todayinpleasantview

[todayinpleasantview]

Introducing: the Not-Quite-Caliente Family

Very soon, because I play households in alphabetical order, we'll be sharing the shenanigans of the Caliente family. This isn't the household you're thinking it'll be, however - no longer is the name "Caliente" synonymous with a pair of sisters (in this Pleasantview, anyway). Instead, Nina, still with her original surname, is a part of the Lothario household, and the newly-formed Caliente household is instead comprised of 3 different surnames: Caliente, Goodie and Thyme.

We all know the Goodies, right? Faith and Herbert are basically the Oldies, but available with the Apartment Life expansion pack and without the creepy old-man-Romance-Sim lore. Unfortunately, Herbert died a tragic boolprop death shortly after the couple were added to the neighbourhood, leaving Faith, er, widowed. And available for one of my Sims to woo.

To backtrack a little, however. The Thyme family, still going strong in Pleasantview, are a family I created and play "off-camera" who have now assimilated into Nina and Dina's family tree. Nika Caliente, daughter of Nina and Don Lothario (and, may I add, the only daughter of Nina and Don Lothario) has decided to marry her childhood sweetheart, Chiqo Thyme, and moved in with him into the original Thyme house (170 Sim Lane).

Way back when, the Thyme family were a stable nuclear family with great prospects. (Please note, many photos from earlier rotations were taken using the in-game photo feature, and therefore of a poorer quality.)

Named by my partner, whose hobby is literally to come up with stupid Sim names for me, this original household consisted of the punny Harv and Phyll Thyme (Half? Full?) the romantic Justin and Rosemary, and the two children Hannah Thyme and Chiqo Thyme (both music-related - IYKYK).

(Pictured L-R: Bradley Burb, Morty Goth, Chiqo, some townie girl, Justin, Hannah and Rosemary)

They were a nice family. A bit too nice, in fact. They made a nice change from playing the Pleasantview families and I was looking forward to the new genetics they'd bring into the pool. But... yeah. I got bored with them pretty quickly.

The most wonderful thing presented itself, though. Rosemary, dedicated wife of Justin for years and years, found herself with 3 bolts of chemistry with her father-in-law Harv.

Yep.

Their affair went on for a short time behind their spouses' backs, easy to proceed with considering their respective unemployments. But, in the end, I mean, the house was only so big.

Rosemary got the blame because I wanted her to be the one to move out. She was by far the most intriguing in the household, and I felt like starting a new "branch" of the family with her would be interesting and fun. And so off she went, with Harv staying until he met his death and everyone feeling very angry with each other. Excellent.

Harv died first (I think I was too happy with his death to have taken any photos), and Phyll lived a long and happy retirement without any sleazy men in her life. Phyll is still buried in the original house's garden.

Hannah, meanwhile, moved out into the arms of neighbourhood vampire Jim Clamshell. (The same one once found in Nina Caliente's hot tub).

She now has a baby with him named Ursula. (She is living in another household that I'm playing "off-camera" and therefore not sharing on my IG, but I could easily post updates every so often if needed!)

Also pictured: Fred Clamshell, Jim's dad, who is thinking about his wife and despairing over another girl being born into his life.

Meanwhile, what ever happened to Rosemary Thyme, the cheating ex-wife? Well...

She moved off into the empty shack at 10 Oak Street, started an apple orchard, and accidentally became a PlantSim. (Her name kinda foretold this transformation, I think.)

She then had little PlantBaby Dill, who is now a big girl, and together they run a farm on a larger lot nearby that old shack. (Again, I play them "off-camera").

Rosemary and Justin are friends again now, and both are content with their new situations. I'm glad I shook things up a bit, although I always feel a little guilty forcing stupid situations upon my Sims!

Anyway. Back to the present, and Nika has just left university where she graduated with a degree in Drama. Chiqo, a Knowledge Sim, also graduated, and the two are happy together. In fact, they've been happy together for a long, long time now.

Before Nika and Chiqo got back from university, Justin met Faith, and together they decided to keep each other company in their last years on this earth. Justin even encouraged Faith to bring her newly adopted dogs, Sarah and Danny.

And there you have it. The next-generation Caliente household and all the skeletons in their closets. Chiqo will take Nika's name on getting married so that I can concentrate on the Thymes being purely Rosemary's outdoorsy descendents. The Caliente name is now on the deeds of the Thyme house, and despite neither Nina nor Don being Family aspirations, I daresay Nika and Chiqo will give them grandchildren very soon.

Isn't Sim-life a hoot?

[todayinpleasantview]

Broke Trailer (Round 9)

With two generations of the Broke family still living at 55 Woodland Drive, I thought it was about time I posted what the trailer currently looks like.

For those unfamiliar, Brandi Broke's original trailer is small, with a master bedroom, smaller bedroom for Dustin, and Beau sleeping out in the hallway. The kitchen was tiny, the living room non-existent, and the garden nothing more than a square pool and a couple of patches of dirt. See the Sims wiki page for it here.

