50 Shades of Grey Party

“My inner goddess has her sequins on and is warming up to dance the rumba.”
― E.L. James, Fifty Shades Freed

  This is not a normal post for me…no gardening, cooking, or simple living ideas.  This is just pure, naughty fun.  I will give you a little disclaimer before I jump right in…I normally do not read books like 50 Shades of Grey.  This was actually my first time reading anything of this genre.  With that being said, there is something freeing about doing something so out of your comfort zone.
  50 Shades of Grey was my book clubs reading choice this past month and boy did we have a good time!  I flew through the trilogy in two weeks texting my friends every step of the way disbelieving what I was actually reading.  I don’t want to give too much away to what this book is about…some of you may even stop following me when you find out.  But this is a blog about my life and I am not going to make it look perfect for the masses.  I had an amazing time at this party, am excited to show you all of the fun things my friend created, and had a great time reading this series.  If you are daring enough and don’t take yourself too seriously I highly suggest some quality time with Mr.Christian Grey…wink wink.
  If you haven’t figured it out yet 50 Shades of Grey is a romance…bordering on erotica novel.  Ok, don’t close the computer just yet…give me a chance to explain.  The first book is a little heavy in the romance department but you soon become attached to the characters and their struggles and before you know it you are on the last page of the trilogy.  This book is not going to win any literary awards but it was a fun summer pick.
  My friend put together an amazing 50 Shades themed party for our monthly book club meeting.  It was so fun to get together with a great bunch of ladies, kick our feet up, and have one heck of a time.  Here are some photos of her amazing, romance themed party dishes…



The hostess was also the same girl that turned me onto the Adult Raspberry Pink Lemonade.  We used this delicious drink for the party except changed the name.  My friend sassed the martini up with a garnish of raspberries and zip tie.  If you have read the book this will all make sense…wink wink.

Anna’s Blush Martini
Serves 2

2 Shots Pink Lemonade Vodka…I used this kind UV Pink Lemonade Vodka
2 Shots Citrus Vodka…any brand will do
1 Shot Raspberry Mixer or a raspberry puree
1 Shot Lime Juice

Combine ingredients, shake with ice in a martini shaker, pour into glass and serve with a zip tie raspberry



My whole point to this blog post is not to shock you but actually to show you some cute, inexpensive ways to spice up a party.  Homemade fruit picks, simple decorations, or custom naming your dishes is a fun way to create an experience.  I did the same thing for Big C’s Star Wars birthday party this year.  Here are a couple of photos…




Summer is time to lighten things up and throw a good party.  It was so fun to meet some new ladies, have a nice drink, and laugh all night long.  My abs actually were sore the next day from all of the laughing.  Our next book club pick is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  See, we are not always naughty!  Unbroken is about WWII….a far cry from smutty romance.
Well, back out into the garden for me.  Most of my plants should be in by the end of the week and I am looking forward to seeing the garden flourish in all of its glory.  Thanks again for stopping by Throwback Road and have a great day.

Throwback Road Garden May 29, 2012

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  Things are really starting to take off here around the garden.  That is partly the reason I have been severely slacking on the blog.  I wanted to give you a quick tour before I head back outside to plant some more Wooley Thyme.  More on this project once it is finished.
  My tomatoes and peppers are almost finished hardening off and they will go in the end of this week.  Last week we had extreme winds, so hardening off was an amazing experience…can you hear the sarcasm in my voice!  Everything made in through except a couple of zucchini plants.  No big deal.


My cabbage is my pride and joy right now.

My lettuce, radishes, and cucumbers are looking good.


My beets have really taken off and my herbs are thriving on my patio.


Not much longer until I have a few strawberries for breakfast.

Here is a shot of my onion bed…sorry for the lighting.

This weekend I put in some Aspen trees, native grasses and lavender along my fence line.  Once established, all of these plants thrive in Colorado’s dry climate and will add a little interest to this dull part of the yard. 

There you have it…green is popping through all over the place, my last frost date is two days away, and my days have moved away from the stove and computer and are spent getting my hands dirty.  Happy Summer!

