Instafriday! {Small Business Month is almost here!}

{First of all}

Let's address the fact that 

SMALL BUSINESS MONTH

is less than 24 hours away.

Yep,

24 hours until business-facts-galore.

24 hours until a kick off giveaway.

24 hours until link up parties, guest posts, and until small business heavy weights enter the building.

24 hours!

But in the meantime!

It's INSTAFRIDAY!

What did we do last week?

Well, I've been warding off a migraine, so it's been pretty darn low key,

but it was nice to return to work, for my few short hours,

and Carter was a doll

{except for the fact that he had an on-again-off-again fever, which made him not so doll-like. Boo.}

 {Cookies!}

We were seriously missing something sweet in the house, so Chad picked up a jumbo pack of chocolate chips and I got to bakin'. We are chocolate chip cookie fiends around here.

{My pretty, pretty, pretty} 

I made this! I was so excited, I sent that picture to my man while he was at work. 

Yippee for crafts that fit within the latter half of a nap session!

{Unruly baby} 

Poor baby in the beginning stages of his fever.

I had no idea what was going on, because one second he was cheerful, the next second I found him sprawled out on top of his lion in his bedroom.

Me no likey.

{Alleluia!} 

Okay, my husband is the best.

I know, I know, can I get any more cliche?

But seriously.

Yesterday I spent the day warding off this darn migraine, so when my man came home from work with some GREAT news {more on that to come} might I add, he took the little man on a man trip to Target to get matching Chargers jerseys so that way I could lay down in peace.

Welp, he brought me home sushi!

{Cooked, of course, in consideration of Babe #2} 

Wasn't that nice! 

He even tricked me and said he got us a DiGiorno while at Target, which sounded yucky to me.

Ahh, I love him.

{My boys' baking}

So Chad and Carter have a bonding ritual when I'm at work on Wednesdays.

It's manly, and can be compared to shaving outdoors with a dull knife during a blizzard.

It's baking brownies!

That's right, my boys always bake brownies together, and I love it! 

Here's all that's left of their ventures.

De.Lish.

So there you have it!

Our week of wonderfulness.

But guess what's even more wonderful?

SMALL BUSINESS WEEK.

{Well, not as wonderful as a bear hug from your toddler, but close}

Linking up here:

And you should too!




And could you vote for a lady?

Thank.You!

September's last GIVEAWAY!

It's the last day of what has shown itself to be a grand month,

and what better way to go forth into the fall season than to have another

GIVEAWAY

hosted by none other than the fabulously hilarious,

often times silly, Mrs. T.

{She is the woman who inspired this post, and that was quite the doozy}

Here are the goods, baby.

A matching 3-pouch set!

Also, winner gets to bring home a tie from my shop for the little man in her life!

{And am I allowed to pick a favorite, even though their from my own shop?}

{Okay, okay! You've twisted my arm quite enough! It's this one!}

Anyway, head on over her way, and enter!

I love these giveaways!

They get me so excited!

--------------------------------------------------------------

And don't forget that 

OCTOBER 

is 

SMALL BUSINESS MONTH

on Three's {4} Me,

so read all about it and get pumped, because

our first official

LINK UP PARTY

is this coming Tuesday,

complete with a super fun, business related theme.

So.Excited.

But BEFORE Tuesday arrives,

there will be 

ANOTHER giveaway to kick things off,

facts,

and

a guest post from a Small Business Owner bad ass.

{Excuse my french}

{I may or may not have just done a back flip due to pure excitement}

SMALL.BUSINESS

Okay, so I've decided to go out on a limb here,

and do something.

Something which I hope will turn into something bigger,

something which can help you and me,

something  which hopefully will bring about a community.

I've decided that

October is going to be

SMALL BUSINESS MONTH
here on

What does this mean?

{Well, if you'll allow me a moment to let that expensive education to shine through,}

small business month is committed to teaching myself and others the ins-and-outs of small business through networking, the sharing of ideas and support by creating a forum for small business owners.

So who is a small business owner?

Hmmm...Let me think here......

How about anyone with an etsy account?

How about all you independent contractors?

How about a hair stylist?

How about you as a blog owner?

How about anyone who thinks well, maybe.... but just hasn't done it yet?

What will this Small Business Month be about, eh?

Okay, are you ready?

This month will be jam packed with......

