I don’t want to tell you this because I don’t want it to be true, but we said goodbye to my beloved Cookie last week. Her smile and spunk lit up my days for over thirteen years and I miss her terribly. Thirteen years! I am the luckiest, and what I would give for more.

Cookie was my sidekick, my frontman, my best friend, my real-life teddy bear, my soul pup. As long as Cookie was there, I was never alone. I can almost feel her snuggled up by my side now. Cookie got me through the darkest of days and brightened the best. She kept me company through countless long days and long nights as we built this website from scratch. She taste tested nearly every recipe, too, whether I wanted her to or not.

In her earlier years, Cookie had a terrifying tendency to shoot out the front door like a rocket, which inspired immense gratitude for every day that we got together. Then she received a terminal cancer diagnosis, lymphoma, and defied the odds by living another two-and-a-half years. I always dreamed of taking care of her in her old age, and that’s what I got to do. Over the past year, she lost her hearing and her health declined, which felt more difficult and complicated than I ever anticipated. She died of old age, and while I’ll always wonder if I made the right decisions every step of the way, I am finding some peace and comfort in knowing that we spent all of her best days together. A dog could not have been more loved.

Cookie came into my life at the perfect moment, when I was fresh out of college and learning to live on my own. She walked with me all the way to marriage and motherhood. She left me exactly where I want to be in my upper thirties, with my loving husband and our baby girl. My heart is so full and so broken at the same time.

Cookie was extraordinary and so was our bond. I spent much of our time together wishing for what I have now, yet I’m feeling so sentimental about our special time together as Cookie and Kate. May this be your gentle reminder to appreciate what you have when you have it.

Thank you for cooking along with us and for finding joy in her antics. I’ll be back soon to share more photos and some of my favorite Cookie memories with you. She was truly the greatest.

The post Farewell to Cookie, 2008 – 2023 appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Where has the summer gone? I promised you this guide to Santa Fe, New Mexico on Instagram two months ago. We flew off to Santa Fe the day after we got married for a short honeymoon. We wanted a relaxed atmosphere, beautiful scenery, nice weather, and great food, and we found it all in Santa Fe.

We fell in love with Santa Fe’s color scheme, starting with its expansive blue sky and the adobe buildings that blend into the desert landscape. Santa Fe’s multicultural history, with strong Native American, Spanish and Mexican influences, is evident everywhere from the architecture to the food. We loved the fresh Southwestern cooking style and could not get enough green chiles.

I’ve been tossing around the idea of travel guides like these for a while. I rely on similar guides when planning trips and always take notes on our favorite meals afterward. Why keep all my research and notes to myself? Please let me know if you’d like to see more of them. Suggestions for improvement are always welcome, and please share your favorite Santa Fe destinations in the notes.

What & Where to Eat

Santa Fe is famous for its fresh Southwestern cuisine. They put green chiles on everything, and we loved them every time. Green chiles are hearty and mild, and make the perfect vegetarian/vegan filling for burritos and quesadillas. If you love red and green sauce equally like I do, be sure to order your enchiladas “Christmas” style so you get to try both.

You’ll also want to try an agave margarita, which is made with agave wine instead of the usual tequila. Since we were in Santa Fe for our honeymoon, we splurged on a couple of gourmet meals and I regret it because they were not in keeping with the regional cuisine. I think we would have preferred laid-back dinners at Southwestern restaurants instead.

The post Santa Fe Food & Travel Guide appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

You may be scratching your head at the title of this post. Milkshakes? In the winter? While it’s snowing? Don’t worry, I haven’t lost it. I was advised to consume more calcium in preparation for donating PBSC’s (peripheral blood stem cells) to a cancer patient.

The milkshake has proven totally addictive. I’ve been making them with one scoop of Breyer’s vanilla bean ice cream, one cup of organic 1% milk, several big ice cubes, a few drops of pure vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend it all together and you’ll have yourself a wintery, eggnog-flavored milkshake.

PBSC donation (and the snow) has come and gone. I’m done! On Tuesday, I arrived at the blood institute at 8 a.m. for my fifth, and last, shot of Filgrastim. We waited an hour before beginning the donation. My wonderful nurse hooked me up to the big, scary, apheresis machine as I took deep breath after deep breath. I shed a few tears as she tried, without success, to stick a needle into my hand. Twice.

