Madeline and the Dreamcoat

The other day the snow was falling so gorgeously, I had to ask my sister Anna to go out and take some photos!

As you can imagine, I ran into a bit of a problem at the beginning of winter how to fit my growing belly into a warm winter coat... Second hand shops came to the rescue! I found this heavy, warm coat with the original 70s paper tags attached, and it's perfect for all belly sizes and it was cheap: win-win-win. And one more win for good measure. :)

We hung up the camera on a tree to take a picture of both of us, resulting in some fun tilted images. :D

In other news: It looks like Bobek might arrive soon! Yay! Exciting times!

So... don't be surprised if I take a few weeks leave of the blog. Not that I've never done that before without such a valid excuse. :)

Wearing: thrifted coat, Chinese boots, H&M tights and pullover, 

scarf from an underpass, and I got the gloves from my sister for Christmas.

Style Imitating Art: Poppies and Birds

Hello again, blurred self-shots by the window! :) Well, spring is near and then picture-taking moves outside again, but till then... Let the birds chirp on our fingers!

And let the flowers bloom! This week's Style Imitating Art's inspiration picture is this watercolour of a poppy, “Prinzessin Victoria Louise Poppy - Papaver orientalis“ by Colleen Parker.

It would have matched nicely with my previous post, but never mind, nothing is lost while one has enough pink flowers in their wardrobe!
A wise rule to live by.
I guess. :)

Check out the other entries for SIA at Salazar's blog or at Animated Cardigan, and do join as well!

Wearing: Invázió dress and Chinese boots, H&M Mama trousers, H&M headband, 

handmade ring from a market and I don't remember where the cropped knit is from.

Painted Flowers

These pictures were taken by Zsófi Raffay. She's an amazingly talented and what's more, a very lovely person. I'm so lucky to have had the chance to work with her as a stylist!
So when she offered to take some pictures of me (and my belly), I said yes of course, I'm bringing the cakes. :)

It wasn't easy though to decide what to wear for my own shoot! I know you saw this dress before, but I like it too much. It's like wearing a painting.

I know I will treasure these pictures for ever - reminding me of this weird, wonderful and truly blessed period of my life, with a very special guest residing with me at all times. 

Do check out Zsófi's pictures if you wish to see great portraits and city photos, 

and more... Oh, she has a blog too!

 Wearing: Thrifted dress, H&M Mama tights, H&M flowers.

The Footwear Conondrum

I have to admit I'd love to have worn my tall boots with this outfit.
But something got in the way. :)

It's never ever crossed my mind before it happened to me, but when you're pregnant, it's really difficult to bend down, basically only possible when your hip is in a certain angle and your legs are spreadeagle. Me and everyone who witnesses me putting socks and footwear on finds this extremely hilarious. :D Please don't ask me for photos though! :)

So when it came to pulling my tall boots on, I realised it's proving to be a feat on a par with Houdini escaping from a closed tank of water, and taking them off would be verging on the impossible. So here I am, wearing my trusty Docs again... And shhh, I actually also bought a pair of very simple and wide boots that don't even have laces or zips. :)

Wearing: all pre-pregnancy clothes: Thrifted dress, Invázió leggings, Promod cardigan, 
and the aforementioned heroes: Docs.

Atrium

The other night we visited a newly reopened cinema-theatre, the Atrium. Somehow the place itself turned out to be much more interesting than the play we saw. :)

The building was designed by Lajos Kozma and was finished in 1937, a simply wonderful Art Deco or rather Bauhaus building, the first one in Budapest designed specially to house a cinema. The metal structure underneath was something very modern at the time!

As many buildings in Budapest, it had an interesting history, though after some very eventful years before and after the war, including a stint as a slaughterhouse (!) when Budapest was under siege, it reopened as a cinema again. After it was bombed, a huge sign was put up saying: "People of Buda! Please bring a brick each to rebuild the Atrium! It's your cinema!" :)

Jump ahead a few decades and see Atrium slowly disintegrate as the years pass... It was closed for a good while, so the renovation process last year took months, but now the cinema-theatre almost looks like it used to in the 30s, a very special space indeed. It houses a theatre now but films are also shown from time to time.

We saw a Martin McDonagh play, The Lonesome West. Well, I wrote my MA thesis on Hungarian stage productions of McDonagh's Irish plays. I still think he's a genious, and I'm still happy with my choice of a thesis topic, so I just cannot give up watching them. :)

The same director had a previous version of this play on in another Budapest theatre, and actually I'd love to know why he wanted to redirect it again... Personally I thought it was better the first time around. Still, theatre is theatre and good plays are good plays, so it was great to go!

A few more details from the lobby...

The black and white are so striking with the orange... It's hard to believe how daring some of the 30s designs were!

