Making new friends can be scary, especially on a completely different continent. Add the pandemic and three years of lockdowns, it made making new friends feel like the biggest obstacle course. As someone who is naturally shy at first, making that first step to introduce yourself seems impossible. But thanks to social media, one day I finally had the courage to comment on a fellow HK creator’s post and we became Instagram friends shortly after. She was also from North America and relocated to Hong Kong around the same time as me (she has family here), so we already had that in common. After the lockdowns eased in the city, we began to go out on little friend dates and slowly she began introducing me to her circle of friends. That circle grew, and now I have so many new friends in Hong Kong.

What made our trip more magical for the holidays was the most luxurious hotel in the city - the Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Elegance, luxury, and comfort made this dreamy location the perfect home away from home as we explored Taipei for the holiday season. After a luxurious pick-up from the airport less than an hour away, everything was seamless from start to finish as we indulged in what now might officially be my favorite time of year in Taipei.

There are several essentials a new baby needs, with a bassinet being one of them. We had a bedside crib in our bedroom, but we needed something for baby bean in our living area where we would be spending most of our time. There was no other bassinet I was considering in my mind - I knew the 4Moms Mamaroo Sleep Bassinet would be the perfect bassinet for my baby bean. When it first arrived just a few weeks before baby bean was born, I instantly became giddy. It was the essential piece I had been looking forward to most.