Apartment Blog

During this holiday season it is important to factor in the safety of all of your family members; even the little furry ones! You’d be surprised what dangers are lurking for your family pet during this festive season. So to help out all of our pet-friendly readers, we have compiled a list of items to watch out for this year. A trip to the veterinarian hospital would not be a pleasant thing!

Ingesting items:
Everyone knows chocolate is bad for dogs. But did you know that onion, grapes and raisins are horrible for them too? Fatty foods like turkey skin or gravy is not good for their stomach and alcohol is toxic! And be aware of things they can get into and eat such as plastic wrap, toothpicks, napkins, disposable plates or flatware. Items likes these can definitely do some damage to their internal organs.  If you are traveling with your animal or having friends staying at your home, make sure all medications are put in a place where curious animals cannot find them.

Safety for your pet:
This is not only about the safety of your animal, but also safety for humans around your animal. A pet that lies down in the middle of the kitchen is an accident waiting to happen. Make sure all of the left-overs are properly sealed and stored away where counter surfers cannot reach.  If serving turkey, make sure the carcass is in a plastic bag and taken out of the apartment. You don’t want to leave it around where any animal can take interest. And be sure to tell your family/friends visiting that feeding your pet is not good for him/her.

And finally, make sure you keep your animals’ routine as normal as possible. If your cats are terrified of people, let them have one room (perhaps a bedroom) to themselves. Or if your dog doesn’t like to be pent up in the house for too long, take him/her out for long brisk walks (for small dogs make sure they are dressed accordingly). Since there will be people coming in and out of your apartment, make sure that your animal wears proper ID tags should they escape in the confusion.

Wishing you and your family, all of them, a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

It’s a tradition with my family year after year. We always pile up in our car and drive around to look at Christmas lights. There is one house in particular we always stop and see. We call it the ‘NOEL House’ as it has the ‘NOEL’ saying prominently displayed on its rooftop. We also make it a point to go to see the Holiday lights at Virginia Beach Oceanfront. There is something grand about looking at the holiday light displays across our city. I look in amazement at the creativity and the excitement that I feel. I feel like a child again, anxiously waiting for the big day!

Accumulated by americasbestonline.net, here is a list of the best holiday light displays in cities across the nation. Look who turned up number 11! J If you are near one of the areas, make sure you go out and look at the wonderful lights displayed.

1. Silver Dollar City- Branson, MO
Millions of Christmas lights cover the whole park. Plus, the entire city is transformed into a holiday wonderland each evening at 5:30 p.m. as guests join together on the Square for the lighting of the dazzling, five-story Special Effects Christmas Tree. Adorned with over 250,000 lights coordinated to blaze to the musical movements of Christmas songs, this unique Special Effects Christmas Tree presents classics such as “Carol of the Bells” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” in a spectacular light and sound show.
  
2. Oglebay Festival of Lights- Wheeling, WV
In 1985 a holiday tradition began at Oglebay and spread throughout the city of Wheeling. That tradition is the Winter Festival of Lights celebration. The first year, displays and landscape lighting covered about 125 acres over a three-mile drive throughout the resort. Since then, the show has grown into one of the nation’s largest Christmas light shows, covering more than three hundred acres over a six-mile drive throughout the resort. 
 

3. Fantasy of Lights- Pine Mountain, GA
A 5 mile drive by car or trolley takes visitors past 13 holiday scenes with more than 8 million  Christmas lights.  Since 1992, this outdoor light and sound show has glittered with holiday magic for millions of people. Families from across the Southeast have added Fantasy In Lights to their list of memorable holiday traditions. This year, experience the 15th annual Fantasy In Lights with its eight million lights creating more than a dozen beautiful scenes, and you’ll see why this is the brightest holiday light show in the South! 
 

4. Smoky Mountain Winterfest- Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, TN. 
Smoky Mountain Winterfest is a magical celebration that begins in late fall.  Ride the Trolley Tour of Lights around Pigeon Forge and claim a spot on the sidewalk  for Gatlinburg’s “Fantasy of Lights” Christmas Parade, featuring lighted floats, marching bands and giant helium balloons.  This event combines 3 Tennessee cities: Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. These neighboring Smoky Mountain towns are ablaze with 5 million lights thru February. 
 

5. Trail of Lights - Austin, TX
The  Trail of Lights is a mile long display of 42 lighted scenes, US Post Office, Santa’s House, the Yule Log, and an entertainment stage. The festival begins with the lighting of the Zilker Tree, a 155 feet tall, 180 feet diameter lighted tree consisting of 3,309 bulbs on 39 streamers strung from Austin’s historical Moonlight Tower. Since 1987 the honor of lighting the tree has been bestowed upon the winner of the city-wide children’s tree coloring contest. The tree lighting ceremony takes place on the first Sunday of December. 

