#decades challenge

Dear Mama and Papa,

I hope this letter finds you well. We certainly are! We seem to have hit our stride in recent months. The farm is flourishing. We are growing potatoes, pumpkins, aubergines and watermelon. We sell our eggs and milk at the town markets. We lost Darling, our cow, last winter, but Mr Berkowitz sold us one of his. Daisy is a delight and has been helping us to make ends meet.

Onto the children, your favourite subject. Sarah is 11 - I can hardly believe it –! Growing more beautiful and more stubborn by the day. She is a good child, helping me out around the house and in the garden, though I know she does not enjoy it. Her grades leave a lot to be desired, though she is a smart child and I know she can apply herself if she chooses to. It may be that school is not for her.

Benji is a different matter. He seems to enjoy school, though I suspect it is more because he sees his friends. He has two, Yanke and Avi. The ‘three Musketeers’, Sarah calls them. They are all good students – when they apply themselves – but I have been to the school twice to respond to letters from his teachers on the pranks they have played on a few of the older girls.

Papa, do you remember that boy Yitzhak (Isaac) who used to put spitballs in my hair in class? When Avram found out, he thrashed him. Of course, I am not going to thrash my son, but I will nip this behaviour in the bud. It is not the type of behaviour I wish to see from him, or any of my children.

Aaron and Perl are going well also. At times I confess forgetting to update on Aaron, as he is such a good boy that I have nothing to report! He applies himself well at school, even though his bar mitzvah is a few years away, but he enjoys studying Torah so, that he may be a rabbi. Zayde would be so proud.

Perl is almost five now, and due for another photograph, which I shall send to you promptly. She is 'the apple of her father’s eye’. A strange expression but in this case accurate. She loves to follow Avram around the farm and tries to “help” tend to the garden. Such a darling.

They are all getting so big, and we are all excited to see you for Rosh HaShanah. It is so early this year! Only a month away!

Your loving daughter,

Esther.

August 2nd, 1899.

I took some shots of Lone Oak Farm while I was playing. Look how beautiful that lighting is!

How it’s going - crops coming up, chickens being fed etc! Family’s working hard.

Hey all! I have actual goodies today, one of which I’ve been working on since October and wanted to release for Simblreen… ha ha… well, better late than never, right?

So here it is: the Manic Pixie Gibson Girl Set, Part 1 (yes, there is a Part 2 if I can get my shit together)

Further context for those of you who don’t know: the ‘Gibson Girl’ is based on some illustrations drawn by the artist Charles Dana Gibson in 1890. She was sort of the ‘ideal woman’ - fashionable, elegant, worldly. He apparently based the sketches on his wife, which is cute enough for me to almost ignore the misogynistic undertone of a man deciding beauty ideals for women. But I digress.

1. The “Sara Vest”

• Yes, it was named after Sara Howard from The Alienist
  
• Vest mesh edit from Dine Out, all LODS, tested
  
• Puff sleeves from @joliebean - thank you for your generous TOU!
• 23 swatches including plain, houndstooth and check patterns
• Some truly horrifying colour combinations
• Recolour PSD included in the folder
  

2 - 3. The “Perfectly Plain” Skirt & “Rather Ravishing” Skirt - Recolours

• Original skirts by @gilded-ghosts
• Mesh needed - get them here(New Woman set).
  
• 36 swatches in matching shades and patterns
• Recolour PSDs included in the folder
  

Download | Ad-free as always

@decadesfinds@mmoutfitters@maxismatchccworld@simshistoricalfinds

I hope y’all enjoy because I worked really hard to get this done! See under the cut for known issues and my TOU.

Known issues:

• Collar and tie texture overlaps on some skirts - EA and CC skirts alike. It’s a UV map issue and isn’t able to be fixed. For long, relatively plain skirts, the texture shows up on the underside, so it’s not visible.
  

• Vest is compatible with @linzlu’s Picnic at Hanging Rock skirt and @simsfromthepast‘s Edwardian skirt. Some minor clipping with the ‘Picnic’ skirt when the Sim moves in CAS.

• Sleeves clip when posing - this is not really able to be fixed as they’re… well, they’re huge
  

TOU:

• Edit, recolour, include the vest mesh as you like. Credit is courteous and appreciated. I only ask that you don’t place it behind a paywall, including early access, and respect GG’s TOU.

