Grayed out icons and unable to save

Product: The Sims 4
Platform: Pc 
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time 
What is your current game version number? 1108.335.1020 DX9
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? university, high school years, cottage living, snowy escape, seasons,  island living, city living, get famous, get to work, get together, growing together, parenthood, crystal creations, spa day, modern luxe, book nook, pastel pop, urban homage, little campers

Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? 
What happens when the bug occurs? 

unable to go to manage worlds, build mode, gallery, and save my game 
What do you expect to see? 

icons not grayed out and clickable 
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods?

i only have like 3 mods and no CC 
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? 

yes it appeared right after the 7/23/24 patch. 

I play on a PC. My game was working perfectly fine until last weeks update on 7/23. Icons at the top right are grayed out (manage worlds, build mode, gallery) and when I hover over them it says "Game Loading in Progress." I am also unable to save the game because it says "Game Loading in Progress" when I hover over the save button as well.