HOT: Melbourne Design Market, Federation Square, Melbourne

I adore markets, whereas RM isn't so much of a fan of the hustle and bustle (unless it's a book market, but there's not normally a noisy scrum of people at those). However, I did manage to drag him to one of my favourite Melbourne events - the biannual Melbourne Design Market at Federation Square - as it's full of cool stuff and cool people.
This year, our favourite finds included the ingenious stick-on photo display system from The Curator Company; the adorable and environmentally friendly KeepCup; racks of heavily discounted slinky dance-inspired clothing from well-known Melbourne label Body; the funky bowlboard, a wooden chopping board with four white bowls fitted into recesses, from Ute; and delicate pastel scarves from Ella Sanders.

HOT: Collingwood Children's Farm Farmers' Market, End of St Heliers St, Abbotsford

Every second Saturday of the month, the delightful Old McDonald playground, otherwise known as the Collingwood Children's Farm, hosts a farmers' market.

If you have kids, the $2 market entry fee is good value as it also permits entry to the farm, compared to the usual $8 adult and $4 kids entrance fee. If you don't have kids, strolling around the damp field and poking your nose into fresh fruit and vegetable stalls is still a refreshing and stimulating experience if you like to eat and cook.

This week, my shopping basket included:
- brightly coloured radicchio
- tight heads of broccoli
- smooth-skinned butternut pumpkin
- dusky red d'anjou pears - I'm addicted
- fragrant young leeks
- and my favourite: a grow your own mushrooms kit with a mix of portabello and white mushrooms - ready to harvest in 3 weeks!

HOT: Slow Food Farmers' Market, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford

In the grounds of what was once a home for pregnant 'wayward girls', the foundation of Abbotsford Convent now holds a slow food farmers' market on the fourth Saturday of every month.
The market was humming by 10am and after a thorough investigation of the stalls, my grocery budget bought:
- a shoulder of Bultarra Saltbush lamb, slow roasted with garlic, rosemary and potatoes;
- free range pork mince from The Gypsy Pig transformed into wontons and ants climbing trees;
- super-fresh broccoli transformed into oriechette with broccoli, anchovies and parmesan; and
- some dried fruit from Happy Fruit for my muesli mix (cheaper than cranberries, with a taste of chocolate!).

HOT: Lost and Found Market, 12 Smith St, Collingwood 3066

RM has been very patient with my new found penchant for retro lamps, so off I dragged him to Lost and Found Market. This indoor market is smaller than Chapel St Bazaar but runs on the same idea - stall holders have a small space to display their secondhand wares, ranging from clothes, accessories, furniture, books and prints. Obviously you need to have the patience to trawl through a lot of stuff, but there were lots of treasures to be found. Kartell cabinets and stacking tables, old school desks, Planet lamps, and a red toy car all caught my eye, but luckily RM was much more practical than me and we didn't end up buying anything

HOT: Chapel St Bazaar, 217 Chapel Street, Prahran 3181

Poking around a market is the perfect Sunday activity for me, and luckily RM was happy to indulge in my new-found passion for retro furniture. Chapel St Bazaar, a treasure trove of unusual vintage everything, yielded not one, but two wonderfully restored and reasonably priced 60s lamps - a blue one for him, a red one for me. I was thrilled with our purchases, but unfortunately it just got me started on the whole retro furniture thing. We've just begun our season of Mad Men, and while I enjoy the story and like the costumes, I've developed the annoying habit of squealing 'lamp!' 'chair!' 'table' every time I spot something I like...