{I'm Guest Posting Today}

While Lauren is away enjoying her honeymoon, I'm in charge today over at Peach State of Mind. So come on over and join in on the party ;)

Road series & reliving the glory days

I worked my tush off last week, so I decided to treat myself to a little PTO day Friday which consisted of an hour massage. It. was. heavenly! I even purchased two more groupons from the same spa, and I will be returning.

Billy had another road series this weekend. I decided to try to kill two birds with one stone--see some of familiar places and face and spend some qaulity time with him. He left friday, so I caught up with him Saturday around lunch. Just around noon, I hit the road to middle Georgia to a tiny town that I called home for 2 years of my college life which just so happened to be where some of Billy's showcase games were this weekend.

The first game was at Lamar County High School. Well, technically it's comprehensive high school--only us small town folk know about that comprehensive mess. It was unbelievably hot! Everything just gets hotter even if you just drive an hour south. I caught the last half of his first game which ended in a loss. His second game, was a tie. We grabbed a quick bit to eat at a little BBQ join that I worked at for about 2 months in college and then went to my adorable little Junior College, Gordon College.

People immediately judge when I say I went to a junior college. I say, you missed out. I turned down my acceptance to several 4 year universities to attend Gordon, and there isn't a single piece of me that regrets that decision. Two of the best years of my life were spent in that tiny middle Georgia town. I made some of the strongest, most influential, greatest friendships with my little "family" there.. but that's a story for another post! :)

The sweet little town square

Those Brick buildings up on the hill there were the dorms I lived for two years. It was like one big house for all of us. I truly loved dorm life!

I spent many, many hours on the second row of the bleachers on the right cheering on our the baseball team while I was here.

I also ran into this stud, Blake. He wasn't feeling pictures for the day (rightfully so), so I went all pap's on him. Blake and his parents were two people that made my Freshman and Sophomore years what they were. Blake was the brother I never had, his parents were rightfully named godparents. I don't know where I would have been without them, and I was so excited to see him again and catch up. It was like we hadn't ever missed a beat.

Not gonna lie, I have no idea what the score of this game was because I was too busy talking. After that game we headed to Macon for the night where I was hoping to meet up with my roommates, but we just weren't able to make it work this trip. To celebrate the end of a long, hot day, we visited my favorite Mexican restaurant on the face of this earth, Margaritas, for their delicious house special--Texas fajitas on a bead of rice and queso. 

I met Billy the next morning at the field of our other Alama Mater, the place where Billy played college baseball, Georgia College, in Milledgeville. I was so excited to finally be back in Milly on the Hill. Three incredible years of my life were spent in this crazy, charming, antebellum town. A majority of those 3 years were spent on this very hill cheering on Billy and his fellow Bobcats.

Myself and the rest of the girlfriends and students always sit on this huge grassy hill. It felt so good to be back cheering on a team from there.

I don't remember the score of the first game, but Billy's team ended up winning the 2nd game 6-7!

After the second game we were lucky to get to call it a day! WHEW! After catching up with his college coaches after the games, we found ourselves celebrating another road series down at Pickle Barrel. We ate here every single Thursday night in college for trivia nights. This was also the place where we had our very first date, and coincidentally, we were sat in the exact same both we ate at on our first official date 4 and a half years ago.

I loved being nostalgic this weekend. I wish I would have had more time to see everyone and visit some of my favorite old places like our old townhouse, Blake's parents, and the front campus at GCSU. Sounds like another excuse for a road trip to me :)

Soo.. We went to a concert

Thursday night, one of my best friends, Kat, and I went out to see Sam Hunt and The Tyler Hammond Band. It's been quite some time since I have been to see live music, which is totally uncharacteristic of me. I used to go to shows every single weekend, and now that I'm an old grown up, I don't get to near as often.

Somehow whenever Kat and I get together and dinner is involved, we always end up at Rusan's for sushi. So, so good. I inhaled mine so quickly I forgot to even take a picture to document our night out. After dinner, we came back to my apartment and changed and headed to 120 Tavern in Marietta for the show.