I’m free from my finals! To celebrate, have a sim style evolution…thingy! July of 2020 to June of 2022. It’s weird to think that I’ve been playing this decades challenge for two years now, and I’m barely at the 1920s

However, that gives me a chance to play with more of the cc that has come out in the past two years, and I like mutton sleeves, so expect more Larietta content soon!

Views of Windenburg

(ft.@kindlespice‘s stunning Gia Preset)

I don’t have time rn to make another Baumann post bc it’s almost finals season and my brain is slowly melting into a soup, so here’s a bunch of random weird screenshots I didn’t have room to include in a Baumann post + basketball lady c. 1905

I’m also trying out a new topaz clean action, and I really like it so far! I ran topaz clean first, and then texture smoothing afterwards (both from kaleeko’s action set).

Soon after Martha’s birth, Catherine returned to work. Although Francis’ parents sent them money, it wasn’t enough to cover their daily expenses, and even Catherine’s brother, Cecil, had began work in a tire shop after school. As a result, Francis and Martha were together for most of the day.

It took a little adjusting, given the fact that Francis was still practically a child himself at only twenty years old, but he doted on his little girl every second of the day.

Of course, Catherine’s mother, Beatrice, cherished her new granddaughter, and taught Francis and Catherine the ins and outs of parenthood. Even when Catherine couldn’t be there for her daughter during her long days at work, she was always happy to come home knowing that her Martha was well cared-for.

The Exorcist, c. 1920

currently procrastinating on the 2983749 things I need to do, so I decided to do a ‘lil photoshoot of Lucille and Rose bc…gay

The Baumann family—on both sides of the Atlantic—rang in the new decade with little fanfare as Francis, Catherine, and Martha began to adjust to their new life in London. Eloise and her friends were thrilled to have a place at the ballot box for the first time, but her joy was somewhat dampened by her brother’s absence. Regardless, Eloise and Rose shared a morning in town as they cast their votes for the first time. Perhaps, they hoped, their votes would make a difference.

Losing her career in nursing weighed on Catherine, and her heart dropped as she felt the pains of labor coming on nearly a month early. Her mother, a midwife, reassured her that everything would be fine, and joined her daughter in her apartment to prepare for the labor and calm her daughter down, but her fears (and Francis’s) were only quieted after a long and difficult labor, and she could finally hold little Martha in her arms.

Even though she had been rather scared to give birth to her first child while Influenza still held the world in its grip, Francis was far worse. He’d constantly worried ever since he first learned of Catherine’s pregnancy, and insisted on carrying anything even slightly heavier than a dinner plate. 

He’d also worried plenty about his role as a father. He knew from the whispered comments on the street and the occasional wails of passing children that his burns were far more visible than he would have liked, and he constantly thought about the many things he simply couldn’t do. His father had never been one for sports, but he had kicked a ball around every once in a while. Such a simple thing, and yet Francis feared it would be almost impossible. Even simply running and playing with his child felt like it would be an insurmountable task. 

But Catherine, guessing at her husband’s thoughts, gently placed baby Martha into Francis’s arms, and he found himself sobbing without even knowing why. 

With the midwife’s permission, he ran his fingers gently along Martha’s face, trying to build a picture in his mind of what his daughter looked like. Even though he knew he would never truly see her face, and the thought saddened him, he felt as if he already knew her. 

“We have a baby girl, my love,” Francis mumbled in amazement in between sobs, trying to choke back further tears so he didn’t cry onto the baby. “We have a baby girl.”

Catherine bent down and kissed her daughter’s forehead, and touched Francis’s shoulder to gesture for him to do the same. 

“No, I–” he stuttered. “Are you sure I should? My face is a little rough, you know, and I don’t want to frighten her–”

Catherine sighed loudly and planted a kiss on the scar tissue that plastered his cheek. 

Even without seeing her face, Francis knew when Catherine was feeling particularly stubborn (which was most of the time), and gingerly kissed Martha’s forehead, and she–much to his surprise–grabbed onto his nose.

“See?” Catherine said, ruffling his hair. “She already likes you more than me.” 

Francis laughed, but it came out as more of a sob, and he placed his finger on his daughter’s nose with another laugh. 

“I can do that too, you know,” he said to the baby, grinning as he wiped the tears from his cheeks before the three of them settled into bed for the night.

