A Peek at My Toy Chest

Ah, the long awaited Toy Chest post!  Er, hopefully somebody’s been waiting for it.  Or is excited about it now.  Anyway, for your reference, I will be bolding  my favorite products, ones that I recommend the most fervently.

Oh, we fancy huh.  That’s right.  I keep my toys in a Sterilite 3-drawer box, next to my rat cage.  Give me a break, I just moved!

Ah-ha!  The top drawer!  This is where I keep my chargers, my lubricants, my spare bottles of cleaner, edible body powder, and all of my samples.  It’s also where I throw my neck massager, because I’m a weirdo and I actually have a vibrator that I use on my neck.

Body Candy, System JO H20 Cherry Burst, Pure Romance Sensations in Hot Buttered Rum, Intimate Organics Defense, Sliquid Sassy, and Pure Romance Pure Silk

The middle drawer is kind of a clusterfuck, pun intended.  It houses all of my odds and ends as well as our couple toys.  I absolutely love that Intimate Organics Massage Oil in Sensual, which doesn’t stain my sheets.  This drawer houses our Sportsheets Doggie Style Strap, our furry handcuffs, our WeVibe II, our favorite cock ring, and some plugs.

I can’t even tell you how much I love this ring.  Cock rings have this stigma, and many men will say things like “I don’t need that!”  Here’s the thing: you’re up, you stay up, you get harder than normal, a good ring doesn’t cause a big loss of sensation, and it can even make you a little bit bigger.  I love this ring in particular because the beads make it ultra easy to roll down and roll back up to remove. (We got ours at Adam & Eve Pittsburgh.)

The WeVibe II is one of those novelty toys that’s very cool, but doesn’t seem to find a place in our day-to-day sex life.  I’m a small gal, and I find the design to be a bit overbearing.  The silicone collects dust like no other.  I still recommend the WeVibe III to couples who are looking to spice things up and want a couples’ vibe that can be used underwater, but I really prefer the design of the Lelo Tiani 2 overall.

I never thought I’d add a plug to my collection.  Legitimately was not even on the horizon for me.  After working for a while at A&E, though, I began to view the butt as “just another hole.”  (Eloquent, right?)  I ordered the Doc Johnson Mood: Naughty plug in Medium, and I’m kind of in love with how soft and velvety the silicone is.  At only $15, it’s a pretty great starter plug if you’re also thinking of exploring the other side.  Please note: I have very small hands – the plug is actually quite a manageable size!

The vibrator drawer!  As you can see, I like to store mine in satin drawstring bags, with the exception of my Je Joue Mimi, which is stored in its own little keepsake box.  I also keep a bottle of toy cleaner with my vibrators to make that drawer a one-stop shop (Sliquid Sassy usually sits on our nightstand, tbqh).

Oh, Mimi, my egg-shaped love who looks kind of like Eva from Wall:E.  Now that there’s a new 3 button version, I more highly recommend Mimi than ever before.

Standing O, Thumbs Up, Micro Bullet, Ultimate 7th Heaven, Daddy from the ‘Nati (all from Pure Romance)

These are what make the Standing O so great: the nubbies.  For me, those are 10x better than those piddly rabbit ears you usually see.  Three little stimulators, right in a row!  You can no longer buy the Standing O through Pure Romance, but you can find it on Eden Fantasys by looking through the Cal Exotics dual stim vibes.  For the price, though, I think you can do better – it’s nearly $100.

I really did not expect to fall in love with this toy.  It has 3 speeds, it’s hot pink, it’s soft and it looks kind of like a jaw bone.  Seriously, though, if you see the Thumbs Up at a Pure Romance party or a vibrator of the same design (made by Cal Exotics) like the one we carry at Adam & Eve, pick it up.  They’re $19-26 and they’re definitely one of the best bargain vibes around.  They are also phthalate free.

I received this glass dildo as a free gift with an Eden Fantasys order.  It had gotten rave reviews, so I was pretty excited about it.  As easy as it is to hit my g-spot with this toy, it just refuses to finish the job.  I actually got it caught behind my pubic bone at one point (ow) so at the moment, I’m less than thrilled with its performance.

…and last, but not least, I present you an awkward photo of me with my Mini Winachi.  It is really freaking hard to take a selfie using a DSLR on manual settings.

All photographs were taken by me with a Canon Rebel XS.  All opinions are my own and no companies paid to have their products shown on marvelous-darling.com.

Long-Overdue Instagram LIfe

I haven’t posted pictures from Instagram in at least a month, maybe two!  I hope you’ve missed them as much as I have.  I’ve been posting regularly on Twitter and Instagram itself, but they haven’t made it to my blog in a while.  (If you want to keep up with me, you can find me on IG @nicetobelieve!)

My dad’s an architect and sometimes likes to design and build model buildings.  This one is my favorite!

Page Dairy Mart!  If you’re ever in Pittsburgh, I seriously recommend grabbing some ice cream.  They have crazy soft serve flavors and the most amazing sundaes ever.