There was this first opener, we didn't like him. at. all. I just caught his first name, Scottie. I didn't care to know anything else about him. So there you go.

The second act was The Tyler Hammond Band. This was our college town band. Almost every weekend, we could find Tyler and former band member, Joey, playing somewhere around town. The always drew a huge crowd, I can't think of a single person who did not have a good time singing all their favorite country songs at the top of their lungs along with them. They were the highlight of our Milledgeville night life, and most of my favorite nights out consisted of them and the smoke machines in Capital City that we swore were laced with ecstasy. 

Tyler and the boys put on one HECK of  show--not that they don't always do. They have just stepped their game up in recent years. You could tell by the way the crowd was rocking along with them that they gained a lot of new fans that night. Can't wait for the next time I can catch them.

Next was the headliner; the one, the only, SAM HUNT! For those of you that may not recognize that name yet, you may better know him as the song writer for Come over, Cop Car, or We are tonight. He's also starting to gain rotation on satellite radio. He's easily one of my favorite people that make it on to my "crunknasty-ness" playlist {Yes, that's a real playlist on my iphone. Only artists of the highest caliber make the cut. Those that make it should consider themselves honored.}

Side note: By this point the place was blazing hot because of the number of bodies mixed with the A/C unit being out. Holy HOTNESS!! Oh the humidity!

We had such a great time singing a long to the music. Dancing would have been nice, but there was zero room in the place as it was the sold out show was packed to the brim! Regardless we loved every. single. minute of it!

New Apartment Preview

Well the move is complete, but I am still not finished decorating. I've had several people ask for pictures of the new place, and though it's far from done, I've finally decided to share. This is a very quick, terribly shot preview, but a preview none the less. I still have a long way to go, a lot of stuff to get on the wall, and details to buy and finish.

I am so in love with the bedding I purchased for my bedroom. I initially wanted navy, but I fell in love with this print called Teaberry by LC. It's just the right balance of girly without making my boyfriend never want to visit because it's so dainty. I plan on putting a shelf over the bed which I will fill with Katie Daisy prints once they arrive in the mail. I think I may also set up my desk underneath the window there.

Unlike my old apartment, my living room and dining area are attached. And since I didn't get to use the coral, navy, turquoise color scheme I have been wanting to implement for some time now, I managed to accidentally use it in this room. I found this precious table runner at Homegoods for $6 and it was the start of my theme. I went with coral, navy, and more mint/turquoise in the living area. I painted my center piece and some frames on my unfinished bookshelf gold, and I also hope to find gold flatware to use here as well!! The china is Italian Countryside by Mikasa that I found for a whopping 75% off! Holy deal, batman!!

I have some great salmon/coral curtains that need to be hung once I find a curtain rod long enough that isn't going to cost me $75! These pillows probably won't stay, but they were leftovers from my old apartment and will do just fine in the meantime. I am absolutely obsessed with my rug that I purchased from Target.

So for now, this is where you can imagine me blogging from. There are obviously still a lot of improvments to be made, and then I"ll take you on the official  non-cell phone pic tour.

Sunday Social

1. When do you take time for you?
This is not something I ever really am able to schedule onto my calendar. It just happens. Seeing as I live alone, I have a lot of quite time. So it's not like I have to get away from people. However, every once in a blue moon I'll be sure to go and get myself a massage or a mani/pedi, just to remind myself what it's like to feel human again ;)

2. What do you find to be your biggest weakness?
I do not like to tell people no or to let them down. I will very often bite off more than I can chew just to make sure that I can please as many people as possible.

3. What is your biggest attribute?
I am honest to the core and I am one of the most loyal people you will ever meet.

4. What is your favorite place to shop online?
Lulu's, Lilly Boutique, and The Blue Door

5. What is your favorite place to kill time? 
I usually end up in any of the following: Kohls, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Marshall's, Hobby Lobby, Target, Kirklands, or Charming Charlies.
You may have noticed there is no real theme with these stores. 90% of my time killing is done when I am at Billy's. In his neighborhood, all of these stores are right next to each other.

