The way the Cookie crumbled

It was brief, but it was there. A true attempt by the media to make stylish mama-ing more than the trend du jour on the pages of People. It had to happen, with all the celebrity-obsessed baby blogs, bits and bites, women across the country demanded to feel cool among both their parenting and non-parenting peers, and have a real vision of modern-day mamahood to aspire to.

And so, they had Cookie.

And it consistently satisfied that sweet tooth with features on Kelly Wearstler’s nursery, guides to traveling with tykes (I say just pass altogether, see previous post), and as many characters devoted to smoky eye shadow as to Elmo. It made its way to the top of my monthly magazine pile while other Little D-oriented rags still managed to stay buried at the bottom. It let me see how real celebrity moms – think Jennie Garth, not Jenna Jameson – balance it all with beauty and style. It skipped the “lose that baby bulge” fitness tips (yawn) and instead focused on how to make festive cocktails with adorable accoutrements (ya!). And besides the mommy-and-me fashion section that offered ridiculous ways to dress like your mini-me, it inspired with fashion, beauty and style – even if you’d had no sleep and, like me, had worn the same perfect summer dress from Zara three days in a row because it was, frankly, the only perfect thing in your closet.

And then, last week, in another flurry of sad announcements from our friends in publishing, the Cookie crumbled. Completely. And amid word of Gourmet shuttering and Glamour and Lucky lay-offs, this one nugget of news that ironically landed on the same day as my latest issue, sincerely saddened me the most. No more Stella McCartney over Jack & Jill, no more features on pot-smoking parents, no more hoping that Gwyneth would finally agree to do the cover. Sigh. I’ll have to dig up the latest Parenting for my 24-hour jaunt to Vegas today instead. I just may keep the cover a little more under wraps in the terminal, to avoid coming across as a sweatpant-wearing, gluten-free baking, autism-obsessed mom du jour.

After all, I am rocking that perfect little Zara dress yet again. Now, that’s a Smart Cookie.

RIP Cookie