i put the heater on for the first time on saturday. it was the middle of the night and my feet (or what used to be my feet) had turned into chunks of ice. please note i already had molly my sheep (ears and all) socks on.

the act of putting my heater on is like officially admitting that the cold, grey winter is here.

to cheer myself up, i came up with these top ways of getting through it.

1. cold days mean hot drinks – never been a better reason to indulge in cream and/or marshmallow topped beverages.

2. outerwear shopping - if the weather is going to be mean and cold, a girl has got to have outerwear to suit. you will be too busy giving the credit card a workout to focus on the dip in temperature.

3. light things up – just because the Sun goes to bed a lot earlier does not mean you have to! create an ambiance with a large number of lit candles. go for richly scented candles, tealights and sit back and luxuriate in their glow.

4. all is bright - the perfect antidote to a gloomy day is bold colour. this winter have fun planning lots of colour filled outfits to brighten things up.

5. next season lust list – when your snowed in and tempted to devour that family size, chocolate bar, start creating your clothing lust list for next season. the only thing more fun than shopping is planning to shop. winter blues begone!

love it or hate it, it’s monday again. even though last weekend is all but a distant memory and next weekend’s playtime might as well be an eternity away, there’s no reason to let that get you down.

you see, we think that weekdays have gained a pretty bad rep around here, even though we hear through the grapevine that monday is the new friday! determined to turn the tide, we’re kicking things off with a great track to set your new week in good stead.

a voice that can warm even the dampest of spirits, siobhan wilson’s sultry vocals on her track ‘getting me down’ is certainly having the opposite effect on us. chuck in a disco tinged remix by anoraak and this is the perfect go-to song for those chilly ‘wish-i-was-still-in-bed’ mornings.

we realize that the guys don’t often get much fashion love on the blog – but we’re trying to make amends. and we’re starting off with one of our favourite menswear fashion blogs, male mode, written by a pretty dapper chap called cillian, who is doing a great job of picking out what’s hot from a range of talented designers.

he’s got a keen eye for new trend-forward labels, introducing talents such as tomislav mostecak, william richard green and raun larose, as well as personally sporting a bang on trend sense of style. he’s got a great writing style that gives you a concise snapshot of the designer, and actively seeks information straight from the horse’s mouth with a set of pressing questions!

be sure to check out his brilliant blog, and if you’re on twitter you can follow him too!

happy friday!

breaking news! heres the latest update on the epic cats vs rabbits battle for our love.

last week, when we professed our new love for a pair of lazing rabbits, there was uproar within the cat community. proving that it’s not in their nature to back down from a challenge, they’ve put their best foot forward and enlisted a pair of cool cats to feature in an all-guns-blazing comeback bid!

we’ve always known that our feline mates were a clever bunch, but they’ve only gone and adopted internet wit! in this video, we see a hungry kitty use the famous ‘om nom nom nom‘ meme whilst chowing down on his tasty dinner! make sure you turn the volume up loud for this one.

the thing is, we’re under reliable knowledge that cats have been om nom nom-ing long before it gained internet notoriety – another point supporting our claims of cat domination!

so give it to us… which side are you on?

Socks are everywhere at the moment and as a practical, winter style staple, you have no excuse to be cold. it seems that there is a sock to go with every look and here our are fave styles to keep you hot on trend…and hot on your feet!

1. Ankle Socks – we’re loving the cute ankle socks look, great with brogues and short ankle boots, which are perfect for autumn. For a bolder look, go for a contrasting colour to your shoes or wear with court shoes for an evening look. 

2. Cable Knit Socks - These beauties were made for the ever-so chic hiking boot! Team with belted shorts, midi skirts and Nordic knits to complete the look. 

3. Knee High - Knee High socks have been featured all over the catwalk by the likes of Marni, D&G and Dior complimenting an array of trends. Where you wear your sock is key to your shape – for the most flattering look, wear just under the knee. If you’re short, pairing with a short hemline will give the illusion of longer legs. 

4. Over the Knee
- Wear over tights or rolled down for a layered look.

5. Thigh High – Like the boot, thigh high socks are a statement on their own and these by John Paul Gautier in Fair Isle Knit are not for the faint-hearted. Make a statement in patterned ones like these or for a more paired down look, wear under thigh high boots.

so there you have it, from top to toe!

heads up! win everyday this week with vitaminwater’s spark!

we’re squeezing the last out of summer with sunny spark vitaminwater! so to celebrate, we’ve got our hands on some brilliant spark themed nail varnish from nailcare professionals orly, and with a few bottles of vitaminwater thrown in for good measure, they are yours for the taking!

are you always in need of an afternoon pick-me-up? with b vitamins, guarana and natural caffeine, spark owns afternoons! so everyday this week, keep an eye out on our twitter account for spark time – between 3-5pm – to be in with a chance of winning!

this competition is open to all of our twitter followers (make sure you follow us here!), and all you have to do is be the first to retweet our daily spark time tweet containing the hashtag #spark, to win yourself a bottle of the fabulous orly spark nail varnish and a bottle of vitaminwater! the lucky winners will then be sent further instructions on how to bag themselves a crate of refreshing spark…

the competition will be running everyday between 3pm – 5pm! as always, don’t forget to check out the t&c’s! good luck everyone!

we’ve been basking in it this weekend. yes, mother nature has kindly thrown us mere mortals an olive branch in the form of glorious rays!

not wanting to get on her bad side (she’s pretty temperamental – but don’t tell her we think so), we duely accepted and in a hot second, we were rooting around in the depths of our wardrobes for last seasons staples and chilling the vitaminwater on ice.

as a result, we aren’t in much need of a revival today, but we’ve got a great one for those of you who are perhaps feeling a little worse for wear after the weekend’s festivities!

good vibe purveyors mystery jets have just released the new video for ‘show me the light’ – one of the standout tracks on their latest album, ‘serotonin’. as expected they don’t fail to deliver on the feel good front, and the title alone pretty much sums up our feelings on the recent sunny spell!

so even if you are basking in it today from the side of a windowpane, allow the upbeat riffs, polished harmonies, and even the pommel horse themed video, be the perfect accompaniment to the final glimpses of summer.

we’re feeling the love today. and because we’re not a selfish bunch, we’re passing it along to one of the blogs currently getting quite a bit of screen time here at vitamainwater hq. this week, we’ve been reading breaks of 10, a blog written by an active collective who live and breath youth culture.

with a keen eye for the latest in fashion, music, art, and photography, this group pride themselves on writing about things that genuinely take their interest – presenting a respectable blog curated with real passion.

it didn’t take us long to realise that they have a bit of thing for music, and it’s great to see them supporting superb homegrown talents such as ghosts of venice, melé, and martelo. they’re not one trick ponies either, as they can also take a mean set of photographs.

so support the cause, and let the breaks of 10 crew inspire your day!

if you’re on twitter you can follow them too!

thanks to Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, it is the season of faux fur.

The high street took note and now a girl could easily make like Joe Zee, in the video below, and wear a head to toe furry look.

Do you think Joe pulls off the head to toe fur, or has he got it wrong and could be mistaken for a Yeti or Bear gone astray!?