Alright 'relaunch' might be a bit dramatic for a blog but it feels like the right word...sort of. As you may be able to see my blog has had a bit of a make over (I'm still sorting out admin pages, ironing things out and going through past posts but I'm getting there) thanks to Faye. I loved my previous design and logo, loved it but at the tail end of last year and start of this year I fell out of love with my blog as a whole. I'd sit in front of the screen struggling to put my thoughts down on the page, I was overworked with new contracts and truth be told I'd lost my confidence. I tried and tried to start again and get back in the swing of things but I couldn't and I'd sit there staring at the screen and my blog and anger would brew up inside.

Something drastic had to happen. A midweek 'weekend' with my blogging friend Louise spurred me on to get back into it, to feel passionate and to get going again but I got home and looked at my unloved blog and still couldn't bring myself to blog (that and Virgin Media giving us shoddy internet supply out here in the deepest darkest depths of erm...Manchester). So I decided to have the blog made over, to have new colours and a new look and I think it's worked - shallow or what? I'm feeling refreshed and excited, plus get this...I have dozens of blog post ideas. HURRAH.

A few things are going to change (new blog series etc.) and I'll be mentioning some of them as and when they happen but some of them you'll notice straight away. There are more posts on the front page but they're organised in a neater fashion. You'll noticed a tab called 'discounts' and soon I'll be sorting out some coupons, codes and discounts from retailers in order to save A Thrifty Mrs readers money. And categories and archives (which are in the process of an update) are more visible meaning it's easier to track down posts.

I hope you like the new look, I look forward to posting and chatting with you in the comments section - which is something I've missed most whilst having the blogger blues.

TTFN,

A lot of my friends are popping new people into the world, so I've been busy making baby hampers and for my vaginally damaged friend - new mum hampers. If you've squeezed a baby out, you deserve a treat or two.

New Mum Gift Basket

1. Disposable camera - if you can find black and white then all the better as it will hide any mess and under eye circles. Whilst it is great to have photos on a computer or phone it is so much nicer to have a print - maybe you could pick up a nice frame too?

2. Nipple cream 

3. Dry shampoo

4. Oversized sunglasses

5. Thermos style cup for keeping drinks warm when the new mum is kept busy or unable to get up and down for a new one. I got this one for my friend and she commented on how handy the handle was.

6. Neck/maternity pillow
7. Netflix/Lovefilm subscription which you can always find discount codes for. My friend marathoned through season after season of TV shows when breast feeding at 3am and has given a subscription to all of her new mum friends ever since.


A few more ideas:

- Small bottle of their favourite alcohol - even if they're breast feeding, they can always save it and relish the thought.

- Delicious body cream - check it is suitable for babies/breast feeding mothers - strong scents may not be helpful.

- Scented candle

- Bubble bath

- Hand cream

- Chocolate

- Voucher for baby sitting

- Homemade meals

- Brie, blue cheese, pate etc.

- Arnica for bruising

- CD or cheap MP3 player/memory stick of songs which were popular during her pregnancy

Obviously the contents of any hamper you give will differ depending on the recipient and what you know they would and wouldn't like or are unable to use for whatever reason, so the above is very general and you can add in personalised items which mean something to you and your friend. What would you include? Oh and don't forget to check out my New Baby Hamper post too.

TTFN,

I'm a budget girl, so unless it's long haul I always fly with budget airlines and have experienced both the merits along with the grubby lows.

We flew with Jet2 thanks to a press trip with Jet2Holidays, to Tenerife South from Manchester Airport on the 23rd April 2013. The flight is four and a half hours which is a long time on a budget plane with a 6ft2 husband and my general list ticking neuroses, so I have to be honest and I say I set off dreading the journey to our hotel.

Flying with Jet2

Check in and bag drop off

Outgoing

Like most airlines with Jet2 you can check in online 28 days before your flight, just print off your boarding card and you're all set. We had an impressive 22kg hold baggage allowance each (we didn't get anywhere near hitting that weight - I think Mr Thrifty had 12kg and I had 17kg) which we checked in upon arriving at the airport with a really friendly and helpful member of staff. Now I'm not sure if it's because I like to turn up the exact recommended 2 hours before a flight departs (security at Manchester Airport can take hours) but we only queued for 30 seconds to drop our bags off and the process of having them check and weighed took less than 2 minutes then we were on our way.