(I started reading @deadlymodern’s WTWC again, and–man, these captions are a lot of work, how do you do this? I don’t think I’ll stick to the captions; they’re a lot of work and I don’t have that much patience, but it was a fun experiment!)

@simchronized‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades (pt. 7)

Ugh! As if!

Outfit 1: hair//hat//earrings//necklace//top//pants//shoes

Outfit 2: hair//acc buns//earrings//necklace//top//jeans//shoes

Outfit 3: hair//earrings//necklace//top//skirt//boots

Outfit 4: hair//earrings//necklace//top//jeans//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//acc bangs//necklace//acc jacket//shirt//acc shirt overlay//skirt//shoes

Thank you to the cc creators! 

@arethabee,@candysims4,@clumsyalienn,@jellymoo,@madlensims,@pralinesims,@simstrouble,@bloodmooncc,@enriques4,@laupipi-blog,@rimings,@serenity-cc,@dyoreos,@shoestopia,@alexaarr,@greenllamas,@dear-solar,@oakiyo,@trillyke

@simchronized​‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades (pt. 6)

Ohhhhh I wanna dance with Sim-bodyyyy

EDIT:I fixed the link for the Joan jacket! Thank you @rexstylesxiii for pointing it out!

Outfit 1: hair//shirt//acc jacket//jeans// shoes and socks

Outfit 2: hair//outfit//shoes

Outfit 3: hair//dress//heels 

Outfit 4: hair//outfit//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//necklace//jacket(joan jacket) // skirt//shoes

Thanks to all the cc creators!

@arethabee,@cooper322,@valhallansim,@imvikai,@sondescent,@sentate,@joliebean,@simstrouble,@aniraklova,@casteru,@mlsim

@simchronized​‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades (pt. 5)

Hair was fun back then, and so were pants. and shirts. and music.

Outfit 1: hair//top//pants//shoes

Outfit 2: hair//top//jeans//shoes

Outfit 3: hair//top//jeans//shoes

Outfit 4: hair//top//jeans//shoes

Outfit 5: hair(carl hair) // sweater//pants//shoes

A big thanks to all the cc creators!

@feralpoodles,@madlensims,@pinealexple,@tiptoptab,@astya96cc,@renorasims,@simstrouble,@arethabee,@ice-creamforbreakfast,@demondare-sims

@simchronized​‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades (pt. 4)

60s fashion was so fun.

Outfit 1: hair//earrings//outfit// shoes

Outfit 2: hair//outfit// tights// shoes

Outfit 3: hair//dress//shoes

Outfit 4: hair//top//skirt//tights//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//dress//accessory shirt//tights//shoes

makeup for 5: eyeliner//eyeshadow

Thanks to the cc creators!

@happylifesimsreblogs,@madlensims,@simduction,  @ridgeport,@serenity-cc,@dallasgirl79

@simchronized‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades (pt. 3)

I always love looking at 50s cc. I think it’s because of my addiction to Fallout.

Outfit 1: hair(s4 333) // outfit//shoes

Outfit 2: hair//dress//shoes

Outfit 3: hair//dress(citizen dame dress) // shoes

Outfit 4: hair//top//skirt//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//dress//shoes

Thank you to all the cc creators!

@javitrulovesims,@astya96cc,@mermoning,@twentiethcenturysims,@pixelsinmyveins,@sentate,@fuckyeahunbichobolita

@simchronized‘s Lookbook challenge: Decades (pt. 2)

So this is a 30s/40s lookbook. I enjoyed making this one a lot too. 

Outfit 1: hair//hat//top//skirt//shoes

Outfit 2: hair//earrings//necklace//dress

Outfit 3: hair//hat//coat//stockings// shoes

Outfit 4: hair//coat// flower brooch//accessory shirt (sheer set)  // necklace//skirt//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//hat//necklace//coat//boots

Thank you to all the cc creators!

@dallasgirl79,@mmoutfitters,@sentate,@vroshii,@magnolianfarewell,@zouyousims,@plazasims,@astya96cc,@happylifesimsreblogs,@nucrests,@wild-pixel,@joliebean,@vintagesimstress,@javitrulovesims,@marsosims

@simchronized‘s Lookbook Challenge: Decades 

So I’ve decided to go way overboard for this part of the list. I’m doing 20s, 30s-40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s lookbooks. I absolutely love vintage cc so it was really a fun one.

