I just love getting things in the mail!

My Wilton Decorating Basics Student Kit came in the mail along with my Wilton Decorating Basics Lesson Plan! Amazon told me it wouldn't be here until the 4th, so I was very worried about it being here on time, and I was very pleasantly surprised when it got here early! Looking through the booklet and inspecting all the various gadgets is a lot of fun, and I just can not wait for my first class tomorrow.  I have to make plain butter or sugar cookies tonight for the class - I will post pictures once they are decorated. 

I have decided that I am never, ever making brownies from a box again.  Tuesday night, while hanging out with my best friend and my husband, we had a mega chocolate craving.  I didn't have a box of brownies, so I decided to experiment and make them from scratch.  Oh my goodness, they were unlike any box brownies I have ever had ... so rich and decadent!  The recipe was pretty easy, too; you can find it here.  I only modified it by adding about 1oz. more chocolate (of course) and a 1/8 tsp. more vanilla and coffee.  There are no pictures of these brownies, well, because the cookie-cutter idea failed =(  I think next time I will bake them up cupcake-style and ice them that way. 

So, I'm going to need to start baking things for other people to take away from my house.  All this baking is leaving a lot of delicious things sitting on my counters for me to eat!  I think I have probably gained 5 lbs - all in the name of good baking!

Here is a funny picture of Paulie eating his daddy's delicious spaghetti.  Sometimes, savory meals are just as yummy as baked treats! Enjoy!