* The Washboard Laundromat

I built this launderette/laundromat (depending on which side of the pond you live), quite some time ago and haven't given it much thought since. It's currently residing in my Sunset Valley, on the corner of Mirabello Road, just opposite where the original hospital sat and on the land that was previously occupied by the art gallery. Though the art gallery lot was demolished and replaced with a smaller parcel of land. I think it's 30 x 20, but will have to go back into my game to check and can't be arsed right now.

It has a cupcake cafe attached to it's backside, because I could - and it has all been playtested. You may want to remove the dukebox, as random sims turn up for a boogie when your playable sim is washing his smalls. I quite liked that though, the madness of the SV sims is always entertaining :)

Also, I succumbed and used laundry type items from the Town Life SP, and a neon Car Wall hanging thingy from Fast Lane. It's all easily replaced with objects from Ambitions though (was ambitions the one where we got laundry????). If ya want it, the download and it's details are at the bottom of this page...

* St Ursine's Wedding Chapel

St Ursine's Wedding Chapel... named for a long lost, non-existent relative, of Claire Ursine... because I can. It's been built in Sunset Valley, but will obviously go anywhere. It does have virtually the entire Romanza Store Set (minus the clothing)... again - because I can... and has been playtested to within an inch of it's life. It works... for me... if it doesn't work for you, although I shall try to feel guilty about it - I wouldn't hold your breath. I am NEVER ... never... altering it again.

It had one staircase to the basement party room, and I'd put the cake too close to the bottom of it... have you any IDEA just how long a sodding sim will stand in line at the top of a staircase that's blocked at the bottom by other sims standing in line to watch a cake get cut??????????

No?

F*CKING HOURS!!!!!

It has been fixed. There are now two staircases... the empty cake table has been moved, and there's an extra empty table for plates to be stacked up on... yes... they even queued up to put their plates down.

If you want proof that it works go HERE. If you just want to download it, read on :)

* Kisses and Wishes

A bit of a spoiler, I know - but I do like a happy ending at the beginning... plus, I just plain LOVE this picture... and it's my blog.. so there...

Anyhoo... on with the story.

* Alvis' on the move...

After leaving the Wainrights *sob*, I thought I'd see if I could do anything to aid the Alvi family. Get them out of that rainbow puke house and into something a bit less... putrid. I can't stand it when my sims don't have decent homes to live in - it takes a poor picture, unless you're playing a grungified game - in which case, imperfection is the perfection you're aiming for.

I don't *do* grungy. I'm crap at it.

* Mirabello Institute of Art

I've built an art gallery to replace the rather large one in Sunset Valley. When I started it, I had no clue what I was doing, even though I'd decided on an exterior build quite early on - the inside defeated me. I was bored out of my mind with it, then came across some half decent images that helped inspire the interior. My sims absolutely love it - there's a cafe, as well as easels and a sculpting wheel/table, so that your sims can do more than just look at the art. I'm hoping to eventually replace all of the buy mode art, with art created by the sims, within the studio (you can do this too!) - but it'll take too long to do that and share it, so I've shared it now :)

* Puppy Love

I left Susan and Boyd Wainwright, a couple of weeks back (maybe longer, can't be arsed to check), with a boredom solver, firmly ensconced in a dog bed, in their living room. It was Boyd's idea, not mine - so I figured I'd let him be the one to explain to Susan, just what he had done when she was out working late...

* The Edge

I have always absolutely LOATHED the 28 Hour Wellness Centre/Gym thingy in Sunset Valley - to a point where my sims have always been exceptionally unfit unless they didn't mind jogging to work occasionally. So I figured I'd built a Sports Bar - might as well build my sims a Gym/Fitness and leisure centre to go with it... don't ask me how I worked that out. I don't know. Call it a theme... or boredom. You choose.

* Mullen's Bar

My sims were desperately in need of somewhere to go that wasn't a park, a pool, a beach or a made over Rabbit Hole and I have no idea why - but my mind hit on Sports Bar - so I built one. It has been marginally playtested, and the only fault I can find, is that sims sitting at the bar turn their heads in the wrong direction for watching the TV and I can't be arsed to change that. If it pisses me off LOADS I shall just remove the tv's completely... it's not like anyone'll be watching them when there's a brand new pool table upstairs!!!