Paging Dr. Huey

I will start this blog post by saying that I am not a rose person.  I think they are beautiful, smell terrific, but I have no clue how to grow them.  With that being said, my lack of knowledge may have benefitted me. 
When I moved into my current home 3 years ago my father-in-law gifted me a dying yellow rose bush.  He had it on his patio and it was not thriving.  He knew that I was interested in gardening and thought that if this plant had any hope it would be with me.  I told him I would give it a shot, but my knowledge was really in growing edibles. 
I planted the bush in a side corner of my front yard, gave it some blood meal, and honestly did not really give it the time of day.  The first year it had two bloom cycles with the most beautiful yellow roses.  I had vases of yellow roses all over my house and the smell was amazing.
Here is where the story changes….I loved the plant for the beautiful flowers it produced but then did nothing else to keep it thriving.  That fall I did not prune it and I also did not protect it from our harsh Colorado winters.  The following spring all that was left with three naked branches sticking out of the ground.  At that point I cut it down, gave it some more blood meal, and told myself that if nothing happened I would rip that sucker out and throw her away.  Long story short… one growing season later and here she is..

She has morphed into a crazy rose bush with hundreds of red buds.  She is also in dire need of a hair cut.  The long stems sticking out of the top like a bad cowlick have no buds and seem as if they are starting to choke the plant. 

I got out my pruning shears and slowly trimmed off all of the invasive mystery growth. 

Here are the before and after shots……

Still not sure to what happened to my beautiful yellow rose bush, I started researching possible theories to what happened.  I have come to the conclusion that Dr. Huey took over.  Don’t worry I didn’t know what Dr. Huey was until now.  Here is a little explanation:

Dr. Huey (sometimes referred to as “Shafter”) was bred by Captain George C. Thomas in 1914 and introduced in 1920 by Bobbink and Atkins. It is quite possibly, inadvertently, the most widely grown rose in the United States. A hybrid wichurana (a rambler which can also be trained as a climber), Dr. Huey bears gorgeous clusters of deep red, semi-double blossoms with prominent yellow stamens in the late spring/early summer.
It’s due to this incredible vigor that Dr. Huey is used almost exclusively as a rootstock for grafting bud eyes in the business of rose breeding and large-scale production. It offers ease of propagation and adaptability to various growing conditions and it’s negative traits (such as it’s susceptibility to mildew and black spot) do not pass on to the grafted rose. -Hedgerowrose.com

So, I think what happened to mine is that I did did not care for my Hybrid Yellow Rose and she died.  What I was left with was the Dr. Huey rootstock which took off and left me with this beautiful plant.  Most people do not grow Dr. Huey’s exclusively because they really do not have any fragrance, but that is fine with me.  It reminds me of the story of The Ugly Duckling.  She may not have been the prettiest girl in the rose garden but hard work beats glamour every time in my book.  Look at her now…

Starting to bloom…

She may not smell good but she sure is pretty..

The rose bush and I have had a long talk and I have promised to take better care of her.  Now that I know her strength and history I hope for many more years of enjoyment.
As always, thanks for stopping by Throwback Road and have a great day!

Have you ever had any pleasant surprises from one of your plants?

Hardening Off

My last frost date is a week away and I have started the process of hardening off my plants.  This process has been stressful for me.  It reminds me a lot of mothering.  You take a small creature from seed…nurture, feed, water, and when they are ready you thrust them out into the world hoping they don’t fail.  Note to self….don’t put the baby plants out into direct sunlight the first time out.  This causes massive stress to the plants as well as a sight for the neighbors as I run around with my head cut off trying to move my 60+ plants out of the sunlight.  Live and learn.  Everyone is much happier now that I have calmed my overzealousness and have stuck to a more conservative method of hardening off the plants.

