Some interesting Historical Romance facts

I'm a fan of historical romance and love seeing the "real-life" stories about romance throughout history. Here's a cute article I found about history and love from About.com. enjoy!

Ancient Courtship

In ancient times, many of the first marriages were by capture, not choice - when there was a scarcity of nubile women, men raided other villages for wives. Frequently the tribe from which a warrior stole a bride would come looking for her, and it was necessary for the warrior and his new wife to go into hiding to avoid being discovered. According to an old French custom, as the moon went through all its phases the couple drank a brew called metheglin, which was made from honey. Hence, we get the word, honeymoon. Arranged marriages were the norm, primarily business relationships born out of the desire and/or need for property, monetary or political alliances.

Medieval Chivalry

From buying a woman dinner to opening a door for her, many of today's courting rituals are rooted in medieval chivalry. During medieval times, the importance of love in a relationship emerged as a reaction to arranged marriages, but was still not considered a prerequisite in matrimonial decisions. Suitors wooed their intended with seranades and flowery poetry, following the lead of lovelorn characters on stage and in verse. Chastity and honor were highly regarded virtues. In 1228, women first gained the right to propose marriage in Scotland, a legal right that then slowly spread through Europe.

Victorian Formality

During the Victorian Era (1837-1901), romantic love became viewed as the primary requirement for marriage and courting became even more formal - almost an art form among the upper classes. An interested gentleman could not simply walk up to a young lady and begin a conversation. Even after being introduced, it was still some time before it was considered appropriate for a man to speak to a lady or for a couple to be seen together. Once they had been formally introduced, if the gentleman wished to escort the lady home he would present his card to her. At the end of the evening the lady would look over her options and chose who would be her escort. She would notify the lucky gentleman by giving him her own card requesting that he escort her home. Almost all courting took place in the girl's home, always under the eye of watchful parents. If the courting progressed, the couple might advance to the front porch. Smitten couples rarely saw each other without the presence of a chaperone, and marriage proposals were frequently written.

Courtship Customs & Tokens of Love

• All the Nordic countries have courtship customs involving knives. For example, in Norway when a girl came of age, her father let it be known that she was available for marriage. The girl would wear an empty sheath on her belt. If a suitor liked the girl, he would put a knife in the sheath, which the girl now wore as a sign that she was betrothed.
• The custom of bundling, found in many parts of 16th and 17th century Europe and America, allowed courting couples to share a bed, fully clothed, and often with a "bundling board" between them or bolster cover tied over the girls legs. The idea was to allow the couple to talk and get to know each other but in the safe (and warm) confines of the girl's house.
• Dating back to 17th century Wales, ornately carved spoons, known as lovespoons, were traditionally made from a single piece of wood by a suitor to show his affection to his loved one. The decorative carvings have various meanings - from an anchor meaning "I desire to settle down" to an intricate vine meaning "love grows."
• Chivalrous gentlemen in England often sent a pair of gloves to their true loves. If the woman wore the gloves to church on Sunday it signalled her acceptance of the proposal.
• In some parts of 18th century Europe a biscuit or small loaf of bread was broken over the head of the bride as she emerged from the church. Unmarried guests scrambled for the pieces, which they then placed under their pillows to bring dreams of the one they would someday marry. This custom is believed to be the precursor of the wedding cake.
• Many cultures throughout the world recognize the idea of matrimony as the "ties that bind". In some African cultures, long grasses are braided together and used to tie the hands of the groom and bride together to symbolize their union. Delicate twine is used in the Hindu Vedic wedding ceremony to bind one of the bride's hand to one of the hands of the groom. In Mexico the practice of having a ceremonial rope loosely place around both of the necks of the bride and groom to "bind" them together is common.

See original link at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/timelines/a/romance_history.htm

Lube promotions from ID JUICY

ID Juicy lube is probably one of my favorite brands both because of quality and fun-factor. in terms of quality, ID is always slippery, long-lasting, and comfortable. whether I am with my SO or am having some fun time on my own with my sex toys, I need that kind of durability for maximum comfort. The fun part of ID Juicy is that it is deliciously scented and flavored! there are 12 (YES, 12) different flavors that are all fun and tasty in their same way. this is great for those who like to top off sex with a little dessert like a blowjob. Plus if you do not like the taste of a man (or woman's) junk in your mouth, this stuff won't totally impede your senses while you go down on your SO, but they will indeed take the unpleasantness away.

My favorite flavors include Fresh Peach because it is flavored very yummily (?) like Peach flavored candy. I'm also a fan of Cool Mint because it has a refreshing feel.

Currently Edenfantasys is holding an awesome promotion where you can buy 2 ID Juicy lubes and get another one for FREE. This is awesome because you get to try different flavors, and this opportunity lets you try THREE... at the price of two. so definitely go check it out and have fun mix and matching your flavors.

What's your favorite toy?

Everyone has that one special sex toy they can trust whenever they're feeling down. I sometimes sit at work thinking "wow.....only three more hours of this hell and I can go home to my good old toys!" because that's how much I love them! of course this is the equivalent of anticipating sex when I'm in a relationship also. but the thing with sex toys is that they're so stable. A relationship changes, it has its ups and downs and is never guaranteed to work out (I'm sorry ladies, but this is so true, even in marriage), but sex toys will always be there for you.

