HEARTH​AND​CARAVAN​​​​

When I got married, I didn't know what an introvert was. I had probably heard the word, but that was about it... I married one, so I got to understand the differences between introverts and extroverts pretty quickly. It was surprising to me that our brains don't work in the same ways, and that we process things very differently from one another. Once I learned that, I was able to better understand and enjoy our differences. I'm a fan of understanding people. It helps me to like them better!!! These days, I think anything that can help us understand and like people a little more is worth trying out. 

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been my favorite tool for understanding the different ways that people think. Once you take a free test and find out what your type is, you can then start researching about yourself. Your type will be 4 letters: E or I (extraverted or introverted), N or S (Intuitive or Sensing), F or T (Feeling or Thinking), and J or P (Judging or Perceiving). For example, my type is ENFP and that 4 letter "recipe" of my personality is just one of 16 possibilities. Look your type up on Pinterest and you'll get all sorts of information you relate with! Things you thought only you did... It's amazing to find out there are other people who think like you out there in the world. Understanding yourself comes first, so read up on your type and see if it fits! The next step is to find out more about your family and friends. Ask them to take the test and send you their results! Most people are interested to find out their personality type and will take the test, so it is easy to do. I keep a running list in the notes on my phone for my friends' and family's personality types... Is that weird? LOL

Even before the idea of introverts and extroverts, the book The 5 Love Languages, was introduced to me at church. It highlights the 5 basic ways people give and receive love. This was a major breakthrough in my mind! I was loving others the way I want to receive love, not necessarily the way they feel most loved. Those 5 ways of giving and receiving love are: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, and Gifts. I believe we actually need to receive love in all those ways, but there is usually one that is most important, or one area that needs more focus. I really had to learn how to love with acts of service. Not only has it benefitted my marriage, but it has made me a better person to learn how to love others in different ways. This also applies to children as well, so it has been helpful information to have. I'm truly glad to have learned this early on in my marriage. Since reading this book years ago, they have come out with a whole website with quizzes! Hurray! Another quiz, and you can find it here.

The Four Colors is a book that was recommended to me when I started with my essential oils business. It claims to be for network marketing, but I think it's a fantastic way of understanding myself and others better. It's especially useful for relating to others in a sales or work environment. This book divides personality types up into 4 separate colors: red, green, blue, and yellow, each with distinctive ways of relaying and receiving information. TLDR: Red likes business, Green likes research, Blue wants to have fun, and Yellow wants to help others. Most will have one primary color that they relate to, with a secondary color that also plays an important role. 

I am a little late to the enneagram game.. but it's all the rage! I will also admit that I don't relate to this test as much as I do to others so I'm not the expert of enneagram, but I can appreciate that this test has been a helpful window into better understanding for some of my friends, so I wanted to make sure I included it. Take the free test here and discover which number you are, then use that information to help you understand more about your strengths and fears. These tests can help pinpoint both positive and negative attributes. It's so helpful to consider the results and see what needs to be addressed to become a better person. 

Which house would you be in? If you've read Harry Potter, then you have probably wondered which house you would be a part of. Well wonder no more! You do have to create an account, but this and many others quizzes and tests are free over on the wizarding world website. The sorting hat quiz is short, sweet, and fun to take, and is another great personality quiz to add to the list. I would have guessed that I was a Hufflepuff, but the hat sorted me to Gryffindor! 

I first found out about brand archetypes in an online class I was a part of where I was encouraged to take this free test.  For those of us with our own businesses, those of us who work within a small business, or those who are in marketing, this test can be eye-opening! It's such a fascinating way to see how to market your business or brand to others, and it's encouraging to find your brand has one of 12 archetypes just like every other brand that exists. 

Do you have an internal monologue? When I read this article, I was -as they say- shook. I spent a week or more analyzing my thoughts to see how I processed things, if it was more abstract, or if there was an internal monologue.. It turns out that I actually am a good mix of the two, using both abstract thought and internal monologue. It was a major distraction to analyze my thought processes so closely! But once I figured out I was a mix, I was able to relax and stop analyzing so closely. While this isn't exactly a personality test, it is a different way of categorizing different ways the brain processes information, and it was completely new to me!

The Big Five is the newest personality test I have heard of and I am HERE. FOR. IT. I love this way of breaking down points of your personality in graph form. It really helped me to see where I am completely unbalanced, and where I have more evenly distributed tendencies. You can see my results here. Take the free test for yourself here.

I haven't yet taken these tests, but I wanted to include them here for you. These tests take a little more time to complete, but seem like they will be informative.

​Values Test --helps uncover your core values

Work Values Test--helps uncover your talents and and help you choose a career path based on your assessed work values. 

As always, please share any suggestions for additions to this post! 

