One Piece at KFC | Kyoto, Japan

So, I have another confession. I'm a super otaku for One Piece, especially Tony Tony Chopper. If you aren't familiar with the term otaku, it's Japanese for someone who is obsessed with popular culture, but it's usually used for fanboys. When I was younger, I watched a lot of anime and read so many mangas. I was a huge fan of Sailor Moon. I though I was gonna grow up to be Sailor Jupiter, but instead I ended up being Sailor Mars. It's true. Think about it, I'm super fiesty and I have long black hair.

Anyway, so as I got older, I sort of grew out of that phase of my life. I was just coming out of it when Markus and I started dating. I feel bad, because I think I misled him a bit. When we first got together, we watched a lot of anime together, especially Naruto. Then all of a sudden, I just stopped and became really interested in clothes and other things. Throughout the years, Markus asked me to watch anime with him especially One Piece, but I always refused. He always seemed disappointed and sad because he would watch it alone.

Then one day, I got really sick and had to stay home from work. I didn't have anything to watch and decided to watch an episode of One Piece. I was hooked and spent the three days off from work binge watching One Piece. I was a woman possessed and couldn't stop until I watched all of them. I watched all 500+ episodes in three months. It was crazy. When we were in Japan and I had the chance to combine my love of fried chicken and One Piece, I couldn't refuse, even if it was fast food.

While in Japan, I kept seeing adverts for these lil' mini One Piece ice cream makers. I was dying to get one and one night we finally decided to give it a go. We went to the counter and asked the lady if I could get a Chopper ice cream maker, but she said she didn't know what was inside the box. They were meant to be a surprise. I was a bit iffy and really didn't want to sacrifice a good meal, if I couldn't get Chopper. I decided to give it a go anyway, because when would I have the opportunity to get a One Piece ice cream maker? The lady ended up putting three boxes on the counter and told me to pick a box. I chose the box on the far right and hoped I picked the right one. As you can tell from the photos, I did and got Chopper. It's like it was always meant to be as if it were my destiny!

The Lost Land of Yehey Trailer

For the past two years or so, Markus and I have been working on a collaboration project together. In those two years, this project has had many faces. It began as a grandiose story, but was then boiled down to a simple children's book. We thought that was the best way to tell the story, but we realized that it lost a lot of it's charm and epic scale. So we were unsure of how to proceed and were really trying to choose the right medium. We even toyed around with turning it into a graphic novel or online comic. After many brainstorming meetings and hitting the wall over and over, it finally dawned on us, an animated adventure web series. The workload would be heavy, but it's the only way to give the story the respect it deserves.

After we finally decided on creating an animated series, Markus started working on the trailer. He's been diligently working on it in his spare time for the past three months. We've titled our project, "The Lost Land of Yehey". It's an animated, action-adventure web series that tells the story of a young boy and girl that are in search for the fabled Lost Land of Yehey, a place where dreams and impossibilities become reality. When the two young protagonists stumble upon their grandfather's old journal, chronicling his adventures in the search for Yehey, they decide to continue his search and embark on an adventure that will change the world forever.

It's been an amazing journey watching the world that we created together come to life, and I can't wait to see how it will grow. So far It's truly been a labor of love, and sometimes frustration. However I'm so excited to share this with you, and I hope that you are able to join us on this journey to "The Lost Land of Yehey".

Charlie Brown Cafe | Busan, South Korea

For Mark's birthday weekend, we spent an afternoon wandering around the PNU area and ended up at the Charlie Brown Cafe. We've been wanting to go for ages, but lets be real, Markus and I are hobbits that never leave the house. After finally making it to the cafe, we both felt a bit sheepish for not going sooner. I really loved this cafe. The atmosphere is great. There is so much space and all the rooms felt really sleek and clean. Charlie and his friends are decorated everywhere and it's pretty cute. I will admit that I didn't watch a lot of Charlie Brown growing up, but I still have a connection to it. Everyone knows Charlie Brown and it was pretty awesome being surrounded that reminds me of home.

