HayleyHeartsxo

I blame snapchat. For those unfamiliar with the popular app (where have you been?!) Its premise is simple: upload content - be it a video or a picture - and it'll ‘disappear’ in 24 hours. For many this was an opportunity to send your best mate your ugliest gurning face, safe in the knowledge that no one would see it and it would be gone quicker than Britney Spears first marriage. (Remember that?) For those braver folk it was a chance to send slightly more intimate parts of their body...buut fanny flashing and willy waving aside, times were simple. Inevitably the app grew with its increasing popularity and began to add new features - my favourite and least favourite being the filters. Even if you're not a Snapchat user you'd be hardpressed to avoid the filters - whether it's a video of your cousin vomitting rainbows or that girl next door using the dog filter in EVERY single selfie, filters are pretty much taking over social media with even Instagram trying...

When I was 19 I had my first serious relationship. It was by no means perfect, but as I had nothing to really compare it to, I believed myself to be happy and forgave bad behaviour and general dickishness for the pursuit of happiness. Nearly 2 years into our relationship everything came crashing down when I discovered via my friends that my boyfriend had cheated - not once, not twice, but multiple times throughout our relationship with several different women - one of whom I knew. I was utterly heartbroken. Everyone had seemingly known but me. My ex seemed unapologetic when I tearfully confronted him about it and denied it all until the evidence was too much to lie about. It took me 6 months to fully get over it. I hadn't seen it coming whatsoever. I felt angry that the person I thought I knew wasn't anything like what I believed. I think that's what hurt the most - thinking you know someone inside out and finding out everything you believed to be true is a lie. ...

Summer. I love it and I hate it. I love it because the nights get lighter, boozy picnics are a thing, cutesy dresses are appropriate for any occasion and my holidaying obsession comes into full force. Everyone just seems a bit happier when the sun's out don't they? A Mr Whippy will make even your most miserable mate smile. And if it doesn't? Ditch them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life - Mr Whippy is the bomb diggity and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Despite its perks, I also kind of dislike summer. Why? Because if you're a woman summer can be a bit shit. As soon as Christmas is done and dusted, out come the usual crappy adverts which ultimately have one goal: to make you feel crap for not looking like Gisele for your summer holiday. The bikini body. The summer body. Call it what you will, but the pressure for women to look good gets ramped up to the extreme over the summer months. If you haven't signed up to a gym and co...

I have a confession: I'm not really an eat out in restaurants kind of gal. I generally prefer staying at home in my Disney jim jams with a takeaway and a bottle of prosecco. If I'm this wild at 27, who knows what the future holds. That said, when I do decide to venture out of hibernation into the real world, I tend to go to places that have a bit of character. My favourite places include The Fourteas in Stratford Upon Avon and The Rainforest Cafe in Disneyland Paris. The former is a vintage tearoom that is themed around the 1940s (including the staff!) and the latter is exactly what it says on the tin - a restaurant/cafe that is set in the middle of a rainforest  (complete with mechanical apes and jungle sounds) and is located in one of the happiest places in the world. I'll actively seek out places with an interesting theme. Rather than fly to Paris every night, I try to go a bit more local which brings me on to House in Leamington. Leamington Spa, to me, is...

When I was younger I didn't identify as a feminist. I believed feminists burned their bras and hated men - and I was at that age where I'd just sprouted boobs so I actually enjoyed wearing a bra and thought boys were alright actually. Women could vote and go to school and work, what was the big issue? I was naive and I was young. I was in my little western bubble where I believed because something didn't affect my life, why bother? As I grew older and a little bit wiser, I realised there were a lot of things I could care about that didn't affect me personally and that was just part and parcel of being a decent human being However I still felt uncomfortable labelling myself as a feminist. I'd learnt that it wasn't about burning bras and not shaving - although both are valid life choices - feminism has one central belief; equal opportunities for men and women. It wasn't and isn't about hating men at all - it's about being treated equally. It's...

Whenever I tell someone I own a pet hedgehog it usually prompts two reactions: “why?” and “omg I want one!” If you're in the latter category, this post is for you. I've had my own hedgehog Florence for just over a year now, and whilst I'm by no means a hedgehog expert (and each hedgie is different) I've learnt a couple of things along the way. I think it's important before committing to any pet, to do your research first. I researched African Pygmy Hedgehogs 2 years prior to owning one (this is mostly because I still lived at home and our family dog is an incredibly jealous attention hogger who would flip his shit if another animal took that away.) So, as soon as I moved into my own place with Mike, I set about turning my ideas into actions. Here are the things I learnt: Pygmy Hedgehogs aren't naturally inclined to love you straight away like a dog, so you have to put the work in. They can be very huffy and grumpy (especially in the morning, ...

