Summer is here!

December - the month where my life is full of mundane things, when it's starting to get ridiculously hot, when life is full of shopping, and all things Christmassy.

I started off December with some baking yesterday, and these cookies were a complete hit. They turned out better than I thought despite the fact I made up the recipe as I went along and made these just to use up left over ingredients in the pantry. They are... gluten-free cereal peanut butter cookies!

I used up the rest of my gluten-free corn flakes, some sorghum flakes and added a random gluten-free Weet-bix to play around with the consistency. I then dumped the remaining contents of my gluten-free self-raising flour mix (not even 3/4 of a cup) into the mix.

To bind it together, I used roughly 75mL of rice bran oil, 1/2 of sugar, and 1 egg.

To flavour it, I added a teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of natural smooth peanut butter - because I thought it would make the right consistency.

And right it was! They turned out as puffed up mega crispy cookies (my mum likes crispy), they were sweet but not too much, and the texture was insane! It had chewy bits of corn flakes, and some bits in the middle were chewy (when it was warm) while being crispy on the outside.

It was a gluten-free and dairy-free recipe, but I think I could have omitted the egg if I wanted to make it vegan.

Just a bunch of cereals in a wet sloppy mixture!

Home-made looking, decently sized cookies!

Due to my skin recently acting up, I followed up with the baking with a home-made DIY facial mask. I think the Neutrogena naturals products I'm using aren't going well with my skin, and my face prefers the sensitive Clarisonic brush head than the normal one I am currently using.

Mask: Oats soaked in liquorice root tea + coconut oil + dash of vinegar + small egg white.

It was a very runny mixture, but I only needed a thin layer on my face anyway. If it was thicker the oat bits might have slid off my face in chunks!

I bought this cleanser to replace the Neutrogena stuff, and I am liking the process of using a hot muslin cloth to rub the cleanser off. Not sure if it has done any good for my skin, but I've only used it 3 times so far.

Outfit of the day, for work! I am running out of Topshop clothes to wear to work...

On the way to the bus stop, I came across this patch in the pathway. It smelled like roses or something, and had all these flower buds fallen onto the ground to create some floral layer.

Wasted so much time walking back and forth to the bus stop (I had to go back home because I forgot something and came back out with a camera). I ended up sweating like a pig, it was disgusting. I also realised I was running late when I was taking photos! So... cue impromptu watch photo! But isn't the ground so lovely? And the smell!

Snack Attack!

So, I love snacks. WHO DOESN'T?!

I like to eat when I'm bored, I like to eat when I'm hungry, I like to eat when I'm not hungry, basically I just like to eat. But I don't eat a lot at once, so I usually need to eat smaller bits more frequently, which actually leads to eating a lot of snacks... which isn't always the best for you.

But never fear, because healthier snacks are here! Obviously don't eat these in place of a proper meal, but it's a lot better than eating a ton of junk food (I still need a little bit of that too hehe).

Eating the least processed type of food is the best way to go, because that way there's less additives in there and you're eating the more purest form of real food.

Nut-based bars are really great, because they fill you up, give you sustained energy and they taste amazing! Most of the raw bars that I like are nut-based, and usually made of dates, almonds and cashews.

Chocolate can be healthy too as long as you don't eat the entire block, and the darker it is, the better it is for you. It's packed with antioxidants and it honestly satisfies my sweet tooth cravings more than anything else. Well, how can it not, it's chocolate!

Some of my favourite bars and one type of dark chocolate I usually get. I also don't normally eat protein bars because they're usually loaded up with a load of bad things, so it's quite a treat when I do have one. Even when I do, I get the most natural/unprocessed type I can get without artificial sweeteners colours, flavours of preservatives.

These two are my all-time favourite snack bars, and they're both' raw. The first one has cocoa liquor in it, which gives it a genuinely chocolatey-taste without the yuckiness and sick-feeling you get from eating actual chocolate. It's basically a "healthy" chocolate bar.
The second one is so good because it's practically a muesli bar made up of everything unrefined. It's tastes all coconutty and coffee-like, and satisfies any cravings.

I don't know how these tomatoes are made/grown, but they are out of this world! It's nothing like regular cherry or grape tomatoes. It's softer, but not in the ew-it's-not-fresh kind of way, they're like tiny balls of a tomato-melon hybrid. It's unbelievably sweet compared to a regular tomato, and I have been going back for more week after week.

These are just some of my favourite healthier alternative snacks, but I can name a ton more that incorporates smoothies, cereal and even popcorn into the mix. It's just nice to know you can eat a chocolate bar without feeling guilty though, and having muesli bars on-the-go is really handy!

Casual Day Out

I was out in the city before the epic storm (worst in 30 years) hit. Luckily I was on my way home moving away from the worst of the storm to the most southern area of Brisbane where there wasn't much damage or hail. Lucky! (Our family car parked at Woolloongabba however...) Neither of us had any clue during the hours we were roaming about that we would be going home to storm damages.

Had brunch at Gramcery Coffee. I ordered a green juice (because there was no decaffeinated coffee) and a wild rice salad
with chicken, kale, apricot and almonds. The salad was good but quite oily. I really liked the green juice/smoothie. 

