sub-burbs

Friday, I took the day off and accompanied my friend Jim to the International Mister Leather market.  IML is a gigantic gay leatherfest that is held every year in Chicago and people from all over the world come to town for the event.  In addition to the seminars, contests, and parties, IML also hosts a huge vendor market of BDSM gear.

I spent a few hours touring the place with Jim scouting the place for MJ.  She had given me a list of items to find so I could guide her to the booths that contain stuff she was looking for.  When I discovered that market stretched over four ballrooms at the Palmer House, I realized that a few hours wouldn’t cut it.

Once we had gotten an overview, Jim and I went over to Bennigan’s for drinks and a snack.  He then went to join his friends and get ready for the parties that night while I waited for MJ to get off of work.

MJ joined me at the hotel at just after 6 p.m., one hour before the market closed.  She quickly realized that we both needed more time to enjoy the atmosphere (the hundreds of barely dressed hot guys got MJ’s attention pretty quickly) and to shop, so we decided to come back on Saturday.

We ended spending way too much at the market, but got a ton of great stuff including a leather harness for me, some amazing floggers, and a new set of wrist and ankle cuffs.

Here are some pics of our "haul":

On Sunday, we realized we needed a place to keep all of our stuff.

Before I continue, I should mention that I have a knack for insane projects.  For instance, rather than just put an action figure on my desk at work, I actually build detailed "playsets" for my toys.  One of the things I love about MJ is her equal love of these crazed, over-the-top undertakings.  (She wanted to make a few modifications to our new house, starting with removing the entire staircase.)

So, what do two people who love crazy projects do when they need a toy chest?  They go to IKEA and build an 8-foot tall cabinet into their closet!

Yeah - I told you we’re nuts.

We brought all the pieces home Sunday afternoon and I spent the better part of 11 hours installing the cabinet.  The result is a very goth looking cabinet with drawers for all our goodies, shelves for books and toy bags, and a pull out rack to hang floggers and other implements.

In order to make it fit in the closet, I had to remove all of my clothes and take down the shelf that was mine.  I am the boy after all and when it comes down to storage for MJ’s toys or closet space for my stuff, I lose by default.  (Actually, I gladly gave up the space, partly because it was the only way this would work correctly and I really wanted this awesome cabinet to shine, but also because it was something so subservient and I loved the feeling of MJ taking another little piece of control over me.)

Here is the finished product in all its insane glory:

If I didn’t think that MJ was taking our new roles seriously, this would certainly have changed my mind!

That night, we actually got a chance to play, but that’s a story for another post.

Happy TMI Tuesday!

1. When you orgasm, do you hold your breath?

No. I’m pretty vocal, so there is a lot of panting and moaning.

2. Have you ever had sex or played around with a celebrity?

Never, but would have loved to run into Melanie Anton during her modeling career or Sara Rue in her Gypsy 83 days.

3. Do you think prostitution should be legal? Why or why not?

Yes. If it’s legal and regulated, you cut down on women forced into the trade and also ensure that those practicing are healthier with regular screenings for disease. There are women who are pushed into prostitution every year, something I’m against. But if a woman wants to have sex for money and guys want to pay for it, I don’t see any problem with that.

4. How do you masturbate? Do you romance yourself? Get straight to the point? Read erotic material?

No romance, get straight to it. I usually like to partake in some sort of erotic material like podcasts, videos, pictures, or stories.

5. Which gives you the most pleasure - intercourse, masturbating for/with your partner, being masturbated by your partner.

Masturbated by partner. I’m all about the power exchange and having another person push you past the "point of no return" is one of the hottest things around.

Bonus (as in optional): Have you ever had a crush on a relative?

No. My relatives aren’t that hot…

The best of this weeks blogs by the bloggers who blog them. Highlighting the top 3 posts as chosen by Sugasm participants. Want in Sugasm #82? Submit a link to your best post of the week using this form. Participants, repost the link list within a week and you’re all set.

This Week’s Picks
Do / Do Not (lafillemariee.blogspot.com…)
“Do – stop in the hallway to kiss and fondle me before even getting to the room.”

