When you’re 31 and 99.9% of your friends are married, pregnancy announcements (usually via facebook and some lovely picture of the inside of your friend’s uterus now front and center as their profile pic) become so commonplace it’s like saying “oh, yeah I went to the movies this weekend, nbd.”

Honestly, I can’t say I mind this new age way of announcing this kind of news because at least my eye rolls behind the computer screen aren’t visible.

Oh, you’re pregnant? Awesome, one less person that will be able to do ANYTHING for the next 10 years.

It’s kind of funny actually, because as a couple that doesn’t want kids and wants (and is able!) to do things, we have no one to do them with anymore since all our friends have babies or kids in school even (this is the point where my mother would say “so just have them too then!”).

Dinners become planned events weeks in advance, vacations are barely even logistically possible and nights out when they do happen end at 10 at the latest since babies don’t know how to sleep in.

We’re a couple consciously without kids living the life of a couple with kids because all our friends have them. Ain’t that ironic.

I know what 99% of you are thinking right now: I’m a selfish bitch.

And to that, I say, I won’t argue there isn’t a bit of truth.

However, sometimes you meet or know that certain person who is just made to be a parent. The kind of person that is just so genuinely nice and good-hearted that when you’re around them they make you want to be a better person.

I’ve met and hung out with Audra 3 times and each one of those times has left me with that feeling of “ok Gina, you need to be more like THAT”.

Audra’s having a baby boy next month and I honestly couldn’t be more happy for anyone.

She actually came to my house to help show me how to (successfully) make strawberry rhubarb macarons when she was only 6 or 7 weeks along and told me she was pregnant in the car ride from the train station. The usual eye-roll/”there goes another one” reaction didn’t even cross my mind.

I was and still am SO happy for her. So, happy (virtual) baby shower, Audra!

Thank god this is only virtual because I think the amount of sugar in all the recipes below might induce labor if you actually ate it all!

Oh, and these pretty little stuffed persimmon things?

Those would be nuts, chestnuts, dates, cinnamon and pistachios all chopped up and stuffed inside a juicy, ripe persimmon drizzled with honey.

Don’t tell me the holidays can’t be healthy and delicious.