Mark's Geeky Birthday | Busan, South Korea

FREE WILLY!

Previously, I posted about Mark's Posh Birthday Celebration. The following day, the festivities continued. Since the night before was pretty classy, he decided to fulfill all of his geeky inclinations on another day. Even though we did all the stuff that Markus likes, I still had a great day with him. Markus and I are creative types, so we always have something to work on. Most weekends, you'll find us holed up in our house like hobbits. We refuse to leave until our respective projects are finished. It was nice to be able to spend the whole day just messing around and relieving some of our stress!

I always wanted to be a mermaid.

Oh Korea.

Creepy Seal

Mr. Frowny

Where are you?

BFFs

Markus is a huge fan of anything to do with nature. He's always talking about frogs and lizards. It's really cute. Sometimes when we're walking, he'll stop and move caterpillars and bugs to the side, so no one steps on them. I can't believe that he would take the time to do stuff like that but he's so compassionate. It's one of the things I love most about him. When we first moved to Korea, he did some research and found the Busan Marine Natural History Museum. For his birthday weekend, we decided to make the trek to Dongnae and see all the delightful animals. It was a bit of a journey there, but we finally made it. I've been to heaps of natural history museums and I must say, this wasn't the best. The condition of all the exhibits were really bad. Everything seemed sort of cheap and in disrepair. They had a few live animals on the upper level but they all looked a bit sickly and sad. Even though it wasn't the best museum, we still made the most of our time there.

Dracula Burger

Someone is excited.

After we got our fill of taxidermy animals, we headed to the PNU area to get burgers. Markus is a HUGE fan of burgers. It's one of his favorite foods. He's always talking about how much he misses American burgers, so we are always on the lookout for good ones. I read online about Valance Burgers and we decided to give it a try. I'm happy to say that we weren't disappointed. They were really good. The meat was seasoned well and the bread was a bit sweet. I think because of that it balanced well with the meat and made for a delicious burger! 

Someone else is really excited.

As we were walking around the PNU area, I kept seeing people eating tall ice cream cones. I know that in Myeongdong there is a similar treat, but never heard of it in Busan. After walking for a bit, we finally came up to a long line. I read that the cones were only 2,000 won ($2) and immediately convinced Markus to buy one. I always wanted to get one in Seoul, but I knew that we wouldn't be going back, so I really happy to finally get the chance to try it!

Charlie Brown and Markus

Me and Lucy

After we shopped around PNU for a bit, we headed to the Charlie Brown Cafe. I'll be making a separate post about the cafe. It was that amazing! After a long day wandering Busan, the Charlie Brown Cafe was the perfect end to our day. I had so much fun with Markus and I realized that it doesn't matter what we're doing, I always have fun with my boy.

Mark's Posh Birthday

Birthday boy!

A week ago today, my beloved Markus celebrated his 33rd birthday. I really can't believe that he's in his 30s. The boy really does look young. Once someone said to him, "Mark, I think that you drank from the Fountain of Youth." I really think he worked some kind of hoodoo because he does not look 33. Since Markus entered his 30s, he's preferred to have low key celebrations. Now that I'm also approaching my 30s I do too. Last year, Markus didn't get to do anything he wanted for his birthday, so I was determined to make all of his birthday wishes come true this year.

Posh Nosh

Darth Vader Art

Seared Tuna Salad

Gorgonzola Pizza

Lychee Martini and Mojito

So excited

Our first stop for Mark's Posh Birthday was the amazing Posh Nosh. Usually, I do all the research and look for restaurants, but this time, Markus found the place. When we walked in, I was so impressed. I think of all the restaurants we've been to, this is by far the classiest. I loved Posh Nosh and everything about it was great. The decor was really modern and artsy. The food was absolutely delicious, a little pricey, but worth it. We ate the Gorgonzola Pizza and Seared Tuna Salad. We've had Gorgonzola Pizza before and it's been average. We were both worried it would be mediocre, but it wasn't at all. It was really good and it only proves that quality means everything. Even though it's a simple pizza, the flavors of the cheese were strong. My favorite part of the meal was the drinks. I ordered a Lychee Martini and Markus ordered a Mojito. I usually hate martini's but this one was so good. It was sweet and had the subtle taste of lychees. Honestly, I would go back to Posh Nosh, just for the drinks.

