Life in Christophe Harbour

Astral Faery wrote:

LOLOL! You mean you don't like that dowdy ensemble for Toni?

Can you believe the grandfather slippers?! Like the beige pants (polyester no doubt) and apron weren't bad enough! And look at how that guy passing by in the background is sizing up my ensemble!

Astral Faery wrote:

Wow, it is so neat to see the direction everyone's life is taking. It's so sad that the group won't play together anymore. Can't they make a vacation once a year to hang out and jam? They all ought to be able to fit that into their busy lives.

I'm dying to respond to this, but my lips are sealed. You'll have to wait!

Well Kyle does look better with hair. I guess I can forgive him now seeing how he was a young immature lad. He is gonna have to prove himself though

Aww everyone is all grown up now and not together anymore
That makes me a little sad for sure. It is great to see them all going on with their lives though...
I am curious to see the next hook ups, break ups, marriages and babies now..hehehe

OMG, the shame of Maxis putting Toni in that horrible outfit. Geez!!

Helllllloooooooo thread dwellers!

Sorry I disappeared like that on you. My brother's been in town this past week, so I've had less time with my Simmies.

Jen...time will tell if Kyle's gotten his wandering ways reined in. We shall find out soon enough

Trying to keep things chronological, I'm just going to follow the boys a bit more...ok...truthfully, this installment is really just 'cause I have some cool pix I wanted to share.

I just finished decorating Max and Kyle's bachelor pad. (It's a re-do of the house in Belladonna cove that Chastity Gere and Gabriel Green live in).

The boys found the place in the former industrial area of Simmiewood, where all the old factories and warehouses are gradually being converted into shops and living spaces. It's heavily populated by bohemian types: artists, actors, musicians and the like. The boys place is across from an old cinema, and jammed in between a cafe/restaurant, and an empty factory now under renovation.


Max is doing solo singing gigs at neighbourhood night spots and is on call to fill in with a studio band (he's an accomplished musician: violin, guitar and keyboards...and can hold his own on the drum set), while Kwesi Duru works on producing his demo track and then shopping it around. Kyle is working as a free lance fashion photographer, but is getting more and more work modeling. The boys stay in shape (gotta work off all that beer and pizza!) by running and using an old punching bag they've got mounted on their rooftop play area.

Here're some more shots...

Their pet rattlesnake, Spot.


This is Max's room


Kyle's room

And in case there's any doubt about how they spend their free time!

It absolutely amazes me how much energy you put into decorating. I wish I had the patience and inclination to do it. I really hate spending the time and I can never figure out what looks good where, anyway. Beautiful job - all the rooms look so 'real' - like rooms in real life.

Astral Faery wrote:

It absolutely amazes me how much energy you put into decorating. I wish I had the patience and inclination to do it. I really hate spending the time and I can never figure out what looks good where, anyway. Beautiful job - all the rooms look so 'real' - like rooms in real life.

Well I think your Medieval homes look most realistic Ari! They didn't do a lot of clutter back in those days and your furnishings are perfect!

Thanks again for your kind compliments. I guess it's all those years of Barbie doll training! Even then, I used to love to get those stuff packs, with little Barbie food and all that! I even had (ok, still have in my sister's basement) a little Barbie butter dish, with the stick of butter in it and a pizza box that opens and has a partially eaten pie and individual slices of pizza! And I made some pretty cool stuff.....Like a VCR: chunk of styrofoam cut to the right shape, covered with foil paper and thin magic marker nobs...and tah daaaaaaah! Barbie's got a VCR (we didn't have DVD players back then )

Oh my goodness! I've been a deco clutterholic for over 30 years!!!!

Oh they do have nice rooms those boys. I don´t think they have decorated by them selfs they must have had a prof room decorator.

ilikefishfood wrote:

Well I think your Medieval homes look most realistic Ari! They didn't do a lot of clutter back in those days and your furnishings are perfect!

