We may or may not have a major septic system catastrophe on our hands. We aren't sure yet. There are some parts of said catastrophe boyfriend says we can fix ourselves. Other parts not so much. Either way, it's very possible that this is going to be our first massive expense since buying the house and I can tell you that showering by dumping your head in a bucket of water is a rough way to start a Monday morning. 

So I need the motivation to knock out some other projects and fingers crossed this is something we can DIY without going broke! What kinds of unforeseen homeowner disasters have you managed to DIY your way through or when do you call in the pros?

Buying a home is stressful. Figuring out what to do with it once it's yours is a whole other thing. Thankfully there are many who came before me and who are pretty awesome at DIY, decoration, renovation and reminding you that you can actually accomplish that project you crazily decided to take on. And those who understand what attack of dogzilla looks like. Jessica Beals at Little House. Big Heart. is one of those lovely ladies and today she shares her DIY, cooking and traveling tips with us! Check her out on Pinterest and Instagram. 

1. Have you always been a DIY'er, or did buying Little House bring that out in you?

Kevin and I both grew up in DIY-ing households. The concept of hiring out a job was unheard of; why waste the money to hire someone to do a thing you could do it yourself? We DIYed our entire wedding (from the invites to the food for 300 guests), usually give DIYed gifts, and even plan our own vacations. Honestly... I think we're just cheap. We want to do so much to the Little House, but we also want to have the dinero for our other passions.

2. You and your husband are engineers, has that helped you guys with your DIY? (Boyfriend is an engineer and he can make/fix most things, it's great!)

Being engineers has helped. Kevin’s an electrical engineer and I’m a mechanical, so between the two of us we can figure out just about everything around the Little House. Of course, that doesn’t mean we always agree on how something works. After a ton of trial and error, we tend to go with my gut instinct on mechanical/plumbing/car things and Kevin is our electrical/gadget/tech/computer guru.

3. How do you find time/energy to take on big projects at Little House while you're both working full time? Boyfriend and I sometimes have a hard time managing everything at once!

We tend to make little goals (with rewards) for ourselves. “If we finish painting the deck railing by next Saturday we can both order Mudslides at the movies.” It really helps to break the projects into manageable chunks so that you don’t get overwhelmed. I’m a lister by nature, so I usually come up with a list of milestones on a project and we just work towards checking them off.

Also, it really helps to enjoy DIY and who you’re DIYing with. We view our DIY time as “us time.”

4. I'm so jealous of your recent European adventure! Do you have a favorite city or country that you've visited? What are your top travel tips?

Oh wow. I don’t know if I could pick a favorite! We both love France; there’s just something about it. We would both love to go back to Austria. And then there’s Moorea, French Polynesia. How can you not love a South Pacific paradise?

Our top travel tips would have to be:
1. Pack light. It will save your back, your money, and your trip. Trust me; we learned the hard way.
2. Be brave. Try to speak the few phrases you know of a foreign language. Try the food that you’re scared of. Go out with locals. Some of our best travel memories come from when we plunged headfirst into something.
3. Be prepared to get lost and to enjoy it; you’ll discover places most tourists miss. We try to get lost now, especially in big "tourist" cities.
4. Ask the locals; no one knows a destination better than the locals. We usually ask “Where would you go?”

5. Your recipes on LHBH look delicious, do you have a go-to recipe for dinner parties or just dinner at home after a busy day?

Our go to recipe would have to be risotto. It’s deceptively easy and so impressive! Over the 4th of July we made it for Kevin’s family and topped it with seared scallops. It was delicious and looked so impressive!

On any given weeknight our go-to dinner would have to be some protein grilled simply, an arugula salad, and some homemade balsamic vinaigrette poured over everything.

6. Do you use a lot from your garden to cook? I'm totally in love with your gutter garden and am thinking about trying that!

We would use a lot from our garden had it survived the wrath of the puppies. This spring Rosie realized that she could jump the fence we’d put around the garden and decided to dig up EVERY. SINGLE. PLANT. It’s now her personal sand box.