Because I want to.  End of blog. Case closed. Discussion over.  Okay fine I won't leave it there.. I suppose i’ll indulge on the topic a bit further...you're welcome.  This always strikes me as an odd question - because well, why not? And more importantly, why is it any of your business what anyone decides to wear on their face? If I want to slap on a highlighter so bright the moon gets jealous then damn, I WILL.  I'd overheard a colleague ask this very question about me - something along the lines of “why does Hayley wear so much make up? Is it because she's really insecure and feels she needs to? I bet she’d look so pretty without it.” Well thanks for your two pence Sally, but I don't decide whether or not to wear make up to impress middle aged women like yourself - nor do I do it to mask the dragon scales beneath a layer of Estee Lauder’s Double Wear. I do it because I want to. (Her name wasn't actually Sally by the way but I'm being nice...

Guys and girls, stop being annoying on Valentines day. If you're single then it's really not the worst thing in the world to be ‘alone’ on Valentines day and if you're in a relationship it's not a competition to outdo your friends/that hot girl you follow on insta whose boyfriend bought her a Michael Kors watch and ran her a bath.  Let me elaborate. I have been single on Valentines day and I have been in a relationship on Valentines day and both are fine if you accept it for what it is - a bit of fun and a way for Clinton's to squeeze some money out of us all. £5.95 for a card?! I could get a happy meal for that Mr Clinton and that comes with a free toy AND chips  (and who doesn't love chips? no seriously….who?)  Valentines day doesn't dictate that you have to have a partner to enjoy it - go out with your girlfriends, grab the lads for a pint - spend time with your friends! Host a Galentines party like I did and end up a strip club in the early ...

Wait...you DO WANT kids?! I used to think that too, but I changed my mind and so will you don't worry. I mean aren't you worried you’ll get BORED? Not to mention it's pretty selfish of you...what does everyone else think about your decision? Your mum and dad? I really think you'll change your mind, trust me on this one. If you read this and felt a little bit offended because you DO want children then that's great, as that was the point. The above is mostly the reaction I receive whenever I tell anybody I have no interest in having children. My boyfriend also doesn't want to have children, but that's okay, men are allowed to make their own minds up...but I am a woman. My sole purpose is to BREED, goddamnit and it makes people feel uncomfortable when you admit you don't want to follow the grain. People assume you're cold and unloving and immediately call for the womb police to come and detain  you for daring to think your life would be absolutely fi...

I decided I wanted to blog about something lighter for my third blog post and if you haven't guessed by the hilarious title, it's about hair colours.    I've never been one to stick to the same hair colour for particularly long - and some of have been the tits, and others have been….well, not so great. (I was very tempted to write ‘the pits’ but I want people to read further than this particular paragraph..)    I remember being obsessed with The Osbournes when I was younger and in particular, Kelly Osbourne's bubble gum pink hair. So off I went to Nequiba, an ‘alternative’ hippy shop that sold stargazer hair dye and I bought the most shocking pink I could find. It didn't work, and to this day I don't know why - but it's probably a blessing as I don't imagine my high school would have been a-okay with pink hair if they couldn't hack girls having boobs.  However, it didn't stop my resolve and through the years, I wish I had had shares in Boo...

I've always had a weird relationship with my body - my boobs seemed to grow before everyone else's and due to my sweet tooth and love of crisps, so did my waist line.  In highschool all the boys only went for the slim, pretty girls and so I decided, that if I were to diet and slim down, I too would be worthy of being someone's girlfriend for a week. (relationships didn't last long in highschool.)   I went on the strangest diets - I read once that pineapple was good for boosting your metabolism so I therefore decided not to eat anything other than pineapple and cereal. Unsurprisingly, that one didn't stick. I stumbled across pro-anorexia sites online and whilst I was incredibly lucky to never succumb to such an awful disease, I certainly did some pretty questionable things such as chewing my food and then spitting it out to avoid the calories from time to time.  Needless to say, I wasn't very nice to my body. It didn't help when boys would turn to me a...