READ YOUR SEDUCTION BY COCKTAIL HOROSCOPE HERE.

just in time for valentine’s day… i guest blogged on SSSASTROLOGY with a piece about COCKTAILS & SEX. on jeffrey’s astrology love blog, every day is valentine’s day. and today, is your lucky day! generous jeffrey won the IZ NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBER RAFFLE this month and he gets a FREE PLASTIC IS NOT A CELESTIAL BODY TOTE. he’s kindly offered it up in a raffle of his own on his blog to anyone who leaves a comment on my guest post. what a sweetie pisces that guy. so head on over to SEDUCTION CENTRAL, drop a note, and win a tote.

this spring, i do sincerely wish you’d run outside to the nearest forest and plucked new growth from all the fir trees you could get your greedy little hands on. if you had, you’d have some nicely dried fir tips now with which to brew fir tip tea, with which to mix fir teanis. what? you didn’t?! ok, ok, lucky for you there’s another way… lazy ass fir tip collectors can buy their way to fir tip tea. gotta love capitalism. it is really delicious fir tip tea, too, mind you. (juniperridge.com.) now that you have the precious elixer, brew some and chill it. this is a really tasty tipple; one of my faves.

but who will take libational ownership of this concoction that pushes culinary bounderies? sagittarius, pusher of the all-mighty envelope! for, the douglas fir is huge tree, and jupiter is the planet of all things huge. just think about the thick floor of fallen pine needles, or the plentiful pine cones dripping from this tree’s brances. this baby wants to spread its’ seed–jupiter is prolific. this cocktail is a gift from, and for, sagittarius. and for a fiery, optimistic sign like this, hell won’t freeze over for long, so get one while you can:

HELL FROZE OVER (DOUGLAS FIR TIP TEANI)

1 oz raw simple syrup*
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 oz Douglas Fir Tea*
2 oz vodka
candied ginger for garnish

add all ingredients to ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake for ten seconds. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with either a small evergreen branch or a piece of candied ginger.

* Making simple syrup with unprocessed sugar gives a rounder sweetness to simple syrup. In airtight container mix 1 c sugar and 2 c water. Shake every twenty minutes or so until completely dissolved.

brew tea and allow to steep for ten minutes as you would a regular cup of tea. Do not add milk or sugar. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

check out this wild recipe for a DOUGLAS FIR SPARKLE’TINI where an actual tree branch is infused into the vodka!

or this tres cool recipe for an ALPINE MARTINI, again using real tree branches!

these days, it’s all about intellectual property and who owns what gems of brilliant thought. this of course, includes cocktails. recipes are not copyrightable; no one can own a recipe. so if you want to keep it, keep it to yourself. as with most perplexing subjects, there is an unspoken set of rules to follow. a great piece in the october AUSTRALIAN BARTENDER MAGAZINE sums it up well: “wether you invent or copy a drink, be open about it. find out the original recipe and stick to it if you use the name or change the name if you change the recipe.” sound advice to be sure. personally, i think it’s always nice to give the original creator credit wherever you can too. happy creating y’all.

a few of oprah’s favorite things, happen to be a few of my favorite things too. heaven on earth to a non-icecream-eating-vegan, sorbet is the way to go. specifically, BLACKBERRY CABERNET by CIAO BELLA GELATO. yum. other spirited flavors include Pomegranate Champagne Sorbetto, Apricot Chardonnay, Strawberry Chardonnay Sorbet, Cassis, and Grapefruit Campari. FYI, campari is no good for vegans. it’s colored with crushed cochineal beetles. a common pigment in lipsticks and foods, it was once used to dye imperial robes in japan.

now i haven’t had the pleasure of sampling the WINE CELLAR SORBETS, but their logo is a cute little kitty so it’s gotta be good. they offer the following vintages: champagne, reisling, rose, sangria rojo, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon. cheers apetit : )

i can’t believe it’s on sale. how did this not sell out at christmas? once $8.99, now $3.99… snap one up while they’re still in stock: the LED acrylic glass. c’mon, how cool is this? the bottom of the glass has LED lights in it, sure to break the ice at any party… VIA BITSANDPIECES.

this tasty tipple is a cancerian delight. first of all, it’s to be had in bed. and cancer loves her bed. romping and rolling, sleeping or eating.. she just can’t get enough of that mattress – she’s the zodiac’s dirty little housewife and major MILF. secondly, it contains alcohol. nuff said. cancer girl’s a drunk gurl. thirdly, the ovo is ruled by the moon, which would mean that it too, is a crab. the egg’s round shape, largely white hue, hard shell and soft insides, all indicate the moon is at play here. but most of all, the egg exemplifies femininity… the moon is utterly female in nature. all cancer girls are seriously hot women, hear them roar. so, why eat breakfast in bed, when you can drink it instead?

BREAKFAST IN BED (EARLY RISER)

3 oz rum
1 oz maple syrup
4 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 organic free-range egg white
optional garnish: confectionary sugar with strawberry
***yields breakfast for two

add rum, maple syrup, orange juice, egg to ice filled shaker and shake vigorously for ten seconds. prepare cocktail glass by slitting strawberry and running around rim and then rolling in confectionary sugar. pour drink into glass and garnish with the strawberry. (recipe by gwen)

we all know i have a soft spot for animals, and now i also have a soft spot for stella artois. the brand created a limited edition collection of it’s NOBILLIS beer which sold to AOL canada for about $15K, all of which went to WILDAID. this organization strives to end the illegal wildlife trade, and has garnered major celeb support with the likes of angelina jolie, kate hudon, charlize theron, woody harrelson, bo derek, ryan gosling, samuel l. jackson, ralph fiennes and jacky chung, among others. WAY TO GO STELLA ARTOIS!!!!

VIA LUXIST

check this out: a pub in a tree! a couple in south africa opened a bar inside of the huge tree standing in their back yard. kinda gives a whole meaning to the word tree house…

VIA DAILY MAIL

check out some good scopes at ASTROLOGYZONE.COM and ASTROMARC.COM

AVERNA, those italian spirit lovers known for their AMARO, will now go down in history for their new line of sambuca, limoni and mandarin liqueurs. the former comes in three flavors: traditional, licorice and citrus. mandarini is an orange liqueur, and limoni is a lemon liqueur. different from limoncello, which is a grain alcohol with lemon flavoring, limoni is distilled from sicilian lemons. apparently, Sicilian lemons are unlike any other in that they taste and smell like Zagara flower, which has a subtle orange flavor, and covers the Sicilian landscape. i can attest to the fact that it is indeed quite delic – really lemony and super smooth. perfect for virgo or gemini, as they are both ruled by the sharp thinking planet of mercury. there’s certainly no question that sharpness is one of lemon’s properties… and one of the speedy planet’s minions.