* Empty Nest

 So .... having left Claire and Captain Underpants to deal with their own honeymoon (if they even had one), I hunted around Sunset Valley for my next victim(s) and came across the Wainwrights... a couple of happily married adult sims with a young adult daughter (Blair) who no longer lived at home... no kids, no need to have kids, no need to earn money to support kids... the perfect couple.

Maybe.

* Captain Underpants

... after an incredibly successful date with Claire, Yves felt the need to take a nap in Claire's bed whilst she was at work. He'd worn his favourite sexy (or so he thought) underpants in the hopes of getting a little more out of the date than a meal and a snog - these were his lucky underpants, because he'd always *gotten lucky* when he'd worn them in the past.

* Guilty conscience

Seeing as Claire wasn't having much luck scaling the ladder of  Master Thiefdom - when the opportunity arose to do a side job in Champs Les Sims - she took it. She needed a break from the mundanity of Sunset Valley (and so did I)... being a doting mum was all well and good, but there were times when Claire really needed her space. The fact that toddlers are unable to go on holiday, was a welcome break for me too !!!

* Not-so Master Thief

I absolutely love the picture above - this game is in turn frustrating and delightful. You've probably already guessed from the red hair, that it's Claire Ursine from Sunset Valley - though she's almost unrecognisable from the person she was when I (and everyone else) first loaded this neighbourhood.... but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself... back to the beginning for Claire then...

* KABOOM

Jamie and Jared... sitting up a tree.... K.I.S.S.I.N.G... 

* Saucy Sunset Valley!

Jamie Jolina is my current sim of choice... like many Sunset Valley Residents, she has succumbed to the lure of the Ice Cream Truck... which tends to turn up in a sinister *chitty chitty bang bang, child snatcher* type fashion, outside the homes of our playable sims. I figured if I let her have an ice cream, that the truck would move off. It didn't. It sat there for hours. It reached a point where I was afraid to guide the camera past Jamie's front door and out into the open... in case it got me.

* Riviera Pool

Well.... Real Life was fun while it lasted. I'm avoiding painting my bedroom ceiling... and Christmas Shopping. I HATE Christmas Shopping - I'd far rather spend my money on me, than on everyone else. I know what I want, which makes shopping for me very easy... anyhoo... I've been using my game to avoid jobs. I'm re-addicted. Thought I'd take a mooch around Sunset valley with Jamie Jolina and see what cropped up...

* Sunset Valley Central Park

I've been meaning to revamp this park since day one, and just never got round to it until recently. I think this may be because originally I wanted it to be so very different that you'd hardly recognise it - and yet couldn't find the inspiration to do that.

* "El" Dor Ado

I'm currently waiting for a brand spanking new desktop to arrive, so don't really feel I can get on and actually *play* the game at the moment, in case it's a waste of time and I'm unable to transfer all of my saved files over to Windows 7... these things never go according to plan, do they? So, instead of playing, I've been revamping various homes throughout my game and this is my latest offering...

* Asilomar

This one is an EA Makeover of the rather hideous and tasteless three bedroom home of *The Single Moms*. It took me aaaaages to do because I furnished it... which bored me shitless, so don't expect another furnished one any time soon - I have a life.

* Small Quarters 3.0

It has taken almost as long to organise the photos and cc list for this, as it did to bloody build it. It's enough to put me off for life... or until next time at the very least. This is Crystal Springs Vista, a small but tall cabin in Sunset Valley, built overlooking the Crystal Springs Lake. I built it for the Small Quarters 3.0 Challenge at LivingSims. Stupidly, I decided to offer it up for download at Sims 3 Musketeers, which has involved scouring the web to put together a detailed list of Store and Custom Content... and where to get it from. Also, for whatever reason, blogger decided that "No" today it was not going to upload my photographs - took me ages to work out I could do it via Picassa... I'm slow, not stoopid. Honest.

* Holly's Bedroom

Real Life has kept me fairly of busy late. I've been redecorating and refurnishing my own home, instead of my sims - far for more costly and there's no click of a button to paint the walls with - just an old fashioned roller and tray! We've got a few finishing touches to add, but I've finally found a bit of time (and inclination) to load up my game and play. 

I'm still trying very hard not to use too much custom content (if any), because it does slow my game down when I play it - plus, with a bit of imagination there's really no need to fill the spaces up with junk, just for the sake of a few pretty pictures. Although I am using what I refer to in my head as key pieces - those cc items that really can't be found in the game - mostly things like cushions and blankets, and the odd flower display... and sometimes an item of furniture, but not often.