Put down whatever you are doing and go check out Pates Tapes. This is a friend of a friend’s site who organized 1000+ hours of an amazing personal music collection recorded from vinyl, tape, and digital into mixtapes that you can listen to for free! Hits>The Old Man Down The Road and Rhythm N Blues>I Can’t Stand the Rain are a few current favs.
Recently, we came across a killer new blog by writer Lizzie Garrett. She hand picks women who embody that undefinable level of cool born of living by their own rules–a mantra we continually subscribe to.
Here are a few of our favorite inspiring women who do and did their own thing:

photo via The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum
“I married adventure.” —Osa Johnson

Photos of Steve McQueen and Neile Adams by LIFE, 1963
“We went on a weekend drive, after a show I was in at the time. We were on a motorcycle, and there was a carload of friends behind us. It was freezing ass cold. We stopped for a bite to eat, and one of the guys said, ‘Steve, why don’t you let Neile ride with us? I can ride with you. It’s too cold.’ And I said, ‘No, I think I’m just gonna stay on the bike.’ Steve told me later, ‘That’s the moment I fell in love with you.’ “—Neile Adams

Photo by Craig McDean
“Wes [Anderson] understands the dilemma, that when women become too forceful, they get accused of being masculine. If they state their opinions, or if they assert themselves, they won’t be thought of as lovable or feminine.”—Anjelica Huston

photo by Hugo Glendinning
“When I was nine or 10, I wasn’t pretty anymore–which is a big advantage. It must be a nightmare to be a beautiful teenager. I got this strange kind of androgyny. I was everything girls don’t want to be—incredibly tall, incredibly thin, and unimpressive. For years it’s still been possible to hide as a sexual being.”—Tilda Swinton