* Tips and marketing advice as found by myself and contributors to the cause
{Because that's what I'm considering this to be}


* Link-Up parties galore with beneficial themes regarding business every Tuesday and Thursday.
{Me likey}

* Guest posts from some serious heavy hitters, including Casey Wiegand, Ashley from The Shine Project, and Caroline from Good Times Never Seem Sew Good, and a few others who will be a surprise {but believe me, you should be excited!} 

* Q&A's with industry know-how's, including Gussy from Gussy Sews, and Heather from Just.Lovely.Things {again, be excited!}


* Information from outside-of-the-box business owners and independent contractors, such as a Realtor

* Not one, but two massive, three-day-long group giveaways designed to promote and celebrate you and your small business

So here's where you come in:

If you are a small business owner, and would like to participate in one of the two massive group giveaways during the month of October, please contact me

If you are an aspiring small business owner, and has a specific question regarding your business, please contact me so that I have some direction

If you have any sort of advice and I have not contacted you already, please contact me

If you would like to do an informational {and fun!} guest post regarding your business, please contact me

If you like my hair, please contact me

{I'm funny!}

nicole.cisneros{at}gmail{dot}com

Here's the deal people:

Since I've opened my shop, I've noticed that I naturally gravitate towards business-centered articles online, any blog I can find that has some sort of marketing strategy, and basically ANYTHING that has to do with launching a small business, so I thought

Hey, why not attempt to build a forum for BEGINNER business owners, such as myself?

I'm sure there are a bajillion people out there with the same thoughts I have, and the same drive to get a-goin'.

So here I am.

And I really, really, really, REALLY hope that you are on board with this, because I'm getting nervous even as I'm typing.

Anyway, enough chatter.

{Oh, one more thing! If you think this is an awesome idea, how about informing your friends?}

{If you're like me, you've found millions of small business owners, just in blog world, so spread the love!}
{You can do so by grabbing a button for Small Business Month in my sidebar}


Okay, okay, enough!
How about we close out this declaration with a precious beyond precious picture of one of the main reasons I chose to take the small business route for,
my babe?

Aww.
MUAH!


Linking up here.

NEW.LOOK + Awkward and Awesome

Okay, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my new look 

to pieces! Thank you, Royal Daughter Designs! You are now responsible for me staring at my computer screen for far longer than Carter wants me to!

Love.It.

And what's the perfect way to kick this new look off?

Well, I'd say a nice bout of

AWKWARD AND AWESOME,

Wouldn't you?

Woohooo!

{Oh, the awkwardness!}

{Outrageously awkward: treading to the beach in those outfits. We thought it would be cold, but alas, it was scorching. We were all miserable by the end of our trip.}

AWKWARD

* Me dancing around like a darn fool with this belly of mine. Chad thinks I'm sexy.

* Thinking you're talking to a nice older lady client about the joys of pregnancy, when she throws something like this out there, .....Oh, man.....I....don't....know....if....I can.....write it....."I think breast feeding is a great thing to do, unless you have inverted nipples. I knew someone who had inverted nipples." AHHHH! What?! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! To which I just giggled awkwardly and said, "Yeah....."

* Living somewhere you do not own. You know what, I don't want men working on my porch without my consent. What is that all about? Without even a notice, these men were on my porch, hammering away at something, and then knocked on my door and informed me that they were going to work on the lighting. Okay....What if we weren't home? Would they have just entered? There was no notice! NO NOTICE I SAY! It reminded me of last week! Sheesh.

* Telling your young insurance agent you're expecting and having him look at you like an alien for the rest of the appointment.

* Me warding off a migraine for the past few days. Leave me alone, stupid migraines!

*  Allowing the dishes to get out of control, but asking Chad in that tone to please take out the darn trash. We both cracked up laughing.

{Outrageously awesome: Going on a movie date to see I Don't Know How She Does It with this lady tomorrow night. Aren't we sexy?}

AWESOME

* Family date nights at Downtown Disney. We love Rainforest Cafe :)

* Carter actually venturing out in the world of food tasting. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, ALLELUIA! It's been a tough road.

* Discussing 5 year plans. I love to have a plan, and nothing is more satisfying than when you and your man sit down and think about where you're headed.

* Checking EVERY.THING off my to-do list yesterday. It was glorious.

* Halloween costume shopping which is right around the corner!