We love our gutter gardens! We didn’t get to hang them this year because of our fence restoration, but they’re going up again this fall for a crop of baby spinach and arugula!

7. Looking back about 5 years ago, are you where you thought you'd be? Or had you imagined you'd be DIY'ing your own home?

Well I certainly didn’t imagine I’d be in Texas, that’s for sure. I hadn’t expected to ever leave Indiana. I love Texas though. And I do think I’ve always wanted to fix up an older home. Kevin, not so much. He originally wanted to buy new, but I (or the Little House) won him over.

8.The puppies! How do they feel about home improvement projects? Mine usually gets confused and hides in a corner. Or eats his bed.

Our girls are pretty blasé about our projects. All they really care about is 1. Is there anything I can chew on? 2. Is there anything I can get on me/on the house/on Mom? 3. Where’s the cat?

For them eating things is a normal everyday occurrence, not stress induced.

9. What should everyone know about you and/or LHBH?

We’re very real people. We both work 8-5 jobs and have to save up for everything we do (trips and projects alike). We don’t know everything, but we love learning and trying things ourselves. We mess up, projects don’t turn out like we planned, and we end up starting over. A lot.

We love Jesus. We love each other. We love Star Wars and Doctor Who and figuring out how stuff works. We love traveling and food. I guess that pretty much sums us up.

During a morning meeting at work, one of my co-workers said Mark and I should stop working so hard on the weekend. 

Nearly every muscle in my body was aching from the two days of hard work at the house and from last week's regiment of running and Insanity. I was inclined to agree with her. 

But, we accomplished so much it's hard not to feel pretty good about that.

Friday night was all fun and games until the dogs spilled my red wine all over the couch. Luckily, Mark has some sort of cleaner that got that right out. But I was not happy about it. At least Grover felt sorry.

Saturday morning I ditched Mark for a bit to meet Kristie on the River's Edge Trail. She's my new running buddy and I'm pretty excited about it. Even if a deer nearly gave us both a heart attack (to be fair, the deer was probably more startled) and we decided to turn around rather than see if we could pass a snake on the trail. I've decided to attempt another half marathon this year and Kristie is just getting back into running. It's so much more fun with friends! Plus, it was a beautiful day!

Then we got to work securing materials and supplies. We also picked up a watering can that was close to the one I really wanted and only $10. 

We made some progress on installing the invisible dog fence, but the mosquitos got to be too much so we gave up for the night. That project is moving to high priority since we really need to train the dogs not to run through the fence so they can take advantage of their new domain. 

On Sunday, we got super serious. Mark started tilling the area we're going to start our garden/farm in. For now, we're going small and will expand depending on how it goes. I'd been feeling very overwhelmed by projects, so while he did that I finally finished the chalkboard project I started months ago. I'll do a full step by step post on that later this week. But it felt really good to have something actually completed. I missed a spot with the tape, so might sand it to clean it up, but otherwise, it's finished!

Yet another trip to the Home Depot since Mark wasn't happy with the selection or prices when we were there at 8 p.m. the night before. But, with less than $40 of lumber, Mark built our new compost bin while I turned soil by hand for what felt like hours and hours. I'll post the how-to on that one too later this week and updates on the garden. For now, it looks like this.

And while we've been working, Grover found a new hideout spot. See him?

Since we're getting serious about growing our own food and cooking more at The Homestead, I've been reading a lot from the ladies who are already rocking it out. 

Lucky for me, they're wonderful enough to share their wisdom here on Near and Far. 

First up is the lovely Rachel of De Ma Cuisine. Check out her amazing recipes and online cooking shows where she shows us how it's done. Then go follow her on Twitter. And on Facebook. And Instagram. Do it. She's awesome.

Q: You clearly love cooking, what is that got you into cooking and how long have you been at it?

