it’s nice to meet you!
I’m Hayley
a British expat in Seattle, lifelong blogger, and mid-size style enthusiast. I’ve been sharing bits of life online since the days of dial-up.
I’ve lived through all the blog eras – diary-style rambles, questionable outfit photos, and colour schemes I’d rather forget. What started as me hand-coding posts in Notepad back in 2000 has carried me through every version of the internet so far.
Even as the internet has shifted, blogging has stayed my favourite corner of it. No algorithms, no pressure – just a place to tell stories and keep a record of life as it happens.
MY STORY
I’m originally from Chester, spent a few years in deepest, darkest Wales for uni, and then moved to Bristol in 2008. Bristol will always be one of my favourite chapters – I met Alex there in 2009, and it’s also where I found my place in the blogging world through things like #blogclub.
In 2017, we got married and moved to Seattle for Alex’s job with our three pups (Fern, Jill and Jess), all within about six months! Since then, we’ve added another dog to the family after sadly losing Fern in 2019, bought a house a few months into the pandemic, and started turning the Pacific Northwest into home.
the QUIZ
tea vs coffee
tea, always, but moving to Seattle has meant learning to love iced coffee
usually craving
a bar of Cadburys chocolate (the one with jelly beans and popping candy!)
first website i built
Hand-coded in Notepad in 2000. It was pink and red, extremely basic… I’ve gotten slightly better since, but mostly because I just buy the layouts now!
favourite sports to watch
F1 and hockey – F1 since the early ’90’s, hockey since the Seattle Kraken hit the ice in 2021 and I’m counting down to the first Seattle PWHL game!
first thing i bought in the us
Before we landed, I made sure I had a kettle and a big bag of Yorkshire Gold waiting for me – and I had my favourite mug in my luggage!
favourite date idea
a spa day – we usually do one whenever we stay in a hotel, and we have a membership for a local spa
Sneakers or Heels
sneakers – my heels are gathering dust these days!
Guilty Pleasure
buying more stationery than I could ever use
lets be friends!
That’s probably more than enough about me….
…now I’d love to hear about you! If you’ve made it this far, we’re basically friends already. Come say hi on Instagram (@hayleyghowells) or drop me an email – I’d love to connect!
P.S. If you’d like to explore more, the blog archive holds over two decades of stories—or drop your email in my (very occasional!) newsletter.