My favorite toy personally is the Sasi by Lelo. It is uniquely shaped so the curves fit to the curves of my body.

The vibrations are strong, and one charge lasts very long too. Oh and it is rechargeable which is always a good thing, a step to a greener world! It's a bit on the expensive side, as all Lelo toys are. but trust me, this one is so worth it. Sometimes I just have to learn to splurge on a luxury toy. Usually there's a reason they are so pricey! because they're so good!

Blogging about blogging and reviewing

Edenfantasys always has the best selection of sex toys. I especially love how new ones are always coming in. Their inventory is growing every day, it's mind-boggling really!

but what I love even more is everything ELSE Edenfantasys has to offer. They have quick and awesome customer service, as well as lots of programs to make us consumers feel very involved- and we have our benefits to!

For instance, if you want to become an EdenAmbassador like me, you can get free Edenfantasys gift cards a couple times a month. how cool is that! All you have to do is blog....easy peasy. Edenfantasys is a great sex store and it needs more people to spread the word about it. If you're interested in joining, but aren't sure you'd be good at writing testimonials, email Jenn and at least give it a shot! You'll never know what your talents are until you try.

Another great program is the EdenReview program, which is basically where you get free products in exchange for honest reviews. Now that's pretty cool if I do say so myself. I might start doing that actually, but you can't be a reviewer and ambassador at the same time, so I'll have to choose one over the other! Hm....

Why I do kegels

Kegel exercises are one of the best ways women can naturally tighten and strengthen their PC muscles (your pubic muscles). The reason you'd want tighter and stronger muscles down there is 1. for your pleasure during sex and 2. for  HIS pleasure during sex. Men all like tight vaginas, yes we all know.

Currently, Edenfantasys is having a great kit deal on its bestselling Kegel exerciser series, Teneo. You can get TWO Teneo smartballs sets, one Duo with two balls and one Uno with one ball, for a great price of $40. This saves you $15, wow!!

So how do you use Kegel exercisers anyway? I'll explain using the Teneo Uno. The Teneo Uno is an insertable set of balls that are inside each other that are attached to a string for removal, sort of like a tampon. If you want, you can use a little bit of lube to ease it into your vagina because it is slightly larger in size than a tampon. However, it is very comfortable once it's in, you won't feel it at all.

But you might hear it a little, which is the most thrilling part of these Smartballs. They gently rattle whenever your PC muscles squeeze, and these vibrations in turn make your vaginal wall squeeze tighter each and every time. This is a good workout for those muscles located there!! The rattling is VERY soft, unnoticeable, even if you are in a silent room with just one other person. you know how when you breathe, only you can hear it? It's sort of the same thing with these smartballs.

They also come in a variety of exciting colors, but this one is my favorite:

Artificial love

One of the things I love about Edenfantasys is how the search engine has an auto-fill-in option, which I know isn't all THAT cool, but it's really helpful in discovering new things at the sex toy site everyday. Sometimes, I want to look for something and don't know exactly what it's called. Other times, I just type in "sex" and a couple things pop up that sound interesting, so I click them and discover some more.

well today, I typed in "love" and the first suggestion was love doll. Now, I've heard about those love dolls you see in like spoof movies, these little blow-up masterpieces:

However, I had never anticipated Edenfantasys to carry any. I discovered Edenfantasys actually carries a several, which is great! And thankfully, none of them are as atrocious as the one above (;

I found one called the Tera's ultra erotic love doll, which I believe is supposed to resemble a porn star. now obviously, I would never going on purchasing one of these. For two reasons. A. I am a girl. I can't really do anything with a love doll (unless it's a male love doll, whoopeee!!!!) unless I just want to...? I don't know what I'd do with one if I had one. anyhoo. and B. they're whopping expensive! The Tera is $259.99 which maybe is cheaper than a prostitute, but still very very expensive.

The Tera looks very realistic, even though it is a blow up. it's face is latex I believe, so it's actually like a mannequin. Huh! I wonder how good she is in bed!!

On the go

Sometimes life is too demanding and busy for you to be able to just sit down and enjoy yourself. Others still don't even have a sex life (ahem...) but that does not mean we can't still be sexually satisfied through sex toys. I noticed there are lots of discreet masturbators at Edenfantasys - vibrators, bullets, and dildos that don't look like sex toys, but just common everyday items like tubes of lipstick and rubber duckys, as well as lots of masturbators that are meant for quick to-go use that come with travel bags so you can use them at a partner's house or a hotel without lugging your entire toybox over.

An excellent example is the We-Vibe Tango vibe from Edenfantasys, which doesn't look like a vibrator at first glance.

It's also an attractive design, so you won't be embarrassed even if you ARE caught with it! Just casually say "Oh, this is to roll out my knuckles" or something ahaha.

And here is the rubber ducky for "bath use" I mentioned. SOO cute. Functional and unsuspicious at the same time. Lovely, right!?

Just make sure when your niece comes over and takes a bath in your bathtub......she doesn't grab it thinking it's a toy. Because. Well, it is a toy, but not a children's toy ;) Adults only!!!