Here are the things that vastly improved my week this week:

• Focusing on images rather than words. I mentioned that I was at a loss of words this week, and I'm actually pretty grateful about this -- because I've really enjoyed playing with my camera, and making this the centre of my creative time. Photography is feeling experimental and fun again -- which is always a great feeling.

• Speaking of which, my friend Erin shared some thoughts on images vs. words -- and as usual, she encapsulated exactly what I've been feeling far more eloquently than I could.

• Earlier this week, I witnessed someone become an Episcopalian priest. That she is also married, a mother and pregnant warms the cockles of my little feminist heart. I admit it: I was really teary!

• I'm headed to the MomCom conference in Austin, which starts today -- will I see you there?

• The difference between "travel writing" and "traveling"? More pie.

• Guilty admission: I'm fascinated by extreme weather (yes, I'm the one who watches those stormchaser documentaries on the Weather Channel). I also love photography. So when you combine both of them, I'm well pleased.

• Seriously digging the Instagram feed of Javier Pérez -- photography + art + everyday objects = the suggestion of a whole new image? Yes, please!

• My friend Kristen shares her thoughts on how we teach our kids to avoid prejudice, in furtherance of Martin Luther King's dream. I couldn't agree more.

• A few months ago, I shared with you my thoughts on the amazing triumph of Diana Nyad, the first person to swim the distance between Cuba and Florida, without the benefit of a shark cage (oh, and by the way, she did this at 64 years old). Yesterday, my friend Mark sent me an email with the link to her TED talk, describing what she was experiencing during that epic 53-hour swim.

Trust me, it's worth the 15 minutes to watch this. She is such a badass.

• And finally, my friend Ernest (the original Fly Brother), wrote a love letter to São Paolo, his home for 2 years. Oof.

And with that, have a wonderful weekend, friends (see you in Austin, I hope!)

Song: Sambas Urbanos by Rodrigo Pitta. This was the song featured in Ernest's post. Again, oof.