Friday, January 9, 2009 how many toys can i fit in

I don't remember ever having a toy box as a child. I had a few storage boxes in my closet where I could stash numerous sets of small things (LEGOs, Playmobil, Littlest Pet Shop), but for the most part I always liked to display my collections in full. I had, at one point, six large shelves to show off my collection of toy horses and My Little Ponies. I had two large Barbie houses to show off all my barbies. My stuffed animals have always found some corner of my room to be stacked up in (usually organized by species - dog stuffed animals are on top of my armoire). Needless to say, I've always been into display.

But when it comes to sex toys, forgive me, but I'm a little less open to showing them off with the world. I could care less if my friends saw them, but Mom, brother, maintenance man - I'd rather not deal with that sort of awkward situation. Still, throwing all my toys in the top drawer of my dresser, usually still in their original packaging as my only method of storage, is not working out for me. For this reason, I asked my boyfriend the following question: Do you want to go down to Goodwill and find a gross old briefcase to put our sex toys in, or buy a fancy one? His reply was, "Well, when you put it like that, I don't want them in a gross old thing..."

With the go-ahead given, I hopped on For Your Nymphomation and picked out the Adult Toy Box in Purple Faux Leather. Now, since I've never had a toy box before, this was as exciting of a purchase as a Breyer Horse Stable (is anyone getting creeped out by my connections of sex toys to childhood yet?).

Now, I've got to be honest here. I wasn't really in that much suspense waiting for my case to arrive in the mail. I didn't wonder how big it would really be, or how the purple, marble-looking leather would appear/feel in person. Epiphora has the same toy box, so I've already met it before. This was why I knew it would be a good choice - the marble purple color is gorgeous, and none of the other boxes have that detail. Don't get me wrong, I almost went for the shiny red... but it was a little too shiny for me. (And it doesn't fit in with my purple theme, now does it?)

But, however lacking in suspense my wait was, I was still excited to introduce my sex toys to the case. Dimension wise, the Adult Toy Box is fairly small. It is smaller than a gross old briefcase, but it is considerably nicer than one. At 12" wide x 9" high x 2.25" deep, the box is lined in black with the same material you would use to line a coat or jacket (I'm not sure of the specific fabric used here). It zips 3/4 of the way around with a zipper in a matching outer color (so in this case, purple). One of my favorite features on the Adult Toy Box are the zipper pulls - little ovals with the FYN logo on them which are glow in the dark. Okay, not only are glow in the dark things awesome, but if you're storing the case under your bed (like I am), the glow in the dark zipper pulls make it easy to quickly spot the case.

Even though the case is moderately small, I thought with certainty that it would fit all my toys. WRONG. It would fit all my toys well enough, but not all my BDSM materials. I don't have any whips or other large items, either - I'm just talking about the Submissive Bondage kit and add-ons I purchased. With a sigh I pressed on, committed to fitting everything else at least in the box. On the lid of the box, there is an elastic band, sewn down at certain spots so that you can fit various objects in it. I've found very little use for this band. I have my handcuff key lodged in there, but the other spots are either too small to fit anything, or too large and things slip out. I want to fill the basin of the case with things, so if I put large objects in the lid there would be no where for them to rest.

The basin, likewise, has another feature I don't use much. There is a pocket where you could presumably store things, but I don't. My handcuffs and a few packets of lube are in there. Flat things that won't get in the way of the rest of my storage. That said, all of my toys fit nicely in the box. Occasionally I've been able to fit small lingerie items in amongst them as well. My box currently has Mia (in box), Crave ankle and wrist restraints, three regular sized vibrators (7"-10" long), and three smaller sized toys (4"-5" long) in it. It is about full at that much (of course, I can take Mia out of the box if I need more room).

Although I have no need for the "extra features" of the Adult Toy Box (the elastic band and pouch), here are some things I like about it: the size is perfect for someone with a smaller collection of toys, or if you want to store a specific portion of your toys. It is a convenient case which works perfectly for travel - if it's not big enough to house your collection at home, it is certainly just the right size to take a enough toys with you on vacation that you won't get bored. For me, this is especially ideal because I can cart my toys back and forth between my boyfriend's place and mine - which, I must remind you, is a two-hour commute so it's not satisfying to simply throw Mia in my purse for a night. The case is discreet - there's nothing about it that screams "SEX TOYS IN HERE," yet it is cute and much nicer than a plain old box or briefcase.

I don't feel weird when I carry it down the street. It's just a little bit larger than a box style lunchbox, after all, so it's enough of an accessory to not attract unwanted attention. (I can't imagine the same experience walking with a suitcase full of toys down the street). Overall, I'd say, this box isn't meant to house a whole collection for a serious sex toy addict, but for someone with just a few toys it would. But, as I've said, the plus of this case is really its use as a mobility case. If you and your sex toys need to get somewhere, this is a stylish, just-the-right-size box to do so. Still, I can't help but lust after a permanent toy box, can I?

Okay, that's my last child reference, I swear. Perhaps the toy box of my dreams is actually the Big Foot. This box also comes in purple faux leather, so it would match. Why is this the box of my dreams, you ask? Because I literally had a dream the other night that I got one. I take it as an omen.