Another Year, Another Draft

It's that time of the year again! Tonight is the beginning of the MLB draft. For us, it's one of the times when we are able to see some of Billy and his fellow coaches hard work pay off. We are hoping and expecting to see several members of the Team Elite organization go on to the professional level (or at least be a chosen as a pick).

Travel ball is an incredible ride for us. I learn so much more every single day about how the "business" behind the sport works. This is one of the occasions when all of the travel ball action and knowledge really comes to light, and it is so, so rewarding even for me as a "fan". We see so many players that we have played against getting their moment in the spotlight, and it's so good to see.

So here's to a good night for the current and former members of the #TeamEliteNation!

Well hello there, long time no see!! I have been so busy with moving and working late at work that the last thing I want to do when I get home is set aside time to actually blog. I've still got so many decorating projects I want to get done and after spending the day in front of a computer, I don't want to do it when I get home too.


Well during my time away, I was nominated twice for a Liebster Award! I swear these babies never, ever get old! I am not going to lie, I don't have time to finish the entire leibester process, but I wanted to give shout outs for the 2 beauties that nominated me and answer their questions. So Let's roll!

My first nomination came from Daisy at Jet Settin Daisy. These are her questions

1. You walk into a bulk candy store, what's the first thing you put in your bag?
Reese cups & Air Head Extremes. They are my weaknesses. 

2. You only have ten minutes to make dinner (no frozen food in the house HA), what do you make?

Creamy chickn pasta, or as we always call it, "A man, A Can , A Plan, Named Stan"

This is the recipe here. It's delish, and super easy!

3. What is your favorite animated movie character?

Sid the Sloth from Ice Age. He just cracks me up!
or Kuzko from Emporer's New Groove. Classic!

4. You have a free day and decided to take a roadtrip. Where do you go?

I always, always, always head to the mountains to visit the cabin.

5. An anonymous benefactor (probably with a top hat and monocle) is gifting you with a trip anywhere you want to go but it can only be for three days (cheap generous bastard) and it has to be somewhere you've never been. Where do you go?
Nice of that gentleman to do such a gracious thing! Now where do I need to meet him to buy my tickets? ;)
Bora Bora to a little tikki hut on the water

6. The same benefactor gives you a $100 bill good to use at ONE store. Where would you spend it?

Today it would be DSW. I would love some new wedges.

7. He's now giving you two free tickets to a concert (who is this guy). Who would you go see?

Yeah, who is this guy? I would totally let me take me to see Garth Brooks. I gotta mark it off my bucket list at some point!

8. If you're at a food court, what do you usually end up eating? Sorry, the elusive anonymous benefactor is not paying this time.

I somehow always end up at the nice Asian place that offers me sesame chicken on a tooth pick. Suckers me in every. single. time. 

9. What ten things do you always pack for an overnight trip?

Nike Shorts, tshirts, straightener, shampoo, face wash, makeup, phone charger, ipad, toothbrush, undies

10. Last gift from the benefactor- a new car (nothing fancy). What would you get?

I'd love an Acura MDX, sweet Mr. Benefactor man! Please come into my life!!

11. What is your favorite memory from this year so far?

Spending time with my girls in Nashville

My next nomination came from the sweet Katie from over at A Worker At Home

1. What is your favorite season of the year and why?

This is a tough one. Growing up, I was always madly in love with Summer. I love the person Summer turns me into--wild, care free, young. As I grow older, I have developed a huge appreciation for Fall. I love the smells, colors, and festivals so much. 

2. Who inspires you the most?

My incredible grandma. There are no words to describe how truly amazing she is. There will be a post about her at some point this week, so stick around and find out why.

3. If you could speak any language fluently other than English what would it be?

I feel like Mandarin, though not a romantic language, would be very handy

4. What is your favorite household "chore"? (Usually we hear about people's least favorite…but there's gotta be one you at least kind of like?) 

I love organizing and general straightening up (you know, putting things back where they belong)

5. If money/schooling/etc. were no object, what career would you choose (besides being a wife & mom)?

I would love to be an executive at a record label. I would want to be the person that finds "The next big thing." I feel like I could be so good at that.