The Red Cross of Fucking (perverselypoly.blogspot.com…)
“They can pay her a “finder’s fee,” and everybody will be happier.”

Review: The Amputee’s Guide to Sex (www.radicalvixen.com…)
“When he first mentioned it he turned his disability into a fetish.”

Mr. Sugasm Himself
Meet Lin Chong, Dong Assistant (sugarbank.com…)

Editor’s Choice
Mothers day 3 (joeheather.blogspot.com…)

Join the Sugasm

See also: Fleshbot’s Sex Blog Roundup each Tuesday and Friday (Fleshbot.com)

Erotic Writing and Experiences
Agly (theadulteress.livejournal.com…)
All Day Love (talktovanessa.com…)
Do You Know? (fexual-strustration.blogspot.com…)
Heartbeats and Breaths (bikersballsandteacherstits.blogspot.com…)
Hidden Desire - Submission #1 (confessionjournal.blogspot.com…)
Horny Sales Girl Giving Pleasure (humandigest.blogspot.com…)
Joshua Three - Part Three (junohenry.wordpress.com…)
Lay With You (www.smuttydirt.com…)
One More Night pt. 3 (kislee.naughtyblog.net…)
Overtime With The Boss (eroticjournals.blogspot.com…)
The Pussy Slayer (confessions112.blogspot.com…)
Room Service (gentlygently.blogspot.com…)
Watch Me Squirm (drtycplinva.blogspot.com…)
Welcome home honey (orangeuglad.blogspot.com…)

Sex News & Reviews
Ow! You’re On My Hair! (aslipofagirl.blogspot.com…)
Since when is stripping news? (deliciously-naughty.typepad.com…)

NSFW Pics, Videos & Audio
Aria Giovanni Nude (eroticandy.blogspot.com…)
Audio: Pussy Lickin’ Good (www.taratainton.com…)
Girlfriend of “Sexual Expression” in the Kitchen (kitchen-girls.blogspot.com…)
Half-Nekkid and Guilt-Free Hiney (www.tarasnaughtyshop.com…)
Happy HNT - Hand spanking video (darkside-journey.blogspot.com…)
Irina & Alena (viviane212.blogspot.com…)
Natali Demore and Lady Dalbin (video) (thebootcam.com…)
Presenting Avril (onlymet.blogspot.com…)
Supermodels from Peru (myhotbox.blogspot.com…)
Titty Tuesday (imelda-imelda.blogspot.com…)
Video #1/”Sexual Nostalgia” (sexualnostalgia.blogspot.com…)

Sex Work
A Day In The Life Of A Professional Fetish Blogger (www.quipsandchains.com…)
Madeleines (thismuse.blogspot.com…)

Thoughts on Sex and Relationships
Alpha & Beta (smart-girls.blogspot.com…)
Defining Erotic (www.thenaughtychick.com…)
Friday (sexcakes.blogspot.com…)
I loved this then and still love it now… (darkdaughta.blogspot.com…)
The Problem with Porn Part II: Manifestations Online (un-cool.blogspot.com…)
The Sex Kitten History; The Sex Kitten Future (www.sex-kitten.net…)
Spanked by Robin Byrd, or not that innocent (lustylady.blogspot.com…)
A Strange New World of Emotion (practicalpolyamory.blogspot.com…)

Sex Humor
Man Gets Out Of Traffic Ticket, Potential Threesome Cited (funnyextreme.com…)

BDSM & Fetish
Art, human condition and spanking (www.spankingwriters.com…)
Darkness (transformher.blogspot.com…)
I’m Easy (Sort of) - Reflections on Cuckolding (mrsemmakelly.blogspot.com…)
Star Trek and BDSM (twentyfoursevends.blogspot.com…)
Wednesday Session (www.sub-burbs.com…)
Wolves vs. vampires (lastbreath.wordpress.com…)

Titty Tuesday courtesy of Imelda Imelda.

A lot has happened since my updates started to wane, so I’m going to give some brief highlights and then pick up today with stories of our wild holiday weekend.

