What A Teasee…

…I’m back!  But guess what?  This is just a teaser post until I can get all my vacation pictures uploaded   I definitely wanted to say hi, and let you all know, I’m still alive and kickin’….PLUS:  I’ve got a winner to share!

Remember this giveaway? You guys were jumping at the chance to with this awesome cookbook by Peggy  that Sequel Naturals offered to giveaway!

Annnnnddd the winner, courtesy of RANDOM.org iss:

LAURA

 

 

Laura, please send me an email to freckledfoodielove@gmail.com so I can get your shipping information and mail you your prize! (:

 

Be back as soon as possible with vacation recaps galore!

 

XO.

Sleep = Success!

It is crazy what an impact a good night’s sleep has on a person.  I slept like a baby last night, and I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I didn’t do ANYTHING exercise-wise after work, for once, so I wasn’t revv’d up before bed.

Breakfast tasted extra creamy & cookie dough-like.

(1/3 C. oat bran, 1 small banana, 1 1/2 c. water, sugar free vanilla syrup, pinch of salt)

I think it was probably because I used SO much water and the oat bran really plumped up in the refrigerator overnight! 

I washed it down with a shamrock shake pepperminty green monster.

(2 handfuls of baby spinach, 3/4 C. unsweet vanilla almond milk, 1 scant scoop optimum nutrition vanilla whey, 5 ice cubes, a little splash of water, and sugar free vanilla syrup + peppermint extract)

I drank this baby on the way to work, and made sure to wipe off my green mustache before I arrived at my building

So, instead of showing you the rest of my meals for the day, I’m going to get into some other, more exciting things!

Like the giveaway I won from one of my favorite NY bloggers, Katie! Woo hoo for free Oikos & Crofter’s jam!  Not to mention the organic soap, face care, lip balm, and tea! Thanks, girl!

Orrr maybe the fact that I had an appointment to do a walk through of a potential new home last night?!

 

Isn’t it cute?  A perfect little starter home.

I could see a lot of potential, as we walked through each room.  The kitchen was my favorite room, which is totally important!

I love the cabinetry and the fact that all of the appliances were included in the price!  Not to mention, they were Kenmore brand (which, I’ve known to last forEVER).

The one bathroom was pretty basic, but nice as well.  The sink and toilet were new.  My only complaint was that the “tile” in the shower was plastic.  That would definitely have to be changed, eventually.

There are tenants renting it now, so if you’re wondering why it’s furnished, you have your answer.  Another thing that I’d replace was the carpet.  Everything was very BASIC. 

I can’t wait to have my own space to decorate!  I love getting creative with interior design, so I think it was fun for me just to walk through and picture what it COULD look like with a little bit of personal touch

I ended the night with a Skype date when I got home!  My friend Casey (from California) OFFICIALLY booked his trip to PA to see me! :)  I’m so excited!!

XOXO.

Filth Of The World.

This morning, breakfast was a peanut pasted oatcake and I was pretty pleased with it.  I’m already contemplating when I should order my next batch of peanut flour.  I could seriously incorporate it into every meal if I wasn’t afraid of running out too soon.

(1/3 C. oats, sugar-free vanilla Torani, cinnamon, 1 egg white, splash of almond milk, peanut paste: 1/4 C. peanut flour + sugar free syrup & water to thin)

The sidewalks on the way to work were a complete sheet of ice.  A kind man that walked in around the same time I did asked to escort me to my building to make sure I got there safely.

I found out through basic conversation that he has two twin (adorablee!) girls and that he works for Labor & Industry, just across the street from me.  Later in the morning, he emailed me with a picture of his little ones!

Something else new in my world is this Vera Bradley purse & wallet.

I actually won them in an auction on Ebay for WAY cheaper than retail value.  It came with the purse, a cute wallet, and an ID holder!  I’ve been wanting some Vera Bradley for a long time now. 

Do you like the print?

Anyway, lunch came around 12ish…maybe a little bit after.

