september in pictures

i do realize that not only september ended, but we are past mid october too, and yet here i am coming up with september in pictures.  but you know, as always, time got the better of me. and better late than never, right? (i guess we can check off today's cliches with that.) anyhow, here's what i was up to in september:

it all started with my moving home to miskolc from that little town called budapest. as i was trying to settle down and unpack all the million things i had boxed and bagged up and stuffed into giant black binbags, i also soaked in the vibe of my home town. strolling down on the high street on late summer evenings can get quite pretty, you see.

one can even bump into funky little yellow post-it bicycles with new york licence plates parking right in front of the raddest cafe of the town

on the first sunday of september i attended the monthly antique fair, organized on the main street of miskolc. boy, i don't think i have ever seen so many people in the town center (except for the annual kocsonya festival, which is the biggest event of the year around here). one can find all sorts of knick-knacks, bric-a-bracks and bits and bobs, but real treasures too. and hunting it all down is real fun. (and very very hard work.)

the treasure i found was this super duper, extra pretty kodak instamatic 104 camera. you know, this is the kind amelie took her world-shattering photos with (or something very similar). kodak's instamatic cameras were the instagrams of the 1960s and 1970s and were utterly popular among the hipsters - and not so hipsters - of the time. (though i bet those hipsters did not take so many pictures of their dinners, their feet, or themselves in front of the bathroom mirror or all surfaces reflecting only to post them on walls around town.) 

unfortunatley the film cartrage it requires isn't produced any more, so i cannot really use this beauty. still, it's a perfect addition to my slowly growing vintage camera collection and looks great on my bookshelf.  it cost a mere 500 forints. (i haggled it down from 1000 huf! i am getting really good at haggling. my super secret - and utterly successful - tactic is that i offer half the prize the seller first asks for. way to haggle, i tell ya!)

paralel to the antique fair, there was another event going on on the main street, this one held by the national theater of miskolc. the main theme was recreation. they had these fun signs and scenery set up right in front of the building of the theater.

in september i hung out quite a lot with my little sister who had just started grammar school, moved to miskolc, and now lives in a dorm on weekdays. one of the best things about moving home is that i get to see her more often. she's quite cool in a totally nerdy way. a real energy bomb who always cheers me up. (she's like a mini me, except she's the improved version without all the defaults. and yet she names me as her role model.)

this one below was taken at lillafüred, an outer part of miskolc, hidden among the hills. i worship this place, it's my hideaway. whenever i feel like i need to think, to escape into the wild, or simply have some fresh air, i hop on the bus (then change twice), get off at lillafüred, and soak in all the prettiness this place has to offer. 

alhough i am really trying to cut back on my expences, and not to spend on anything unless it's absolutely necessary, there are some things that are awfully hard to resist. like books. and bags. and shoes. shoes! (they are utterly necessary, right? you just can't leave the house without them. period.) 

this is a pair of toms i ordered back at the very end of august, and they were delivered by the time i moved home. i have been totally obsessed with toms shoes ever since i saw michelle, the leading character of bunheads (which by the way is a great show, especially if you worshipped gilmore girls) wearing them. you know how there are the converse, vans, or the tisza cipő- wearing kind of people, right? well, i am the toms kind of girl. i finally found my kind of shoes. and i want a pair in (almost) all styles and colours. and not only because they are unique, pretty and rad (and practically holler my name), but super comfortable too. it feels like i am walking on clouds when wearing them. still, the best thing about toms is their 'one for one' policy, meaning that with every pair you purchase, toms will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. (i finally figured out a way to save the world by purchasing shoes! am i a genius, or what?!)

well, in september, i was a woman in need... of shoes. more shoes. because one can never have enough shoes. especially when autumn is around the corner, sales overtake all the stores, all  the pretty shoes are sold half price, and you don't have a single pair of oxfords to wear in autumn. so when you come across the most beautiful, most perfect pair of oxford shoes which are by the way on sale, there's simply no question about purchasing them. because what's a crispy fall without a pair of pretty oxfords, right? 

another thing i became quite a fan of in september is the british tv show downton abbey. i mean those tea-drinking, fish-and-chips gorging, forever queueing british do know how to put together a decent period drama, don't they? downton abbey must be one of the best examples of their expertise. do yourself a favour and watch it, embrace it, fall in love with it. the setting is first class, the costumes are exceptional, the plot is dramatic, twisty, and unpredictable (with just a tad amount of soap), whereas the dialogues are tense and filled with british humour. downton abbey reflects on all things we consider so very british, while giving a good insight to the private lives and matters of both the traditional aristocracy and their obedient servants of the early 20th century. keep an eye out for the living legend maggie smith who superbly embodies the conservative and sticking-to-the-traditions countess of grantham. her witty remarks and grimaces are truly priceless. i spent long long september evenings watching multiple episodes of downton abbey, while knitting a warm and chunky dark green scarf. (and drinking tea, of course.) and now i indulge in the poshest, most high-class, most perfect, most beautiful british accent even when only talking to myself in head. captivating. superb. a must see, no doubt.

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