My Site has Moved

Cute Cottage Overload has moved to a new location but kept it´s domain name. You can either go to www.cutecottageoverload.com or www.cutecottageoverload.de See you there
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Broomstick Friday - "Sprechen Sie Deutsch ?"

While the cat is waiting on the broomstick for an unknown witch to return I have some news. After 4 years of doing Cute Cottage Overload in English my hubby said it would be time to move to another platform and also switch to my mother tongue. My bigger projects simply tend to have a more German focus recently. It started with the PopUp Tearoom events, followed by my “Backen mit Love” book. Changes will be happening with the next post. Well, in any way, it won´t be 100% proper German, it will more likely be “Denglish” as “cute” will always sound better than “süß”. Nevertheless, it is very important to me that all you lovely people from all over the globe are still able to check on me and contact me even if you do not speak German. So, to make this easy…

a.) I will continue to tag articles on my blog with english keywords as well so that you can find stuff
b.) I have integrated a Google translator function that you can switch to your language. It´s not perfect, but enough that you´ll get the idea
c.) My Instagram feed @cutecottageoverload will stay in English. All hashtags and texts. Same for Flickr, Tumblr and Pinterest.

And last, if you want to contact me, please do, don´t hesitate to write me in English on andrea@cutecottageoverload.de

Cat on Broomstick Friday

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Finally on Instagram

I have finally made it onto Instagram, where I´ll be sharing lot´s of photos, so follow me if you like under @cutecottageoverload

Follow Me on Instagram
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Jam Season Part One - Strawberries

The jam/marmelade season has started. At least for me. So I started with strawberries. Apart form making a yummy jam, I set myself the target to make every single glass different with lot´s of cute hangtags, stamped labels and tiny little crochet things that put a smile on your face for breakfast.

Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Jam
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Small Bread Wreaths for Breakfast

So, the World Cup is over but you still need to have breakfast right ? Here´s something to start the day with. Small spelt bread wreaths topped with sesame and poppy seed. Compared to bagels that need to be put in boiling water before baking, these yummy guys are done in no time.

Bread Wreaths
Bread Wreaths
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Get inspired on a rainy Day

It is raining since three days, a lot! It seams that there is no break in between, just steady rain. So depressing! But then, there just was a knocking at my door and it was Marcel, our lovely postman! Dressed in a bright yellow rain coat he let me sign for a parcel. And not only for something electronic my husband ordered, nope, it was the highly anticipated shipment from japan with fresh books. Did I tell you before that I love Etsy so much? If not, here it is: I love you Etsy! I can order all these incredible Japanese crafting books with you and they arrive only 2 weeks later! Well guys, I am sitting back on my sofa now, with a bunch of books around me. Trust me, you can get inspired even on a rainy day


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Carrot Cake Cheesecake with Vanilla Frosting

Let the yumm begin. One of my favorite doings is to turn already existing and proven recipes into something new. Well, sometimes it works and turns out to be great, but sometimes you just have to forget that you had the idea in the first place. But this time the result was brilliant, exciting, good looking and yummie! What was I up to ? I wondered if a combination from two of my favorite cake recipes would be working out? So I took half of the carrot cake recipe and half of the NY cheesecake recipe from my book and layered both into one baking tin. Well, glad I did. Both batters are a combination created in heaven, they taste wonderful together, and no piece of the cake was left over! Everything is gone up to the last crumb! There is no better result than this, right?

Carrot Chesecake
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Season's first outside cake buffet

Last weekend my hubby had invited some friends over. Luckily the weather was nice so that I was able to perform an official grand opening of the "outside cake buffet season". I love this "season", as I can finally test and use the new furniture that I bought during the cold winter months. First outside buffet of the year usually also puts my hubby's endless questioning to an end. "Where are you planning to place all these new vintage armchairs ?". I also tried two drink dispensers with tabs that I filled with ice, fruits, juice and water. They worked amazing and they will definitely be used all summer long.