(L-R: Arnold 10 grain bread with a smear of peanut flour paste & sugar free strawberry jam, a peanut paste ramekin with baby carrots for dipping, and a steamed kale and red pepper salad with a drizzle of fat-free Annie’s mango dressing)

Don’t mind the desk objects that might be a little distracting.  My desk is packed full, so when I eat lunch, there isn’t much room for dining.

After work and before practice, I had my very last individually wrapped Granola Gourment bar that company sent me to try out.  I’ve got to admit, this was my least favorite flavor, but it certainly gave me a nice energy boost to fuel me through a gym workout and then practice.

I forgot to bring my heart rate monitor, so I have no clue how many calories I burned, but I’d imagine it was in the 600 range.

(2/3 C. frozen spinach, 1/2 C. almond breeze, 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 3 ice cubes)

When I got home, I whipped up a protein shake and warmed some leftover cabbage/kale soup for dinner.

Sorry for the repeat photo.  I didn’t have much time last night, since D was coming over and I wanted to get a shower beforehand!

We watched SALT last night with Angelina Jolie.

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It was pretty decent!  Lots of twists and turns in the plot.  I’m pretty sure D had it figured out, though  I got to bed around 12PM when I got the text that D had made it home safely. 

I had a mug full of chocolate & banana nut mixed cheerios with almond milk before bed, too.  No photo documentation needed.  If you want to know what it looks like, here you go.

Other exciting events include Julie’s Macaroon giveaway!  This girl freaking rocks…and this prize looks awesome!

 The winner of the MyBlogspark and Cheerios Biggest Loser giveaway is The Hungry Dancer, by random selection!  Seems to me, many of you are gunning for the same team she loves!

Congrats, girly!  Please email me at freckledfoodielove@gmail.com with your shipping address so I can get you your prize!  Thanks to all of you who entered!

 

TGIAF.

Xo.

 

Winner, Winner Carlight Dinner!

Verse of the Day:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.”

- 2 Peter 3:10-11

If that verse isn’t intimidating, I don’t know what is!  It’s also exciting at the same time…Heaven could be just around the corner!

Breakfast went unpictured because it was so boring and quick.  Just a simple protein smoothie with Fiber Select thrown into the mix.  I couldn’t belive how good ground up cereal is in a protein shake?  It’s like a graham cracker blizzard!

Lunch was a little more noteworthy, as I’m eating up these Kim & Scott’s pretzels that were sent to me like it’s no body’s business.  Spinach & feta is my favorite. I used the Light Ragu ontop of my steamed broccoli as dippage for the pretzel.

After the pretzel, I wasn’t all that hungry for the broccoli, so I saved it for later and munched on some Cajun Chicken Breast lunchmeat with some raw veggies.

Sugar snap peas & sliced yellow pepper.

I’m slowly learning more and more about my new position and loving every second.  It’s much more involved than my last position and I enjoy that aspect a lot.

After work, I walked back to my car.  I thought I would hate walking so far to work in the morning and evening at quitting time, but it’s been a nice wind down, in reality.

Before working out and basketball practice, I had 3/4 of a banana along with 4 pitted dates.  Sorry for the shotty picture, I was behind the wheel and food photography had to take the backseat

Obviously,  I did NOT work out for 5 hours.  Haha.  Just 30  minutes on the cross ramp & 1 1/2 hr. basketball practice.  I just hadn’t gotten a chance to snap a picture of my watch so I had to wait until I got home.  I didn’t have the band on, so it wasn’t still tallying calories, but the time ticked on…max HR 182, cals burned 916.

I feasted before class on a huge sweet tater & 1/2 packet of raw Artisana almond butter, plus my leftover steamed broccoli with marinara sauce.

Car lighting is super romantic incase you haven’t noticed. HA.

Math class stressed me out last night…we’re learning new stuff and having a test already on Wednesday.  I feel like the professor is really behind in our lectures but he’s not putting off the test even though we haven’t learned the stuff as in depth as what the test material will be.  He just zoomed through everything making minimal time for Q&A.

