Hello everyone and welcome to my newest legacy, The Spice of Life. Our founder here is one Cardamom Spice, and I’ll let her take it from here. Thanks for reading!

“Hi folks! I’m Cardamom, and I’m a family sim, and I’m going to be awesome at it because “mom” is already in my name! That’s the foundation of being a successful parent, right? Yeah, should be all easygoing from here!”

Let me tell you a little about myself. Like I said, I’m a family sim, and yes, I know I’m a sim. For some that’s an existential crisis, but I say, just because I don’t control the pie menu doesn’t mean I don’t control my life. I’m cool with it, basically. My secondary is knowledge, and that’s a good thing since I’m starting here in college with no skills. I’m neat, nice, and playful, but I have to admit to being a little lazy, and I can be on the shy side.* What I really want out of life is to find a nice guy, raise a ridiculously humongous family, and have a golden anniversary party. That sounds good to me. Just gotta find the right dude.*7/0/2/8/8

There’s a couple of . . . special situations . . . about my legacy I should mention. I have an allergy to snapdragons, and it’s genetic, so all my kids will too, so we’re going to brave it without them. Also, I’ve always wanted to travel the world and meet interesting people, despite my shyness, so I plan on picking a spouse from a vacation locale and insisting all my heirs do the same. This might be a little challenging since I’m a broke college student. Better get started earning some money.

I worked in the cafeteria, which is soul-crushing work, and so instead I tried to work at the coffee shop some too.

Unfortunately, the real barista kept wanting to talk and tell me jokes, and for some reason I felt compelled to change out of the uniform and quit my shift every time he approached me. Darn my work ethic! If I can’t socialize on the job, how am I ever going to earn enough to go on vacation?

Despite working as much as possible, I wasn’t making much money. I decided to focus on my grades but things there weren’t so easy either. My room was party central for all the various weirdos hanging out in the dorm, even while I was trying to write papers. I definitely needed my own place, but that takes money too!

Perhaps I should have saved my first grant for a place of my own or my eventual vacation, but I was feeling a little lonely and I decided to get a friend. I adopted a little womrat to keep in my dorm room.

Her name was Lady Fluffybutt. I thought she was just the cutest thing ever, and I loved playing with her. I could almost swear I could understand some of her chattering sometimes!

“What’s that, Lady Fluffybutt? You’re going to eat my soul? Ah, aren’t you a kidder. I hope! Eh, you’re just a womrat. What could you do? . . . oh . . . oh my! You don’t say! You do say! Why, I never! Back in the cage with you until you learn to mind that tongue of yours, Lady!”

I got out of those madhouse dorms as quickly as I could, and got my own place, which I admit was more of a box than a house, but at least it had a roof. I invited my only friend, Cornflower, over and asked her to move in with me. She accepted and we became roomies. Cornflower was another family sim.

I made a deal with Cornflower that if she let me use her grant money and worked to help me earn towards my vacation, I would use my sway with the controller to get her a partner of her own and let her get married. Since she was a family sim and not a legacy sim, this was her shot at obtaining her dream, so she took me up on it. Luckily, the barista found her a little less distracting, so she was able to put in some good hours at the coffee shop over several sessions.

Cornflower and I focused on our studies and took shifts working to earn enough money for me to go on vacation before graduation. Day to day was pretty boring. With no skills and no money, I ate a lot of toaster pastries. For fun, I played with Lady Fluffybutt when she wasn’t in timeout for her naughty nature. The things that womrat said!

We added another roomie, an intense-looking secret society member named Hera. Hera was another family sim, and we struck the same deal. With two roomies bringing in grant and coffee money, I was hopeful that I could go on a nice vacation before I left college. I considered joining Hera’s society, but between all the schoolwork and work-work, I never had time to meet enough of them.

“Um, Hera, who set fire to our pitifully bare kitchen?”“Oh, is it on fire? I didn’t notice. Welp, wasn’t me.”“Then why do you have cuisine points over your head?”“Do I? Huh, that’s weird.”“You’re not going to cop to it, are you?”“Never.”

Besides family, my passion in life is art, and I saw another opportunity in it to make some money, assuming I could get good enough, of course. I started out with pottery, which was perhaps not the best idea since it made me inexplicably stinky. Maybe I should have used actual clay instead of mud. That might have improved the smell. Anyway, I spent a lot of time practicing and trying to improve, even while Hera and Cornflower were sleeping. Luckily, the creaky old foot-powered wheel didn’t wake them, since we had only one large room and the bathroom wasn’t big enough for my wheel.