A: I do. I just love it. It's relaxing, invigorating, enjoyable... One of my favorite pastimes. There are photos of me cooking as a child, but I don't think I really fell in love with it until I got married. I took on that role of the cook because it seemed fun and just kinda happened naturally. I'd done a bit of cooking in the past and had learned a lot from a roommate who was a great cook (Sheila). When I got married and started cooking every day I started to get more comfortable being creative and using what we had. I learned how to not follow a recipe exactly and began to make up my own dishes based on ideas I saw. It eventually grew into something that I was really passionate about.  

Q: It sounds like you prefer organics and/or natural foods, what are the benefits in your opinion of fresh and natural food?

A: I love to eat seasonal, fresh foods. I think that foods that are picked when they're ripe, that aren't traveling as far to get to me, are going to retain more nutrients. Vitamin C, for example, found in foods like broccoli and oranges, dissipates very quickly. As someone who would rather get my vitamines and minerals from food rather than a supplement (if possible), I want to get the maximum amount from the source. 

I'm not a fan of ingesting chemicals. So, if at all possible, I try to stick to organic foods (and products for around our home). I feel better about what we're eating and the products we're using that way. But, I would say that if a person was debating between eating organic and not eating fruits and veggies at all, it's probably still better to eat the fruits and veggies. ;) 

Q: Your cooking show episodes cover a range of foods and ingredients, what are the things you enjoy most about experimenting in the kitchen?

A: I love making a recipe my own. I love using the things that we have to create something new. I love being inspired by an ingredient and having an amazing meal come out of it. And, I love love love when my husband takes a bite of his dinner and through his mouthful yells, "WOW!" because he likes it so much. I couldn't ask for a better compliment. 

Q: How is your garden coming along? Do you taste a difference when cooking with foods you grew yourself versus those you purchased? 

A: Something is eating my plants!! Mostly I garden for fun, since we get such amazing produce delivered each week. This year I planted green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, parsley, quinoa, carrots, lettuce (and some other stuff that didn't come up, like peppers, I've never had any success with peppers!). Last year, the tomatoes, green beans, and carrots were amazing! We had a garden when I was growing up, so picking a tomato still warm from the sun brings me back to my childhood. They taste so good! The carrots were pretty great too. I hadn't had any that I'd planted taste as good as these did. I don't know what I did differently, but I'm hoping they're as good this time around. :) 

I definitely taste a difference compared to most produce bought at the grocery store. But that's because I've been so spoiled by the produce that we have delivered. I'd say that the produce we get from Abundant Harvest Organics is better than what I'm growing, because they sure know what they're doing. Maybe when I have a few more years of gardening under my belt I'll feel differently... Maybe not. ;)

Q: As a culinary whiz, I'm thinking you throw awesome dinner parties. They say breaking bread brings people together. Would you agree? What would your ideal dinner party look like?

A: Yes. Definitely! My ideal dinner party would be with good friends/family who enjoy food as much as I do. It would have mismatched china and our fanciest stemware (which we use everyday). I would probably prefer to make the main course and appetizers and let others bring things like dessert (I'm not a great baker, so I'm happy to let others do this part), salad, and wine. I don't mind making those other things, but the main course and appetizers are the most fun. And I'd love to do a really long dinner, like the French do, with course after course, if we had all day. Maybe with 4-6 guests and lots of time to prepare before they'd arrive.  

Q: What/who are your culinary inspirations?

A: One person that I wish I could have met is Julia Child. She is one of my biggest inspirations and favorite people (of those that I don't actually know personally). Of those that I know in real life, there are many... My Mom works in the food industry. She has a passion for cooking, recipes, and feeding people that I understand and admire. She was a stay-at-home mom and such a great influence on us kids as we grew up with family dinners and homemade lunches. My Oma (Grandma) was one of the best cooks I've ever known. She made simple foods amazing. She died a year and a half ago. I treasure the memories of making Zwieback with her as a child (and as a grownup), of many dinners at their table, and the recipes that I have framed in my kitchen, written in her hand. I like to think that my love for cooking was something that couldn't have happened by accident. With these two amazing cooks in my family, it's in my bones, part of my heritage, something I was, in a sense, born to do.  

Q: Who/what are your favorite food/cooking bloggers and blogs?