Tuition for Spring is due today!  I’m thinking maybe I should’ve waited to go Christmas shopping until after I had paid that…Thankfully, Momma & Poppa FF have offered to help out.  As usual, they were up waiting to make sure I made it home alright   I am so blessed to have such wonderful parents.  They have been unbelievably gracious and helpful while I’ve been juggling my schedule…if you’re reading this…THANK YOU and I love you very much.

[source]

I had a Scivation Chocolate Whey Protein shake once I got home because a full belly helps me sleep and my dinner was lacking in the protein department. 

Now on to the winner of the General Mills Gluten Free Giveaway!

 

 Congratulations, Natalia!  Beautiful name, by the way

Please email me your shipping information [mailto: freckledfoodielove@gmail.com]as soon as possible so I can get your gluten-free goodies to you!

 

 

My New Love & Girard’s Winners.

Big Daddy Weave  knows what’s up…

“To my audience of one
You are Father, and You are Son
As Your spirit flows free,
Let it find within me
A heart that beats to praise You.
And now just to know You more
Has become my great reward
To see Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
I only desire to be Yours,
Lord”

And so does La Tortilla Factory…

1 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Tomato Basil wrap with 3 egg whites, salt, pepper, & tomato slices

Their Tomato Basil wraps are my new infatuation.  This is truly something big, considering I’m typically a sweets kinda gal.  Nothing fancy for breakfast, but it did the trick!

Thennn around 10:15AM, I ate a banana which was packed for a snackaroo.  It was camera shy, so all I have to leave you with is this

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Lunch was NOT camera shy.  In fact, it was kind of a photo whore.

Jumbo lump crab meat heated and mashed with one Sonoma Jack’s pepperjack cheese wedge, salt & pepper with a tsp. of sour cream all wrapped up with some spinach in a Tomato Basil La Tortilla Factory wrap

It’s not even THAT good looking for gosh sakes.

The taste was a different story entirely.  It was like a creamy, spinach and cheese crab dip with a warm tomato basil blanket!  I warmed it up in the microwave at work to eat at my desk and it seriously melted in my mouthhh.

Anywhooo.  The 2nd part of lunch was a repeat, but delicious, none-the-less.

Salad monster was back in town.  Baby spinach (on its last leg!), tomato, cucumber, red pepper, carrots, and onions.  Dressed in strawberry balsamic.

Some of your have been messaging me about what I use to make my Strawberry Balsamic, and it’s actually pretty simple!  I just pour some balsamic vinegar and sugar free strawberry torani into a ziplock baggie together and throw it into my lunch bag!  it’s DELICIOUS and very low cal.

After work, I ate a delicious nectarine (they are SO ripe right now!), but I knew we would be going to dinner together soon, so I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.  The battery in my camera was dead  & charging up for dinner at this point, so there was no photo action, but you get the picture.

  

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The Special Place is a family run, homecookin’ kinda place that my family adores.  It’s only about 15 minutes away from our house and beats driving to Harrisburg.

My cousin, Allison joined us for dinner too!  She LOVES their chicken noodle soup!

Mom & Pops each got the all-you-can-eat buffet which included corn, mashed taters, salisbury steak, and sweet potatoes with fruit.

Middle seester got the buffet too, but baby seester got the grilled chicken salad in a bread bowl.

While waiting for my meal, I patiently sipped on 6 glasses of lemon water.  Dehydration should NOT be a problem anytime soon

I ordered a spinach salad with turkey breast, cucumber, tomato, mushrooms, broccoli, and onion with fat free tomato basil vinaigrette on the side.

Anddd a baked sweet potato on the side which I sprinkled with some Splenda for extra flavah.  If only they had cinnamon at the tables, too!   For some reason, baked sweet potatoes taste sooo much better than microwaved…?  Maybe it’s because the entire thing is mushy and well done unlike the microwave which doesn’t always cook evenly.

After dinner, we stopped at a furniture store close to the restaurant to look for an end table to go in my sisters’ bedroom. 

They also had a cute little area of collectable stuff such as Yankee candles, Willow Tree Angels, and Boyds Bears.

