I Wish I Were Wearing . . . 7/30

I Wish I Were Wearing . . . 7/30 by missfancypantsdh featuring SERPUI MARIE clutches

So, I'm a little late to the whole romper thing. I kind of hate them, but this Loeffler Randall intrigues me. That color!

Free and LEGAL

Hello, I'm about to wreck your hopes for productivity right now. You don't need to spend tons of money on great music, and you don't have to rip off artists either! Here's how I stock my iPhone for FREE!

Urban Outfitters Blog
Not only does Urban Outfitters have hundreds of songs available for free downloading, spread over 9 mixes, but it also offers 5 free songs every Monday!

RCRD LBL
Great site where artists put up a few of their songs for a limited time. This is where I found one of my favorite bands - The Stills!

Daytrotter
So, I can't believe that I didn't discover Daytrotter until after I graduated, but they are based about five minutes from where I used to live, in Rock Island, IL (the Quads, for those awesome people out there). It's hard to really explain what they do, but basically they get artists (some really well known musicians  like Tori Amos and Vampire Weekend!)  to stop in on their way to somewhere else and record some songs and/or perform! Visiting their website just now, I discovered a video of another one of my new favorite bands, Dawes. Here's how DT describes what they do:

 We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands. 

What a great idea! I love the personal feeling of these recording sessions. The artists' talents really show!

"Free on iTunes" App on Facebook

Go sign up for this. They offer a few free mixes each season, and most of them are sponsored by some music festival, or companies like Starbucks, so the genres are really mixed.

Twitter
I get approached by artists all the time trying to promote themselves by offering free downloads. Just be careful about where you click! My favorite so far - Tim Halperin. Look him up!

YouTube
Again, careful what you click on! YouTube is another great place to search for new artists that often offer a track or two for you to download! Check out Raven Zoe, her voice is so unusual!



I included the original song in the monthly playlist, which I just updated! Enjoy! Do you know any other great sites to get free music, legally?

So Sweet

My house is currently under construction with no end date in sight. About the only thing that is still useable in the kitchen is the fancy new fridge. I'm dying to bake something, even boil pasta! At any rate, there is no way that I could even begin to catch up with Emma from Poires au Chocolat , one of my favorite blogs. Emma is a 21 year old college student from England who puts almost everyone I know to shame, especially me, when it comes to dessert making. 

Whiskey and Dark Chocolate "The Beautiful and the Damned" Cake

Malteser Layer Cake  I love how simple but impactful this is!

Cherry and Almond Clafoutis

I'm Obsessed! Blueberry and Ginger Layer Cake 

That's blueberry compote and cream cheese frosting in there! 

I'm dying to make this cake. I even ordered 6 inch cake pans! I made one silly attempt for my friend's birthday a while back, but I was pressed for time and converting English measurements for baking is harder than I thought! Thus, the MEGACUPCAKE was born. 

My approach was, um . . . different. 

I can't wait to be able to use the oven again and break my ramekins out of storage. I just hope cherries are still in season then, because that clafoutis is calling my name! 

Hey . . .

I want to go to IKEA.

IKEA Wish List by missfancypantsdh on Polyvore.com

I Wish I Were Wearing . . . 7/18

MFPDH 7/18 by missfancypantsdh featuring Azzedine Alaia shoes

Is It Fall Yet?

Splurge vs. Steal: Short Red Trench by missfancypantsdh featuring Marc New York coats

Songs That Should Be on Glee!

Speechless - Lady GaGa
    How have they been ignoring this gem?
Can't Stand the Rain - The Rescues
Bulletproof - La Roux
I Am Not a Robot - Marina & the Diamonds
Love Drunk   - Boys Like Girls
    Acoustic version only!
Stone Cold Sober - Paloma Faith
Wonderful - Gary Go
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - Black Kids
    I couldn't find orig. audio that was good enough/not techno , but this Kate Nash cover is good too! 
Shark In the Water- V.V. Brown
Me Against the Music - Britney Spears
    Cheerleader Brit HAS to sing this! 
Do Somethin' - Britney Spears
   I realize there is no actual context in which this could happen, but I REALLY want Sue Sylvester to have this solo in the all Britney Spears episode. Hell, let's just make that one an all Sue episode. 

*Check out the playlist I made for you on the sidebar for this post! I'll be refreshing this playlist monthly, so listen while you can!

Oh, Hamish.

I just want to pinch your cheeks.

Best of Bookshelves

You all know I loves me some books.

                                                 The famous Shakespeare Bookstore in Paris

Rotating shelves ( AT ) 

                                                                        

Controlled chaos ( Tiny Ass Apartment) 

                                                               (Tiny Ass Apartment) 

                                          Anybody else get a Beauty and the Beast vibe here?

This may be my favorite storage solution. 

This is the office of Alaina from Live Creating Yourself , one of my favorite blogs. (She also has an Etsy store . Check it out! I just ordered from her!) 

I remember seeing these spine shelves in a catalog a few years back, all sparsely filled with a couple of DVDs and some ceramic bowls. I did not enjoy. However, seeing them stacked and FULL makes me LOVE them and appreciate what a great space -saver these shelves can be!  (PS-  I recently noticed there is a version of these on Overstock right now for around $100)  

Liz Lemon, looking awesome in front of some LACK bookshelves from IKEA ($129). Also, is that form of working out a real thing? Please? 

The Comic Shelf by Oscar Nunez

The Conceal book shelf by Umbra . I have this! It's perfect right next to my bed. 

** All images not otherwise noted came from the blog Bookshelf Porn. 

How do you store your books? 

Blerg.

Hold On

Things are going to look crazy here for a bit. I'm trying to get the hang of changing the look of the blog, especially the header, without having to change the width of the text. Since I'm not at all savvy (obviously) about this stuff, it's going to look clunky for a few days. In the meantime, you get to experience the randomness of my pictures folder for a header. Enjoy. . . and if anybody knows how to work this crazy thing, please let me know!