Return

Bag drop off took a little longer on our return simply because I think a lot of transfer coaches arrive at the airport at the same time. It wasn't an inconvenient amount of time - around 10 minutes queueing. The staff this side were less friendly and a bit curt but we were dealt with in under 1 minute each.

Boarding and the flight

Outgoing

Boarding our outgoing flight was no hassle especially because seats are pre-assigned unlike a lot of other budget airlines, where I've seen people scrapping in the aisle. We were pleased to see although we didn't have specially allocated 'extra leg room' seats (which you can select when booking your flight) that we had more than adequate room for Mr Thrifty's legs and the seats were ample enough to take my extra erm...baggage. 

Once on the plane we were waiting quite sometime to set off and I think this was due to a passenger delay, in the end we were about 25-30 minutes late setting off. The flight was seamless and the food and drinks were no more expensive than the supermarket sandwich we'd eaten in the cab to the airport and bottled water we'd picked up at the airport. We arrived into Tenerife South 5 minutes early which was nice after the delay on the tarmac.

Return

Boarding was super fast and the cabin crew were extremely friendly, funny and helpful. We actually set off really early (I assume everyone was on board) arriving back in Manchester about 45 minutes earlier than the arrival time, meaning we back to our flat at a time we had expected to still be waiting for luggage. The pilot on the return flight was great and gave us pointers of where we were passing, which made my window seat all the more interesting.

Other notes

Our outbound flight was on a Jet2 branded plane and our return on a Jet2Holidays plane - they're identical inside however the Jet2 plane looked really sleek and 1950s from the outside. I know it's probably really sad to like the look of a passenger plane but the outbound plane just looked cooler, obviously this in no way an issue I'm just y'know...saying. That said the exterior doesn't matter once you're up in the sky, it's the comfort factor that matters. This isn't luxury but it isn't uncomfortable at all, Mr Thrifty had plenty of room to stretch out and I didn't get a numb bum - so that's pretty much a thumbs up from both of us.

The cabin crew, especially on the way home (I was too absorbed in my book on the way out) were incredible and seemed to help everyone around us in record time whilst managing to seem unflappable and without a hair or neck scarf out of place - if they give lessons could they please let me know!

I would say for long flights (over 3 hours) inflight entertainment in my mind should be complementary. I understand you could hire small media units to watch a selection of films and TV programmes but these weren't advertised very well when printing off our boarding passes nor were they mentioned once onboard. However that really is my only issue with Jet2 and I can understand the units being for hire rather than complementary keeps the tickets at a great price point.

Jet2 Flight Verdict

All in all this has to be one of the best budget flight experiences I've had unless you count the time a man on a flight to Prague bought my friend and I round after round of gin then told us stories of his misspent youth in Mexico. 

Both of us were incredibly impressed by the customer service, the comfort and generally by our whole experience and are currently looking to book a flight to Jet2 to Madeira - we'll let you know how we get on.

TTFN,

P.S. I'll be letting you know all about our experiences with Jet2Holidays and our hotels very soon.

P.P.S. This post is not sponsored however we were provided with our holiday free of charge for review purposes.

My lovely blog-shaped friend is hosting a blog meet up, crossed with picnic, crossed with conference and she has asked me to speak at said event. It's called Blognix and held in Birmingham on Saturday 8th June.

At the end of last month Mr Thrifty and I packed our bags and headed off to Tenerife with Jet2Holidays (I'll be doing a full review shortly), we usually take quick city breaks so we've become quite skilled at packing hand luggage only. This time we were lucky enough to have 22kg each, so packing was a bit different - but hopefully still organised.

My method for packing involves a lot of prep. A couple of weeks before we go away I go through my wardrobe and drawers pulling out anything which I may want to wear, even things which are very basic. Then I make sure anything which needs laundering is done and ready and I add them to the pile of potential clothes. Then it is a case of making a list of the days we're going to be there and potential activities. Will I need lots of theme park suitable clothes? Will be dining anywhere particularly fancy? What will the weather be like (I make sure to check the online forecasts a couple of times before going and make any final weather based packing decisions the day before we go)?

We've just about gathered ourselves here at Thrifty Towers after a lovely, restful week in Tenerife thanks to Jet2Holidays.

Holidays are a well earned, special time to relax and enjoy yourself and stressing about money should be the last thing on your mind, however it's a great idea to put some plans in place so you're not spending a small fortune whilst your over there. You don't want to come back home to a huge credit card bill and start regretting your lovely time beside the pool.