Year Two

We rang in our second anniversary with breakfast at Waffle House before he headed out on a road trip. Oh, the romance I tell you.. 

Year two was the beginning of big changes for us. I declared myself as a double major, and Billy was finishing up his Senior year. Of course, most of our time was spent at the baseball field. I loved every single minute sitting up on that hill watching the team play. 

I swear I only wore that shirt because I was trying to get tan.

When we weren't at the field, we were with my roommates or out with our friends. There were so many nights of laughter and fun times. Even back then, we still did trivia every. single. week.

Trivia night at Pickle Barrel. This was also the night we celebrated Billy's 23rd birthday.

Apparently I also wore these boots a lot.

Casey Michelle grew up on us.. Besides no longer having a puppy, everything was just right in our world.

Our anniversary, which is Valentines weekend. February 2011... No, Billy didn't actually buy be all of those roses.

Easter 2012

Billy graduated in May 2011 with a bachelors degree in Mathematics. About a week later, he moved back home. I stayed behind to finish my last year of school. Again this summer, I went to see him every chance I got. I had just purchased my first car that my parents didn't help me with, and I added the miles on it fast.

Billy started his first year coaching baseball with Team Elite. He loved it! I loved it.. sorta. It took up a lot of time, but I was willing to overlook it as long as I could tag along. I actually think our very first fight was right about this summer, over how time consuming summer ball was. No, we never fought and rarely still do.

Oh that heafty guy over on first, that's Billy. Summer ball and all of it's fast food has a way of adding on the pounds.

When we weren't at the field, we were at the cabin. This was when I realized how in love I was with that place. Like every year, we spent the 4th of July there. Eating fried chicken and watching the fireworks on a blanket during the hot summer nights has always been one of my favorite memories.

At the end of that summer, we took our first trip together, just the two of us to Pigeon Forge, TN. We were so broke at the time and were doing it on a tight budget, but we still felt like we were such adults being off on our own.

That year, I went back to school without him. Billy started working at a sporting goods store while he "took a year off." I worked 4 days a week and absolutely loved my job. I started heavily interviewing for jobs basically anywhere that would schedule an interview with me for post graduation. The good news about that, it gave me excuses to go to Atlanta to see Billy. Billy continued coaching with Team Elite in the fall, so rarely was he ever able to come visit me. 

We visited our first corn maze

Apple Festival Weekend 2012

We continued splitting holidays with my family and his--lunch with mine, dinner and the rest of the weekend with his. Christmas was the first time that I was around his ENTIRE family at once. I must say, I adore them all. They are such a fun bunch to be around and we never have any time to get bored.

New Years Day 2012 - Stanley Creek

I started back to my final semester of college and I was working my butt off in class, at work, and to find a big girl job. In January, Billy started coaching high school baseball and working on his Masters in Education. We celebrated Year 3 in February 2012 with Sushi (I think) in Milledgeville.

How we Met & Year 1

In honor of our recent #ValensVersary, I want to recap the past 4 years that Billy and I have been together. I owe a little credit for the idea of this post to Lauren over at Peach State of Mind

Billy and I actually met in Novemeber of 2009. You can read the whole story here. We didn't start calling ourselves official until February 2010, so I guess we can just start the recap somewhere around there.

In short, Billy and I met through my roommate and her boyfriend. They played baseball together. On the night we went out to celebrate my roommate's 21st birthday, random friend of her's offered to take us home. I hardly talked to Billy that night except to threaten his life. {You'll have to read the long story if you want more detail about that} Heck, I didn't even know his name until the next day. Fast forward about 2 weeks later, we ran into each other again. We talked, we sang along with the band, and we danced the night away. He offered us a ride again, this time I declined. However, I didn't object to giving him my number when he asked. 

We had been texting and facebooking {Is that even a verb?} since November, and we'd only hung out a handful of times before we left for Christmas Break, and I had to be convinced by my roommate to go. However, after getting to know him and spending time with him, I was glad she pushed me. We shared our first kiss on the last night before break started. Once we came back from being gone we were pretty much inseparable.

We had our first date in January. We went to Pickle Barrel on a Thursday night, and they had trivia. Maybe that's where our love affair of trivia came from? I even remember wearing my new pink cowboy boots and hoping he didn't think I was weird for wearing them. If you can't love me in my boots, then don't love me at all. In February of 2010, we made out first public appearance when we went to see MuteMath and Sean Kingston with friends. Though privately, we had decided we were official, we hadn't told any one else yet. 

A short two weeks later, we finally made it "Facebook Official" and I met most of his friends for the first time. I met his family, we hit it off instantly.

We celebrated both of our Spring Birthdays turning 21 & 22. We became more inseparable, and I followed him all over the state and beyond cheering on his college team as they won their division title and went on to play in the NCAA world series! 

oh, how I loved that vest!

That summer, he went home and I stayed at school to work and get in some extra classes. It was our first break apart since we'd be official. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't as hard as I expected since I made the drive about every other week to see him. During that summer, this precious little 7 pound thing came into our lives. After much deliberation, we named her Casey. The weekend Billy met her was the first weekend I went to the cabin with his family for the 4th of July.