Here is the method that I am prescribing to this year and it seems to be working great:

Hardening off Seedlings

1. Begin 12-14 days before your transplant date.
2. Place plants in a sheltered, shady spot outdoors. I put my plants under my top deck.
3. Leave them for 3-4 hours and gradually increase the time spent outside by 1-2 hours per day.
4. Bring plants back indoors each night.
5. After 2-3 days, move the plants from their shady spot into morning sun, return them to the shade in the afternoon.
6. After 7-10 days, the plants should be able to handle sun all day and stay out at night, if temperatures stay around 50 degrees F. Keep an eye out that the soil doesn't dry and bake the plants.
7. After 12-14 days your plants are ready to transplant. Try to do so on a cloudy day and be sure to water well after planting.

I am still a little nervous about my peppers.  They are smaller then I want, but hopefully once they get in the ground things will really take off.  My cucumber, zucchini, squash, and pumpkins are growing like mad and I need to get them in before they become root bound.  My tomatoes seem strong and my only problem is going to be which ones make it into my garden and which ones are going to a friends house.


One of the biggest tips I have received from seasoned gardeners is “Don’t Rush The Hardening Off Process!!!”  Be patient!  Make sure to check the 7-day forecast before you put your plants into the ground.  I always make sure that my temperatures are nice and that no crazy rain or hail is in the forecast.  I learned the hard way two years ago, when not one day after I planted my garden there was a massive hail storm and it wiped out almost everything. So sad but so true.

I hope everyone is enjoying there gardening this year. If you are one of the few, like me, who needs to wait until the beginning of June to put in warm season crops, I hope you have nothing but mid 80’s during the day and 50’s at night.  We can all dream…right?

Thanks for stopping by Throwback Road and have a great day!

Weekend Treasures

Yard sale season is in full effect around my Colorado town.  Starting every Thursday night you will see numerous hand written signs around the town promising one of a kind finds, baby supplies or antiques.  I am not a big “yard sale hopper”, but when my neighbor, Leroy, has his yearly antique farm sale, I am there!  Leroy has been living on his hobby farm for 60 years where he raise chickens, goats, llamas, and donkeys.  He day job is as a furniture restorer, but at night his wife and him are collectors.  Like every collector you need to purge your stash every once in awhile.  I was happy to help him with this process.

I arrived early Friday morning and found some amazing deals.  Twenty dollars got me 5 Antique Ball Jars, 1- 8 inch cast iron skillet, 1 potato ricer, and 1 cast iron bacon press.  Pretty good for 30 minutes of digging through old boxes.  The cast iron skillet was very dirty but a little scrubbing with some salt and oil cleaned her right up.  I fried up some eggs for lunch and they slipped right out of the pan.  I don’t think that I will have to even reseason her.


On Saturday morning, while sitting down to my morning coffee, I saw this Pin of succulents planted in vintage tins.  It got my mind racing and I was having flashbacks of various vintage tins in Leroy’s barn.

I couldn’t resist and headed back Sunday morning to see if any were left.  Lucky for me, I found three tins in great condition.  I can’t wait to fill them with the succulents I have been eyeing at the local nursery.  The above arrangements sell for $40 at a floral shop in Los Angeles, so I am very happy with my $2 vintage tins.  I will keep you updated on this project.

Mr. G was with me on my Sunday trip and he found a sleeve of zinc ball jar lids.  This was a steal at $5 for the dozen.   He also found this cute brass bell.  I plan on restoring it and hanging it by my front door. 

My ricer and Ball Jars have found homes displayed on my wall and kitchen shelves.  I love the pops of blue and jade they bring to the space.

My haul from Sunday’s antique picking experience…oh the craft possibilities!

I did not shop all weekend!  We had one of Mr. G’s childhood friends over for dinner and I made The Pioneer Woman (aka Ree Drummond)  Knock You Naked Brownies for dessert.  The recipe is here.  So amazing…so gooey…and so gone.  They didn’t last long in this house.  They definitely took care of my sugar fix for awhile.  Sometimes it is just fun to indulge!

The weekend has come and gone and I have a busy week ahead of hardening off my plants, prepping more of the garden, and hopefully planting some succulents.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and as always, thanks for stopping by Throwback Road.