6. Magical Nights of Lights - Lake Lanier, GA
Rekindle an old tradition or create a new one at Lake Lanier Islands Resort’s 16th annual Magical Nights of Lights holiday celebration. Known as the world’s largest animated light extravaganza, the fun kicks off November 22 through December 30 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. nightly! Bring the whole family a drive through tour of over six miles of twinkling, holiday light displays and a live nativity scene complete with live actors and animals!

7. Holiday Festival of Lights, Charleston, S.C.
Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission created the Holiday Festival of Lights to bring families and friends together and to raise support for the Charleston county park system. With over 600 individual displays located throughout the park in 132 power locations, the Holiday Festival of Lights is a magical sight to see! 
  
8. Enchanted Garden of Lights, Chattanooga, TN
See Rock City! The gardens’ natural beauty is complemented by more than 25 holiday scenes as half a million lights illuminate rock formations along the Enchanted Trail. 

 9. Southern Lights - Lexington, Ky.
The annual Southern Lights event is the largest fundraiser held for The Kentucky Horse Park. Over 25,927 vehicles passed through the electrical wonderland in 2006 alone! Everything from petting zoos, model railways, arts, crafts, and Santa Claus fill the Indoor Attractions section free of charge to guests.

 10. Mission Inn - Riverside, CA
This magnificent hotel and grounds have over two million Christmas lights!  Enjoy the sounds of the holiday season as our Dickens’ Carolers stroll throughout the hotel every Thursday through Sunday, beginning November 25, 2005, or enjoy a romantic carriage ride around the grounds - to take in the lights of the holiday season.
 
11. 100 Miles of Lights - Virginia Beach, VA
Come share the glow of the season and experience millions of lights and hundreds of events from Virginia’s capital city to the Atlantic Ocean. The region will glitter and glow, sparkle and shine with lights, lights and more lights. 100 Miles of Lights features holiday events and activities in Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Drive-through and walk-through light shows will dazzle and shine with more than two million lights, providing a colorful backdrop to the wide range of events and activities for the young and young-at-heart. Lighted boat parades, city illuminations, festivals, parades, living history re-enactments, caroling, dining events, music and dance are among the many activities occurring throughout the region from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
12. Bright Nights at Forest Park - Springfield, MA
New England’s most popular holiday destination and largest drive-through lighting display. Two and a half miles of Forest Park are illuminated with more than 500,000 twinkling lights, bringing the magic of the holiday season to life for people of all ages, in dozens of dramatic scenes such as “Poinsettia Fantasy,” “Seuss Land,” “Toy Land,” and “Victorian Village.” Plans are in place this year for bright new displays, and special celebrations to commemorate the holiday traditions of the many cultures that make up the region.

Source:
http://www.americasbestonline.net/christmas.htm

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!

 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!

As with tradition when a big holiday is around the corner, we like to post recipes for everyone to see. With this posting, however, we have posted a complete meal! The delicious main course, the heavenly side dish and the ever-so-needed scrumptious dessert!

Cranberry Chicken

Tender baked chicken gets dressed for the holidays with a chunky spiced fruit sauce in this recipe shared by Linda Rock of Stratford, Wisconsin on TasteofHome.com.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 pounds)
• 1 can (16 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
• 1 large tart apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions:

• 1. Place chicken in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over chicken. Bake, uncovered, 20-25 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 6 servings.

Crunchy Sweet Potato Casserole

This tasty side dish is sure to be a crowd pleaser! Just seeing the yummy picture is making my stomach growl!!! Provided by TasteofHome.com.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• TOPPING:
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Spoon into a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20 minutes.
• Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over potatoes. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the topping is lightly browned.

Yield: 6 servings. 

Pumpkin Spice Cake

I’ve actually made this little dessert. Not only is it very delicious, but it’s super easy to make too!

Ingredients:

• Yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of canned pumpkin
• 1 ¾ teaspoon of cinnamon (divided)
• ¼ teaspoon of ginger
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
• 2 ½ cups ov vanilla frosting

Directions:

•  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cake mix, eggs, water, canned pumpkin, tspn of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then 2 minutes on medium.
•  Pour into well greased/floured pans (2 9-inch round pans or bundt cake pan). Bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
•  Mix remaining cinnamon with frosting. Frost top of one 9-inch round cake, place the second 9-inch round cake ontop and frost all around the cake. Or if using a bundt cake, frost on the outside.
•  Serve and Eat!!!