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Impress your family at the dinner table this Thanksgiving by sharing a bit of knowledge from the ‘Did You Know’ category.

For example, did you know that the most popular Thanksgiving dinner includes a menu of turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie? (yum….pumpkin pie is my favorite!) Or, did you know that there are at least three American towns named after Thanksgiving dinner’s main course? There’s Turkey, Texas; Turkey Creek, Louisiana; and Turkey, North Carolina.  And finally, did you know that as many as 107 million American homes will celebrate Thanksgiving this year?

And a ‘did you know’ just for all you crazy shoppers out there (kudos for fighting the Day-After Thanksgiving-Day crowds). Did you know that ‘Black Friday’ (which is widely touted as the biggest shopping day in America) is actually not the biggest shopping day!?! In fact, the Saturday before Christmas has historically been the largest volume shopping day. Neat, huh?

So there you go! Some fun facts to share with your family and friends today! For more ‘Did You Know’ facts, check out Holidays.net.

 From all of us at ForRent.com, we wish you a happy & safe Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble!

By Simon Phillips 

If you live in a furnished apartment, a great way to add your personal touch to the décor is to use furniture slipcovers on the couch and chairs.  Not only can slipcovers hide unattractive or unfashionable upholstery, they have the added bonus of protecting your landlord’s furniture from wear and tear.  If you accidentally drop a slice of pizza on the sofa or your friend’s kid leaves mucky fingerprints on the arms, it’s much easier to wash a slipcover in the machine than to scrub the stains out of the upholstery by hand.

Slipcovers also come in handy if you’re furnishing your apartment yourself, especially if you’re trying to decorate on a tight budget.  It’s easy to find cheap or even free secondhand furniture from yard sales or family.  However, the disadvantage of secondhand furniture is that it’s not necessarily going to be to your taste.  Used sofas tend to look their age, with outdated, dirty or worn upholstery.  Also, it’s common for thrifty renters to acquire separate items - an armchair here, a loveseat there - rather than be lucky enough to find a matching 3-piece suite.  The beauty of slipcovers is they can solve all these problems, by making random seats match and giving old furniture a more modern style.

It’s relatively inexpensive to buy ready made slipcovers, especially if you shop around to find the best offers and clearance sales.  A 2-seat loveseat cover typically costs around $40 to $50.  A bonus of buying one-size-fits-all, mass-produced covers is they are designed to fit pretty much any furniture.  So, you can re-use them if you move to another apartment or if you buy your own furniture in the future.  The fabrics are usually hardwearing cotton or polyester, or a blend of both, and can stand up to lots of use and regular washing.  Stretchy fabrics that contain Spandex are also available, and are good for getting a really tight fit.

Of course, couches and chairs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so sometimes a ready made slipcover might not fit properly.  Custom slipcovers are more expensive and really only worth it if you’ve got a good quality seat you’re going to use for a long time.  But for renters on a budget, there are a few tricks you can use to help get a slipcover to fit.

For instance, if a slipcover is slightly too big and there’s a lot of loose fabric, tuck it all tightly behind and to the sides of the seat cushions.  Poking it in with a wooden spoon helps.  To secure it and prevent it becoming untucked when you sit on it, either buy some purpose-made plastic grippers or make your own from rolled up magazines and rubber bands.  You can push these into the gaps around the seat to stop the excess fabric untucking.  Another trick worth knowing is to use an old blanket or towel to add padding to narrow or wooden arms. 

So, if you’re looking for a way to put your own stamp on your apartment’s décor and get a coordinated look without spending much money, why not invest in some slipcovers?

Simon Phillips is a professional writer, interior design enthusiast and co-founder of www.GetSlipcovers.com.  He particularly enjoys finding ways of furnishing and decorating his home for less.

 Football equals Thanksgiving, right?  Now I would consider myself every inch of the word “fanatic” when it comes to sports, but I would have to put food over football when equating one or the other to Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving, by the way, is my favorite holiday!  Now that that’s out of the way, I would say one of our country’s greatest pastimes is to eat turkey and watch football on Thanksgiving Day.  Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together and just spend quality time.  Now for those of you who live in apartments, don’t feel left out.

I am also a renter who is having house guests for the holiday.  I live in a one-bedroom apartment, but it’s pretty roomy.  Roomy enough for my three younger sisters to crash.  It works because the atmosphere becomes more intimate and you get that closeness with your fam.  Granted they’re not rabid sports fans like me, they suffer through it to spend time with me!  Don’t let apartment living stop you from really enjoying your sports.  I know I certainly don’t let it stop me! 

