less than 2 months until the crisis begins

It just wouldn't be right if I neglected to start the countdown at 2 months. 

Less than 2 months, people.  Actually 2 months yesterday.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, then you don't know me as well you might have thought.  Yep, it's a new year...and another birthday.  Since my 22nd birthday (Slutty Disney party was my ultimate birthday party.  check out fb for the pics), it has been harder and harder to get excited about the year's upcoming number.  This year's number I am dreading more than any other number so far:  26.  YIKES!  26 is the tail-end of mid-20s and the very beginning of late-20s.  not fun.

Am I going to have a mid to late-20s life crisis?  Probably.  You can bet on it.  I mean, geeze.  I have been gray since 19, and this past year I have started coloring my hair every 6 to 8 weeks.  Thanks to my Dad for carrying the Brindley premature gray hair gene.  You might say, "Leslie, you are just over-reacting.   You are not really gray-headed.  It might be blonde hair."  To those people, I say "You are sweet, but come a little closer.  You will find at least 30 gray hairs on my head at this very moment in time.  I can even point you in the right direction of where/how to find them." 

Lemme tell you a gray hair story:  This past Thanksgiving while at the beach, Sis and I had a very special sister bonding moment.  Not just any sister bonding moment, but a Brindley sister bonding moment.  It was well after midnight and we plucked each other's gray hairs.  Is that gross?  disturbing?  odd?  Well, yes.  We gasped at each other's head filled with lots of gray hair.  I think Sis did WAY more gasping than I did.  So guess who has more gray hair?

Enough about growing more gray everyday.  This was supposed to be about my birthday, but I know how to ruin a fun post.  So back to the fun...

Around this time every year, I begin to think about what presents I would like to be showered with given.  I think it's only appropriate that this year I continue my Vera Bradley obsession.  For gifts, I would like lots of money and or VB gift cards and or Vera Bradley products.  The safest gift is always money, but you knew that already.

Vera has come out with some cute spring patterns and even cuter purse styles.  I am not 100% set on one style or pattern yet (since I LOVE going to the VB store and looking at all of my options LIVE and in person), but I have been thinking a lot about this purse in Totally Turq:

And since I now have non-Target sunglasses (Prada to be exact), I need a new fancy case.  The plain black Prada case is nice, but I need something more stylish:

Let's say a hard sunglasses case in Cupcakes Pink.  Yep, that should do it.

Plus I was just thinking about how I need a "good" wedding picture album.  This would be PERFECT for our wedding pictures!  This pattern is called "Sittin in a Tree".  Super cute with little blue birds.  It's one of the new spring patterns.

And I am completely totally 100% definitely getting ahead of myself, but how DARLING is this babybook?  Vera, are you going to decorate my baby's nursery with your awesome-ness?

What a PRECIOUS babybook!  I am very tempted to buy it and just wait until the stork comes.

But this is about my birthday and not about my un-conceived child's birthday.  I am getting WAY ahead of myself.  First my 26th birthday.  Then my mid to late-20s crisis.  And then...well, thoughts of becoming responsible for someone with just 2 legs instead of 4.

I think that about covers it for this year's edition of "What to get Leslie without asking her and having her be surprised all at the same time".  I am glad you joined me. 

*pictures courtesy of verabradley.com.  go there and be amazed.