I think these pillars are my favourite, with the interesting light fixtures... And all the mirrors... Wish I could see how the flats looked like above in the 30s! Someone planning on inventing time travel...?

Pictures by Marco, edited by me.

Wearing: thrifted dress you saw in the previous post, Jeans Club jumper, 

Topshop skirt, H&M tights, Laoni bag from Jojó Art Shop, Docs.

Style Imitating Art - The Curator

My sister thinks this dress is something a museum curator would wear, so it's a fitting one to start a new project with!

I've been following Jess' blog, Animated Cardigan for a very long time now and she and a blog friend, Salazar set up the Style Imitating Art series, where they allow themselves to be inspired by a work of art they choose, and dress up accordingly.

This time the painting in focus was a Klimt piece, who I really really love, namely The Portrait of Emilie Flöge, so I decided to finally take part. :)

I wish I had a dress just like hers...
You can check out all the other bloggers and their inspired outfits at Salazar's blog soon -we're in very different timezones, so I guess a few hours after my post is up. :)

These rings are handmade by a friend of mine who I've known since we were both 6! She became a very talented jewellery maker specializing in enamel and copper. I've made the earrings. :)

Wearing: Thrifted dress, handmade jewellery from Jojó Art Shop, 
H&M Mama tights, Chinese boots.

More Snow

For a change, there is something to look and wonder at by the window - it's been snowing again!

I'm a winter child and cannot get bored by snow. I'm always amazed when it falls, the flakes never cease to amaze me, whether they are fluffy and heavy, or small and crystal-like.

I will never forget when I first realised snowflakes look like tiny flowers, standing in the sandpit in nursery school. It's one of my first memories and sense of awe I felt then will remain with me forever.

We took a walk by a small lake today and saw this mini-snowman, perfect in every detail!

This dress was soooo cheap, probably because nobody else thought it was actually wearable... The collar remind me of snowflakes. :)

Wearing: Invázió dress, thrifted hat, Topshop skirt (an actual pregnancy item), 

random leggings, Docs.

Wearing the Moon

Hello Darkness, my old friend! And Blur, your trusty companion...
Anyway, I can still shine when I'm wearing the Moon!

I got this necklace when I was on an Erasmus scholarship in England, loooong years ago, and at that time it was shiny and uniform. However, as the years went by, it started corroding, and what a gorgeous thing corrosion is! Now it looks just like the Moon...

 I wore this outfit to see the nurse - and to listen to Bobek's heartbeat. :)

 Wearing: all normal clothes refashioned for pregnancy: Moon necklace from England,
 a Tesco dress and a thrifted one, Topshop leggings, Primark headband and Docs.

And just for fun, here's what this dress looks like when only one person is wearing it and not two. :) (Wow, this post was a long time ago!)

 

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope it will be a great year! 2012 was a fine one, let's see what 2013 will bring! :)

I know, long time no see... I just set up my little photo corner so that I can take pictures inside (however grainy), instead of braving the cold! Brr!

And yes, that's Bobek! He's growing and kicking a lot, which is a great experience! We're at 6 months now! :)

And yes, I'm still getting dressed, using my old clothes mixed with very few pregnancy items, like this brill skirt. It's a godsend as my dresses transform into tunics and my tunics into tops as my belly grows! :)

See you soon peeps! :)

Wearing: Skirt and leggings: Topshop, T-shirt: something random, Jacket: old folk art piece, Shoes: Vagabond, Fascinator: H&M, Necklace: I made it, and added an H&M flower to match the redness.

Photographic Time Travel 1920-1930

Probably thanks to period movies I have a distinct picture in my head of 20s looks and fashions - much like the picture above and below.
























However, looking through Fortepan's amateur photographs you don't only see the "do take a picture of me in my best dress" and "well off people in the park" shots, but real, everyday people going about their business... And how different those looks and settings can be!



































My favourite photo from this lot... So everyday, so laid back, so simply, effortlessly perfect.








































She's way ahead of her time, isn't she?























I find it so captivating how they all look into the camera like they'd look into your eye.






















I trend to forget that longago people still had fun. :)






















I wonder who these youngsters are and how did they get to know each other?


























And one more for laughs: twenties trolling. :D

In case you missed my previous Time Travelling posts, here they are:
Photographic Time Travel 1900-1910,
Photographic Time Travel 1910-1920.

All of these wonderful pictures are from Fortepan.hu, which collects amateur photographs from 1900 to 1990, mostly from Hungary, which you can browse and enjoy and also share if you feel like it! The creators collected old negatives and slides, saved pictures from being lost forever. Luckily for us, one day they started to scan and publish them online for everyone to see. So now time travel really is possible for us! All we need is some free time to immerse ourselves in the everyday life of the 20th century... So go on and visit Fortepan and have a browse. You can also read more about their project here!







































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