In Suspense.

Charmed this morning by a lantern on a clothesline pulley, a curtain of paper cranes, a cluster of ice-blue balloons encased in mesh. Some people are just so creative.

Photos, clockwise from top left: Alexi Hobbs for Dwell Magazine (lamp created by Paul Bernier); Elemental Weddings (the curtain was a part of this beautiful soiree); XO in My Room via Remodelista.

Wishing you all a wonderful, restful, restorative holiday weekend! (Any plans? I'll be catching up with one of my oldest friends over cocktails and chicken biscuits. Can't wait.) See you back here Tuesday.

Thx.

Los Angeles-based writer Leah Dieterich pens a thank-you note every day - the archive on her website, thx thx thx, extends all the way back to 2009. As the site states, "There’s always something to be thankful for. From the important things like Songs You’re Embarrassed to Like, and Heavy Eyelids that Tell You When You Need to Sleep, to friends and family, love and loneliness, light and darkness, Leah... sets out to acknowledge them all."

I'm impressed. See more at thx thx thx, here. Happy Thursday!

The Ladder.

This week on the Equals Record, I'm sharing a few of the reasons I'm forsaking a more traditional road to success in favor of a (much) less stable career path.

An excerpt from the new post: "As a relative newcomer to the freelance world, I realize that while I’m extremely lucky, my career is far from what the average New Yorker would consider 'successful,' 'powerful,' or 'important.' It’s challenging, exciting, liberating, unconventional - but lucrative? Glamorous? Cosmopolitan? Not quite...There’s a reason I’ve chosen to sacrifice certain things, however - a steady paycheck, employer-provided healthcare, the comfort of a routine - in order to follow the path I’m on. It’s because in the past year, I’ve thought seriously about what I want to prioritize."

See the post in its entirety at the Equals Record, here, and find more from my column, Looking Forward, here. Thank you so much, as always, for reading!

Photo: "Up!" by Aleksandr Malin. (I've used it before - I love it.)

Harajuku Hip.

I may or may not have just spent a full hour, glassy-eyed, scrolling through the entire Harajuku archive of the Japanese fashion blog Style Arena. I'm transfixed.

I've seen countless photos of Japanese fashion trends that look like this, but I love how the girls pictured here are slightly less over-the-top (yet still completely offbeat).

I've been feeling homesick for Japan lately - it's been almost a year since I took this trip with my family - and I'd love to go back. Right now, though, that's only a dream. Do you have any travel plans for the rest of the year? (Go on, make me jealous.)

All images via Style Arena.

Corduroy Returns.

After a bit of a break, artist Jen Ray's Etsy shop, corduroy - one of my favorites - is back. I love this plucky tote,

this chilly ghost and that indeterminate "cat loaf" (complete with fur letters),

and, last but certainly not least, this Longleaf Pine "super fatty fat lighter." Jen Ray writes, "This big bundle will start LOTS of fires...I never go camping without it." Yours for $15.

Welcome back, corduroy. Happy Monday to all.