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!

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!