Juli,try Modthesims2.com. I think I saw something there about removing the sparkles.

Yup. I have AL. And Mansion and Garden.

Mistyk: first of all, I wanna say thanks for uploading these! I love the deco set in particular.
Secondly, though, the whole reason I came to this site (other than because it's awesome) is the Oh Baby! set, and while it downloads properly and I put all the files in my downloads folder, and it SAYS that they're actual files....they don't show up in game. It's just the Oh Baby set. I've downloaded a handful of other sets from this link and they all work fine (though they show up as custom content, but I hardly care about a stupid start in my catalog) it's just this one set that doesn't work. Any advice?   

Thanks! Yes, i agree, store is QUITE evil. And pointless.

Quick question: I don't have to redownload the Store Edition to play with these items, do I?
The Store Edition is what EAxis gives you/makes you install if you download ANY of their content from the site....and I hate it. It just takes up unnecessary space on my hard drive and slows down my game even more.
So, in theory, I should be able to download these things into my downloads folder for my game and EPs, the normal way, and they'll work, right?

I have searched FAR and WIDE for a solution to this problem, and I was told the geniuses here could help me. Obi Wan Kenobi, you ARE my only hope.

*ahem* Anyway....while playing Mansion & Garden stuff one day, I noticed that when you put the Second Empire 2-tile windows in the correct way(i.e., the decorative frame on the outside of the house), they do not let light in. However, when you flip them around and put that frame on the inside (which makes no sense, but doesn't really matter much anyway unless you play with the walls up all the time) they work fine.
Stupid EAxis.
So I was wondering/hoping/praying that someone was skilled enough to fix it, because I have no idea how. I become an LOLcat when I try to mod things (I no can haz gud windowz, EAxis?) so I was hoping someone had the answer ready, or knew where I could find it.

Here's any specs and/or random info you might need:
I have the following EPs and SPs:
Base Game
University
Seasons
Open for Business
Pets
Bon Voyage
Apartment Life
Nightlife
Free Time
The Sims 2 Store Edition
Family Fun Stuff
Celebration Stuff
Ikea Stuff
Teen Style Stuff
Mansion & Garden Stuff

and I have installed all of the patches for each game. None of the "Complete List of Fixes" included this problem, and EAxis doesn't yet have a patch for Mansion & Garden on their website.
PLZ HALP!