Blogger cliche #1,956,783: Froyo and toppings, shot from above.  So good.  Every bite.  Taro yogurt, raspberries, mochi, and graham cracker crumbs.

Every time I go into Madewell, I just leave wanting all of the things.

No Instagram post is complete without a shot of the fluffy pup, Dmitri!

Shrimp fajitas from Mad Mex?  Yes, please.  I was kind of shocked by how excellent they were as leftovers the next day.  College kid working 8 hour retail shifts win.

The flowers outside of my parents’ house attract the most adorable bumbly bees.  I can’t get enough!

Steve and I have taken to laying on his roof and watching the sunset, sometimes with dinner in hand.

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Instagrams of My Daily Life

Hi pretties.

It’s time for more Instagrams!  I really can’t get enough of this app, as you’ve probably noticed.  I keep forgetting to include this, but if you want to follow me, you can find me at “nicetobelieve”.  I would be thrilled!

This is my friend Alicia’s guinea pig, Barney.  We became bffls last night, and he cuddled with me for about forty minutes.  I got lots of guinea pig kisses, and now I’m kind of addicted to these little dudes!

Dice nails!  I just felt like doing something kind of silly on my nails instead of my standard sparkles.

This was my view on Tuesday afternoon from behind the counter.  Don’t we have an adorable sign??

Of course, I had to get a picture of some of the best prints on our vintage kitchen table.  It’s an unwritten rule.

I think this face was the product of the only night I stayed up past 12:30 over spring break. This is actually me trying to duckface and failing.  Little known fact: I am physically incapable of duck facing.

We make the best chai at the cafe.  It’s actually made totally from scratch and I’m kind of obsessed with it, but I’m unorthodox because I think it’s better with vanilla than it is with honey.  Watch out, we got a badass on our hands.

This is my beautiful friend Megan painting pottery at Color Me Mine last weekend.  Don’t you love her glasses?

Beautiful Megan’s equally beautiful twin sister Nicole, who was making the most unique dish I’ve seen!

Alicia, of guinea pig ownership and mojito drinking fame, painted a chevron mug that matches her office.  Girl got it together.

And this was my floral mug!  I can’t wait to pick up our pieces today!  I might even get to use mine at work to make some delicious chai.

Safe & sexy,

Sarah

 

Post ALL of the Instagrams!

Hi pretty things and handsome gents!  …on the off chance any handsome gents read this blog.  Oh, please, let there be handsome gents under the age of 30 who don’t think this shit cray!  Ahhem.

I come bearing Instagrams of My Daily Life, even more than usual.  I hope this isn’t boring for anyone else – personally, I love looking through people’s daily life photos, even moreso than the pretty inspiration photos on a lot of blogs.  They’re just so real, it makes me feel like a blogger’s life is attainable.

 
When it’s been a long week and I just need to relax, I usually take some time to hibernate with a movie (Heathers!), some junk food, and a glass of wine.  Note the fact that I don’t own wineglasses.  This is because I break glassware like it’s my job.
The cafe tends to get slow around 3-4pm, and that’s when I like to take silly little pictures.  It’s a cute place!
I got to go home last weekend for some serious R&R (my mom even rubbed all the kinks out of my back!) and of course, no trip home would be complete without a picture of my fuffywups, Dmitri.  He’s a rescued poodle/bichon mix, and sometimes we wonder if he’s half cat.
Also while home, I got lunch with one of my oldest friends, Alicia.  Neither of us can remember when we met, but it’s been a nonstop good time ever since!  We lived together last year, and I miss seeing her everyday.  We had delicious Mexican food and some really fantastic(ally strong) cocktails!  Hers is a mojito and mine is the biggest margarita known to man.
Sometimes, I like to trick myself into studying by polishing my nails at the same time.  I forget the name of the color, but it’s a very light pastel lavender by OPI and it goes on incredibly well and really has staying power.
My friend/former roommate/current roommate’s girlfriend Erin and I like to eat Nutella straight out of the jars.  Cheers!
And last but not least, my little rodent sunshine, Ewan, all cozied up in a hammock I made for him.
I want to see some other people’s Instagrams!  Please comment with your username so I can follow you.  Mine is “nicetobelieve”!
Safe & sexy,
Sarah

More Instagrams

Things have been busy this week with school and personal changes. I didn’t want to leave my blog high and dry, though!

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Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and even though I didn’t have any special plans, I wanted to feel extra pretty!  Red sparkly shoes certainly did the job.

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I stopped by the cafe I work at over the weekend for some cafe comfort food.  That’s a chocolate chip scone, and in the cute little yellow mug is my latest drink of choice: Earl Grey with milk.  Yum!

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I like to make my breakfasts unnecessarily pretty so that even when I’m eating plain nonfat yogurt with berries, I feel decadent.  (The mug is from Anthropologie and my comforter is from Ikea.)