OK, I admit it, I was and always will be a nerd. While other kids were cajoling their parents into taking them to Bob’s Surplus, where new stand-on-their-own stiff Levi’s could be bought for ten dollars or less, I was beating down the doors of Dudley & Beckwith, our small town equivalent of Office Depot, in hot pursuit of the latest in pencil pouches and notepads. (Oh, and my requisite Little Lulu fix.)

I’m well past my back-to-school days (as if that wasn’t obvious), but the start of fall still triggers the same Pavlovian giddiness about the prospect of new chapters to be opened and important lessons to be learned.

In celebration of my favorite time of the year, I offer you this back-to-school party, including some never-before-seen outtakes from Cookie Swap. Whether you host a cookie swap as I did, a school fundraiser, or some other affair, you’ll find plenty of ideas here to launch your next party to the top of its class.

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Alfresco is one of my favorite ways to entertain. And late September into early October, after the summer swelter has passed, is the best time to do it here in Missouri. This farm-to-table dinner party took place at precisely this transition of seasons a few years ago, at Winding Brook Estate, a 16-acre lavender farm tilled into tidy, fragrant rows by my friends Deborah and Steve Nathe. The occasion: a simple respite from the rigors of tending 7,000 lavender plants!

I was honored that Deborah asked me to plan and style her event (one that would be featured in a local magazine, no less). But I also recognized the challenge of adapting my “more-is-more” approach to her minimalist aesthetic. She wanted to keep the party down-to-earth, yet still give guests that ah-ha experience they’d never forget. Hmmmm . . . simple, yet over-the-top? Subtle, but showy? What had I gotten myself into, and was it even possible?

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