Good morning! And happy Monday! I’ve been taking some time off and it feels really good, honestly. Not living for every Instagram post or 140 Twitter caption feels like a breath of fresh air. I’m flying out to Houston on Wednesday and a part of me is dreading leave Connecticut but also OK because I’ll be at Coachella this weekend for the first time ever! My newsletter is going out on Wednesday with a longer explanation for why I (and you) should sometimes take time off. Subscribe on the bottom of the A Life in the Fashion Lane homepage.

Last week I traveled down to Princeton, New Jersey with a few of my friends to meet with the team at Rutgers who took on my company as a case study. When I first heard that Rutgers was interested, I was thrilled, because I knew that they’ve never had a company like mine be a part of their marketing plan. Usually colleges take on marketing companies, restaurants, and consumer companies as case studies during a college semester in a marketing class. It helps the students who are invested in the marketing industry understand what running a company is like as well as the decisions that have to be made behind the scenes. I run A Life in the Fashion Lane, M.I.N.T., and This is Life Unfiltered full-time, and I didn’t go to college. I’ve put This is Life Unfiltered on hiatus for a bit (it’s my baby, I love it so much) because of another project I’m hoping comes through. If it doesn’t, I’ll start TILU up again. Being in a college setting is really interesting for me because I always wondered what my life would have turned out like if I decided to go to college, and every time I’m in a school setting I realize that I definitely wouldn’t do too well in college. I’m not very studious. Though college students are really interesting to me because they’re so smart and eager to learn about the world, and I love anyone who is eager to learn.

The group of girls who are doing the research behind my brand are absolutely incredible: they’re all so inspiring and understanding about what I’ve built, which is really cool because they’ve really dived into my background and my story. I don’t like to consider myself an influencer, or even a blogger, because I have these different companies and projects that are all different yet align under the Alexa Curtis umbrella. Working with them has really helped me understand where I see my future going and how I can get there. I want to be the next Ellen, Chelsea Handler or even Oprah, which is why I don’t want to label myself an influencer because I think that word is thrown around quite a bit too much nowadays, you know?

Though we can’t all have awesome college marketing teams investigating our companies, I think it can be really useful (entrepreanur or not) to take some time and gather a group of people to get feedback from about anything you’re trying to build. We can’t fight life alone: you have to put strong and thoughtful people in your circle so that you never forget how truly incredible you are!

About the tiny town of Princeton…

I haven’t spent much time in New Jersey, but I’m the type of person who loves visiting a new city. When I was in Princeton, I had the chance to stay at the beautiful Peacock Inn. If you’re not familiar with Princeton, it’s a college town in New Jersey that’s home to a beautiful college and an adorable town. Since I was only in town for one night, I didn’t get to spend too much time in the town…but, I managed to eat crepes and hot chocolate with my friends, along with enjoy an amazing slumber party at this fantastic inn. To me, there’s nothing better than a small, boutique property with a great team of staff and a relaxed environment. With Frette bathrobes, amazing beauty products and an insanely comfortable bed, the Peacock Inn comes highly suggested by someone who travels for a living!