They had some really decorative ideas and I loved the clock in this picture!  Then….I spotted the love of my life and spent the rest of the time there engrossed in its glory….

Behold…

Upon winning the lottery, this is one of the first things I would spend my money on.  Right now I can’t even afford one of the PILLOWS.  Haha.  In all seriousness, I’ve decided to start saving for one…along with a new laptop, a Polar heart rate monitor, and an iphone.  A girl can dream, right?

You thought I was joking, did you?  No, seriously.  I was the weird girl who laid in the bed at the furniture store the entire trip there.  Don’t lie, you would’ve too. 

This thing massaged, too!  I needed one after the insanity workout the other day!  My hammys, calves, and gluteus were S-O-R-E.

When we finally got home, I biked for about 45 minutes burning about 250 calories (according to the bike), while watching Joey & Melissa on Hulu.

Showered up, ate a snack

& hit the sack.

NOW for the winners of the Girard’s dressing giveaway!

Using random integer, comment number TWO, Barbara and Andrea have won some delicious new Girard’s Premium Dressings courtesy of Marzetti and Epicurious!   Girls, please send me your mailing address so I can forward it that you might receive your prizes!

Three Question Thursday:

1. What’s one food that always seems to taste better when you order out than when you prepare it yourself?  Sweet taters and shrimp cocktail!
   
2. What are YOU saving up to buy? Like I said in the post, a tempur pedic, a new laptop, and a hr monitor!
   
3. *RANDOM*  If you could have dinner with one companion of your choice (living or dead), who would it be? I would have dinner with my Mama.  She passed away three years ago this December.

XOXO

IT’s almost Friday!!

 

It Wasn’t Sunday, But I Had One For Breakfast :)

“I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining
As the thunder rolls,
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away
And I’ll praise You in this storm, And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are, No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried, You hold in Your hand
You never left my side, And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm”

Do you find it difficult to praise God and thank Him for what He’s given us even when things aren’t so pleasant?  I know I do!  I was listening to this Casting Crowns song on my way to work this morning and couldn’t help but share it. 

Breakfast, however, I will NOT be sharing.  I think I scarfed it up in about 2 minutes flat.  Who says sundaes are only for dessert!?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Arctic Zero “frozen dessert” with heated mashed banana ontop

The warm, sweet banana gently melted away at the fudge-like peanut buttery ice cream and it tasted just as decadent as it looks.

 I love that I can down a pint of this Arctic Zero for just 150 calories, 0g fat, and 16g of whey protein!  Combine it with the mushy naner and you’ve got a nice combo of protein & carbs to start your day off right.

Lunch & Dinner (part 1) were of the packed nature.  Since I had class (and my exam!) from 6-8, with a workout in between, I knew I’d want something to tide me over until I got home. 

Spinach salads with sliced red, orange, & yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and cukes.  Topped with chickpeas & drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar.

Twin hugh jasses.

You know what they say!  Pair it with a carb, right, Holly? 

1 La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat High Fiber Low Carb wrap spread with Sonoma Jack’s Pepperjack Cheese & Apricot SF Jam + Fiber

Anddd to eat with dinner’s salad I this beaut was packed up:

1 Lite Whole Grain High Fiber Thomas English Muffin sprayed twice with ICBINB spray + sprinkled with cinnamon & organic zero.

The ladies at work get a kick out of the fact that I bring my HUGE salads to work in old cookie dough containers…I can’t help it they’re the biggest ones I have!

After work, I hit the gym, like most other Monday’s.

• 35 minutes Cross Ramp (various intervals)
• Planks
• Pushups
• 5 minutes vigorous biking
• 5 minutes quick sprint on the dreadmill
• 10 minutes extra on the Cross Ramp

I made it a quickie since I wanted to get some extra study time in before the big exam.  This week is going to be NUTS.  An exam & a final in a matter of 3 days.

When I got home, I packed up lunch & dinner for the next day, uploaded pictures, and made myself a delicious Vanilla CHAI SmoothieInABowl.

1 scant scoop Vanilla Chai AM, 1/2 c. unsweet almond milk, palm full of frozen spinach, 1 frozen banana, + water

to enjoy while watching the Bachelor Pad.

