My friend Allison Rhea dreamed, designed, and debuted her goal setting planner, Pace & Pattern, three years ago and I have loved watching her creativity and passion unfold. I photographed the planner last year and was delighted when she asked me to be a part of capturing the 2019 beauty!
In her own words:
“Pace & Pattern is a system designed to help you clarify your personal vision and integrate your goals into your real life.
It's not about doing more. It's about doing what matters.
This planner takes you from a high-level purpose, through setting meaningful and realistic goals, into mapping out your months, weeks, and days.”
I’m a believer. Pace & Pattern has helped me dream about what I want my life to look like and from there focus on the practical steps that will take me from desire to action. Last year one of my goals was “cultivating a merry home.” A practical aspect of this goal was completing open ended home projects. You know the kind: the ones you always plan to get to some day but somehow never find the time. For example, since we moved into our home two years ago I really wanted to paint and add some design touches to the kitchen in a way that felt more like “us” and “home.” Pace & Pattern helped me think through the steps to break up the project into small actions: decide on paint colors, buy supplies, tape the kitchen, find a babysitter, clean up, measure wall for shelving, contact carpenter, order brackets, hang shelves, etc! My kitchen is much more my own now and I know I wouldn’t have accomplished this project without the focusing power of Pace & Pattern.
I am excited and hopeful about the goals I have set for 2019 using Pace & Pattern. I, like many others, ask for a “word” to direct the coming year. Last year my word was “wick” which signified the desire to come alive…to awaken the liveliness inside when the outside seem dormant. Mine this year is “near.” To be near to God. To rest in him. To be close. To listen. To cease striving.
At the start of the planner you are guided through choosing five core intents to focus on in the coming year from which you craft a vision statement. This year mine is “I will live in the abounding joy of the nearness of God by listening to the Spirit, pursuing the souls, voicing the spark, nurturing the body, and havening the home.”
Your intents inform the goals ( habits - things you do daily, rhythms - things you do weekly or monthly, and big projects - you know what I’m talking about) that you choose to pursue that quarter. Here are my Jan-March goals:
Habits: 1. Eat vegetables at every meal (nurturing the body) 2. Memorize John 1 & 2 (listening to the Spirit)
Rhythms: 1. Host a game night monthly (pursuing the souls) 2. Organize & sell the excess in our home (havening the home)
Big Projects: 1. Restore Lilias’ antique four poster big girl bed (havening the home) 2. Start Lilias’ Home Preschool (pursuing the souls, havening the home)
Pace & Pattern is certainly a beautiful investment in your self and the dream ordinary you hope to walk in.
Also a special thank you to my models in my two shoots: Abby Nelson, Sarah Delotelle, and Melody Ussery and the shops that so generously allowed us to photograph in their space: Grounded Plant + Floral Co and Wildflower Tea Shop.