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Drink Dispenser with Tab
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Garden Cake Buffet

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Salted Caramel Chocolate Doughnuts

I always wanted to do a Doughnut tower. But how high can I get? Four, five or maybe even six depending on size. However, with my smaller home made chocolate doughnuts I decided to be safe and stay on level four. The salty bretzels are not helping with stability but are a very interesting addition in taste to the sweet caramel. That's all that matters. Yum.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Doughnuts
Salted Caramel Chocolate Doughnuts
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Alice in Wonderland crafty Book Jacket

I finished another one of those crafty book jackets that I am making for my German baking book Backen mit Love. It´s themed "Alice in Wonderland" with the compulsory "Eat Me" sign. The fabric was waiting to be used in my cupboard since my last visit to Tokyo (The fabric store Okadaya in Shinjuku is crafty heaven). Unfortunately I did only buy half a meter last time, so if you happen to be around, I would like to place another order. The cute cake button is from Okadaya as well.

Alice in Wonderland Book Jacket
Alice in Wonderland Book Jacket
Alice in Wonderland Book Jacket
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Hot Summer Pink Soft Serve Icecream Maker

When my friend discovered a soft serve ice cream maker in the US my only question was "Is it available in pink ?". With her answer being "yes" the order was placed. This weekend, just in time with the beginning of the German summer, we are "all set" for Brownies with Ice Cream and other topping experiments. Of course, it´s all low fat Froyo, at least the ice cream. I am not so sure about the toppings.

Soft Icecream Machine
Soft Icecream Machine
Soft Icecream Machine
Soft Icecream Machine
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Cinnamon Rolls with warm Caramel Nut Sauce

Last weekend, there just had to be Cinnamon Rolls. I took the base recipe from my book and did some experimenting with the frosting. Since I have recently become a true caramel lover, I tried a warm caramel nut sauce. So, I simply melted brown sugar, butter, heavy cream (all from the top of the calorie leaderboard) together with almonds. The taste was incredible. Compared to traditional cinnamon rolls the sauce is way thinner and is more 'absorbed' by the roll. The result is a soaked mixture of pure yummieness.

Cinnamon Rolls with warm Caramel Nut Sauce
Cinnamon Rolls with warm Caramel Nut Sauce
Cinnamon Rolls with warm Caramel Nut Sauce

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Totoro has a little problem with the Catbus

For almost two years, we have been trying to convince a 'homeless' ginger cat to sleep on a sofa at our house (to make it more cozy). It never worked. Even the most comfortable sleeping traps were ignored. She always prefered to stay in the kitchen, sleeping on the hard stone floor. Yesterday, out of absolutely nowhere, she decided to join the Catbus Nekobasu from the Studio Ghibli movie 'My Neigbor Totoro'. Unbelievable and so cute. Although, this causes a little problem for the crochet Totoro in the back. He seems to be confused and does not know which catbus to take any more. One seems to be quiet sleepy though, and I don´t think that this bus is going any time soon.

Nekobasu, the real cat bus from Totoro
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Crafty Book Jacket for "Backen mit Love"

I started to work on some crafty book jackets for my German baking book "Backen mit Love". Main reason was that my personal copy of the book needed a cover, but when I saw all those cute fabrics that I have collected, I just had to start designing. Here´s the first that is finished. So cute. I know what you might be thinking. Can I have one ? Honestly, I don´t know yet. I guess yes. It depends on how many I will have in the end and whether there is a nice idea on how to allocate them. I don´t want to sell them or simply do a lottery. Maybe you have some ideas. Although, I am not making promises, I know myself, maybe it will be just to hard to let them go. I keep you posted.

Crafty Book Jacket
Crafty Book Jacket
Crafty Book Jacket
Crafty Book Jacket
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Relaxing in the Sun (with cat)

This weekend, I am taking a break from crafty things and only try to enjoy the sun and the sort of summer'ish weather we are currently having in Germany. It seems that someone else is taking a break too, however I don´t know "from what". My husband says the cat is hunting all night while we sleep, but I have severe doubts about that.

Me Reading, Cat Relaxing
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