Here is what Brandi and Beau have done with it:

On having Beau move back in after university, the family applied to extend the trailer. The trailer company offered them the remnants of another disused trailer for them to staple on to the original. It worked out rather well, I think!

This is the layout of the "original" side. The only real changes made are that the bathroom is slightly smaller than before, a couple of windows have been moved or added (we'll just ignore the impossibility of actually achieving this in reality) and a back door has been added out onto a new deck at the back. The wall that used to comprise the master bedroom has also been altered slightly with the expansion, making the hallway slightly bigger and spacious enough for a small study.

And here is the "new" side! I wanted it to look as though it was an entire trailer "stapled on" to the original, so tried to keep the rooms in a trailer-style layout. Brandi and Merlin have the red bedroom and Beau has the bigger blue one (Casper slept in the original blue and white one before he moved out). The central space of the extension has a lovely sitting area with space for the television, meaning the kitchen can have a proper dining space. Jake the dog has his bed in a bay window in Brandi's room, which I wanted to look like another "stapled on" feature.

The garden is small and comfortable, with a separate space for the dog bath and chess on the deck. I love this lot - having the corner placement and the two-road access meant I could make the garden fully accessible. There's even still room to play fetch with the dog at the sides!

Overall, I'm chuffed with this renovation. Beau currently doesn't seem to have any desires to grow a family, so I doubt he'll outgrow it anytime soon. I could see Beau making it into a commercial business if he ever had to move out, just to keep it in the family.

If you like my renovation, please feel free to use some of my ideas in your renos! I am not planning on uploading my lot renos at the moment, but would love to see what others do with these lots. :)

[todayinpleasantview]

New Lot in Pleasantview - The Golden Condo Arts Centre

I know this probably doesn't bother anyone else, but I found the original Pleasantview to have too many condos. It's nearly 10 rounds in and I find myself occupying just two of them, still* - with the remaining three taking up space and looking a bit dull. So, I decided to renovate one of them and make it into a community lot in-keeping with the architectural style of the area.

*I forgot, but the Younger Burbs have just moved out of their condo in my game, so now it's just Don's condo that's occupied!

This is the Golden Condo Arts Centre - a quirky, somewhat bonkers everything-lot that I'm excited to keep sending my Sims to.

It's comprised of two buildings - both modelled after the original condos - and extensive balconies and grounds.

On the ground floor, you can find the restaurant on the left and performance space on the right. I wanted somewhere in Pleasantview that gave off a Downtown vibe, and having dining out and busking opportunities available has really improved dates and outings for me. Sometimes it's nice to stay at home and not have all the extra townies wandering around!

Upstairs is the art gallery and boutique on the left, and the gym on the right. (I had to download the MATY Community Lot Skilling mod to get the gym to function properly.) Included are saunas and a balcony hot tub experience, along with a nightclub out on the deck.

On top of the building and around the outside are various other social spaces, including karaoke, outdoor seating, coffee shop, and a smaller building with toilets.

I've managed to cram lots onto this lot, and it can get a bit crowded, but it was just so much fun to build and play that I don't really mind. I have stayed pretty faithful to the original Pleasantview community lots so far, so having somewhere different to go than the park has been a treat.

I can't wait to send more of my Sims here in the future. :)

[todayinpleasantview]

Sim State Dormitory (Round 9)

I have now played in all 3 of Sim State University's dorms, and thought I'd share the renovation of Duncan's residence: Sim State Dormitory. (You can see the Sim State wiki page for images of what the dorm originally looked like - I'm hopeless at remembering to take "before" photos!)

Full overview. As you can see, I sectioned off the ridiculously large roof because who wants to be keeping watch of that much floor? I think most windows have been moved slightly, simply because I always prefer windows being in the middle of walls, and I also added some full-length windows to the porch.

Whenever I renovate dorms I like to add lots of different places to study. I also like to fill the ridiculous amounts of empty space that Maxis always seem to leave! In this case I added more group research opportunities to the main hallway, along with a pool table, and then made the back room a "quiet study" room with more computers and surfaces. (I always move dormie assignments into this room if they get left in the cafeteria!)

Since taking these photos I have made minor changes to the kitchen and turned the space at the front of the building into a music space rather than cafeteria.

This is the upstairs. I believe there used to be another room up here near the bathroom that I removed to make the TV room bigger. I added my essential coffee machine and ramen fridges along with more ways for the Sims to have fun.

The dorm rooms themselves, both upstairs and downstairs, are all the same, which is how I prefer it. I always include a single bed, a desk and a chair, and then let my Sims decorate the rooms according to the furniture they've brought with them. I like to put communal drawers/armoirs/lockers in, too, so I don't need to necessarily worry about having wardrobes in the rooms.

Here's the rest of the roof. I made the upper room into a gym. Honestly, no one really came up here, not even to use the bubble blower. It's nice having it as a party location option, though.

Overall, I enjoyed playing this dorm. Out of the three available in Sim State it is definitely the biggest, but thankfully it never once felt crowded and there were no issues with dormies getting themselves stuck in corners.

