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Tech Tip: Managing Your Inbox

January 25, 2014

I thought I might start a little series over here… every once in a while I come across a techy idea that’s so helpful/brilliant/on target that it’s a must share.

I struggle tremendously with my email inbox. I kid you not, at the start of my ‘manage this mess’ journey, I had 2,367 unread messages. And that’s not in my ‘grey mail’ box (or email account for more spammy messages), that was in my personal email account. Seven years of not properly managing your inbox will lead to messes like that! I’ll share in the future ways to combat this (if you might find that useful?) but today I wanted to share ONE tip that has made my inbox life worlds easier.

Unroll.Me

I totally dig this tool. Unroll.Me allows you to walk through your inbox and ‘roll up’ any subscriptions (newsletters, daily deal sites, promotional messages) into one convenient little email. That daily email makes flipping through all of those messages that you might enjoy (but seriously tire of) quickly and efficiently, and it cleans your inbox right up.

Bonus: Unroll.Me finds all of your subscriptions – even ones you had no idea you were signed up for! You can unsubscribe as you go, too.

Tech Tips: Managing Your Email Inbox | PepperDesignBlog.com

Clever video on how it works:

So now I receive one email a day containing ALL of my rolled up email messages.

Easy, right?

PS This is not a sponsored post, just a tool I find totally fascinating and helpful!

Everyday Stuff.

January 23, 2014

Around here, we are: painting tractors at the local art museum, taking time out of our day for a cocktail at the Coronado Del, traveling to our hometowns (Santa Cruz for me, Phoenix for Kev), introducing baby led weaning!, witnessing spectacular sunsets, meeting so many new babies (three born to friends in the last two months! one of which I don’t have on camera…), joining family for two beautiful weddings (checkout the interior of that barn), being inspired by a nearby community garden to plant an awesome veggie bed, practicing a mini s’mores layer cake for Liv’s birthday (a big round cookie cutter is the secret), making more kahlua ;-), enjoying fall soups (that’s a cream of artichoke & potato there), prematurely tackling Valentine’s Day favors for Liv’s school class and cleaning up Christmas (we are slow to clean up just about anything).

So we might still have some Christmas boxes waiting to be put back into the garage… and it might be nearly the end of January. Ah well.

More everyday stuff posts found here.

Dining Room Addition: A New Watercolor for the Buffet

January 21, 2014

I’ve added a new watercolor print to the dining room and I’m happy to say that I think I’ve found the perfect ‘brightener’ for this space.

I love my teal buffet, but I’ve always felt that the space across this section of the dining room was a little cooler color-wise than the rest of the adjoining living room and dining room spaces.

I shared last year about adding warmer tones in shades of pink and yellow (as evidenced by this and this art and the above throw pillows scooped up on eBay), and now the warm pink continues on over to the left side of the dining room.

It feels all tied together with hints of the same soft hues showing up throughout.

UncommonGoods and I have been partnering through the holidays to share a few of their products. This is one of my favorites – and it was a complete surprise to me initially that they sold art (turns out they have quite the wall art collection). Really pretty art at that.

I love the abstract, flowing nature of this particular painting, titled ‘Beach’ for its reminiscence of a pink sun setting over the rolling ocean. It’s soothing and soulful. The artist Yao Cheng incorporates traditional Chinese floral techniques and is inspired by rich colors and patterns. You can see up close that there are calculated brushstrokes as she reenacts the way the waves meet the sand.

I found the frame marked down to $9.99 at West Elm. It was a floor sample that was badly beaten up (no nicks, just lots of scuffs) but a quick spray paint covering of Rustoleum white followed by a high gloss clear coat cleaned this baby right up (and $10 for a big, well-made frame? Yes please). The art came matted which was really helpful.

The watercolor works so well with the larger pink and yellow print on the western wall of the dining room, and now when this space is bathed in light it feels just a bit warmer.

Now the dining set is feeling very dark – I wonder if I switch out just the chairs (I love that the table expands to seat 12, which we totally use) for a lighter wood if that would help. We badly need more comfortable chairs. Do these look more comfortable? They’re my inspiration at the moment, I love the shape.

To me, the pinks in both art prints in the dining room help to neutralize the bright blue of the buffet. You still see and feel the bright pop of blue, but now it’s not a solo pop because the pinks jump out at you too.

I’ve thought about moving the print to my office which is another sometimes ‘cooler’ room with all of the green. This watercolor might be playing round robin for a while in the house until it finds the perfect spot!

As for UncommonGoods, I have loved exploring all of the unique gift ideas that they carry, this is actually what I’m wanting right now for me. ;) A home for everything, right?

PS You can find the evolution of this dining space highlighted right here.

This post was sponsored by UncommonGoods, they provided the above product for me to review and share my thoughts on.