Morning love,

You know, jetlag gets a bad rap--but today I've got to give Old Man J some credit. It's not yet 8AM and I'm already writing this email, eating greek yogurt in a café window seat as I watch the sun come up over West London.

Hello, beautiful commuters walking to the train. Don't look so glum. It's not raining yet, and IIIIIIII live in England now.

*waves pretentiously*

Hey Friend,

I was all set to do a recap of all the things I learned this year in a very sentimental, serious, thoughtful manner. 

And then, as I went to pull up photos on Insta to design this email around, I decided to do something much more fun. Because let's get real, entertaining myself is a top priority around here.

So, allow me to present... Alexa's "10 Things That Happened in 2016 According To What I Posted On Instagram."

Let's get started.

Hey friend,

Woke up feeling all sprightly at 6:15AM (thanks jetlag!) in sunny San Diego. Been basking in my fair share of Vitamin D (Snapchat crew ur welcome) since getting #homefortheholidays last week. 
I know.

Naturally, there's not really anything better than getting to spend the holidays in Southern California... but there's one thing happening at all the festive parties that continues to bum me out.

Hey friend.

I can no longer deny that I'm actually going through with it.

This time next week, I'll be winging my way to family Christmas vibes in San Diego. Five weeks from now, I'll be opening up shop in the UK.

The bed and the sofa are sold, the packing is nowhere near done, the Berlin chapter—the birthplace of #entrylevelboss—is ending.

While I keep referring to this Berlin > UK transition as a "longterm tax paperwork shuffle" more than the start of the next chapter, I have to acknowledge that it's a pretty big deal.

Hello darling,

Conveniently getting over a cold *just* as Christmas market season is starting here in Berlin. In fact, I may or may not have taken myself out on a solo bratwurst-and-glühwein date on the way home last night. (Spoiler: I did.) 

After sending out Friday's Weekend Workout--and as I prep a little Black Friday surprise for you this week--I wanted to touch on something I haven't talked about too much and certainly haven't talked about in a while.

It's something that's been on my own mind too, as I start considering which clients I'll work with in the UK next year.

It's something I like to refer to as The Name Brand Dilemma.