“Yeah . . . I am nowhere close to booking a flight. I need a serious cash infusion. What’s that? You hear a breeze? Yeah, the phone is located outside the hovel. It rings too much while we’re sleeping. Single room, remember?”

I decided to start a sorority in the hopes that, with our newfound sorority-related shenanigans, we might bring home some loot that I could sell for money. I named my sorority Oresha Cham Cham, but I could only afford to buy two letters at the time. I hoped that all of my descendants would go through Oresha Cham Cham too.

Let me tell you a little about Cornflower. Here was a classy lady. On her first date with her future fiancé, she was caught rustling through the trash when he arrived. She later fell in love with the bookcase, but decided to propose to Michael anyway. She did so, right next to some random guy’s butt. I love Cornflower.

“Well, Lady Fluffybutt, what’s going on today? Oh, you tried to get Hera to set the kitchen on fire again? You must like being on timeout. One more cuddle and then back you go!”

Even with the work I was doing on the side and my newfound hobby of pottery, I kept my grades up. I consistently got 4.0s, which really helped when grant time rolled around.

We had a thief come and steal what we called our woohoo booth. The police officer that came when we called caught her, but the insurance money didn’t pay enough to buy the booth back, and we really couldn’t afford to with my trip coming up soon. It made me really angry, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The rest of our college years were fairly routine. We worked, studied, and occasionally played. Hera met a professor named Paul that she took a shine to, and she proposed too. Cornflower painted a portrait of me working on my wheel. I want all of my descendants that go through Oresha Cham Cham to have portraits too, for posterity.

Here’s the finished portrait! Not bad!

I had a short break before my last semester, so I decided now was the right time to go on vacation. Together, we had saved up enough money for me to go on a 5-day vacation. I knew that this was my one chance to find Mr. Right since I wouldn’t have enough money to go on another vacation for a long time once I got back to the main neighborhood.

I booked a vacation to Three Lakes, packed my bags, and then I was off. Time to find a guy!

Once there, I decided to try to meet as many of the male locals as possible before I did any relaxing. The first two I met were a guy named Darren and one named Stephan. I didn’t realize how popular fannypacks were in Three Lakes!

Stephan and I seemed to hit it off pretty well. We had a great discussion about fashion, and how neither of us wanted to be constrained by it. I wasn’t bothered by being out of fashion, and judging by his socks and sandals, neither was Stephan.

After our pleasant conversation, I felt a sudden urge to check Stephan out, to see if we had any chemistry. I decided the best place to view him from would be between the two ax targets, so I risked my life to find out that I did, indeed, find Stephan hot. Darren was not someone I was attracted to, so it was good to know I had at least one possibility so far.

I kept visiting different lots and meeting different guys, with marriage always on my mind. I knew I wanted the white picket fence lifestyle, with a husband and lots of kids, so it was imperative that I find someone to share my life with. I ultimately talked to, and checked out, Sabastian, Steven, Jace, Henry, and Cole. None of them struck my fancy.

Once I decided I had exhausted the pool of male suitors, I spent a little time getting to know the town. I ate flapjacks and learned the slap dance, as well as spending a little R&R time in the hot tub.

As the end of my trip neared, I decided it was time to make my move on Stephan, who was the only sim in the whole town that I was attracted to. I had to move rooms in my hotel because my first room inexplicably didn’t have a phone, and I couldn’t very well send Stephan a date invitation by carrier pigeon.

As I waited for him to arrive, my stomach was full of butterflies. Would he like me back? Would we really be compatible? Would he be okay with my goals in life, and want to raise children with me? I felt like I was taking a big risk, but I also felt that he was the one.

When Stephan arrived, we started our date together, and it went swimmingly! I found out that Stephan was also a family sim, which explained some of our chemistry. It also made me really happy because I knew he would be down with the lifestyle I wanted. We flirted a little, but it was pretty tame at first as we just got to know each other a little better.

“So, Stephan, do you like what you see?”

“Oh baby, how did you know that girls in sweater vests with anger issues are my turn-on?!”

