I believe that making others smile with your kindness is a huge gift that not just anyone can do. 

Have you made someone smile today? :)

xoxo

100 days happier 

Korean Dating Rituals

Hello all, 

I haven't posted in a while and a lot has happened! I went to America for 10 days for my summer vacation and I have a new boyfriend! I know before I posted a pretty grim and unpleasing post about dating in Korea, but I am here to tell you that there is indeed hope for foreigners! 

Korean dating is like a bad episode of legends of the hidden temple, you just cant all the get all the pieces together at the right time. They are either really hot with 0 personality or mildly good looking with perverted intentions.

I actually met my boyfriend at Ultra Music Festival Korea in the front row. I honestly didn't think anything of it as he asked to see my princess wand. After taking pictures and dancing around we traded kakao id's and I figured that was it. Weeks later we met up to do some local shopping in Hongdae and a lunch date turned into an all day affair. Now we've been together for a bit and things have been going really well. hehe

There are some things to get used to when dating a Korean man. 

1.  Anniversaries by the 100's. Every 100 days Korean couples celebrate! 100, 200, 300... and so on. It's a bit different but honestly I think it's kind of cute. Also friends will give you cheonwon or a 100 won coin as a way to say congrats.

2. Couple rings. My boyfriend and I are approaching our 100 day anniversary so he asked me about couple rings. I know this is an ultra Korean thing, but I like it. They are small reminders and tokens of cuteness. So friends and family I am not engaged we are just celebrating our relationship with rings! ^^

3. Getting stared at. People practically breaking their necks to get a good stare at the foreigner and her Korean man. I would be lying if I told you it doesn't bother me. I know I am not anywhere near Korean sized but the stares my boyfriend and I get are a little out of control. I'm not sure if other foreigner/korean couples have experienced this but IT'S RUDE! 

4. THE PARENTS (dun dun dunnnnnn)
part 1.
Sunday's at mom's house and you aint invited. 
My boyfriend's family live in Incheon and he's currently going to Hongik University. So he will leave my place early Sunday morning go and hang out with his family then go back go his dorms at night. But I have found that Korean parents keep a strong hold of their children. Like today, we were supposed to go to an exhibit today but his mother called and demanded he come home for lunch. He said okay sure so he left reluctantly. Just be prepared for the demands of a Korean family.

part 2.
You will not be meeting parents anytime soon.
I am not all about meeting parents but most of my exes have met and had a functioning relationship with my parents. My boyfriend has met my father via skype and my whole  family knows of him. His sister knows me as his friend from America and that's the extent. He lies to his parents about where he goes and who's he's with. I told him as long as he doesn't lie to me we're good. haha Korean's will not tell their parents about their significant other until it's time for marriage.

5. With the quickness. Korean's tend to jump in whole heartedly when it comes to relationships. No matter who your dating it takes off fast. I'll be honest I was scared and had to consult with my Korean love guru Karla. I'm glad I let my guard down and just let it happen. I'm the happiest I've been in a REALLY long time. 

All in all your girl never gives up and I'm glad I didn't. I've met a guy that I'm completely comfortable around. We watch adventure time, eat rice and kimchi, and occasionally burp in the name of love.

The moral of the story is never give up on love. It may find you in the strangest places....

xoxo

Bitten by the love bug