be a lady...

write a thank you

when i was little i had to write thank yous for nearly everything.  in fact, i think it was my mother's way of keeping me grounded.  today i find myself doing it far less frequently.  instead of hand written notes i've unfortunately adopted the quick text method (sometimes to the masses - shameful!). texts are honestly much more lazy and far less personal yet they seem to be the way of the world.  in my opinion a thank you note is something that a classy lady writes and i would like to consider myself a classy lady so recently i've gotten back in the habit of writing notes. even for my closest of friends.

writing while working - check out these cute cards i found at target!

here are a few pointers that i use to craft simple, yet personal, thank yous: 
  

1. write it by hand 

        hand written thank yous ,because they are so rare, carry more weight.  they mean more because they took time to write and time is a commodity none of us have enough of these days. 

2. add a little you 

        whether it's your stationary, signature, handwriting or choice of words keep it personal and make it a reflection of yourself and your personality.   

3. be sincere         

        put a little emotion into it, but be true to yourself.  if you didn't like a specific gift or gesture focus on something else that was positive like someone's presence and don't use a template.  this is simple stuff!   

4. be timely 

        waiting any more than 2 months to send a thank you is simply unacceptable and relatively meaningless.  at any point beyond 2 months your only sending it out to meet some illogical expectation. 

5. say thanks         

this one may seem obvious.  i typically start my thank you notes with a sentence or two about the event, gift, etc. and then write about how much it is appreciated leading up to the thank you.  sometimes i forget to actually write the words 'thank you' - nobody's perfect.