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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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The Art of the Thank-You Note

December 27, 2017 by Taylor 2 Comments

The Art of the Thank-You Note - Espresso and Ambition

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Now that we’ve made it through the Christmas rush, there’s a really important final step to this gift-giving season, and that is writing thank-you notes. I feel like thank-you notes are viewed as somewhat antiquated among millennials, but they’re so, so important. If I had one thing drilled into my head throughout my childhood, it’s how valuable writing a thank-you note for a gift is.

Through the years of regularly cranking out thank-you notes for birthdays, Christmases, and everything in between (as well as during multiple internships), I’ve gotten it down to a bit of a science. If you’ve ever wanted to write a thank-you note that’s a step above the rest, here’s my guide to making that happen.

 

Step 1: Pick up some cute note cards

So this isn’t really a necessity to writing a good thank-you note, but good aesthetics always help. There’s just something about picking up a new set of cards that make writing thank-you notes that much more entertaining. While you should never judge a book by its cover, we all do it anyways. A thank-you note on a pretty card just looks more thoughtful than a thank-you note on a sheet of paper.

 

Step 2: Don’t start with “thank you”

This is actually a skill I picked up from an internship – when you start a thank you note with “thank you for…”, it’s awfully hard to come up with anything to follow it with. Instead, start with “I just want to say how much I appreciate…” or “I am so incredibly grateful for…” Those phrases lead into the rest of the note much more naturally, and you won’t find yourself saying “thank you” over and over again.

 

Step 3: Get into some details

Talk about the gift (or, if it’s not a thank-you for a gift, talk about whatever else it is you’re expressing gratitude for). I like to give some sort of little detail, talking about how the gift filled some sort of need or, in the case of a gift card, saying how I‘m planning to use that money. It’s a nice personal touch that really shows how much the gift means to you. Otherwise, your note might sound a lot like one of my favorite Vines: “It’s an avocado… thankssss.”

 

Step 4: Get personal

Sign off your note with something a bit more personal. Talk about how much you’re looking forward to seeing them next month, how much fun you had with them on holiday, or something else that made you think of them. It’s a unique way to end a note that gets into the root cause of why you’re writing the note: you’re grateful for not only the gift itself but for the relationship you have with them.

 

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sit down and get to work on some thank-you notes!

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Etc., Lifestyle

Comments

  1. Sophie says

    December 31, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    These are such great tips! I love the two cards you featured. Where are they from? Have you seen A Beautifull Mess’ Happy Mail? It’s a subscription service where you get a ton of cards for $15. I had it for a few months and absolutely loved it.

    http://www.goldclutter.com

    Reply
    • Taylor says

      January 1, 2018 at 1:12 pm

      The brunch ones are from Paper Source and the nature-y ones are from Target! I’ve never heard of that before but that sounds so cool – I’m such a sucker for cute stationary.

      Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
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