Sadly, I somehow have zero pictures of that summer.

Soon summer was over and college was calling again. We were living in the same town again. We spent basically any free time either of us had together. I started a new job, he continued to play baseball. 

We spent time just being normal college kids. Little did I know how wonderful life was then being young, carefree, and in love. 

We spent our first Christmas together at the Cabin. We were snowed in by almost a foot of snow. We made some incredible memories that week. 

and just a short month after we spent Christmas together, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary together. It's crazy to see how much things have changed, and how much we've grown up in a quick 4 years. On the other hand, how things just seem like yesterday. I marvel in the fact that I am still just as crazy about him now as I was back when, and I hope that playful feeling and our love of laughter never goes away. 

I'm changing my name

Yep, that's right! Well, not m legal name, just my blog name.

Over the past several weeks I've been brainstorming on a new name, contacted a phenomenal designer to help me bring the idea to life. And I even purchased a new domain! You know it's never official to you have your own domain!

I will be dropping my current name, Barefoot Bluejean Princess for.. (wait for it)

Baseball Laces & Southern Graces

I don't have an official launch date yet, but I'm hoping it will be in the next week. Even though it felt like it took a lifetime to decide on a new name, I am actually kind of thrilled. The more I got used to it, I really disliked my old name--mostly because it was too froo-froo. Though, Barefoot Blue Jean Princess isn't meant to have the pink, diamonds, and crowns persona, The more I said it and read it, the more I felt like It did, and if I felt like it did, I know everyone else had to feel like it did. That didn't really capture what I blog about or the kind of image I wanted to portray.
I know, I know, it's just a blog for crying out loud, but still. It's something I try to take very seriously. I think my fellow bloggers can agree--It's our little corner of the world and we want it just so.

I'm so excited for the change, however. I hope you guys will stick around and enjoy the view from the cheap seats!

Georgia Aquarium & The World of Coca Cola

It is a very, very rare occasion when Billy has the entire day baseball free. We decided extremely last minute (an hour before we walked out the door) to spend the day being sterotypical Atlanta tourists and visit the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola.

Believe it or not, I have lived in the state of Georgia for the past almost 25 years and I have never visited either. This was Billy's second visit to the aquarium, but first to the world of Coke. I had such a good time spending the day with this boy. Days like this together come far and few between because of his unorthodox year-round schedule, but I loved every single minute getting to laugh and enjoy fun time together.

Totally not flattering, but people like pictures of the blogger herself.

How cool are these animals?!

Warning: Cell Phone quality
I walked around the corner of one of the exhibits, I found Billy waiting for me in a hallway lit with black lights just glowing with all of his neons.

I promise he's not 7 even though he totally acted like them as excited as he was to pet the stingrays

I loved the lights and such

Isn't he just a stud?

Next up, the world of Coca Cola!!

I was beyond impressed at how high tech some of the things in the world of coke were. All of the interactive exhibits had my undivided attention. Not gonna lie, the tech nerd in me had to touch every single one of them.

Of course we appreciated World Series Rings

Don't be fooled, on most days, he HATES Inca Cola. It tastes like bubble gum, which is really had to down for us compared to coke. As I've mentioned before in a previous post, Billy's childhood and present day best friend's family are the founders behind this drink. Within recent years the family sold 51% of the company to coke but retained 49% and all of the bottling factories. Today however, we loved it compared to all the other strange and bizarre coke products around the world we sampled.

Inca Cola

March Goals

February Goals

I am actually surprised how many things I got done this month--especially because I wasn't consciously trying to get them all done!

• Attend as many of Billy's baseball games as possible
• start a new skin care (specifically face) regimen -- I'm all open to suggestions, ya'll!
• Surprise a friend
• Sign up for my CAPM certification
• File my taxes
• Spring clean my Apartment -- provided I decide to stay here for another year.
• Try a new recipe
• Get wedding gifts picked out if not purchased for at least two of the weddings we are attending this summer
• Eat out less, Save more
• Replace the brakes on my car
• Blog at least twice a week 
• Go see my Grandma

March Goals

• Launch new blog name and domain -- I can't wait to share it with you all. I am so excited
• Finish and Unveil new design
• Complete a DIY project and post about it
• Go out for a spontaneous dinner with a friend 
• Take a day trip and do something new
• Gain 5 new followers
• Spring clean my apartment
• Try a new recipe
• Visit my grandparents
• Purchase a go-to spring top
• Do my ab exercises at least 3 times a week

So here's to another successful month of completing goals and to the warm sprnig days that are ahead of us!

War Eagles play at Coolray Field

I finally got to go to one of Billy's games this season! They've been snowed out and away for the past 3 weeks. It didn't hurt a bit that the first game I got to go to this year was at Coolray Field, the Atlanta Braves AAA field in Buford.

South Forsyth faced off against Dunwoody high school Saturday afternoon. We finished the game throwing a 1 hitter winning 2-0. It was so nice to be back at the field. Come October, I know am going to be so tired of the baseball life, but I wouldn't have it any other way.