Breathe in, breathe out. Another nurse wiped away my tears; I was more overwhelmed by the prospect of being hooked up to the machine than I was by the pain.

Breathe in, breathe out. I stared up at the ceiling and, for some reason, started telling the story about how I once got trapped in Venice for a couple of days. (Stuck in Venice! Poor me.)

Breathe in, breathe out. Finally, I was all hooked up. The big, scary machine started pumping. And you know what? I barely felt a thing. It wasn’t that bad, which is surprisingly considering what it was doing: the machine was pumping blood out of an artery in my left arm, filtering out the PBSCs in the blood, and returning my blood to my body through the vein in my right arm.

The post Eggnog Milk Shakes & PBSC Follow-up appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Well, it’s time to share something serious on this blog. It’s not all puppies and cocktails in Kate-land, you know?

The long story short is that I’m going to donate stems cells to a cancer patient. I don’t know the recipient. I’ve been asked not to share the few details that I do know about the patient, but I’ll gladly share what I can with you.

Here’s the long story: When I was a senior in high school, I watched an episode of an ordinarily silly sitcom (remember Popular?). It was about a character who needed a bone marrow transplant but couldn’t find a match. He was sick and dying, and even though every family member and friend wanted to donate their bone marrow to him, no one could.

The tragic nature of his situation struck a chord with me, and it stuck with me. I made a promise to myself that once I turned 18, I would go join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).

Unlike so many of my good intentions that fall through the cracks, I joined the NMDP shortly after turning 18. Almost exactly seven years ago, I walked into the local blood institute and told the nurses I wanted to join the bone marrow registry. I filled out some paperwork and a nurse swabbed my cheek. That was it! The process took less than twenty minutes from start to finish.

Over six years passed. I went to college, had a blast, made mistakes, and learned a lot. I spent a semester in France. I graduated and eventually got a job. Every now and then, the registry would cross my mind. I wondered when I would be called to duty.

Late last summer, I got a letter from the NMDP. I had been identified as a potential match.

The post On a serious note: PBSC donation appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I’m not one to pay attention to dates, but I realized this morning that today is not only Earth Day, but also Cookie’s second birthday! Alleged birthday, that is. I adopted her from Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Pet Adoption League (PAL) in August of last year, and her paperwork lists her birthday as April 22, 2008.

Here’s the birthday girl:

Cookie is my mystery puppy—I don’t know where she was born, who her parents were, or even what breeds they are. Favorite made-up mixes so far are schipperhoula (schipperke + catahoula leopard dog) and blue russell (blue heeler + jack russell terrier). What’s your best guess?

I must admit, I was excited when I connected the Earth Day-Cookie birthday link. I’m a holiday baby myself (Christmas Day) and it’s only fitting that my dog be born on a holiday as well. Perhaps Earth Day isn’t considered a bona fide holiday yet, but Cooke and I will take any excuse to celebrate we can get!

We settled on taking a nice long walk to commemorate baby girl’s second birthday. Tomorrow we’re going to have a serious discussion about being a big girl, meaning that she’s not allowed to walk all over me any more. And we’re off!

The post Happy birthday, Cookie! appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Kate. Truthfully, it’s Kathryne, but I decided “Cookie and Kate” has a nice ring to it, like cookies and cream. So hello, my name is Kate.

I’m writing this post from a couch in my light-filled second floor apartment, which overlooks green trees covered in fledgling leaves and the rooftops of cozy college homes in Norman, Oklahoma. I live here with a silly black-and-white spotted dog named Cookie. Cookie is an ornery little dog who wouldn’t get away with everything if it weren’t for her floppy, mismatched ears, big brown eyes and funny raccoon-striped tail, which is going thump-thump-thump against the cushions. Hello, Cookie.

I’m attempting to make some ch-ch-changes in my life, and I’m trying to set my priorities straight: to spend time doing what I love, and to let go of the rest. Easier said than done, but hey, I’m trying.

My hope is for this blog to help me reconnect with two of my long-lost loves, writing and photography. My second goal is to discover the underlying themes in my latest interests and to share what I’ve learned with you*, because I don’t want to hoard all the good stuff for myself. I do hope you’ll join me as I explore photography, design, cooking and nutrition, plant appreciation, and whatever else tickles my fancy. Enjoy!

Here’s my Cookie on Monday:

*Hi Mom

The post Hello, my name is ________ appeared first on Cookie and Kate.