* Cooking dinner a few nights ago and STILL having leftovers. Woohooo!

* Participating in a giveaway TOMORROW with Mrs. T! 

* Announcing something BIG tomorrow!

Park baby

{Hi, baby!}

You know,

some days you just have to stop and think to yourself,

Hey, I'm one lucky lady.

{New discoveries}

Even though the dishes aren't done,

and the laundry has taken over the better part of the floor;

{love}

dinner has become one big mystery,

and your hair seems to be perpetually pony-tail positioned;

{Hi, mama!}

you may or may not have touched poop the other day,

and you're sick of wearing that same button up shirt during your "outings" to the store;

{Careful! Careful!}

the baby threw a fit at the post office,

and somehow you keep missing that phone call from the pediatrician's billing office;

{Ahh, sand-encrusted goodies}

you can't quite find the time to read the Bulletin section of your newest Marie Claire,

and perusing the mall has become comparable to fine dining;

{Hi, duckies!}


and even though that husband left out his diet coke can again,
life is pretty grand,
and we are lucky.
Fortunate.Blessed.Happy.




Linking up here today!

FALL.WREATH!

{First of all}

Precious new Ties for Tots are available in my SHOP as of today

for that little man in your life,

including a special beyond special

HOLIDAY LINE!

I.Die.

But anyway.....

{The pretty} 

Cheers for my first tutorial!

I'm so excited about this, that I assure you, I've executed many a-happy dance..

{And for only crafting for about....oh, say....a month or so,}

I'm pretty pumped about this here creation!

{Subtle, eh?}

Anyway!

Enough lolly-gaggin'!

Let's get rollin'....

{What you'll need} 

1. A cheap beyond all cheap wreath from Michaels. I've also seen similar projects done with foam wreaths, which I believe are even cheaper.

2. Yarn! You can go two-tone like I did, or stick with one color, but let me tell you, two-tonin' it up is the way to go because it creates a nice textural look, in my opinion, and will go a heck of a lot faster. I chose burnt orange and dark brown for fall.

3. Flowers for embellishments. Of course, you can use any sort of flowers, such as hand made posies, etc. etc., but these babies were excavated from the we-don't-bother-with-this-area section of my closet.

4. A letter for your initial! I got a foam one from Michaels because I loved the font, but you can use any sort of material, such as wood. 

{Little story: I'm weirdly obsessed with lettering my entire house with "C's." Chad thinks I'm a nut, but I say that there's nothing wrong with a little bit of self-absorbed decorating!}

{And we begin!}

 Okay, I'm not going to lie, this takes a little bit of time.

Herein lies the reasoning behind the two-tone color combination.

Tips on getting through this?

Turn on Pandora.

Sing a song in your head.

Concentrate on the icy goodness of a McCafe.

Do ANYTHING but think to yourself,

Okay really, crafting gods? Come on!

{Okay, okay. It's really not that bad, it's actually quite enjoyable and therapeutic.}

{Ahh, to be fully wrapped}

Okay, you've done your due diligence and are done wrapping....well, your initial layer.

I wanted the predominant color of my wreath to be dark brown, so I went over the whole thing one more time with only that color, layering more thickly in the area where I wanted to highlight my little "C."

Doing this went considerably faster because the pressure was off!

The wreath was no longer visible. 

{We're rounding the bend....Almost there!}

Once the wreath is wrapped to your satisfaction, it's time for that letter.

Now, a "C" is relatively easy to wrap, but man, if you're a "Q" or something, my heart goes out to you.

Anyway!

Wrap that baby up in your highlight color, and finish it off with a little dab of hot glue.

{It's coming together...}

Then go ahead and glue your letter onto the area with the most thickly wrapped "dominant" color.

{Quick and easy}

And catty-corner {does that even have a correct spelling?} to your initial, place your flower embellishments.

Since mine were just clip-on goodies, I simply lifted a few pieces of yarn, and attached those little lovelies.

{Done!}

And that's it!

Easy peasy with not too much fuss.
And guess what?
It only took me the latter half of a nap session.
ONE nap session.
So it's pretty, it's easy, it's cheap, it's fun and it's relatively quick.
What??

Unheard of!


