JUST A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN AUGUST

My husband and I decided to host a small cocktail party in August.  About two dozen people attended.  Most were former friends and acquaintances that we had established almost thirty years prior to moving to Minnesota.  Now that we are spending our summers at Lake Okoboji, we wanted to entertain these friends again.

Here are a few photos from A Sunday in August:

 I always pre-set the table before a party.  I choose the serving pieces and place them on the table to see how they will fit.  I put post-it notes on the serving pieces to remind me what food is going on which plate!

I found the ceramic gourds at a junk shop here at the lakes.  I thought they would fit perfectly with my majolica in the autumn.  I also reused the Potter Barn silk flowers in pots and my really old Pottery Barn urn, that has been outside for years, to hold more fresh sunflowers.

This is a small snapshot of the food.  A friend reminded me to take a picture, after about half of the food was gone!

One of my favorite hors d oeuvres are curried sweet potato cups.  I make them all the time!

 I also made a crostini with ricotta, sliced pears, walnuts and a honey drizzle.

The last photo is another favorite which I rely on a lot.  It is a Pesto Pie.  This is all that was left!

We had trouble with the oven, and I didn't get two recipes made in time, but all in all, it was a great party.  I even got to use my "lemonade urn" riser from Pottery Barn in a new way.  (under the platter.)

Happy Labor Day weekend, everybody!