My favorite part of the THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE yesterday was the full-blown replica of Central Perk… all made out of LEGO’s!!! Fully interactive with all the furniture, details, colors & props you remember and want to play with for your photo-ops! So much fun… and SO MANY LEGOS!!!

And yes, before everyone gets weird… there was PLENTY of safety protocols in place! Full masks all the time at THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE… staggered time entry, limited group access to exhibits, social distancing and more than a LOT of cleaning stations to keep everything “Monica Clean”!!!

Yesterday I took my niece Taylor and her parents to THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE downtown. She’s a new FRIENDS fan having recently binged the entire series during the pandemic… so I knew this would be the perfect birthday gift! Especially when your friend Terry is one of the creative masterminds behind the project and gets you free tickets for the exclusive preview event!

So much fun touring through the world of FRIENDS. Central Perk. Monica’s kitchen. The window to poke Ugly Naked Guy. Joey & Chandler’s apartment. Phoebe’s guitar. The wedged sofa. Joey wearing all of his clothes at once… even the fountain & sofa from the opening credits!!! Tons of memorabilia and plenty of photo-ops along the way… PIVOT!!!

Be sure to stop by THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE on Michigan Avenue as it opens this Wednesday, March 17th. And special thanks again to Terry for hooking us up… I love having talented FRIENDS!!!

So no one told you life was gonna be this way.
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke,
Your love life’s DOA.
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear.
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month…
Or even your year, but…
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU.

Always one of my favorite holidays… so I’m celebrating PI(E) DAY with a sweet cherry pie from FIRST SLICE in Chicago! Every year on March 14th… or as the mathematician would rather see it… 3.14.

Spent a fun afternoon downtown today with my niece Taylor and her parents… their first time seeing the Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. They were all surprised by how vibrant the green color was… eco-friendly of course!!! Good to see the City decided to bring back a little bit of holiday “normal” this year… as we didn’t get to see it last year when the City shutdown just before St. Patrick’s Day!

Big sky. Sweeping clouds. Beautiful morning.

After playing with fire all day yesterday, it was great to relax this morning with a “fiery” sunrise bike ride! A bit of a chilled breeze with clouds blowing in… but always a great way to start the day!

Lots of flames finding their way through the kiln bricks of the door! Mesmerizing & magical. I think my workshop participants were smitten with the flaming glow… just as I am every time I fire the soda kiln!!!

When the kiln finally got up towards its top temperatures tonight, my class started scooping the soda mixture onto an angle iron preparing to insert it into the kiln to create the soda atmosphere. They had a great time “playing” with the flames, inserting the soda & making some “magic” happen inside the kiln!!!