6. What is your biggest pet peeve?

ironically enough, overuse of the word amazing

people without respect for others

slow drivers

..oh you only wanted one. sorry 

7. What is your favorite type of workout?

Running

8. Would you rather have a complete home makeover or a complete wardrobe makeover?

Deff wardrobe!

9. If you had to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what kind would it be?

Sushi or Mexican. Yum! :)

10. What is your favorite song right now (not of all time-- because that might be nearly impossible to answer)?

Don't laugh or judge, but I totally love this remix to "I can drink to that all night" with Jerrod Niemann and Pitbull. I hate the original, but for some reason, I can just get down with my bad self to this song. My second favorite jam right now is Wild Wild Love, also with Pitbull. I'm also going to let you in on a little secret, I know every single word already ;)



Caught you dancing, didn't I?

Excuse my Hiatus, I'm, moving

Queue the obligatory I'm sorry I haven't posted post. 

I was out of town this weekend at my parents, dealing with getting a cracked windshield replaced, and most importantly, f I have been packing all week to get ready for my big move that is already underway!

Yesterday I signed and I was handed a brand new set of keys to my new space!

I will post picutres as I progress with unpacking and decorating. I am so excited about the pieces I have already purchased and the DIYs I have planned. I can't wait to share with you all. Just don't hate me for the silence in the meantime. Feel free to come help me if you're in the neighborhood! ;)

The boys of summer are back

Even if you're new to these parts, you know that my life seams to revolve around baseball--hence the new blog name. In our world, there are two seasons--winter and baseball. However, even in winter, we still have winter baseball workouts. So, long story short.. It's baseball season again!

Note the little fuzzy blonde girl in the bottom watching the game too

About 2 weeks ago Billy's high school season wrapped up. We had the end of the year banquet Monday, which means it's officially done-zo. Saturday was the very first practice for his summer travel team, Team Elite. Summer ball is the the one I love the most and equally hate the most. I love the team, coaches, and the travel, but I hate the time it takes. Fall travel ball is easily my favorite season, because it's all the good stuff minus the heat and the events are all on the weekends so I try to tag along.

Billy coaches 17 year old travel ball of college and pro-bound athletes. Every single player will be playing in college or either be selected in the draft next summer. Yes, they're good. No, that opinion is not biased. They are continuously nationally ranked, and have established quite a name for themselves from the number of quality players that come out of their program. Some teams in the Team Elite organization have been invited to play tournaments at MLB stadiums and even the Junior Olympics!

and here we are.. going to a baseball game!

Until I started dating Billy, I never realized how big of a deal or how important travel baseball was. My eyes were opened at just how much time, effort, money, and SWEAT families pour out on their children. They travel all over the South East to college campuses and baseball complexes every single week throughout the summer playing multiple games a day at multiple locations. I honestly don't know how most parents logistically do it, especially when some of these road trips can last up to 3 weeks! Billy and his brother were lucky that his mom and grandpa were teachers with summers off and were able to drive them all over creation. I hear different parents who are in the corporate world (like me) tell me how they get it done and I am in awe. I've heard of one parent blowing all their vacation and sick days for half the season, the other blows all their vacation and sick days to cover the other half the season, and if they run out, grandparents step in. So much for that beach vacation, honey. 

An easy 3,000-4,000 people came out last spring to see two of their studs face off. Those two guys went 5th and 9th overall in the draft that June. This is only the home side!

Did I also mention how good these boys (and the ones they are playing against) are?! If you're wanting to go to the next level, summer ball is the best way to do it. Every game they play is set up as a showcase for college coaches and professional scouts. When he's not on the field, Billy is on the phone with parents, scouts, or college coaches getting these boys to their next destination. I wish people could see how dedicated these coaches are to getting these boys where they want to be. I cannot count high enough to keep track of how many times our dates have been canceled or postponed because a line-up needs to be made, practice ran late, or the restaurant closed before he got off the phone with some college or parent. True story.