I will be linking up with these lovely ladies today:

Smile-worthy weekend goodies

{A mucho cheapo trip to Michaels}

+

{Leftover flowers from some unfinished project, each for under $1}

+

{The best $3.99 investment I've ever made}

+

{Pretty, pretty, pretties just waiting for me}

+

{The scenic view from my sewing machine}

Equals one crafty, overcast weekend.

{Happy dance}

And a tutorial from yours truly.....Coming on Monday!

{Spastic happy dance}

And could you vote for me?

MUAH!

Instafriday!

Linking up again with Jeannett!

Oh, man.

It's time for picture overload.

{After finally bringing in his pool floaty toy from the car, Carter has found a new play spot}

And how I love Friday for this reason!

To simply document our week is such a joy.

Really.

....I'm not even trying to be cheesy.

{But I guess I'm doing a pretty good job at it, eh?}

{Carter with his cousin Tessa meandering through Mandalay Bay}

Anyway! 

Last Thursday was the start of our big family trip to Vegas,

which turned out to be quite the adventure.

A few pieces of advice:

1. Never leave for Vegas post 10:00 pm as we did, unless you are well equipped with a hilarious husband and/or have multiple games lined up, such as The Never Ending Story. Don't know what that is? It's easy. I say, "I," then you say, "went," then I say, "to," then you say, "the......" See? Easy peasy!

2. Don't assume your toddler will sleep the entire way out there just because you left your home at 10:00 at night. It probably won't happen.

{The fishies! The fishies!}

Anyway, while in Vegas we took a trip to the aquarium.

I've come to the conclusion that aquariums are the hip, newly-opened nightclub for new-ish parents.

Honestly.

Everyone gets super excited to go to them, and you always leave in a semi-daze because of the humidity.

See? It's like an ultra innocent bar scene, and we love it.

{Hi, I'm the cutest 21-month-old in the whole wide world!}

Some fun in the hotel tub.

{BBQ with the daddy-o}

.....Then it was back to the reality.

Daddy had to go to work to bring home the bacon, and Carter and I had errands to run.

This week was extra special though because we made a last minute stop at Chad's branch, and it turned into an impromptu lunch date.

So.Fun.

{Scrum-diddily-umptious}

And because I was ultra spiffy this week with my good ole' iPhone cam,

this was my meal, where I discovered that my new obsession is fried okra.

To.Die.For.

{Chicken and cheese filled croissants with a side of grapes? Yes!}

Okay, okay.

It's another food shot, one of which I've already posted and talked all about,

but it was just such a lovely night that I had to revisit our 

college student meal.

Fabulous.

{Me no likey.}

Boo for doctor's appointments!

We had to take the little man in for a follow up on an ear infection,

one which he has fully recovered from.

It's so sad to watch how worked up he gets when we get called back to see the good doctor.

I blame the vaccination schedule.

The kid just knows.

Poor baby.

{I.....Can.....Almost.....Reach.....It!}

Call me a meanie, but this was just hilarious.

The two of us were having a wonderful day yesterday playing around and sewing in total harmony, when all of a sudden I hear him whining and saying,

Uh-Oh.....Uh-Oh.....

So I went to take a gander in the general direction from which the sound was floating my way, and there he was,

completely stuck under the table because he had somehow maneuvered his way under there while playing with his cars. 

But he was totally calm!

He just put his head down on one of his hands and kept saying,

Uh-Oh....

So instead of dragging him out of said position.....

{Good thing my Babe is too young to be embarrassed, because if this was five years in the future, I would be a dead woman}

......I grabbed my phone and took a picture from the opposite direction.

Look at that behind! It was so.funny.

{From my rico-suave man}

What my man surprised me with after work last night!

And what was even better?

He had Carter hand them to me!

I teared up. 

My man, the romantic!

{Oh, Reese!}

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, last night marked the arrival of my monthly heaven.
Hello, October's Marie.
You're lookin' mighty glorious this month.


So it was a great week from beginning to end,
with a little bit of pregnancy woes mixed in there,
none of which couldn't be solved by lots of water and some couch-layin'.
Yay for great weeks!


{Oh, yes, and did I mention that our NBC Thursday night line up has returned? Alleluia!}
{AND did I mention that you should go enter in the giveaway that's still going on over at One Artsy Mama?}
{AND have I already said that the month of September has been one of the best month's of all time? Hello, new shop. Hello, new friends. Hello, new experiences.}

And could you vote for a gal?

MUAH!

You are the best!