The Thanksgiving Day Classic is one that carries rich tradition.  This American football custom began in 1920 showcasing five teams, all of whom are now defunct.  This year Thanksgiving Day gives way to 3 games on Thursday, November 27^th.  The Detroit Lions play host to the Tennessee Titans, fresh from their first loss of the season with a kickoff time of 12:30 PM.  The Titans will definitely be taking out some frustration.  Poor Lions, the Titans are going to whip them like some potatoes!  Next, the Dallas Cowboys play host to the Seattle Seahawks with kickoff scheduled for 4:15 PM on Fox.  Even without Tony Romo, Dallas should have no problem brushing the Seahawks to the side.  And last but not least, we have the Arizona Cardinals visiting the Philadelphia Eagles with kickoff scheduled for 8:15 PM on the NFL network.  I’m a little hesitant to give a prediction on this game because the Eagles are streaky, but Arizona, better yet, Kurt Warner, has definitely been showing more than shades of his former self. 

You can turn your apartment into a Thanksgiving Day Classic haven for your family and friends by visiting ForRent.com or our Holiday Guide on our blog.  Now don’t choke on turkey while screaming for you teams!  Gobble, Gobble!!  Happy Thanksgiving.

If someone were to say Thanksgiving Day Parade, what would you think of? The most recognized Thanksgiving Day Parade is in fact the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which takes place in New York City.  This parade has become a staple in American culture ever since the movie Miracle on 34^th Street which showed real footage of the festivities.  Of course national coverage by NBC every year has helped. Just thinking of the movie gives me all sorts of warm fuzziness and the merriment of the parade only reinforces those feelings for me. But did you know this annual parade started in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey? Yup, employees of Macy’s marched from the flagship store on 34^th Street dressed in costumes with floats, professional bands and live animals following them (in 1927 live animals were replaced by balloons). At the end of the parade Santa Clause is welcomed into Herald Square.  According to Wikipedia, the first parade had an audience of over a quarter of a million people! It was viewed as a huge success, which is why Macy’s declared it an annual event.

There are actually many Thanksgiving Day Parades all over the US. The nation’s oldest Thanksgiving parade, the Gimbels Parade or now known as 6ABC IKEA Parade, was first held in Philadelphia, PA. There is also the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade of Chicago, IL, the Parade Spectacular that is run in Stamford, Connecticut and others in Seattle, WA, Houston, TX, Detroit, MI, etc.

Returning for just a second to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, an interesting fact to note-the balloons in the parade are designed with safety valves so they can float for a few days. Address labels were sewn into them, so that whoever found and mailed back the discarded balloon would receive a gift from Macy’s[1]. How cool is that??

Anyways, the point is we hope whatever celebrations you are taking part in this Thanksgiving you have a great time! Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and be with those that mean the most during the Holiday season!

This is actually the first post we’ve done regarding diet, but it is one that is near and dear to my heart. Last year during the holidays I searched & found an exercise regime that would meet with my holiday ‘sin’ such as cocktail parties, buffet dinner or dessert binges. But this post is more directed as proactive rather than reactive. Here are tips for you to avoid overeating in the first place during the holiday gatherings:

• Portions, Portions, Portions: When you are getting dishes to eat make sure you pay close attention to the size of the portions you are choosing. The recommended size is the palm of your hand or smaller. Given that during the holidays there are a plethora of delectables to feast on, you may want to go smaller so you can enjoy all there is to offer.
• Seasonal Favorites: It would be foolish of me to state that you should limit yourself to only 2 sides, when I know that I don’t do it. It’s hard with all the options to choose just a few but it might be easier if you were to look at it in a different manner. You’ll want to make sure you get seasonal favorites as those choices may not be around all year, so stick with those for your first round and if you’re still hungry then you can get other options. Wouldn’t you rather get cranberry sauce rather than bread and butter?
• Know your limits: This seems to be where people get themselves in to trouble. With all the goodies everywhere they continue to snack and snack and snack, bringing plate 1 to plate 4 or 5. When you are eating it is important to listen to your body for signals that you are getting full. This will help eliminate the overfull belly which can sometimes be painful (I know)! Again, sticking with the first two tips try everything you’d like, but make it smaller portions such as slivers of deserts and go back for more if you want (and are able to eat it). Don’t hoard everything onto your first plate as you will probably feel more obligated to finish it.
• Exercise: And keeping with my statement in the intro, exercise is a particular staple in my holidays. As I start to down my second sliver of pumpkin pie (personal seasonal favorite), I start to feel guilty. The easiest way for me to feel better about it is the promise to walk around my neighborhood twice afterwards (or do the stairs in my house a few extra times). I even ask my mother to join me so I’m still spending quality time with family. Exercise is important for any person, but during the holidays it is especially important as there is typically more stress and overeating.

With these tips in mind, hopefully everyone will be able to stick to their plan of not overeating. With the holidays being so close together, it really is key to be prepared so you can enjoy all to the fullest!