text: With the summer in full swing I thought I would share my favorite budget friendly things to do in the city. My favorite free things to do are visit art museums, the photos above are outside the Museum of Contemporary Art which is now showing a Murakami exhibit (I am so excited to see!). The MCA is free on Tuesday for Illinois residents. The Art Institute is also a great place to go and spend a couple of hours, and is free on Thursday 5-8 PM for Illinois residents. Another museum that is fun is the Field Museum, and they have free admission for Illinois residents on select days.
  My favorite non-museum things to do include walking along the lakefront path and finding new places to eat. Me and my best friend like to go to find really nice places to eat that are possible to order not so expensive things if you strategize. We recently tried the cafe inside Restoration Hardware (3 Arts Club Cafe), ordering small plates so that the bill wasn’t outrageous. If you are trying to go on the weekend just know they do not take reservations, but you can hang out and act really bougie among all the white and grey furniture and chandeliers. Our next stop is XO Marshmallow in Rodgers Park!