Our date started to heat up, and we made out right there on the sidewalk without a care whether we would scandalize anyone! Stephan and I were in our own little world, wrapped up in each other.

It seemed to happen so fast, but Stephan and I realized we were falling in love. Stephan was the first to say the words, and I worked up the courage to tell him I loved him too. For being someone who had never dated before, I felt like this was a huge step, but I also knew that I had found true love!

I knew I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by, so I proposed to Stephan right then and there, on our first date! I wouldn’t be able to see him for a long time, though we could keep in touch by phone, and I wanted to make sure he was all mine. Although it was a bit unconventional, he happily said he would marry me! I was elated that I had found the one, and that we were slated to be married once I finished school and settled in back in the neighborhood. It would be hard being apart now that we had found each other, but knowing we were engaged would make the wait easier.

With a ring on my finger, a song in my heart, and thoughts of Stephan racing through my mind, I left Three Lakes, happier than I had ever been before.

Amazingly, Stephan made the several-day walk to leave flowers at Oresha Cham Cham. I wished he had stuck around to talk, but I guess he had to get back to put his affairs in order, since he would be moving to live with me in a short time.

The last semester went fast. I tried to stock up on skills as much as possible, as I knew that life would be tough once I moved back to the neighborhood. We had built a pretty nice little beginning sorority, but it would be hard living again for me shortly.

I graduated summa cum laude, but all I could think about was the challenge ahead of me. That and the joy of being reunited with Stephan. We had talked on the phone as often as I could spare time, but it was hard being apart.

I wanted to use the last little time I had at University after graduation to get even more skilling in, so I stuck around, even after Cornflower and Hera graduated. I didn’t like living alone, so I invited another friend, Margaret, to move in with me. She cleans up nicely, don’t you think? She would hold down the house when I moved out until one or more of my children could move in. She also would keep an eye on Lady Fluffybutt, who I suspect may have doused some of the furniture with kerosene. She may be trouble, but I love that little womrat!

One of Margaret’s first actions in the house was to break the computer, and since I had much more mechanical skill than her, I was the one to fix it. Unfortunately, I forgot to unplug it and received a nasty shock!

The misfortune continued when my shock somehow made the tiny desk catch on fire, perhaps because of Lady Fluffybutt’s antics. I was still reeling from my electrocution, but Margaret started freaking out!

We didn’t have a fire alarm in the small study room, so one of us needed to get to the phone quickly to call the fire department. Unfortunately, neither of us was thinking straight, and we were in grave danger being in that tiny room with the raging inferno.

I finally managed to think again and quickly got to the phone. It’s a good thing, too, because Margaret had caught on fire while she was hanging out in the room freaking out. The firefighter came quickly and put Margaret and our computer desk out. Amazingly, there was no damage to the furniture.

I had survived being electrocuted and a fire, but it had taken a toll on me and I collapsed just feet from my bed, still charred and shaken.

In short, I’ve had better days.

With all that excitement, I forgot that it was almost time for me to leave college, so it kind of snuck up on me. Time to get on with the rest of my life!

I moved back to The Spice Rack, which is what we call our neighborhood. I had purchased a large, empty lot, as was traditional. Hera and Cornflower had loaned me some clothes to wear, so I was a bit more stylish than I had been before. I also traded in my pigtail braids for a single braid, which I thought made me look more grown-up. With no more possessions than a mailbox and a trash can, I started my adult life.

I had left the bit of accumulated wealth left over from my trip with Margaret for future generations, so I barely had any money when I moved onto my lot. I could only buy the bare necessities. I couldn’t even wall in my toilet, so I just hoped no one would be passing by when the urge struck.

For fun and company, I used the last bit of my money to buy another womrat. His name was Lord Snugglebottom. I knew that womrats are immortal when properly cared for, so I hoped that Lord Snugglebottom would be in my family for a very long time, just like Lady Fluffybutt would be there to comfort my descendants at college. Lord Snugglebottom was much better behaved than Lady Fluffybutt, though he could be a bit insufferable at times.

There was a bit of a problem with unrest in the neighborhood. I didn’t want to raise kids there, so I knew I needed to move, but I had to wait a week before Stephan could join me. Just to keep things uncomplicated, I ignored my neighbors when they came calling since they wouldn’t be my neighbors for long.

*The neighborhood was a custom template and it kept crashing at the neighborhood screen, so I decided to move Cardamom and Stephan once the first week was up and they were together.

