Cake baking/decorating as a hobby?

I got off school for Summer break about 3 weeks ago, and I don't have any hobbies,or anything to keep me busy, and I was watching Cupcake Wars/Cake Boss a lot lately and I thought it might be fun to try baking/decorating cakes might be fun to try,but I really don't know how to start. 1.) what equipment should buy to start out with? 2.) what kind of flavors should I buy to experiment with to start? 3.) what kind of icings are easiest to work with? 4.) whats a good cookbook/website that has good ideas for beginners? My grandmother used to bake/decorate wedding cakes for a living for about 30 years and I think I could learn a lot from her. 10pts to the best answer.