Tea for Ru

On Saturday 16th June we will be joining others from across the UK to raise awareness and money for RU's Fund. Ru was a very happy little boy, who sadly passed away last August after being diagnosed with a rare form of paediatric cancer. Since than his parent's have done an incredible job at raising funding and awareness for rare and underfunded paediatric cancers.

Ru had a malignant rhabdoid tumours (MRT), which is a very rare but very aggressive tumour that occurs in childhood, with only a few cases diagnosed each year in the UK. Because the cancer is so rare, it is also one of the most underfunded.

Ru's Fund is a named fund for the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust which aims to-

• raise awareness of childhood cancer

• educate about the early signs and symptoms

• provide grants for research into rare and underfunded cancers

• support families of children with rhabdoid tumours

On 16th June there will be fundraisers held all over the UK and Northern Ireland to commemorate one year since Ru's diagnosis. We will have tea, cake and information on rare and underfunded paediatric cancers on the day, at our Canterbury studio in Palace Street from 10 AM-5PM. This is a cause that is very close to our hearts. You can read more about Ru by clicking here.

Herringbone Parents Pub with Erica Davies

We are introducing our new series 'the Herringbone Parent's Pub.' The idea being once its tough to get a sitter on a Friday night, your local pub ends up being your own kitchen. To help all of our fellow sofa settlers we will post a drink recipe from a favourite instagram account, small business or client every other Friday with the recipe and tips on how to drink on our blog.  To start the series off we've asked the fabulous @erica_davies to play along.  Her drink of choice is without a doubt a favourite, the G&T 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Her Recipe: Gin & Tonic, slice of lemon, lots of ice 🍹

1) Drink works best with which kind of tantrum or parenting situation?

Drink works best after the witching hour - when they’ve gone mad for half an hour, screamed and argued through bathtime and you still know you have a couple of hours work left to do, make the dinner AND put a wash on.

2) To be had before or after bedtime?

AFTER. And RELAX.

3) What would you pair this drink with?

NetFlix and sofa.

Enjoy your Friday whether you're dancing on tables in Ibiza, or in the kitchen with a curry and wine.

The Two Week Wait

A new kitchen is an exciting time for any homeowner! The process from when you start a pinterest board and gathering ideas, to seeing it come to fruition can be long, with so many decisions along the way. We try to make the design and fit process as easy as possible for our clients, but ultimately, there is not much we can do during the fit, when you may be without a kitchen for two weeks. We've put together a list of some of the most helpful thing we've seen (and tried ourselves) over the years. 

1. Get with Your Glamping Self

The electric camping hob is your friend. It can be set up almost anywhere and when needs must, means you can make a warm meal.No they aren't as glamorous as your new Aga, or Rangemaster, but they will work just fine and dandy during the two week wait.

2) Microwave

Most people have one and many meals now a days can be made in the microwave (ask any student). The only warning we should say is that you will start to hear the 'ding' sound the microwave makes when its done in your sleep if you have a large family and are heating up a microwave meal one by one. Does it work though for the two week wait, 'ding.'

3). No Utility? Bathtub it is

We know desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes you can be without a sink for a very short period of time. We always try to put a temporary one in but, every once in a while, you might be without one for a night. When this happen to us, we discovered that the bathtub was a fine place to wash up dishes, we just don't recommend taking a bath afterwards.

4) Tea, lots of Tea

You'll need a nice cuppa in the chaos, and so will your builders, fitters, electricians, plumbers, plasterers.... Tea warms the soul, lightens the work and eases the pain. Make sure you have plenty of tea bags and a tea station for the tradespeople to help themselves to and you'll be a fan favourite.

5) Call in Favours

Once you have your new kitchen we are sure you will be having everyone over for big dinner parties. We highly suggest calling on favours from all of those people before hand for a warm meal- family, neighbours, friends, the postman....  everyone is fair game when you are two weeks without a kitchen and generally people really do come and help out. We once had a client who's neighbour made them nightly meals, and another who's mother would come around with cake. It's the little things that sure make a big difference.

 

5.5 Get Away

If you are lucky enough to be able to get away during this time, we highly recommend it. Always fancied sailing around the British Coast, hitchhiking through South America or hiking Kilimanjaro, yes all of those things might be more relaxing (we kid).

All in all, yes your life will be disrupted for a little while, the transformation from a dry fit normally takes about two weeks. We can't promise those will be the easiest two weeks of your life, but much like childbirth, most people forgive the pain and say they would happily do it again.