Outfit 1: hair//outfit//shoes

Outfit 2: hair//headband//earrings//jacket//dress//shoes

Outfit 3: hair//earrings//necklace//dress//gloves//shoes

Outfit 4: hair//turban//dress//wrap//shoes

Outfit 5: hair//hat//necklace//outfit//coat//shoes

Thank you to all of the cc creators!

@its-adrienpastel,@simmister,@javitrulovesims,@happylifesimsreblogs,@vibrantpixels,@plumbobteasociety,@trillyke,@dallasgirl79,@ice-creamforbreakfast

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Dear Mother,

There is something in the air of Windenburg, and it is fertility. Not simply is Dinah Owens with child, but we are also practically the same scale. I am unable to express my delight of the invite she gave me for tea and discussion at the Owens manor. I was glad for the extension in invitation for Elijah. I know what you will say, and I will tell you that I refuse to bring help into my home when I am more than capable.

Mother, their home is so brilliant I am sure you would collapse. Dinah was an outstanding host. Her attention ranged from her own pregnancy to my advice concerning raising a toddler. Elijah did not care for our conversation and found solice in candles. They kept him entertained throughout the rest of our stay.

Dinah informs me of a theatre being built, funded by her husband. I am surprised you were not the first to tell me. Is Father not remaining up to date on his own town? Either way, you will love it. It should be complete by the time you arrive for your first visit. I guarantee it our first outing.

Sincerely,
Elyse

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Dear Mother and Father,

Do you remember when I was a girl, and we accompanied the Ervings to the festival by the pier? I wandered from the crowd and discovered that tiny brown dog with a limp. I can still recall the heaviness of my exhaustion from crying for three days after you refused to allow me to bring the stray home.

Isaiah has a similar story. A street dog walked the roads of Rill Cove and caught his attention as a boy. He says he passed the animal so often that he named her Lady, and over time she responded to his clicks and whistles. One day, he fed her his last bit of food and it was the last time he had seen her. It is unlikely, but I like to imagine that we encountered the same dog.

For forever and a day, I could never understand why you forbade me from caring for the dog, even after growing and acknowledging my pampered upbringing. My search for your reasonings have ended today.

Our morning began with a walk through the town center and ended with Lijah’s discovery of a stray. He stayed put by the dog’s side, and I swear it, she imitated Lijah’s big pleading eyes. They knew they would never part, and they were waiting for Isaiah and I to come to terms with that.

I am sure you have arrived to your own conclusions of this story. If not, I am happy to inform you of our newest member in our rapidly growing family. We named her Lady.

Sincerely,
Elyse

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Elyse watched summer, her favorite time of the year, gradually end through the window. Rain and fog replaced the summer heat and the sun’s shine as the season of fall approached Windenburg. Every year she had to face the reality of change once the leaves turned brown.

However, her gloom lasted not half as long as the years prior. Being with child was more than enough to relieve the sadness of summer’s departure.

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Dearest Mother,

I appreciate your correspondence. I find comfort in every letter you send, yet I remain in waiting of a response from Father. We have not exchanged word in over a year, if not passed through you. It feels I have been cast aside. I do not understand his silence. Is the distance between us the issue?

Enough sulking, I suppose. I fear it is developing into a habit… You say you want to hear more of Elijah? There is nothing I would rather do than boast about my sweet boy.

Lijah is well into his second year. Can you believe it? I am trying to. He eats twice his size, I swear it. Our food supply diminishes before my eyes. He and Isaiah are milking my energy dry. Speaking of his father, it is difficult to separate the two from one another. Lijah enjoys his time with me, yet I know he spends every moment waiting for his father to return from the school. Just yesterday, I busied myself with needlework while keeping a watch over Lijah on the porch, who tired himself out with his own creativity. I prepared to take him inside and it was as though he felt his father walking through the gate. He jumped out of my arms and into Isaiah’s. As much of a sight it was, it is I who carried him in my aching body for months… Correct? Never does he declare such delight during the time I tend to his needs from when I wake to when I lay. Is this what I deserve for favoring Father when I was a girl? I imagine another child would yearn my closeness…

I ask again, how are you and Father doing at home? You never reply to my requests upon returning for a visit. I want nothing more than for Elijah to meet his only grandparents. He will adore you, especially, I know it.

- Elyse