Brought my camera along - cue serious photo-taking binge. Neither of us really know how to post for photos...

This place is usually busy - mostly office workers grabbing lunch/coffee.

Becky's cute all-black outfit! 

Hat - City Beach, Top - General Pants Co., Jeans - Seed Heritage, Shoes - Nike Air Force Mid, Bag - Longchamp.

I love it when department stores turn into a festive explosion of Christmas decorations.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how cute these little guys are. Seriously.

Neutral Nails

My all time favourite nail polish brand is Essie, because I like the finish, lasting power and the selection of colours. I never bother with top coat as well because it looks/lasts fine as it is - with just one or two coats.

Although I used to quite like shimmery nails - I still like some of them and I own Essie nail polish in the magnetic/shimmery patterns, there's just something about plain old neutral nail colours.

blanc, sand tropez, master plan, merino cool.

Some of my non-Essie brand nail polishes that are also neutral in colour. The Orly one is pretty great, dries quickly
and only needs a single coat. Revlon is great too, but it chips quickly and doesn't last very long.

Blanc. My new favourite colour; it's a plain and highly opaque white.

I think the great thing about neutral nails is that they match whatever you're wearing, and gives off a sleek, simple and sophisticated vibe (getting all technical there lol).

Daniel Wellington 36mm Classic Sheffield Lady

I have had my eyes on this watch for a while, but I finally did it and hopped on the bandwagon. I purchased this from the iconic online store during a 30% off sale, so I saved massively.

I must say, I probably don't own anything this expensive. I already do have a watch, my Marc by Marc Jacobs 36.5mm Blade Case Bracelet (which I actually paid more for, but is worth more than this one). It is honestly REALLY heavy though, and I sometimes find it clunky and uncomfortable wearing it at work, etc.

A leather watch is really great, because it's lighter, more casual, easy to style and you can change the straps around (which I think is awesome!). I do like very large/man-like watches, because having tomboy-roots, wearing masculine accessories can actually make yourself look feminine in a chic-sort of way :P

Not being a huge fan of anything gold, I went for the black/silver classic style. I liked the black, but of course I may consider getting brown straps, or the canvas- nautical style straps later on.

It came in a leathery case, with a manual and a spring bar removal tool - so you can change the straps yourself instead of going to a watch/key service desk and paying to get it done.

I think I will be wearing this with most of my outfits, especially to work (I always need to wear a watch when I'm working). It is a perfect size for my small wrists - it looks oversized, but it actually still fits. The leather is a bit stiff, so I'll need to wear it in a bit. As far as scratches go, I know that it is pretty much inevitable, and I know that my sweatiness will wear down the leather. But I shall see how it goes!

Hand-care Products

My hands are almost always dry, whatever the weather or season. I wash them far too much because I have a slightly phobia of germs and dirt. Not only that, I always pick around my cuticles and peel the skin off , which is a habit that I cannot get rid of no matter how hard I try. So I invest in a few good quality hand products to take care of them, from nails to skin.

Missha // Acetone-free nail polish remover

 A very mild acetone free nail polish remover - I find that most acetone-free nail polish removers just substitute acetone for some other horrible chemical. This one is my favourite, it's effective and okay for my nails.

Jurlique // Rose hand cream

I usually go through one of these a year - it seems to the the most rich yet pleasant to use hand creams. They all smell pretty good too, I usually go for rose because I like rose.

Essie // Microdermabrasion hand refiner

Seeing as this is my favourite nail polish brand, I decided to try out a hand product of the brand. It's basically a scrub for hands with very fine granules, and it leaves my hands feeling silky smooth. I just rub a 20 cent coin amount all over and rinse off. One thing I don't like about this is the smell, but it's not that bad. Your hands will just smell like grandma after a bit, but it goes away anyway.

Brisbane's Jamie's Italian

After a week of completing my uni exams and attending two different inductions for work, I finally got to go out to the city to have a relaxing day. So I met up with Becky for movies, some shopping (for Xmas gifts) and have dinner at Jamie's Italian which recently opened.

We walked in at 6.15, and were asked to wait an hour. It's a long time, but we could leave and come back then, and they would also call us too. Not much of a hassle since it's Friday late night shopping night.

I've only been to Jamie's Italian twice in Sydney's Martin Street location, both times were quite lovely. I just really like the interior of the restaurant - the food is pretty good but sometimes not worth the money depending on what you get.

A severely undressed me, everyone else in the restaurant was dressed up
(I think most of them were office workers/going out for the night)

Selfies while waiting in line...

Mushroom risotto with smoked mozzarella, ragu, arancini
and a caprese (which I did not take a photo of).

Dessert - Pannacotta with berries &
orange almond frangipane tart with creme fraiche ice cream.

Accidentally ordered "still water" which was $7.50...

Altogether was just under $80. Not too bad, but I really don't eat at restaurants much. All the dishes were pretty good, but I never really get disappointed unless it's really bad. The capreses alad which was $12 was pretty steep for what I got though.

