ASCENSION is a book unlike any i’ve found in that it really goes into detail on each and every ascended master. for example, call me a caveman, but i was not aware that our statue of liberty was modeled on an ascended master! in this fascinating book, the author includes countless personal anecdotes–from being accosted by an angel posing as a trash collector, to being passed on the road by an ascended master cyclist–she’s got some luck!

unbeknownst to me, we new yorkers have our very own city protecter: the roman goddess, Libertas (laten for liberty), who is the embodiment of freedom. The author writes that while visiting mount shasta, she saw a vision of lady liberty hovering above manhattan pouring golden light on the city. so how cool is that? the big apple is a golden delicious… ironcially, that’s my favorite variety.

so to those of you wondering, what the hell is ascension? the author explains that “ascension means freedom. you can live anywhere and materialize anything. you can continue to serve on the earth plane or another plane. you can travel anywhere at the speed of thought and materialize your desires instantaneously.” pretty sweet, huh? the author goes on to ask “are you ready to live as an immortal being? after all, your higher self is as spiritual now as it will ever be, and you are as immortal today as you ever will be. your soul lives eternally. it is possible to become an ascended master right now.”

ASCENSION: Connecting with the Immortal Masters and Beings of Light, by Susan Shumsky $15.99

i just stumbled upon the most adorable dating site, GEMINI AND SCORPIO.COM, created by Gemini (a sweet, bright, angelic creature) and Scorpio (an intense, dark and moody siren). whadda combo!

the NYC based site has some super cute (and pretty accurate) date scopes… check em out at GEMINIANDSCORPIO.COM

and hey, you might just meet mr/ms right while you’re there…

our trunk show was so successful last weekend that we’re doing it again~come visit gwen at henri bendel this april 15-18 (thursday, friday, saturday, sunday) and check out our celestial cocktail candles in person… cheers! (bendels is located on the corner of 56th street and 5th avenue next to harry winston. hours: thursday/friday/saturday 10am-8pm, sunday noon-7pm. IZ will be located on the ground floor)

THE NEW YORK TIMES announced today that the MANHATTAN COCKTAIL CLASSIC is back, so save the date: May 14 to 18… the “best” seminars sell out fast, so in light of that sobering fact, get your tix asap. for a full schedule of events visit MANHATTAN COCKTAIL CLASSIC. bottoms up!

check out FUSION LOVER ZODIAC high fashion collection by new york designer, jade chiu. some of jade’s designs are pretty avante garde, but they’re all sexy as hell. i’m a dog in chinese zodiac (according to the new astrology by suzanne white. until i contacted suzanne i was under the impression i was a boar—she straightened me out right fast). so what exotic outfit is your sign, baby? visit JADECHIUWANLIN.COM to find out.

Join Celebrity Pet Photographer Jim Dratfield for drinks at new york’s TAJ, this wednesday.

Jim Dratfield’s Petography® specializes in fine art photography of pets and people with their pets. Jim has done photo commissions for the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Bebe Neuwirth, Henry Kissinger, Billy Joel and Elton John to name a few. Jim is the author of ten books including, Pugnation: The Bark is Back! His work has been featured on ABC’s 20/20, The View, Oprah’s O. Magazine, Instyle and Town & Country.

***free chair massages will be offered by one of New York’s most talented massage therapists, Brian Boyce, LMT!

***Meet the elegant and glamorous ladies of TOW (Tall Outstanding Women) who will be present all night long selling raffle tickets. Minimum height requirement for group members: 6 feet!

Proceeds donated to the AC&C (ny animal care + control) to help new york’s unwanted pets.

View additional details here. RSVP Here

TAJ: 48 W 21st St Between 5th & 6th Ave / TIME: 6-10 pm

i just thought these glasses were so original. (which means ten stores will copy them for next season and sell them for 1/4 the price. but, these adorable specimens might just be odd enough that they won’t appeal to mass market and hence won’t be worth knocking off…)

but do you see the bellies on these babies? perfect for the to-be-mom, or spare-tired mate, or me.

$85 available at BERGDORF GOODMAN on 5th and 59th.

finally got my butt over to APOTHEKE. opened in september, this health conscious establishment is a virgo, of course! APOTHEKE’S pharmaceutical concept perfectly manifests the traits of the most perfectionistic sign. no medicinal detail is forgotten, from the ancient caduceus logo to the science beaker lamps, to the bottles of ancient herbs stored on the top shelf—every element is consistent with the trendier than hell apothecary theme. if any sign were to prescribe a drink a day to keep the doctor away, it would be virgo…

i didn’t get his sign, but albert trummer is certainly the showman… sag? leo? aries perhaps? this man can flare bartend. he sauteed the bar in absinthe, and threw a match on it! he then poured himself a glass of absinthe—which he promptly lit up. he proceeded to light an army of absinthe filled glasses on fire. when he’d had his fill of fire mr. trummer dowsed the wild beast with a gargantuan bottle of dom. once i saw the flames start to die down, my heart started beating again. by that time i’d located every exit in the joint— just in case. (i have a thing with fire.) we all got to sample the flambeed glasses of gooey, syrupy absinthe along with champagne to wash it down with.

but how are the drinks? they’re very good. when i first arrived i was feeling tired, so i prescribed myself a FIVE POINTS, which is listed on the prescription list as a “stimulant.” (house elixir #4 with hibiscus, italian bitters, new york state grapes, house-pressed sugar cane-infused cachaca.) not sure if it was the drink or the wall of fire less than an arm’s length away, but it worked.

the best holiday windows are consecutively BERGDORF GOODMAN’S. this year, one of the windows concerned a chapter on alcohol—and of course—this window was designed by pisces, ALEXANDER MCQUEEN! pisces is the zodiac sign of the alcoholic. (i even list mr. mcqueen on the back of my pisces COCKTAIL CANDLE box as a FAMOUS FELLOW DRUNK). the charts of alcoholics were studied and it was found that those with a prominent placement of PISCES in their chart were more prone to the disease. PISCES rules the planet of NEPTUNE and is an escapist, dreamy, disconnected, other-worldly personality. PISCES men are sexy as hell-and they design the most fantastic clothes ; ) but so how cool is this window though?!

bendel’s store theme this season is the cocktail, and a promenade through this landmark shopping destination makes that clear. there are cocktail displays EVERYWHERE. if you can’t get there in person, take a stroll through the pics below.

the front windows invite the shopper into a retail wonderland with a product-filled martini glass pyramid and candy-filled glasses…

wow, bendels recycled wine corks… they look terrific painted white, resembling a lovely layer of fresh champagne snow afoot a mountain of perfectly frosted martini glasses.

how awesome are these pin-up martini girls sitting in their glasses?

and last but in no way least, the walls are adorned with my very own ZODIAC COCKTAIL graphics! on the 3rd floor, there are all sorts of astrology and alcohol-themed goodies… including our COCKTAIL CANDLES and SHOT CANDLES.

cheers to a divine 2010!