As you can imagine, it's not exactly easy on our relationship. Even when he's not on the road, he's gone to practice or a game. I've blogged about what it's like to be a coach's girlfriend before here. Even as much as I dread summer ball, there's still a part of me that loves it. I love meeting all of the parents, the atmosphere at the ball park, and our baseball friends and support system that are more like family. I'm really looking forward to this season. I stopped by the field yesterday on my way back from my parents and got a first glimpse at some of this year's roster and reunited with some familiar faces on both sides of the fence. The first game is a few short weeks away, and I'm already eyeing out which roadtrip I might show up to ;)

Sorry boss, I'm taking the day off, I'll be at the field.

#WhoopItUpNashville

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to post this, but I have been so busy with work, the move, and a few things winding down the high school baseball season, but better late than never, right?

For those of you that follow my Instagram feed or our trip hashtag, #whoopitupnashville, you've probably been up to speed on all of the debauchery that went on this weekend in Nashville. For those of you that don't, here's the details:

The girls met me at my apartment bright and early and we started our 3 and a half hour trek to Tennessee. The drive went by quicker than I thought because we decided to learn every single word to "Wild, Wild Love" by Pitbull.. We tried and tried until we got tired of hearing the song, but never completely mastered it. Oh well, it did it's job of entertaining us and making the trip go by faster. 

Our first stop once we got to town was for lunch. We decided we had to check out Broadway first. I also had some things I had to do at the office right quick. It was a win-win: free parking, food, and getting some things off my to-do list.  We ended up deciding to eat lunch at Broadway Brewhouse & Mojo Gril per a recommendation of one of my coworkers. For bar food, it was surprisingly good!

We went and checked into our hotel, napped, showered, and headed back out for dinner at one of my favorites, Demos, and our night out on the town. I just love their pasta. Paired with a glass of sweet white wine, it's hard to beat!

Why didn't anyone bother to tell me my skirt was crooked?

While we were planning this trip, the only major requirement we all had was that we went to Big Bang, the piano bar. So that was one of the first things we tackled while painting the town. I could spent the entire night at the piano bar if you would have let me. 

The next morning we attempted to go to the Pancake Pantry, but the line was around the block. This girl was too hungry to wait, and I'm not a big fan of breakfast either, so it didn't hurt my feelings one bit that we decided to jump straight to lunch. We decided to just head up to Opry Mills where we had planned on touring the Grand Ole Opry that afternoon and grab lunch there.

I know typical tourist trap, Rain forest Cafe

After lunch and a little shopping, we went around back and started our tour of the Opry house.

Minnie Pearl's Shoes

The women of country music dressing room. You Nashville fans might recognize this room from the show!

On one of the walls they have plaques dedicated to all of the members of the Grand Ole Opry. I had to snag pictures of two of my favorites: Garth and Bill Anderson.

The infamous circle

After our tour sadly came to and end, we decided to stop by Antique Archeology, the American Pickers store, to get a gift for one of the girl's mom's. I got myself a shirt as well, because they were too cute to pass up. We went back to our hotel to change for dinner. A few of us opted to also visit some of the little boutiques by Vandy while the others were starting their showers. We went to dinner at Jackson's and met up with one of my friends from college, Scott, who now lives in Nashville. I had some delectable shrimp and grits and it was great to catch up with him and see how his new life and career in Tennessee was going. He also gave us each a copy of his EP! You can download a copy for yourself here. We may be biased, but we totally loved it!

After dinner we ventured back down to Broadway for our final night on the town. The final goal for the trip was to learn a few new line dances at Wild Horse. We all got out there with great hopes and were determined to line dance. Halfway through the first song, we started to tap out one by one because we realized we were not cut out for it. 4 songs later, we look up to find Amy has not only mastered some of the dances, but is now teaching all the people around her how it's done. I have never met anyone to dance like Amy or learn new steps as quickly as she does.

sorry.. cell phone pic

We absolutely loved the bouncer guy. He sang and danced along with us.

I cannot wait to get back up there this Summer. Nashville is truly one of my favorite cities, and it makes me almost regret not sticking it out with music business. There are still so many things that I want to see and do. What should I add to my list of things to do on my next trip?