It's your birthday, ru ru ra ra ru....

SKULL JOKE!

After we ate dinner, I gave Markus his personalized birthday card. As I've said before, we try to give each other personalized presents. Nothing too big, just something that the other person will like. This year, I started watching One Piece, as you probably noticed. Markus loves two characters, Sogeking or Usopp and Brooke. Each character on One Piece has signature sayings or jokes. So for Sogeking and Brooke, I used them for his birthday card. I think he really enjoyed it and I was so excited to make it for him, especially because I also watch the show.

Shinsekai "New World" and the One Piece Bar

Ace, I see you hottie.

Zoro, Luffy, Chopper, Rayleigh

Someone is really happy.

Mugiwara's

Yakitori

Grilled Rice Balls

After our delicious dinner at Posh Nosh, we headed to Sirohige, a bar that we saw a few weeks ago. As we walked the streets of Seomyeon, Markus immediately saw a bar that was decorated with One Piece figurines. We made a mental note and decided to come back for his birthday. Sirohige is a Japanese yakitori-style pub. Yakitori is basically a Japanese style of food where everything is put on sticks and grilled. We ordered our food and drinks and checked out all the One Piece figurines. We even played a game of naming all the characters. I know it sounds really juvenile and doesn't fit in with the definition of posh, but it was really fun. I love that Markus and I can do simple things but manage to always have fun. I think that's why I love being married to him. It really is the little things.

Face Cake

We decided to save dessert for home.  Markus was surprised at school by four of his students. They gave him heaps of presents, a poster with letters and this personalized birthday cake of his face. When he told me they got him a cake, I thought it was just one from the store, not one of his face. I couldn't believe it. I only made him a card, but these girls completely upstaged me. Despite being completely outdone by four elementary girls, I was really happy for Markus. I think that he always gets overlooked for his birthday and this year, it was really special. I just hope that he knows how important he is to me and even to his students!

Hello Kitty Cafe | Seoul, South Korea

One of the greatest things about Korea is the overwhelming amount of cafes. They are everywhere. You can walk down any street or alley and you can bet there will be some kind of coffee shop or cafe. Not only are there popular chains, but there is also a great variety of diffenent types of cafes. love themed places and when I heard there was a Hello Kitty Cafe in Seoul, I knew that we had to go.

I've always been a fan of Hello Kitty. What can I say? I'm a girl and I'm Asian. It's almost a guarantee that you owned something Hello Kitty. When I was in middle school, I went through a ridiculous Sanrio phase. It was so bad that every birthday or Christmas all my presents were somehow Sanrio themed. I will admit that I was a bit of a tomboy in middle school and Hello Kitty was too cutesy for me. She was too much of a girl and I couldn't handle all the pink. I think I was too insecure to be able to connect with her. I felt much more comfortable witih the other less cutesy characters.

Even though Hello Kitty wasn't my favorite Sanrio character, I always had a fondness for her. Just seeing her little white face and red bow brings back so much memories. My childhood is forever intertwined with hers. The Hello Kitty Cafe was a nice way to relive those memories and was purely nostalgic for me. It wasn't my favorite cafe and it was actually a bit disappointing. The place looks a bit rundown and it's pink overload. The entire place looks like it was coated with Pepto-Bismol. The food and drinks are overpriced and taste pretty awful too. If you're passing through Seoul, I definitely recommend visiting the cafe, but just to take a few pictures and walk around. It's way too busy and overpriced to be anything more than a photo opportunity.