A: Joy the Baker was one of the first blogs that I started reading. Joy has become a friend and is someone I look up to. I really admire Aimée from Simple Bites. I love how she approaches cooking, family, and their urban homestead. I'd love to have that someday, if/when we have kids. I also really enjoy Shauna, from Gluten Free Girl. I'm not GF, just love the way she writes and the amazing recipes that they share. 

Q: What recipe, if any, intimidates you or strikes you as especially challenging? I'm thinking of that moment in Julie & Julia and the duck recipe. 

A: Honestly, most of Julia's recipes do. :) I've made her Boeuf Bourguignon twice. It was the most amazing meal I have ever made. But it was terrifying. I (who don't often follow a recipe) poured over that cookbook, making sure each step was absolutely perfect, in an attempt to make the dish as close as possible to what Julia would expect.

Q: What would you want people to know about you and your cooking?

A: Cooking is my art. I might say that I feel about it the way some feel about Van Gogh's pantings. It moves me, it challenges me, it inspires me, it fills me, it delights me. It is one of the ways I show love. If someone has a need, my first thought of how to meet it is with food. For me, food isn't just to fuel the body, but also the heart and soul. It's part of who I am. And because of that, my passion, my goal, is to not only share this love through food at our dinner table, but to empower people to eat well by sharing my recipes and video. I don't mind if not everyone loves food as much as I do, but I want people to know that they can, they can, they absolutely can eat well every day! 

Q: Anything else I didn't ask that you'd want to add?

A: I love to get creative with food. That includes leftovers. Last year I made this amazing Summer Chili on A Cooking Show with Rachel O. Then this year I used it again, but this time to make Crispy Potatoes with Chili and Cheese (oh man, was that ever good!!!). I'm all for heating up the leftover chili, but this was so tasty that I may have even liked it better the second time around!

Summer Chili

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  60 mins
Total time:  1 hour 10 mins
Serves: 4-6

Chili gets summer-ized with summer veggies. Oh so good!
Ingredients

• 1-2 lb. ground beef
• 4 C beans, cooked
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 lg. summer squash, grated (squeeze to remove excess water if needed)
• 1 C green beans, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 T tomato paste
• 3 T olive oil
• 2 T balsamic vinegar, divided
• 1 T dijon mustard
• 1 T honey
• 2 C water (or red wine, or stock, or beer)
• ½ C decaf coffee
• 2 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• ¼ t allspice
• pinch cayenne
• 1 T sweet paprika
• 2 T chili powder
• 1 T smoked paprika
• ½ t ginger
• fresh basil, torn (for serving)

Instructions

1. Heat soup pot. Add beef and cook. Drain fat and return beef to pan. Add olive oil, veggies, and seasonings. Cook about 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
2. Add tomato paste, stir in, cook 1 minute. Add 1 T balsamic vinegar, stir, cook 1 min.
3. Add honey, dijon, water, beans, and coffee. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook over med-low heat for about 55 minutes.
4. Add 1 T balsamic vinegar and cook 5 min more.
5. Serve topped with fresh basil.

I present to you four minutes of happy. I'm a huge Sara Bareilles fan and I absolutely love this song, but only just saw the video. I rock out to this song in the car and while dominating popcorn ceilings and wallpaper. Enjoy!

Remember that to-do list from a few days ago?

Well, boyfriend is in fact a rockstar.

The to-do list from the other day. Then I came home and could already check a few things off:

--Paint the ceiling in our bedroom. *We might just skip this for now.

--Remove popcorn ceilings in the hallway and living room (which requires moving all the furniture and stuff back into the bedroom, so we have to finish that first). *Since Mark moved the furniture around, we can probably knock this out over the weekend.

--Figure out what paint color to use in the Swan Lake bathroom, or if we want to paint the tile, or some other option. This bathroom is plaguing me. *Paint color dilemma might be moot if the tile is damaged and needs to be removed.

--Redo popcorn removal in the dining room since I didn't use water the first time. 

--Probably some wallpaper removal in the Lace Room since Mark tore it up installing the dog's invisible fence contraption. That's what you see above.

