Thankful Garland and Some Favorites

One of the things I pinned on Pinterest a few years ago was a thankful garland. The idea was to write on leaves things we were thankful for and attached those to a string for the month of November. But each year I would completely forget, we would be out of town, something would happen. So this year, I planned ahead and got everything ready the week before November hit!
I found a leaf template (again on Pinterest!) and copied it onto pieces of cardstock. I made enough so each of my kids could do a leaf a day for all of November. I hung thick twine across the opening to our kitchen and each day, after I write with a Sharpie what Girl and Boy are thankful for, I staple the leaf to the twine. I tried tape but it just wasn't cutting it.

I let the kids choose where they want to hang them so we're a little sparse until we get more leaves! I keep all the things we need in a bowl on the counter. It makes it easier to remember and do each morning.

I thought this would also be a cute way to celebrate other seasons (because you should be thankful all year!). You could attach snowflakes for winter, flowers for spring, beachballs or flags for summer. It would also be a cute advent or countdown calendar. You could attach the snowflakes with a Bible verse or activity and take one down to do each day leading up to Christmas. Or you could put a flower up each day and when the bowl is empty, it's Easter (or vacation or...).

I attached the twine with Command hooks. It was easy to put up, easy to take down. On Pinterest they attached the leaves with clothespins which would probably be easier than staples but heavier. Here's the link to the original idea.

Here's a link to some super cute 'thankful' leaves.

And I'll close this post with a few things I'm enjoying now. I'm not a huge fan of everything pumpkin but I do love a good pumpkin cookie recipe. A friend gave me a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they are delicious. Very cake-y and big. Big Girl and I had fun making some this afternoon.

I recently had a few cucumbers from a produce co-op basket and I wasn't sure how to use them. No one in my family likes cucumbers on their salad and I'm the only pickle fan in the house. I decided to try cucumber and lemon water and I love it. I've found I drink more water each day when it's a little flavored. Have you ever tried it? I like to slice the lemons and cucumbers and let them sit in the water for a few hours before I drink it. So yummy!