My youngest sister, Allie, is coming to visit this weekend before heading off to her last semester of college (she spent the previous semester studying in Australia and New Zealand).

Sarah and I are using her impending arrival as an excuse to decorate our place a bit, so it looks more like people live there.

Mom: [on the phone] It's amazing how much home improvement is motivated by guests coming over.

Today, Sarah bought so many plants for the apartment that they barely fit in the car.