Gin in a Teacup's Favourite Melbourne Places, pt. 2

Polyester Records

The Boy is into collecting vinyl records in a BIG way, so he was pretty thrilled to find this shop. I am not as fanatical as he is, but I was still enamoured by the range they had! I didn't buy anything but Boy picked up Iggy & the Stooges and Free. It has a lot of local CD's (obviously I wasn't too up-to-date with Melbourne bands but if you are, look here!), as well as a pretty impressive collection of music books, general fiction and other works of hipster-ness that you can display on your bookcase. It definitely has a High Fidelity vibe, the staff seemed like they would know what they're talking about and it had a lot of hard-to-find records (like The Smiths - I haven't seen it anywhere else! It was fifty dollars though, so I had to leave it).

Jewellery I got at Corky Saint Clair!

Corky St Clair, Shop 3 Campbell Arcade, Degraves St Subway, Melbourne

I originally went in here looking for presents for people but walked out with, um, two presents for myself. I really recommend this shop if you are a lover of quirky jewllery because the range is fantastic. I think that this would be a great place to pick up a little Kris Kringle present because the prices are pretty fair (starting from about $20) and you're quite unlikely to find many people with the same piece! Luckily for those of us who don't live in Melbourne, most of the range is also available online (just click on the link above!).

kozyndan print available from Outre - but don't buy it!

Outre Gallery, 249 Elizabeth St, Melbourne

Don't skip the NGV by any means, but do make some time to come and check out this little art gallery on Elizabeth St. While I was there it had prints by Angelique Houtkamp, Mark Ryden (I had to message Em just to tell her, she is a massive fan!), and kozyndan (Boy and I were thinking of buying one of these paintings but were already over our luggage limit so couldn't justify it! Boo!). Again, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and I still didn't walk out empty handed - I bought a little book with vintage fashion and beauty ads from the 60's.

Tea Time! by a little dream (via Flickr)

Little Cupcakes, Shop 7, Degraves St, Melbourne

Tucked into one of Melbourne's many little laneways, it could be hard to find but it is definitely worth seeking out. The home of teeny tiny cupcakes that look like they could be out of a doll's house, you can sit and flick through one of the Frankie magazines they have on hand, sipping a delicious milkshake and nibbling on one of the delectable cupcakes. You can get them "normal-sized", or as I said, in the tiny size, which will give you the chance to sample a lot - with flavours like teddy bear (white chocolate) and jaffa, who could resist? I recommend the red velvet flavour.

OK, two posts is quite enough of my rambling, I think! Hopefully I have given you some inspiration, whether you live in Melbourne or are planning a holiday there. Have fun discovering places of your own!

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