[source]

Unpictured eats!

• Sun-Flax Love Force Vegan Bread Slice
• Baby Carrots
• Tomato-Basil La Tortilla Factory wrap dunked in Tribe Hummus

Soooo you wanna know who won the AMAZING GRASS GIVEAWAY?!?

Let’s have a looksie

Natalie of A Hint Of Cinnamon!  Congratulations, girl!  Make sure to send me an email with your full mailing address so I can forward the info to Teri to get you your FANTASTIC prize!

Two Question Tuesday:

1. Do you ever struggle with giving God the glory even when you’re going through rough times?  How do you snap yourself back into realizing all the positive instead of focusing on the negative??
   
2. Did you watch the Bachelor Pad last night?! What did you think?!

3. SPEAKING of Bachelor PAD, my girl Danica (who I always chat with about the shows) is having an AWESOME Sam’s Club Membership giveaway along with $25 from MyBlogSpark!  Make sure you enter!

XOXO.

Rest Days.

Everyone knows that sometimes you just need a rest day.  I had been doing about 8-9 miles everyday for the past 10 days and my body was starting to give me a hard time.  My hips, especially were tight and achy.  I felt as if I had arthritis!  Anyway, I proclaimed Thursday my rest day.  NO GYM for this girl. 

The day started out like any other day.  Filling & crunchy.

Fiber Select + cake batter protein milk.

 I don’t know what it is about this breakfast that satisfies my soul.  Maybe because I used to ALWAYS eat cereal as a kid.  It’s like for the first meal of the day, I’m back in a time when I had no worries or responsibilities…Cereal does it for me!  Granted, then it was more like Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles, but you get the picture   What’s your favorite childhood cereal?

 Speaking of childhood, I brought my little pink lunch tote to work containing all of the following goodies:

Packed lunch.

A veggie tub filled with a rainbow of color

Orange pepper, cherry tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, & carrots.

Swimming in some apple cider vinegar mixed with Splenda.

Two dogs.

Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Hot dogs @ 40 calories apiece and 6g protein!  That’s a pretty good calorie to protein ratio if you ask me!

Flat Out Light with Sonoma Jacks Light Pepperjack cheese wedgie.

My snackTAXI is CLEAN!  Finally getting to use it.  No more ziplock baggies for me!! I’m working on getting these in MY SHOP.

Over my actual lunch break, I managed to hit the grocery store & the farmer’s market!  I prefer to buy farmer’s market produce because it’s usually much cheaper than at the grocery store. 

Here’s a shot of what I rounded up!

Fiber Select, Gardenburger veggie patties, 2 gala apples, 2 orange peppers, Walden Farms calorie free chocolate syrup, cherry tomatoes, portabello mushroom caps, Thomas light whole wheat high fiber english muffins, & sugar snap peas.

L-R: head of cauliflower, cantaloupe, strawberries, broccoli, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, imitation crab meat, & light tofu.

When I got home from work, I put away all the groceries and made myself a snack.

1 gala dipped in 1 Oikos plain + 1/4 C. sf syrup + cinnamon.

Art in a bowl?

tasty.

Next on the agenda was to go support my Mom’s softball team in a home game at my alumni.  It was a beautiful day for a game!  When I arrived, they were in the 4th inning, losing 1-2.

blue skies!

Can anyone spot Momma Freckled Foodie????!

Yep! There she is!

They ended up making a killer comeback and winning the game 10-2.  I think I was the good luck charm because they were losing until I got there   Momma Freckled Foodie agreed.

After the game, I headed home and made some dinnah.

Doesn't this look like an egg mc muffin?

I guess looks are deceiving!  This sandwich is actually a Gardenburger veggie patty with Sonoma Jacks & reduced sugar Heinz ketchup on a whole wheat light english muffin!

Along side my delish burger, I had some peas [& thank you].

vibrant!

I used to have serious pea issues.  Like any other kid, peas & I were enemies at a younger age.  What was an enemy food of yours growing up?

