it’s week two of the view from here, and i’m really enjoying rounding up some randomness for you to peruse leisurely over the weekend. sometimes, things i’d like to share don’t necessarily fall into a neat little package appropriate for a whole post, or maybe might seem a bit off topic. but inspiration comes in many forms and i like looking at it ALL. i hope you do too. enjoy the view…

the view from here:

1. this is a really fun round-up of vintage toy cameras, like classic diana’s from how to be a retronaut. if you’re not checking out how to be a retronaut regularly, you should. it’s super cool.

2. have you ever seen the photography of nathan michael? you should. nathan lives in chicago and works as a designer and a photographer. he’s gonna be working with me, right here on sfgirlbybay. i’m super excited about that. oh, yes i am.

3. haven’t got a date for valentine’s day? well, just wallop somebody with a pillow!! nah, not like that — it’s san francisco’s annual pillow fight this february 14th. feathers start flying when the Ferry Building clock tower strikes 6 p.m. in the Justin Herman Plaza. thanks for the head’s up on that from the bold italic! photo via juicyrai.

4. miss moss. sigh. do you read her blog? it’s so rad it hurts me sometimes. i shouldn’t even tell you, cuz you’ll leave me for miss moss. (please don’t). she posted this work from Mikko Kuorinki. my chest bumps hard for this, too.

5. m.a.c. cosmetics has teamed up with one of my idols, fashion icon iris apfel. yeah for wrinkles, yeah for aging gracefully and full of style. good on you m.a.c.! never heard of iris? go check her out.

6. and last, but not at all least — there’s a super cool art workshop coming up at teahouse studio in berkeley the weekend of feb 18 + 19 with illustrators sarajo frieden and susy pilgrim waters. go learn something fun. you deserve it!

i’m back from the alt summit blogging conference in salt lake city, and honestly, i’m still trying to process what i learned and just how awesome it all was. i think this photo kind of exemplifies the calm before the storm, because this year at alt summit was the most mad fun yet. if you’ve never been, or have been wanting to go, put it on your mighty list, because ALT really is one of the most inspiring and ridiculously entertaining events i’ve ever attended. hats off mary tyler-moore style (like flung as high as possible!) to organizers sara urquhart and gabrielle blair for one stupendous feat of event planning!

there’s just no way to summarize all the lovely people whom i met and inspired me, or just simply said hello. i wish there had been more downtime, just to get to know everyone a little bit better, but here’s a glimpse of what the whirlwind of alt summit really looks like.

besides all the learning going on, there’s parties. you’ve probably heard about them on twitter, right? lisa congdon, one of my awesome alt roomies decides quite rightly that a white wig is the perfect accessory for the winter wonderland party. here she and marisa anne haedike are having some fun! balloons decorate the method mini party on friday night; moss + Isaac photography capture a very fancy and equally charming hgtv star and all round great girl emily henderson; here i am tweeting about ben silberman of pinterest’s amazing keynote speech (after which i cry, and ben gets a standing ovation) via b.a.d. photography on flickr; my roomies and wonderful friends — the lovely rena tom and artist lisa congdon who spoke about kickstarting your next project; just a real swell bar we passed in our travels around salt lake city; and the mighty miss maggie mason who gave a great talk on building your readership.

the always vintage-fabulous alix tyler and miss dottie of modern kiddo, jenny of frecklewonder and pam kueber retro renovation ham it up beautifully at the winter wonderland party; out thrifting at the green ant (a wonderful vintage shop in salt lake) with one of my fav girls, jordan of oh happy day; kelly beall of design crush, the charming and infamous favorite uncle beefy and lisa congdon get cozy on a snowy walk home from dinner; me and my amazing panel speakers, joslyn taylor of simple lovely, bri emery of designlovefest and danielle kyrsa of the jealous curator; more thrifting with laure joliet who buys up all the cute $1 belts; ben from pinterest gets the room’s attention during one of the most moving keynotes i’ve ever heard via justin hackworth; and lastly, getting girly with emily henderson, lisa congdon, rena tom, me and Morgan Satterfield from the brick house, as captured by laure joliet for apartment therapy.

so, last month i asked you to jump right in and tell me what you really think. and boy, did you! and that’s a good thing, because i’m writing this here stuff for you, so if i’m not getting it right, it’s a good thing to find out. i asked you to fill out a wee survey about how i’m doing here on the blog, and the good news is, for the most part you seem happy. yay! but there’s always room for improvement, so i’m going to share a bit about what you hope to see (or not see as the case may be). afterall, all i can do is follow my gut, and the majority seems to be with me on most of what i provide here each day. i had a few surprises, but that’s okay — i can take it. and i appreciate you all taking time to let me know. i also want to announce the winners of the giveaway for helping me out!

the three happy winners are:

sarah palisi / brianne ravenna girls / erica of mommy needs a minute.

and a little bit about sponsored posts, because i think it’s important you know what you’re reading here is sincere and my opinion, and nobody else’s. just little old me sharing what i love…

so that about sums it up, guys – thank you all so much for your valuable input! oh, there was one more thing. i’m keeping ‘oh, happy, happy friday’. it was voted back in. love you!

• top image via silver scents.