To Barnacle Bay!

Guess what?! Desperate Sims's latest episode--! ... is still not quite finished. Doh!

I had grandeous plans to get it finished this weekend, but after getting horrendously fed up with my game I did a complete reinstall of my game and cleaned out a TON of CC. It wasn't even CC I'd ever used--it just came with the town of Redcliffs, which I unceremoniously tossed out the door as well because, as cool as it looks, is too darn big and glitchy to play in.

Now, you might remember, Redcliffs is where Travis and his family moved to... But I didn't want to just leave them hanging. So, I moved them to Barnacle Bay instead! (Story-wise, whether he transferred teams again or moved there originally, I haven't quite decided yet. I'll figure that out as I go.)

I didn't want to just plop them into town and run off, though, so I spent yesterday evening building them a house! I'm not sure if I'll upload it, yet, but even if not--here's a tour!

Front

Back Patio

Back Patio + Pool

Entryway

Dining Room

Kitchen

Study (right off of kitchen/dining)

Living Room

Living Room, again

The "Man Cave" (Basement)

Other Side of Man Cave

Master Bedroom

Girls' Bedroom

Boy's Bedroom

Guest Room

As you can see, I tried to go for a more 'beachy' theme to fit living in Barnacle Bay; it also gave me a good excuse to use a lot of store content I'd been sitting on. Several of these sets were gifted to me by readers, so thankyouthankyouthankyou to you guys--you know who you are!

This is officially up for download! Click here!

Now, as for the family...

Travis is doing well; he hasn't really meshed with his new teammates yet but he's trying to focus more on his family than his work, anyways.

Unfortunately, he hasn't stopped drinking--and much to Jade's dismay, he's learning how to make his own drinks. She's hoping he steps back before he turns into a full-on alcoholic...

They are still getting along, though. Travis hasn't relented on trying to fix their marriage--and Jade is slowly starting to put everything in the past and trust him again. She still freaks out every now and then, but she's not turning down his advances, anymore.

As for Jade--she's starting to consider dropping her career in the military and take up something a little more part-time; she's already starting to look at applying as a personal trainer at the local gym. Money isn't an issue so much anymore, with how much Travis makes.

Speaking of money--they both rolled a wish to go to France, so once they can afford it they're getting the honeymoon they never had.

Gracie is growing into practically the spitting image of Meredith, though she's got a bit more the personality of her great-grandmother. She's a Snob, which means she's *constantly* drawn to the table to 'preside over royal court', but since she's also got the Good trait we'll assume she's a fair and just ruler.

She'll be growing up to a teen soon, but I haven't quite decided what I'll pick for her fourth trait... but you'll have to assume it's something a little gnarly since her other three are quite good.

Sally's a bit of a trouble-maker, on top of being a bit of a tomboy at this point in her life. She's messy and a little too forward for everyone's liking, but she warms up to most people pretty easily.

Even though she's not quite as tender-hearted as her big sister, Sally doesn't turn up her nose at her cousin; she's constantly on the phone to Margo, and is currently working on convincing her to come visit them sometime soon.

Sally's also super closer to her big brother, who finds her antics incredibly entertaining.

Owen's settling into Barnacle Bay a lot faster than anyone else is, and that's probably because of this gal right here: Fern. They became best friends quite fast, and then she decided to take things one step further--they went on one outing together, and the second she started flirting with him it became a date. I was rather amused by that. ^^ I'm not sure if they'll become "official", though; I think she's incredibly cute, but I'm not sure how I feel about her traits.

As for Owen--he's thinking about heading into the military, even before school is finished, via boarding school; he's got high hopes of becoming an astronaut, someday, but he inherited his mother's clumsiness so he's not sure if he'll ever make it that far.

Anyways, that's what's going on with them! (And here's a cute family photo. ^^)

I'm probably going to be playing with them quite a bit on the side, to keep their ages parallel to my main save, and as a bit of a diversion from doing anything really story-oriented. If you'd like you see what goes on with them, though, I'll probably post quite a few shots on my tumblr.

And of course, when has there ever been a Kane home built without Meredith behind the wheel? Naturally, she flew out to come help them decorate and settle in. (And yes--there is a copy of the rest of the Kanes living in BB, because I fully expect the family to visit as often as they can!)

No promises on when the next story update will come out, although I am hoping to get a huge chunk done tomorrow! I've honestly just been enjoying actually *playing* with my Kanes--especially with Travis & Co, who've been quite neglected lately. Hope y'all can forgive me. ;)

Also, real quick: there's still a few stories I haven't gotten caught up on (namely Six Degrees and Dreams Upon a Pillow, I think there may be a few others though) and I just wanted to let you guys know I plan on reading your posts ASAP! I have been all over the place lately and it's been difficult getting to the stories I love, but I'd rather savor them when I have the time then rush through reading them.

I think that about wraps it up, so--y'all'll see me again veddy soon! *mwah!*