Bruschetta hints, tips and recipes

I love bruschetta, but have never tried making it from scratch. I've only bought the frozen kind or bought some bruschetta spread and put it on french bread slices and popped in under the broiler. Both methods have left me wishing for the kind you can order in expensive places as an appetizer.

I've purchased a few loaves of bread, plenty of tomatoes, peppers, onions and other veggies. I *think* I have most of the other staples on hand that I may need like olive oil, cheeses, etc, and I have a whole spice cupboard of almost everything you can think of. What I'm lacking is some tips, hints and of course a few good recipes or "this is how I do it"s. I was going to make some this afternoon, but couldn't decide if I should toast the bread first, before putting anything else on it, and what kinds of seasonings to mix in with the veggies. Rather than actually make the bruschetta, I chose to leave the kitchen instead. LOL

I still have one more day off this weekend, and I'd love to try tomorrow afternoon.