Well that's right up my alley! I like clutter, I just don't really know how to do it. And I'm really kinda too lazy to learn - I'd rather just play, ha ha.

Wow - that's pretty impressive that you made a VCR. The most inventive thing I ever made for my barbie was a dress made from a washrag (or kleenex) with a rubber band around the middle! Hey - we were poor, lol - my friend and I needed barbie clothes and we weren't real handy with making stuff

Quote :

I even had (ok, still have in my sister's basement) a little Barbie butter dish, with the stick of butter in it and a pizza box that opens and has a partially eaten pie and individual slices of pizza!

I think I had a butter dish too! Didn't it have a little knife with it too? My mom liked to sew so she made a few little Barbie outfits for me and little beds. I tried to make some of my own clothes too with fabric scraps and I had an apartment building that was really an old changing table that folded and had three boxes that I made into apartments. It was fun.

The boys' place looks great. You really have a flair and a great style for decorating!

Ari your washrag and kleenex outfits sound most avant garde! I learned to use our big, ancient sewing machine (with the peddle thing you had to move with your foot) just so I could make clothes for Barbie (the fancy store bought stuff came later). I remember the first thing my mother taught me to make (out of old socks) was underwear for Barbie and her friends. She was horrified that they didn't wear panties! Ha haaaa! I even put elastic in the waist and the little bitty legs! By the way, all I can sew to this day is dolls' clothes.

Em, love the apartment boxes! When I was (I can't believe I'm telling you guys this)...but when I was in my 20's *gasp* my cousin and I (same age) built this amazing dollhouse in a walk in closet in my mom's flat. It had shelves along two sides, so it was like walking into the dollhouse. That's when the VCR got made....and I had a store bought bathroom set, but the house had two bathrooms, so we MADE the other stuff. A kleenex box (with a nice marblised pattern) for the bathtub, the pump from a bottle of hand lotion (covered in foil) was the shower, and some more of my mom's good foil paper for the taps and lower faucet. The toilet was a small flower pot, with a styrofoam tank...and well...you can imagine more foil paper was needed for the handle

I checked bodyshop and that top my self Sim was wearing was old Sims2Sisters from when they had their free site, before moving to TSR. I haven't seen them at TSR, but I'll check the graveyard. If anyone's interested in the mesh and the three or four recolors I have, just PM me, and I can upload them to mediafire for you. They were free, so no problem sharing. The jeans were by a SimChic. I believe free, but her site's been down the past couple of days, so I haven't been able to check. Will let you know if I find them.

---

Well, I'm back today to get you guys caught up with the other main characters in my game so we can get back to Carolyn and Marco.

As a point of interest, the day after Sim Toni kicked Max to the curb, he rolled a want to be her best friend again and fall in love with her. I think one glimpse of her in the grandpa slippers would cure him of these wants!

We've seen where Max and Kyle ended up. As to the others...

Damien Duval (Dirk Dreamer) and Lilith got engaged!

Ophelia (who studied fashion design) got a job as a designer's assistant at a Simmiewood fashion house. She moved into a pretty nice one-bedroom apartment...remember Daddy's rich (move director).

Speaking of rich daddies, her cousin Maxine moved into her movie star Dad's SImmiewood condo (where Carolyn spent the last couple of summers). She's in law school, and still dating Jace

...And Mike (both of whom graduated the year before she did).

She also immediately started dated her old law professor, Sam Harrelson who she has three bolts for! He's divorced (an elder) and a romance simmie too.

He also happens to be Kyle's grandfather! You can see where Kyle and his dad get their good looks.


Wild-haired Marc, off to do pre-med and then intern at Pleasantview General was 'advised' to cut his afro. "It just doesn't say 'doctor,' does it?" said the snobby Hospital Administrator who interviewed him. But he obliged, and cut off his beautiful 'fro....



And dyed what was left of his hair RED! Ha haaaa!

He moved into a run down flat above a liquor store.