With my dinner, I drank the last of my iced birthday cake coffee.  Time to make another pot!

Okay, so I know I said today was a rest day, but I was antsy.  No one was home and I was bored, so I decided a little LIGHT biking was in order.  No harm in that, right?  Biking is a lot less hip rotation, so it didn’t bother me one bit.  I went downstairs and ended up doing this

bike stats.

while I watched the most recent One Tree Hill episode & facebooked.  So glad Brooke & Julian are back together.

I got a shower, packed my lunch for today, and had dessert.

dark chocolate banana baby.

After consumed, I hit the hay a happy camper. 

Happy Friday, loves!  To start it off on a sweet note for you, let’s announce the Golden Moon Tea winner!

Congrats, Barbara!  Please email me with your mailing address & contact info so I can send you your teas!!  If you DIDN’T win this giveaway, you can still try these awesome flavors, all of which are available in MY SHOP!

 

Centennial Ball: Wardrobe Help?

Verse of the Day:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

- Philippians 2:5-8

 

This verse reminded me of something brought to my attention in Sunday School a few weeks ago.  We need to have a servant’s heart.  Selfless love.  Thinking of others first ALL the time and humbling ourselves.  Which, ironically was what our preacher spoke on this past Sunday.  God must be trying to tell me I really need to work on this!

Yesterday started off like any other day.  I began it the best way I knew how. 

cereal & strawberry cake batter protein shake.

Work was work, and the only thing notable about the time I was there was my epic lunch & iced Birthday Cake coffee.

sweet bean dip + veggies.

 bean dip = 1/2 C. fat free refried beans + sf log cabin.  perfect protein dippage.

all stacked up.

tub of veggies = broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cherry tomato, yellow pepper, & cukes (on the bottom layer).

Oh yeah, and I spoke with the MFFS (middle freckled foodie seester).  We’ve been planning a weekend trip for me to visit her at school for awhile now, and this weekend seemed to be one of the last opportunities.  She will be coming home in like 2 weeks!  This Saturday also happens to be their Centennial Ball, which she invited me to on Saturday night.  SO EXCITING.  Call me lame, but I missed out on the whole college experience and I’d technically be graduating this year!

Anyway, I need help.  Not sure what type of dress to look for?  Votes are welcome & appreciated!!

I think numbers 2 & 3 are my faves.  What’s your opinion?

Anyway, when I got home last night I changed into workout gear & headed out to the gym.  After an hour & five on the elliptical at various levels (I did some intervals at 7, 9, 10 & 11), some ab work (planks, v-ups, & in-and-outs), I left for home.  Again, I wasn’t hungry for a snack between work & the gym?  I think my lunches are doing a good job of keeping me full!

When I got home, I was craving eggs for some reason, so I cooked up a broccoli, laughing cow, mushroom, & onion omelett with Egg Beaters!

Step 1: saute veggies in water & PAM.

Step 2: Add Egg Beaters.

Step 3: Cook until golden brown.

Step 4: Plate omelett & serve with reduced sugar ketchup.

I had these two cucumber butts to use, since they were on their last legs:

butts.

Soooo, along side my omelett, I had a lettuce-less salad topped with raspberry balsamic vinaigrette that I made from SF Raspberry Torani syrup & balsamic vinegar.

veggies? check!

 After dinner, I showered up and did some laundry/dishes.  I also packed today’s lunch and finally sat down with my dessert & laptop to watch Biggest Loser and upload some bloggie pictures.

healthy gourmet.

Since it was such a hit last time, I decided to reinact yesterday’s dessert, only I spruced up the presentation a lil bit.  It’s simply a deep chocolate Vitatop (100 calories) topped with chocolate mousse (aka plain greek yogurt mixed with calorie free chocolate syrup) and a plump, juicy strawberry. MMMMMMM.

Before I forget!! The winner of the Custom Choice Cereal giveaway isssss…

Congratulations, Broccoli Hut!! Please email me when you get a chance so I can help you redeem your prize.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood….(who else used to watch Mr. Rogers!?)

Hope you enjoy it!