As I went to sleep that first night with naught but the stars overhead, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Starting out this extremely poor was risky. Would I be able to survive like this, and what kind of life would I be able to provide my kids when I had them? I had doubts, but I tried to reassure myself that I could handle it, and I finally fell asleep.

The next day I started a job in politics. This was definitely not my dream, but it was the highest-paying job in the newspaper, and I needed every simoleon. I was hoping to get a better job with online searches, as some strange man had given me a computer, but I couldn’t afford a desk to put it on.

Politics was not for me, so when I came home with my paycheck, I immediately bought a desk and looked for a new job. I found one in art, which aligned perfectly with my interests and skills. To keep improving myself, I also got a bookcase and an easel. When I had time, I would paint since it was less taxing (and the equipment less expensive!) than pottery.

I started out in restoration, but it was hard to get into a good mood for work with my little collection of furniture on the lawn. On top of that, it was summer and was burning hot, so I always went to work feeling sweaty and gross. Luckily, I still put in a good effort and I earned a major bonus on my first day!

The bonus was enough for Lord Snugglebottom and me to move inside an actual house! Again, it was a two room, square shack, but it was home. Things were definitely looking up.

I visited Margaret to collect Lady Fluffybutt and the painting of me, so that I could pass those on to my children when they went to college. Since I was moving neighborhoods soon, my kids would have to start Oresha Cham Cham over again.

In the meantime, Lord Snugglebottom and I made do with our little house, and I talked to Stephen on the phone and waited until he could move in. We planned on having our wedding there, and then immediately packing up and moving to a new neighborhood. Lord Snugglebottom told me, “Better safe than sorry when it comes to crashes!” So true.

Finally! Stephan arrived from Three Lakes right at the beginning of autumn. I could barely contain my excitement and nearly knocked him over with a big kiss! I was so happy to be with my sweetie again, and this time for good.

Now that he wasn’t living in Three Lakes anymore, Stephan dressed up a little and traded in his touristy sunglasses for a pair of regular glasses. Stephan had a very even personality: moderately neat, active, and nice, and a little shy and serious.* His goal in life was the same as mine – a golden anniversary. I knew we were a great match!

*6/3/6/4/6

That very same evening, we prepared for our wedding. Lord Snugglebottom helped me get ready and offered to give me away, but I told him it was safer to stay in his cage. He then reminded me, “Always wear a seatbelt in a moving car!” What a helpful little womrat he is! So different from Lady Fluffybutt, who was living in suspended animation in my inventory, where for once she couldn’t cause trouble or make threats.

Stephan and I wanted to get to our new neighborhood as soon as possible, so we got married that very night. It was so romantic to trade our vows by candlelight. He told me how beautiful I looked, and I definitely noticed how handsome he looked in a suit! It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Margaret, Hera, and Cornflower were there to witness our happy day. I had to break the news to my friends that they would be staying behind and probably not getting married after all, but that we – or my descendants – would meet again in some other form at the college in the new town. Luckily, they understood.

Stephan and I couldn’t stop fawning over each other after the wedding. We had been apart for months, and now we finally had each other all to ourselves. Well, almost. There was still the matter of the party to attend to before we moved.

I was so busy that these were the best pictures we have of me in my dress. I made soup for dinner for everyone, and we socialized, listened to music, and watched TV. Stephan and I had spent all our money on the wedding, so we couldn’t really afford to throw a raucous party.

Still, a good time was had by all. The party was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being with my friends one last time, but I was even more excited to spend some alone time with Stephan at last. We definitely celebrated that evening, and then it was time to pack up and get ready to move!

We both wanted kids right away, but it wasn’t happening for us at first. Besides, we wanted our kids to grow up in our new neighborhood. Our last action in the old neighborhood was to adopt a cat named Kitty Pryde. She was a beautiful little tan kitty and she fit in perfectly.

Kitty Pryde went to sleep one night, and when she woke up, we were in a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood, coincidentally also named The Spice Rack. Things in this neighborhood looked to be more stable, and Stephan and I were looking forward to starting our family.

*Thanks for reading! Check back next time to see Cardamom and Stephan as they expand the Spice family, as well as Kitty Pryde and Lord Snugglebottom, and eventually that scamp, Lady Fluffybutt. See you soon!