Where he was joined a few days later by Joey...

Joey, after getting rejected by Shoba decided he didn't want to live in Christophe Harbour in case he ran into her (she studied civil engineering and snagged a job with the city working for the Planning Board).

So he accepted an appointment in Pleasantview with the Department of Social Services working in the inner city with juvenile delinquents.


One of whom is Don Loathrio's son Pheonix...now a teenager. I told you Don makes good looking kids!

Um...I think I like Marc's hair better like this. Holy cow look at that bone structure!

Yes, Don does make good looking kids, I've bred him a few times - he's a good looking guy.

Aw, the proposal picture is so pretty! I hope they'll be very happy together. Looking forward to seeing the wedding.

I'm loving watching all your sims grow and seeing where their lives are taking them. It's so neat to see proposals, rejections, new jobs and locations, new looks, new homes - it's so very real. You've done a great job of making them seem like real people.

Astral Faery wrote:

You've done a great job of making them seem like real people.

They're not real?! What are you saying?!



Hee heee! Thanks Ari! I must say, sharing my game with you guys has actually made it even more fun to play.

Well boys and girls...it's time to get back to Carolyn and Marco. I think we left them in the last week of the summer before their final year at university. He had just written and told her he was staying on in London to finish school.

---
Carolyn was devastated when she received Marco's email telling her that he would be staying in the UK for a year! And more importantly, he wouldn't be home next week. She had been looking forward to seeing him more than she even dared admit to herself. But she had to admit it, when as she read his email she felt tears sliding down her cheeks.


She should be happy for him, it was a great opportunity...the greatest, and yet all she could think about was how she was feeling. "You're so selfish!" She chided herself.

Over the next few days her mood swung between sadness and even anger and everything in between. She was angry with herself for being angry with him and for not being able to feel totally happy for her friend.

She forced herself to reply to his email when she realized nearly a week had passed.

Over the next few weeks they continued to write but not very often and never ever about anything terribly personal. Because of the time difference, they rarely ever saw each other online.

Her younger sister Pauline who had begun university joined the Sorority and moved into the house.


It was great for Carolyn to have her around.


Over Christmas vacation she 'ran into' Marco online and they had a friendly conversation on Skype. It was so strange and lovely to see him. He looked tired, but happy.


After a few minutes of tentative conversation, the nervousness slipped away and they ended up in an animated conversation about the University of London and the city itself.

"You'd love it! You should come for a visit," he said with a wink.

She laughed nervously.

"I've got an audition in a few minutes. I've gotta run," he said making a silly face. Miss you Garcia," he added quickly.

"Miss you too D'Angelo," she replied with a smile, as her stomach flipped over. "Good luck at the audition!"

Her heart was fluttering when they disconnected. "I really am happy for him!" she thought, smiling sadly. Nonetheless, she decided she would not allow herself to get caught up in her unrequited feelings for her friend. Nurturing feelings for him was emotionally draining. He had told her of some opportunities he had in Europe after graduation and she was happy for him, but it meant she couldn't be sure when she would see him again.

There was no way she could actually go on a trip to the UK. Even though her father was a successful surgeon, he was supporting a family of ten! (she had seven siblings). She hadn't managed to get much in the way of scholarships, so he was paying her tuition and most of her other expenses. Trips aboard were not going to happen any time soon.


Carolyn reminded herself that she had resolved to deal with her feelings for Marco whenever they ended up in the same place. It was impossible to try to figure it out when they were so far apart and hadn't seen each other in ages. The important thing was she was genuinely happy for him.

The remainder of her final year was a mad crush of classes, parties, auditions and job interviews.


She and Marco wrote once in a while, and at the end of May he wrote to say that he was going to spend the summer in Italy. Vinnie - who had won scholarships hand over fist throughout his university years and had accumulated a nice little wad of cash in his bank account - would be joining him. They were going on their 'back to the mother country' trip before starting the rest of their lives.


It had more than two years since she had seen him.

