Suzanne Mulholland is the bestselling author of The Batch Lady series of books, including her latest best-seller, The Batch Lady: Cooking on a Budget She takes us through a typical, full-on day in her life.
6AM: I’m an early bird so I love getting up and enjoying some time before I need to get the kids up and family life starts. I often creep downstairs, make a coffee and head to the snug to cuddle under a blanket for 30 minutes. I love to get a start on the day by checking emails and responding to messages, so I have nothing hanging over me as I start the morning. I walk the dogs on the farm and watch the sun come up – one of my favourite things to do. We live in the middle of nowhere so looking at how big the sky is makes me realise that anything I’m worried about is very minor in this huge world. By 7am, the kids are up and we are ready for school runs, breakfasts, etc.
8:30AM: I always keep this time for general house admin. I write and work from home and never feel settled if the house is a mess, so I spend this hour putting a washing on, ironing, tidying up and off course pulling an evening meal from the freezer, ready to be my future friend when the evening comes around.
10AM: My workday consists of writing bits of a book I’m currently working on or filming some work for a supermarket or brand that I may be working with, for social media content. I often work from home, which I adore, but three days a week I can be out on shoots, or filming/recipe testing in my test kitchen in Edinburgh. I’m also doing some live TV work so dash down to London for a few days each week.
Lunchtime dog walks
1PM: Lunchtime, my favourite thing is to get out my windowless office and head out into the fields, to walk the dogs. Luckily, I live very rurally as if not I’d be seen skipping along singing away to myself. These walks always help me unwind from office life and I think they are so good for the soul.
6PM: As ‘The Batch Lady’, I try not to cook from scratch during the week, so I usually have a defrosted homemade meal waiting to pop in the oven. This way of cooking for one hour on a Sunday and eating all week, means I have a quick homemade meal ready for the family but minimal cooking or washing up after a hard day’s work.
Now, I should be telling you that I then cosy up and relax, but I’m a social bunny so love nothing more than date night dinners with my husband or fun nights with friends. Although Monday to Wednesday is all about family meals, Thursday to Sunday is often filled with evenings with friends, family, nights out on the town and generally living life to the full. I adore people, I love seeing how everyone else lives and what their thoughts are. Hence why I spend an hour each weekend batch cooking meals so I’ve time to enjoy my evenings stress-free and enjoying the company of others.
11PM: I flop into bed, content that I’ve got the most out my day. As I said, I’m not one to take life slow.