If you like my renovation, please feel free to use some of my ideas in your renos! I am not planning on uploading my lot renos at the moment, but would love to see what others do with these lots. :)

[todayinpleasantview]

It's the Start of Round 9!

In-game it is Monday, Week 5. (I play half a week each round.)

Our families are spread across 13 households, with small families getting big and big families getting even bigger. The Oldies are gone, and Don has no one to continue the Lothario name. Meanwhile, we have a new Pleasantview clan - the Langerak-Harris family - comprised of familiar Pleasantview characters and their offspring. I've also introduced one of my offscreen families into the main story - the Thyme family, including Justin Thyme, Chiqo Thyme (yes, punny, I know), and recently widowed (through no fault of Herbert's, sorry dude) Faith Goodie.

The Families

BROKE (1.5 households)

Brandi had a fling with John Burb early on, producing third son Casper. (He took the place of Unborn Baby Broke, who I decided not to bring into existence this time.) Casper is now an adult and living with his half-brother Bradley and new husband Orlando. Brandi has remarried and is living her best life as an elder with townie Merlin. Dustin is long gone, having moved in with Angela Pleasant, and Beau is still trying to decide what to do with his life.

BURB (2.5 households)

John and Jennifer had another two children after Lucy, with only the youngest, Diana, still living at home. Lucy is married and living in her own condo with husband Tazama and baby Quincey. John is on good terms with his illegitimate son Casper. Neither household has much money, with Jennifer being the only one earning decent money. Thankfully, Lucy and Tazama, despite their Family aspirations, are steadily building up their own incomes, and Bradley, living the bachelor life, is also hoping to progress in his own career.

CALIENTE (2 households)

Nina moved in with Don early on and the two maintained an open relationship, seeing other people along with each other while also raising their daughter Nika. Once Nika got too old to look after, Nina decided to adopt some cats and is now the neighbourhood's main kitten breeder. Don and Nina seem to have committed to one another now they are both elders, but have no desire to get married. Meanwhile, Nika graduated university and moved in with her boyfriend, Chiqo, and his family, introducing this branch of the Thyme family into the story. Faith and Justin are pleased to have Nika living with them.

DREAMER (1 household + uni)

Darren got the girl in the end, and he and Cassandra have built a loving and creative family with kids Duncan and Darla. Dirk went off to university, then came back and fell in love with Kay Spitzig (apartment townie). With Cassandra bringing part of the Goth fortune with her, Darren was able to massively extend the house and enable the two families to live together in one place. Now Dirk and Kay have their own children, Vick and Violet, and Duncan has gone off to university. The family run an art store from home selling Darren's paintings, but Darren is closely coming towards the end of his life.

GOTH (2 households)

Mortimer married Dina, and together they had a little boy named Mortimer Jr. Unfortunately, Mort Sr. died when his son was still young, so he and Alexander had to bring themselves up while co-habiting with their pleasure-focused mother. On returning from university, Alexander and Dina found themselves drawn together - Dina seeking full integration into the Goth family, and Alexander seeking preventative measures to ensure some goon like Don Lothario doesn't end up with the Goth fortune - and they soon married, much to Morty's despair, and had twins Zander and Isabella. Meanwhile, Mortimer was keen to inhabit his own Goth Manor so took his portion of the fortune and built a new house the other side of the family graveyard, where he and new wife Sandra are hoping to start their own legacy.

LANGERAK-HARRIS (1 household)

What goes around, comes around... Kaylynn knew that Daniel was married, yet still decided to leap into bed with him. After wrecking that family, however, she found herself settled into a place with a man she didn't really care for. She soon realised that she liked Remington, the family maid, so much more than Daniel, and they soon began their affair. Now Kaylynn and Remington are living in their own apartment with son Winston and adopted daughter Lydia, glad to be free of the Pleasant family shackles. Kaylynn hopes she can make it up with Grace one day.

PLEASANT (3 households)

Daniel originally divorced Mary-Sue and married Kaylynn. Mary-Sue took Angela and the Oldies out into another house while Lilith stayed with Daniel and Kaylynn. Grace is Daniel and Kaylynn's one and only daughter, and is looking to inherit the Pleasant mansion. Lilith found love with one of my other created Sims, Billie Reid, and now lives with her in an apartment with their recently adopted daughter. Angela married Dustin once they became adults and they are still living in the Oldie house with twin boys Kobe and Ichiro. Mary-Sue died a few rounds ago, and Daniel looks to be going soon too, leaving the three sisters entirely separate from each other.

Let's see what happens with the families this week!

[todayinpleasantview]

Welcome to Pleasantview!

My name is Aimee, and I post Sims 2 Shenanigans to my IG account! (also @todayinpleasantview)

I've decided to create this Tumblr blog to become more involved in the community and also to post more longform content. (I've never had a Tumblr before so I hope I do it all correctly!!)

As of posting, I am near the end of Round 8 of my Pleasantview playthrough (1 week = 2 rounds). Rounds 7 and 8 are available on my Instagram and from Round 9 onwards, you'll find more detailed posts here too, such as start of round recaps, house tours and lore stories.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy my gameplay and pictures! :)