Victoria Smith

Victoria Smith

  • About Me: sfgirlbybay.com - bohemian modern style from a san francisco girl.
  • Location: San Francisco
  • Interests: san francisco, photography, interior design, artwork, galleries.
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Recent Activity

  • Today I just wanted to wrap things up by saying thank you to San Francisco Convention and Tourist Commission for inviting me here to share my city with you. It was fun, action-packed weekend and I had a great time sharing some of my favorite haunts with you.

    I couldn't quite fit it all in, so I wanted to leave you with a list of other great shops to check out on your next visit to San Francisco -- all wonderful, and quite a few you can visit online as well until you arrive here. Thanks again and Bon Voyage ...

  • Last up for the day, we wander past all the beautiful shops decorated for the holidays and the trees all strung with white fairy lights, to a favorite restaurant of mine, The Elite Cafe (http://www.theelitecafe.com/), for a late afternoon Sunday Supper. The Elite is great brunch spot too, with a Cajun flair, and yummy Bloody Mary's. Their buttermilk biscuits are definitely on on our mind, so we order those to start and we split their delicious hominy crusted catfish & mashed potatoes with collard greens. Yum! A pretty prefect end to a busy weekend, and a nice ...

  • Then, we begin our walk up Fillmore Street, a wonderful shopping district here in Pacific Heights. In between streets lined with rows and rows of old Victorian homes, is nestled this great area full of small cafes and gorgeous shops. We stop in at my local book shop, Browser Books (http://www.fillmoreshop.com/pages/browser_books.html/). It has the feel of a well worn leather chair, and looks a bit like a used book store might, but they carry all the latest best sellers, and the best of the classics. I like to shop local whenever I can, and ...

  • Well, this was the last day of our San Francisco adventure! Luckily, since I live here, I only had to head home a few miles and still am able to enjoy, and love, our beautiful city by the bay! After another leisurely breakfast served in bed at the Hotel Adagio (http://www.jdvhotels.com/adagio/), we gathered up our belongings and shopping bags (!!) and headed out for a few more stops around the city - this time in Pacific Heights, my very own neighborhood, to share a few of my favorite haunts.

    First up is a trip to Timeless Treasures (http ...

  • Also on our itinerary was a visit to Robert Redford's recently renovated Sundance Kabuki Theater (http://www.sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html) for a late afternoon movie matinee. What's super cool about the Sundance Cinemas is that you can go online, choose and reserve your seats in advance, so if you're out for dinner, or running around shopping, you'll know you don't have to rush to get a good seat - it's all taken care of in advance. Also, if you so choose, you can have cocktails, wine, beer and snacks in their balcony level seating ...

  • It's raining again in San Francisco, but that doesn't stop us from having a good time! We started off the day with room service - a divine breakfast in bed. Oh, I do love the luxury of that! After a relaxing morning, we were off, taking a walk and doing some shopping in quaint and quite charming neighborhood, Hayes Valley (http://www.hayesvalley.com/Home).

    Our first stop is in Zonal (http://www.zonalhome.com/), a great re-purposed and vintage-inspired home furnishings shop. I love the unique styling of this store and their abundant collection of antique wrought iron ...

  • First stop before dinner was The Curiosity Shoppe (http://www.curiosityshoppeonline.com/), one of my favorite mom & pop type boutiques in San Francisco, full of truly great artwork, collectibles and hard to find unique gifts. We visited for a bit with owners Lauren & Derek, and perused the new art gallery installation by local artist & designer Tom Bonauro (http://www.tombonauro.com/), and then popped across the street to 826 Valencia (http://www.826valencia.org/).

    826 Valencia's Pirate Supply Store (http://www.826valencia.org/store/) was hosting an evening of new artwork, too - some great Pirate Posters designed by a ...

  • What a perfect evening in San Francisco rain or no rain. We checked into the beautiful Hotel Adagio (http://www.jdvhotels.com/adagio/) and relaxed in the room and admired the beautiful view of the Christmas lights in Union Square for a bit with a glass of wine from the mini bar, before heading out to the Mission District's Holiday Block Party on Valencia Street. All the small shops stay open late tonight, serving wine and snacks, and all decked out for the holidays.

  • Hi! It's Victoria again from sfgirlbybay.com. I'm gearing up for my weekend, playing San Francisco tourist for you, and pretty excited about sharing my version of the city with you!

    I've been coming to San Francisco since I was about 10, when my family made trips up here every summer (as you can see from this photo of a long ago cable car ride - that's me on the far right!) and I fell in love with the city way back then. I moved up here 15 years ago, and could never imagine leaving. This is ...

  • hi, if you don't me, i'm victoria smith of sfgirlbybay (http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/), a daily design blog i write here from my home in san francisco. i have a pretty fun task ahead of me and i wanted to give you all the heads up, that the weekend of december 11 through the 13th, i will be playing tourist in my very own city by the bay. i was very kindly invited by the san francisco visitors bureau to eat, drink, shop and be merry in my very own city for the weekend. the san francisco visitors ...