I threw a party this past weekend to celebrate summer's arrival.

It rained.

Yep. That's kind of how life has been lately. But I threw on my Boho dress and a big smile and just faked my way through it. We played badminton on the soggy lawn and leaned over the deck, taking in the wide expanse of green before we headed back into the warmth of the house. It was good food and good friends so we didn't need the damn weather to play nice. We enjoyed the hell out of it anyway.

My Backyard Bash was a casual affair, with plenty of blooming flowers and dainty decor. Let's start there because that was kind of the best. I got these fabulous, woodsy bouquets of wildflowers from Trader Joe's. I bought about four bouquets and then split them up into mason jars for that rustic charm.

I also used plenty of dainty doilies and greenery to mimic a garden party atmosphere. Overflowing planters stuffed with bowers of leaves, wreathes of green and cozy little teacups brimming with vines. Want my starry lights below? You can grab them here. I adorned the bar area with some festive accents. And as guests entered, I used my typical chalkboard display to showcase the menu. I also printed and framed a copy for the table because that always looks fucking professional. I'm also pretty sure I might have been the only person who cared. And that's okay.

Our party table was as pretty and idyllic as a picture. I even made flowers out of gatherings of tissue paper and hung them on the wall with leaf cut outs.

As you can see from the menu, I focused on traditional barbecue foods with foodie flair. You can't just have deviled eggs. You've gotta have these deviled eggs that feature roasted garlic, blue cheese, bacon crumbles and asparagus.

Is it any wonder these bites gotten eaten up first? Next in the appetizer category was a clever interpretation of crostini featuring grilled peaches. There's no point in denying it. These were also awesome.

Salads are perfect accompaniments to just about any menu. This one featured the brilliant color of roasted beets with goat cheese and toasted pecans.

I decided to partner the main course with a blog exclusive, my cheddar jalapeno corn cakes with jalapeno honey butter. Those little bundt shapes make them the perfect receptacle for generous rounds of sweet, spicy homemade butter. Yum.

Chicken wings were my nod to tradition here. No buffalo flavors, though. Instead I opted for a brown sugar rub that turned the skin a glistening, crispy golden hue. These were offered with a roasted red pepper and goat cheese sauce.

Last but definitely not least, we had dessert. So much dessert. I featured two items. The first was the peach ricotta cookies I made for the blog last week. Because nothing says summer like a ripe peach. Or a cookie that looks exactly like one.

Next I did cupcakes. But I'm me and so I couldn't do just cupcakes. I had to do three different fruit flavored cupcakes. Lemon, Strawberry and the star of the show, Blackberry Coconut. All of these cupcakes were slathered in buttercream but the real standout was the blackberry cupcake, which had a well of blackberry jam inside. These fluffy coconut cupcakes were then adorned with a layer of vanilla frosting topped with coconut and then finished off with a blackberry buttercream. These were so decadent and delicious that it was difficult not to hoard them.

This was a beautiful backyard bash accompanied by the best barbecue food you'll ever lay your hands on. And on that sweet note, we'll say farewell. Until next time, friends!

Want the recipes? You can find the party board here: https://www.pinterest.com/asweetlttlelife/backyard-bash/

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A Backyard Bash

It rained.

As you can see from the menu, I focused on traditional barbecue foods with foodie flair. You can't just have deviled eggs. You've gotta have these deviled eggs that feature roasted garlic, blue cheese, bacon crumbles and asparagus.

Last but definitely not least, we had dessert. So much dessert. I featured two items. The first was the peach ricotta cookies I made for the blog last week. Because nothing says summer like a ripe peach. Or a cookie that looks exactly like one.

This was a beautiful backyard bash accompanied by the best barbecue food you'll ever lay your hands on. And on that sweet note, we'll say farewell. Until next time, friends!

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