Holidays - let the food adventures begin!

Health Food

Some of my go-to health food products!

Eating dairy and gluten free isn't that easy for me because I find it so hard not to eat bread and cheese sometimes. I never drink milk or eat a lot bread, but cutting them out completely is hard because there are always traces here and there. It's so disappointing when you think something delicious is dairy/gluten free but IT'S NOT -insert dramatic music-

Luckily, some of my favourite foods are dairy and gluten free! (Junk food heh.) Since I eat breakfast foods a lot, these are some of my favourite health foods that I like to mix and match.

Top row:

- Any gluten free cereal, preferably made from Sorghum/rice/corn flour.
- Raw cacao powder! The flavour is intense, and it's going to be more nutritious than regular cocoa powder which has been highly processed. Superfood maybe?
- Maca powder! I'm not 100% sure if this works, but I think I do get some energy from this due to the B vitamins and iron. It also has a wheaty/malty flavour, so it's nice in smoothies and cereals. It's also called a 'superfood', which does attract me in, but I don't buy the whole superfood stuff all the time.
- Gluten free Weet-Bix! seriously healthy, because it's wholegrain sorghum. Low GI ftw!

Second row:

- Corn flakes, one of the unhealthier GF cereals. I also like GF cocoa puffs, but they're not first preference when it comes to choosing a healthy cereal.
- Psyllium powder or husks, it absorbs water like crazy, and adds a bit of fibre into my diet (ya know, to keep insides running smoothly ifyaknowwhatimean) it's great in baking too because it binds things together like gluten, but cheaper to use than chia seeds that also does the same thing.
- Peanut butter, all-natural style! I like the one with a bit of salt, it does taste a bit better than nothing at all. I'm so used to eating natural peanut butter that I never crave the regular Kraft stuff. Almond butter is also delicious, but it is expensive! I sometimes make my own if I really crave it and add some maple syrup and cinnamon.
- LSA meal and chia seeds! great for bulking up cereals, desserts, smoothies. Tons of nutrients, fibre and energy! Also labelled as a superfood! I think chia seeds ARE a superfood though!

Third row:

- Oats from a wheat-free environment! Oats are labelled as containing gluten in most products because they are processed in a place where wheat is also processed. But most importantly, oats are labelled as having gluten when its really a gluten-like substance called 'avenins' which are mostly tolerable for everyone (unless you have some serious celiac disease, even then it's usually okay).
- If I don't want 'oat'meal, then I go for quinoa porridge! It has more protein than oats and labelled as a superfood, but it does tend to run a bit light in terms of energy levels. It tastes quite nutty and spicy too!
- Macadamia milk, a sweeter, slightly floral and vanillary version of almond milk. It's delicious! I actually dislike the almond milk in this specific brand, because it has that artificial almond/marzipan flavour. I rate this similar to rice milk, just with a different flavour.
- An all-rounder dairy alternative milk is definitely almond milk. It's pretty much good for everything!

Hair Solution

I'm basically in a long-term relationship with my hair brush. It's by Michel Mercier, and I purchased it for under $18 on sale. It's similar to a Tangle Teezer, but in the shape of an actual brush (it has a handle!). I have never owned a Tangle Teezer so I can't really compare it to this, but it is at least $10 cheaper than a real Tangle Teezer, which are from the UK.

I've had it for a good few months now, and I honestly cannot live without it. My hair gets sooooo tangled and hard to manage because it's very long (it comes all the way down my back), and it hurts so much trying to brush it out especially after a shower. Using the brush just hurts way less, gets the job done faster AND also prevents ripping my hair into shreds and damaging it. 

The good thing about this is that since it has a handle, it's super useful for people with long hair (even if you don't have long hair it's still awesome). Another sweet benefit is that because the bristles are so short and tiny, cleaning it (removing the hairs that stay on the brush) is mega easy! Literally takes 2 seconds versus 5 minutes with a regular brush.

The only drawback is that because the bristles are all different in size, they sometimes get stuck in the smaller knots. But compared to a regular brush, it's a hell of a difference!

How to put a healthy twist on boxed cereal

Super quick, easy and healthy cereal combo. I do like me some junky boxed cereal, but I know I'll be running out of energy after an hour so it's not really worth it, considering it usually provides minimal nutritional benefit.

For this small snack on the go, I used some sultana cereal (basically like Sultana Bran but gluten free and with a lot less sugar), LSA meal (flaxseed, sunflower seeds and almond mix), almond milk and some prepared cinnamon chia pudding (cinnamon + chia seeds soaked in almond milk until it forms a pudding-like consistency).

                   Le ingredients.                           Use them ingredients.                                          Le final product.                                               

This isn't going to be a sweet and ridiculously delicious snack, but it's really nutty, filling, and gives me plenty of energy.

The sultana bran made from gluten free flours is mega crunchy compared to normal cereals (it's made from rice, corn and sorghum flours), the LSA mix is really delicious because it's nutty and rich, and the cinnamon chia pudding just adds a bit of extra flavour and texture.

All the ingredients are natural, gluten free, dairy free and vegan!