2 years I sure hope they get to see each other soon. And maybe we'll get lucky and one of them will bend just a little and let his/her feelings slip...but I know you plan to torture us some more, you evil thing, you.

Great update and beautiful shots, Toni. Your story is always a joy to read.

Thanks Ari!

I have today another quick update. I play in rotation...using each university term as a marker. I play a term for all my young adults. Then back to the hoods to play for a bit, and then back to uni for second term. That way all family memories make chronological sense. Younger siblings can say get an A plus, while an older one is off at uni making the dean's list, or getting put on academic probation. Anyway, I have so many families to get through that I thought I'd share as I went along.

I also at the end of this, will have a little teaser from the next Marco and Carolyn update

---
Brandi's new baby Ryan is a cutie. As far as I know he has the default light skintone, but I didn't remember the cheeks being so rosy. I think he's lovely with the pale skin and jet black hair.

Nina (and Don's) daughter Mia also grew up.

And just a few months later, so did he and wife Cassandra's daughter Nella...a jock like her dad, here she is playing basketball with her uncle Jacob! That's right...her uncle! That's grandfather Mortimer's son with his young wife Dina.


I think I'm going to like Nella. She loves sports but also loves reading (which she'll do autonomously) and loves gaining skill points. She's also very, very nice.

I don't know if you remember Max's little sister Alana and Andre and Ophelia's little sister Maddie who were best friends. Well they grew into pretty teens.


They still love their Nintendo! Here they are playing at Maddie's house.

And goofing around with their friends Jesse Burke (Burb - as in John and Jennifer) and Manny (short for Manuel) Garcia...one of Carolyn and Marc's younger brothers.

Daniel moved into his new bachelor pad in Simmiewood, complete with wants to fall in love with and make best friends with his ex-wife Mary Sue. Never mind that he's harbouring fears of the death of two of his main girlfriends Michelle (the one that the twins beat up) and Sonni (an NPC cop).

Did I also mention that Daniel had a baby with the maid Katelyn Langerak? It took some serious manipulation to get it done and still keep Katelyn as a maid, but I figured it out (I think I'll have to start a separate thread for simmie manipulation tips. lol!). Anyway, Joanna is now seven. Better looking than the twins, that's for sure!

Speaking of the twins, Lilith got a spot with the Simmiewood Scorpions (women's basketball) major league team...and after she and Damien (who is attending Law School in the city) got engaged, they moved into a little apartment in Simmiewood. They've only got a bed, a couple of chairs, a TV, a fridge and a stove. But they'll start furnishing after Lilith gets her first pay check.

And Speaking of moving in, my sim self moved into a teeny run down house in a Bohemian neighbourhood in Simmiewood. Around the corner from ex-boyfriend Max and his room mate Kyle. I loved the house that Jen (AdriannaSimmie) made for me, appropriately called Toni's Tiny Grunge because of my love of the well-worn home. Now this was a really, really well-worn home...and while I'm not adverse to actually living in a run down house, as my sim self likes to walk around barefooted, she felt the need to clean up the floor boards a bit. So she bought some industrial strength cleaner and did her best. I also tweaked the place a little, making the upstairs one row of tiles bigger so I could move the tiny bathroom up there. What if my sim self needs to go in the middle of the night?! I changed some of the furnishings, kept some clutter and most of the gorgeous grungy wallpapers...ringed the place with a wall (it is the middle of the city, after all!) and moved Sim Toni a newscaster intern (custom broadcast journalist career) into her new old digs. Here're some shots, and here's the link to Jen's original creation. Thanks Jen! We love it!

And I just wanted to include this picture of Shoba's younger sister Raishma, because I think she is just breathtaking.


Remember her? One of Kyle's sister Lauren's best friends. Here they are with their other BFF Bernadette (Cassie and Maxine's sister) practicing their dance moves...because that's what sixteen year olds do!



