The party was a big success! Here is a closeup of the food island. In the foreground are salami bites which were easy, delicious and successfully prepared the day before the party. In addition you can see that to add interest to the display I took several Amazon boxes and placed them on the island. I purchased a piece of dark brown cotton from Hobby Lobby that I draped over the boxes. These served as platforms for the various foods. I plugged in a strand of white lights and placed two hurricanes on an angle as well.

For the flowers I took a soup tureen and made a grid over the opening with Scotch magic clear tape. Then I cut a Costco bunch of mums all at the same height and popped them into the grid. To fill in the edges I cut some hydrangea leaves from my yard and to finish it off I added some yellow goldenrod flower sprigs (also from my yard). I added the tureen’s decorative lid to the island display as well.

One appetizer that was particularly well-received was this plate of deviled eggs. I put a small bud vase filled with orange zinnias and tied with raffia in the center of that platform.

These ginger cookies were displayed in an orange pumpkin bowl. They were my favorite. Several guests have already requested the recipe.

This yellow and red cherry tomato bruschetta was a big hit. I displayed it on an old pumpkin platter from William Sonoma.

These bacon wrapped dates were delicious. I whiffed on an “after photo”, but they were great! Chewy, salty and sweet. Perfection! I displayed them in this Nora Fleming divided piece with a candy corn “charm” attached to the corner.

For a fun fall touch I put some candy corn in an old pewter dish.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!

The last item was a fun fleur de lis sugar cookie. It was decorated with pink sugar (my favorite color) and it comes with a story. Since the party was to celebrate the kicking off of my new blog I thought I should harken back to my “Dr. Julie” roots. Well when I was in private practice this fleur de lis symbol was my logo. I love French food, style and decor, so it was a natural choice.

To all my faithful blog readers thank you from my heart for taking the time to read my blog. Your comments mean so much to me. I love knowing that some of my musings resonate with you. Happy Fall parties to all of you🍁🎃🍂!