--Knock out kitchen wall, add cabinets, build bar countertop, figure out what to do with kitchen.

--Knock out wall between dining room and living room. Adapt flooring to the new layout. 

--Before knocking out wall, attempt to paint over the paneling to see if that looks okay, or awful. The living room is wall to wall paneling and I really don't like it. But we're not sure yet what's under the paneling. Could be better, could be worse given the wallpaper trend.

--Get serious about picking our style and start implementing it. We're leaning toward rustic modern. 

The last week was spent with family and friends. A girl couldn't ask for anything better. I have the best friends.

I'm a list maker. Yet I haven't put one on paper for The Homestead. Probably because it's massive and daunting.

Boyfriend was plugging away while I'm home visiting friends and family in Virginia, but we have so much to do.

Here's a little what the list looks like, depending on what Mark accomplished this week.  I'll probably be too tired to notice tonight when I get in on a late flight, but come Monday, it's go time again.

--Finish cleaning off the wallpaper goop in the Swan Lake bathroom. I worked on that for a few hours last week, but didn't come close to finishing. It never ends! 

--Finish cleaning the ceiling in our bedroom since the popcorn was completely removed. 

--Paint the ceiling in our bedroom.

--Figure out what kind of window treatments to put in our bedroom. Then put our bedroom back together.

--Remove popcorn ceilings in the hallway and living room (which requires moving all the furniture and stuff back into the bedroom, so we have to finish that first).

--Figure out what paint color to use in the Swan Lake bathroom, or if we want to paint the tile, or some other option. This bathroom is plaguing me.

--Redo popcorn removal in the dining room since I didn't use water the first time. 

--Probably some wallpaper removal in the Lace Room since Mark tore it up installing the dog's invisible fence contraption.

--Knock out kitchen wall, add cabinets, build bar countertop, figure out what to do with kitchen.

--Knock out wall between dining room and living room. Adapt flooring to the new layout. 

--Before knocking out wall, attempt to paint over the paneling to see if that looks okay, or awful. The living room is wall to wall paneling and I really don't like it. But we're not sure yet what's under the paneling. Could be better, could be worse given the wallpaper trend.

--Get serious about picking our style and start implementing it. We're leaning toward rustic modern. 

Yikes, that's just to-dos on the main floor. And it's not everything. Next week will be a beast. Good thing I took a week of for friends, family, shopping, tour guiding, farmers marketing and wine drinking.  Breaks over folks.

A week or so ago, I watched a documentary about bear attacks in Glacier National Park in the 1960s. The other night I had a dream about sharks in a river and underwater bears. Then this Sharknado business, that I did not watch. Perhaps related to my dream? Or maybe I'm just weird. 

Then Mark messages me about the Lace Room wallpaper not being original. He had to cut into the wall in the Lace Room as he was installing the new invisible fence for the dogs. In doing that, he pulled back some of that wallpaper and this is what he found.

It's possible I died a little on the inside. There is SO MUCH wallpaper in this house.

A relaxing week at home has been nice, but I know I have lots of work ahead of me when I get back.

To get inspiration, motivation and yet another dose of "I CAN DO THIS!" I've been crushing on these guys and gals.

The rock solid awesomeness of John and Sherry at Young House Love. They're my go to for how-tos, ideas and encouragement. Thanks to Maureen, my aunt/cousin/not sure of the family tree relative, I discovered this couple. Turns out, they live in Richmond. If only I'd known about them when I was still living in the Commonwealth.

The lovely Kate over at Farmhouse 38. She's got chickens in the city and is helping me cope with boyfriend's want of chickens.

My new pal Jessica over at Little House. Big Heart. She's got awesome taste, travel adventures, recipes and useful tips. Plus, she has two dogzillas of her own.

Kim and Scott over at Yellow Brick Home are knocking down walls and showing us how it's done.

Kevin and Layla at The Lettered Cottage are in a neighborhood not far from where I used to live in Alabama and I wish I'd known about them when I was in Dixie!