And finally, to end this installment...a little teaser: an excerpt from this coming week's update on the Carolyn and Marco saga.

He caught his breath. "Garcia!"

They moved towards each other, and she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. His face was buried in her hair, and he could feel her heart beating rapidly against his chest.

Then she pulled away - too quickly he thought - and gazed at him with a warm smile, but he thought her eyes looked sad.

"I missed you," she said sounding a bit breathless.

"I missed you too," he croaked, grabbing her hand.

Honey, you are a natural at this. You're an excellent writer, and an expert tease - you know just what excerpt to post to get us all frothing at the mouth. I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

How fun to see your other neighborhood happenings! Don's children are all quite beautiful - I can't wait to see them grow up! And Morty's little guy is a doll - he's going to be quite the looker when he gets older!

I'm really enjoying your thread so far.



Oh and do tell! How did you manipulate Kaylyn/Katelyn to get her preggo?

Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing the pictures of the house Toni
I am so happy you both like it so much...

PS Sorry about the tiny bathroom, that is the only room I forgot to play before I packaged the lot...oops :))

I usually test play all of the lots before I package them just to avoid issues like this. Maybe I need to go back and tweak it now :))

She has a fabulous place your self sim Toni!
They do look good all your sim kids. Joanna does look really sweet.

And when does the next installment come????? I like it like ......now!


Bring it on....

Thank you ladies! I love getting feedback!

Patience Ulli, patience! :praying1: Sooooon.....there's one more big event that I'm staging for the next installment. As we say in the Caribbean..."Soon come!"

Oh Jen...the house is lovely...and I've certainly seen homes that have bathrooms that're far away from from the bedrooms, so my Tiny Grunge is not unusual...it's just that if my Sim me is anything like the real me...she would prefer to have her facilities near her bedroom I'm so lovin' the place. I've even managed to squeeze a chess table into the 2-tile backyard. And I don't remember if you had put a BBQ grill out there or if it was me, but I have a nice rusty recolor that fitted in quite nicely for my Saturday afternoon barbecues.

Ari..about the baby. I couldn't do much with Katelyn other than control her, but I wanted her and Daniel to have a baby (just for the drama), so I let Daniel have the baby. I have mods that allow men to have babies, though I don't usually use it, as I go for a more realistic game. But in this case, here's what I did:

I have an orphanage run by a couple of nuns. I went to that lot and moved Daniel in using Inge's teleporter cat. I did this because if he'd had the baby on his home lot, it would have become part of the Pleasant family, and the other members of the household would've had the 'joined family' memories. In this case, I didn't want them to know about the baby, and I certainly didn't want her to be part of the household.

So I made Daniel a part of the family using The T Cat. Used the Sim Manipulator (a new mod that's just been released, but that I've been testing for over six months for the creator). This can also be done with TJ's Simblender and Maxis' Tombstone of life and death. Anyway, I made Daniel pregnant by Katelyn, and used the Sim Manipulator to make him give birth immediately (can't deal with the pregnant man visuals ). The baby then became part of the orphanage and both Katelyn and Daniel had the 'had Joanna' memory.)

Then back on the Pleasant lot, I used the cat to move Daniel back in. I used the cat because then the moving in and out creates no memories of 'joining families' which is the memory Maxis gives you when one simmie invites another to move in. It was quick, and painless (well maybe not for Daniel! )

Then back at the orphanage, I'd occasionally teleport Katelyn to the lot, make her selectable and let her teach Joanna who to talk and walk and potty train her. I'm guessing a cad like Daniel probably wouldn't take the time to be part of her raising. Once she became a child, I used Argon's Townie Brick to make her a townie...it's immediate...just a click on 'make me a townie.' The brick ensures that they don't lose their memories. I use this method to populate my hood as I also have Pescado's no townie regeneration mod.

Ok...that's today's lesson in Sim Manipulation. Bet you're sorry you asked! lol!

I'm sorry I haven't been around to witness the greatness that is going on in this thread.

