Workdays and Weekends: Rhona Maxwell

Our favourite yummy mummy and one fifth of #TeamSmallCity, Rhona Maxwell is a woman who wears many hats! As well as being mum to the gorgeous, one year old Baby Freya, Rhona also writes and edits our Family column and heads up sales, looking after our Small City advertisers.

She is a lover of lists, creator of Llama Face and up for just about anything we throw at her. One in a million, we'd be a far duller team without her weekly dose of crazy.  #RhonaRecommends, we salute you!

1. What does a typical day at work look like for you?

I’m quite an organised person so I usually have a long to do list split into what I aim to get through each day- it doesn’t always get done but it helps to have a plan! I start by wading through and replying to all my sales emails (I like a tidy inbox!), usually followed by building pages for the site and writing or researching upcoming articles. I love the versatility of my job, no two days are the same!

2. What signals the start of your weekend / days off?

When all 3 of us are together we like to take Freya swimming so she can show her daddy all the new tricks she’s learned at Turtle Tots. Otherwise we’re pretty well known for having friends round for dinner- I love to try out new recipes (to varying success) and dessert is always guaranteed to be amazing thanks to my pastry chef husband! No night at the Maxwell’s is complete without one of our famous quiz’s- we’ve seen tie breakers go on until the wee hours!!

3. What makes for a perfect night in?

My husband, a takeaway from Tabla, prosecco and either Scrabble or trashy TV like Catfish or First Dates. I’m not going to lie, I’m also partial to a Kardashian fest (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!). Although I have a lot less time to do it now I love reading magazines so I try to catch up on those in the bath when I have a spare minute!

4. What makes for a memorable day or night out?

During the daytime a trip to the Racecourse is always brilliant fun! Since having baby Freya we don’t get many nights out but we both enjoy going for a good meal. We love The Roost and are dying to try all the new places like Pura Maison in Crieff, Uisge Restaurant in Murthly and the Apron Stage in Stanley. You can’t go wrong with a great dinner and a few cocktails or a nice Strathearn heather rose gin & tonic!

5. Tell us about the weekend you’d love to live again?

Without a doubt the best weekend of my life was when we got engaged (much to my surprise!) 8 years ago. We stayed at Marlfield House in County Wexford, Ireland, not far from where I was born. Everything about the weekend was perfection, I’ve never cried and laughed so much, I’d probably be too scared to go back in case it didn’t live up to the memories!

6. And now your best ever day at work?

All the team at Small City work hard. It always a gives me a buzz to see how many thousands of people have read or shared an article I put together, or to get great feedback from a client who has really benefitted from being featured. I have to admit though, while screeching through our team day White Water Rafting at Nae Limits recently I did think ‘this isn’t too bad for a day at the office!’.

7. Any workday or weekend rituals?

If we’re not staying put we can usually be found catching up with my in-laws in Glasgow.

8. What’s in the perfect day off breakfast?

Buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and fresh fruit.

9. Any words of wisdom for us?

A good friend once told me- if in doubt ‘Fake it till you make it!’