Two weeks ago, MJ and I visited our first slosh, a gathering near O’Hare airport.  We had originally heard about it via their website, but decided to make the trip when we discovered that many of the West Suburban Munch folks also hung out there.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Joyful, the organizer of the West Suburban Munch who recognized us from the dinner and remembered our names.  She planted us next to another couple (whom I will call Arthur and Fenny) who are also new to the lifestyle, but in opposite roles (Arthur is the Top).  They were a lot of fun and we spent the entire night huddled in our small group talking about anything and everything.

Arthur mentioned that he was putting together a small get together for the following night, but wondered if we could host as most of the people that were going to attend were from our area.  We agreed and invited them over.

Saturday night, the "party" ended up just being me, MJ, Arthur, and Fenny discussing The Scene and playing board games.  (The others we were expecting went to a vigil for a friend, the "missing Mom" in Plainfield.)  We still had a great time despite the poor turnout and are planning to meet up again sometime in the near future.

The next week, MJ and I went the slosh again, but none of the folks whom we started to bond showed up and the group seemed especially cliquey, so we had dinner and bowed out to go see the new Pirates movie.

Saturday, we attended the LRA club open house.  Even though we loved Galleria Domain, we decided to check out LRA partly to compare but also because many of the folks we know from the slosh hang out there.  Unlike the GD tour (which was just that - look at the equipment, but leave before the members arrive), this was actually a chance to the club during a typical play night.

LRA is basically a large, single-room warehouse space filled with equipment and a couple of small seating areas.  There really wasn’t that much atmosphere compared to the vibe we got at GD.  We were impressed by the wide range of participants, both in style and skill level.  (MJ was worried about playing in a public club, thinking she would be the rank amateur amongst a bunch of skilled Tops.  Seeing folks of all skill levels eased her fears greatly.)

The equipment was well maintained and they had a good variety of different pieces, but everything was a little close together.  (In the couple of hours we were there, we noticed folks rearranging things so they could get to the equipment they wanted.)

We hung out for almost three hours before calling it a night.  On the way home, MJ and I discussed our options on the way home and we’ve decided to get a trial membership to Galleria Domain, preferably to coincide with their planned members-only flogging workshop.  Although we have relationships with the LRA folks, we both really liked the atmosphere and more "upscale" feeling of GD as well as their monthly educational programs.

MJ is also planning to approach the GD folks about using their space to do erotic photography, a new side venture of hers to get back behind the lens and to bump up our toy budget!  The brick / wood floor / tapestry look of the place would be a beautiful backdrop for custom D/s photo sessions.  We haven’t found anyone doing "D/s portraiture" in the local scene and MJ’s style is perfect for that type of work.  I’ll post some samples once she finds her first models.

This brings us up to the Memorial Day weekend and our trip to IML, but that deserves its own post.

Okay, my massive push to update the on-going saga got sucked into my recent Real Life vortex.  Work has been crazy and when it came down to a choice between enjoying life with MJ or writing about it, things here suffered. 

Apologies for the slacking and thanks to the folks who wrote in to ask if everything was okay.  It is, I was just too busy enjoying things to stop and write!

If you’ve been following the site for the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed I’ve been struggling with labels when referring to my wife Jacqueline.

Even though I am collared 24/7 and have taken on the role of lifestyle sub, there are still many times when we fall back into our old married couple routine.  Therefore, I have been referring to my wife as Jacqueline or Jaci during those times and Miss Jacqueline during sessions.

This doesn’t just go for the blog - I’m also struggling with labels at home and so is Jaci.  She gets uncomfortable when I refer to her as "Miss" or "Ma’am" in public (in a BSDM club, for instance) or even around the house.  We’ve discussed this and me explaining that it is a term of respect (much like addressing officers during my time in the Navy) seemed to help ease her feelings about it somewhat.

While we sort this out, I figured the blog is a good place to start, so from now on I will be referring to her as "Miss Jacqueline" or "MJ".  (Take that, Spidey!)