This month our focus is getting your garden in gear! If you already have a huge garden planned, or it's your first time trying cherry tomatoes in a pot on your porch, it's time to start thinking about what your plans are for feeding yourself this year! With everything going on in the world, more and more people I know are considering gardening either for the first time, or making their gardens bigger and better. (I know we are!) Here I'm sharing some thoughts on how to get started planning your garden this year. I won't be sharing exact step by step because we're still learning ourselves, but I will try to pass along helpful ideas that will help you get started.

We've been gardening for years, semi-successfully. Our goals each year determine how much we plant, and plan to harvest. So the first question you should ask yourself when planting a garden is why are you doing it?

Here are some reasons we have gardened in the past:

1. To see if we could
2. To make our own salsa
3. To try growing potatoes because of the amount of pesticides in traditionally grown potatoes
4.  To save tomatoes for the year
5.  To actually supplement our groceries
6. To have stuffed peppers without having to buy so many peppers
7.  Impending apocalypse makes it seem prudent
8.  Growing our own food is a skill we want to acquire.

If you are growing for a specific purpose, you will plant accordingly. If you're growing a garden to make your own salsa, you will plant lots of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro. Allll the cilantro!!! If you're purpose is more general, to supplement your groceries, you will obviously plant a broader range of vegetables. 

I want to remind you that the best way to learn is to DO. So if you're gathering information because you want your garden to be bountiful and perfect, just know it probably won't be.. Rabbits will eat something, Hornworms will try to destroy your tomatoes, and your cilantro will flower and not be ready for you when it's time to make salsa. Adopt this motto: Done is better than perfect. Go ahead and read articles (like this one!) and books, but also go put some seed or plants in the dirt.

There are several "styles" of gardening that you have probably heard of. The most talked about are: Container Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening (which is our favorite method!), Straw Bale Gardening, Victory Gardening, Hydroponic Gardening... There are tons of choices. But for us, Raised Bed AKA Square Foot Gardening changed the way we approached growing things, providing a bigger yield in a smaller space, with much less weeding and hands on work. 

After you know why you're gardening, and you choose your gardening style, it's time to choose your plants and seeds. THIS IS THE BEST PART!! We go seed shopping when it's still cold outside and we need a bit of sunshine. Usually in January or February, but sometimes later. Your eyes will be bigger than your garden. I don't know what it is about seed shopping that makes you feel like you can grow anything and everything, but just roll with it! Make sure you get foods that you love and will eat, but don't be afraid to try a few new fun things as well. We usually have several varieties of tomatoes and peppers at the minimum. We have branched out into growing more greens, onions, potatoes, broccoli and carrots. Some are more finnicky than others and we're still learning, but go ahead and try it all out! Take notes in your garden journal, and compare notes next year. Learn each year and it will get better and better.

Good seeds are important! While we do pick up seeds and plants from local garden centers from time to time, we usually place a big seed order once a year from one or two of these excellent companies. 
​
​BAKER CREEK HEIRLOOM SEEDS

SEED SAVERS

FEDCO SEEDS

ANNIE'S HEIRLOOM SEEDS

Our favorite books for gardening are more like all around homesteading books. Check them out at your local library, or click through to find them on Amazon:
SQUARE FOOT GARDENING
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING
BACKYARD HOMESTEAD
PETERSON FIELD GUIDE
BALL BLUE BOOK OF PRESERVING
NATURE ANATOMY

Our favorite homesteading magazines are full of relevant and helpful information and inspiration. Linked below are their websites, some of which are amazing even without the magazine subscription!
MOTHER EARTH NEWS
COUNTRYSIDE AND SMALL STOCK JOURNAL
TAPROOT
GRIT
BACKWOODS HOME MAGAZINE​

I've created this garden journal to provide the perfect spot to keep up with all your fruits and veggies, so that you can keep a record of your garden for following years. Use the garden tracker to help you know which varieties of your plants do well for you in your area, which had a poor germination rate, which ones you definitely want to replant next year, and which ones gave you the most yield.

Twelve Months on a Page is one of my most favorite tools for planning out different areas of my life, and the garden is no different. Use this tool to help you remember big tasks that need to happen each month to make your gardening go well, including when to plant, when to prune, when to order seeds, and anything else you can think of!

Use the weekly garden notes to help you track your daily and weekly actions, and help you remember to do the tasks that are most important to the success of your garden. Keeping up with what you have harvested on the weekly sheet will help you gather yield totals at the end of the season.

The Raised Bed Garden Cheat Sheet is a quick reference guide for how many plants to plant per square foot, along with an example garden. The Raised bed garden planner gives you a space to plan out or record your own garden space. Cut out and create a garden that matches your own.

Of course, as many of these pages as you need, you can print! My favorite part of printables is the ability to print more :)

Along with the journal and tracking pages, we've included printable seed packets in 3 sizes and varied patterns to help you save your seeds for next year, or to share your seeds with your friends. Nothing says I love you like a packet of seeds.

A bonus page of Hearth and Caravan's favorite resources is included in this printable bundle as well.

Share your favorite garden resource or tip with us! I love learning from you <3