Good Things by David

I've mentioned in years past that I love to bake my own birthday cakes, because I really can't tolerate store bought.  I was craving a yellow cake with chocolate frosting this year, which took me on a search for cake layers made with buttermilk.  For the frosting, I wanted a mix of melted chocolate and cocoa powder in order to make it ultra rich.  After looking at images online, visit websites and thumbing through my baking books, I found what I was looking for. If you happen to own Martha's 'Cakes' book, you will find the recipe for buttermilk cake layers, along with a rich chocolate frosting recipe.  It's a great birthday cake for those of us who like to keep things simple. Once you bake and ice the cake, you can leave it as is, but you can also enhance it with colorful sprinkles, nonpareils or even some sparkly dragées.  Add whatever you wish. Swirled frosting is a simple way to frost a cake, because it looks so tempting and very homemade...

Whether or not you collect Martha by Mail products, you have to admire the uniqueness and quality of the merchandise that was once offered through this exclusive catalog.  As a longtime collector, I can attest to the excellence of the fine china, glassware, stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, copper and enamelware, that I use on a weekly basis.  To my mind, not one piece of what I have looks dated or worn out. It all started when my husband and I moved into our first home back at the turn of the millennium.  I remember wanting the best of the best for our abode, so naturally I turned to Martha Stewart for guidance.  Yes, I did purchase many things from Martha Stewart Everyday through Kmart (I have all of it to this day), but it was Martha by Mail which I considered la crème de la crème . Pricey, to my mind at the time (although in hindsight, everything was a steal!), I began to order from the catalog in earnest.  There wasn't a month that went by when ...