Your photos and storylines are absolutely great. The photos are beautiful and the characters you've created just draw people in. You can't wait to see what happens next to your characters. Great Job!

btw.....I LOVE Max & Kyle's Bachelor Pad. It's perfectly decorated and I'm a huge fan of Interior Brick. Beautiful!!

Why do you need a hack for let men having Baby's? never seen that should be a problem... is it? one just move the mother out ... or what?

Jackie, I mean the mod actually makes the male sim get pregnant. As far as I know, the way Maxis made it, they can usually only get pregnant by aliens. I don't use the feature much though, so maybe I'm totally wrong. Can your male simmies have babies?

Hunter, I am so incredibly flattered by your generous words. I'm in awe of your talent, and am tickled pink that you like my decorating...oh! And I'm totally into a brick phase too. I'm always on the look out for interesting finishes of brick...not that my heaving DL folder can really take any more pressure!

Anyway my pretties. I actually have a Marco update. There were so many pix that today's installment will not include the teaser I posted a few posts back...it will be in the next one. Last time we followed the tale from Carolyn's perspective...now let's see what Marco has been up to...

---

In the fall, Marco's new agent called him in Ventimiglia (a town in northern Italy near the border with France) to tell him he had been offered a supporting role in yet another Star Wars sequel: Star Wars 15 (Ha haaaaa!)...

Lucas Films liked to use actors with theatre backgrounds, and someone had pegged Marco for a small role.

After Marco hung up the phone, he did a little victory dance. The film would begin shooting in England and Scotland in a matter of weeks!

But there was something he had to do first. He had to go back home.

First and foremost, Joey was getting married!

His older brother Joey had been devastated after his high school sweetheart Shoba rejected his marriage proposal.

But with the support of his buddies (Kyle, Marc and Max) he survived the heartbreak...


A few months later he met Stephanie Terrano (a nursing student). Both family sims, it didn't take them long to fall in love. She was in her final year of nursing school, and as soon as she graduated and got her first job they set a wedding date in the fall.


Marco's twin brother Vinnie, after spending the summer with him in Italy, had gone back home. He had a job waiting for him with a Public Relations Firm in Simmiewood.

What do you think of his new look? Too geeky?

Marco had worked on an independent film that summer in Italy...


...And now was teaching English as a Second Language while perfecting his Italian, and roaming the art galleries.


But now it was time to go home.

But there was more than his brother's wedding and Lucas Films on his mind. He was going to look for Carolyn. He hardly heard from her anymore and her emails while warm, were brief and he sensed almost hesitant.


He made a decision that he would go back home and look her in her eyes in her dark, dreamy eyes and ask her how she felt about him. He already knew how he felt about her. He was afraid to hope that she would say she loved him...but if...if...she did, he would ask her to come back with him to the UK.

I hope not well that was a misunderstanding well, well ... ok then I understand why you need a hack ...

Great pictures and a good story Toni, i like the way you make everything happen in your neighborhood, and like always love your surroundings and backgrounds to your pictures ... good work my Lady!

I really would want to se him look her in her eyes in her dark, dreamy eyes and ask her how she felt about him. I don´t think he dares to.....
I´m going to wait for that moment even if I have to


Like your pictures and that tennis court coooolll!!!

Your pictures are breathtaking! I especially love the one of Marco looking out the window, the one with his back to us. And I'm still really loving watching the happenings in everyone's lives. C'mon Marco! You can do it! Look that girl in the dark steamy eye and tell her how you feel - Good for you! But I have a feeling it's not going to be that easy. Now why should I feel that way? Oh yeah - because Toni is telling this story!

First, you piccies are gorgeous sweetie



AAAAUUUGGGHHHH!! Marco, please, please just tell the girl how you really feel about her or imma have to give you a giant push...hehehehehe

You are such a great story teller Toni and have got us all hanging by a thread here...
I am hoping things work out for those two but knowing you....hehehehehee