A Day Well Spent, as told by Nonni Strategic Marketing

9 am
Wake up as well rested as your grandmother's cat on a warm Sunday afternoon. Make some Flahavan's Oatmeal with carrot cake toppings.
Shaved carrot, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar...Oh heavenly creaminess, that’s good.

11 am
The surging feeling of newfound energy inspires you to jump into a pair of neon spandex shorts and go for a run through the park, stopping to pet every dog in sight.
Covered in dog hair, don’t care!

1 pm
Read the New York Times and attempt the crossword puzzle, ultimately giving up after 43 across officially numbs your temporal lobe. You take a stab at Sudoku. After realizing you’ve just been staring at a bunch of tiny boxes for an hour, you call your friend Kathleen and she invites you over for lunch.
Hey, Kathleen. What's up, girl? … Sure, tapas sound wonderful.

3 pm
Meet Kathleen at her apartment and notice that she has redecorated the space in an attempt to look Bohemian-chic. It worries you. You lend an ear about her recent breakup and subsequent trip to Thailand. You continue to worry and suggest she joins you at a cooking class at Eataly.
Wow, it sounds like you're doing really well. Uh, by the way, are you free this weekend?...

5 pm
Still hungry, you remember why you don’t usually eat tapas. You crack open a package of Nairn’s oat crackers and, feeling the oatspiration, look up s'mores recipes for half an hour on Pinterest. You eventually graduate to oat-based pie crust recipes and finally land on DIY dreamcatchers. Your mind drifts back to Kathleen and you quickly close your laptop. You receive a text from your glam friend from grad school.
Happy hour at your place? I know just what to bring.

7 pm
Head over to your friend’s apartment, bottle of classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in hand, to binge-watch 80’s movies on a projector. Upon arrival, he offers you Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Unable to choose, you decide to open both. He has Coravin so it’s no big deal.
The Kiwi is hitting one spot and the Cab is hitting another. Adulthood is amazing and so is The Breakfast Club. Don’t you...forget about me…

11 pm
Arrive back home, pop a jar of overnight oats in the fridge, and snuggle in bed, thinking back on your day well spent and looking forward to tomorrow.
MMMmmmm...ZZZZzzzzzz…

Spotlight on Lauren Ames, Account Coordinator

Hello, June! This month's NSM Employee Spotlight is on our Account Coordinator, Lauren Ames. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What's your role at NSM entail (a day in the life of...)?
I do a lot of communicating: discussing wine shipments with importers and wineries by email, corresponding with journalists, bloggers, and restaurateurs over the phone, and connecting with clients' consumers via all types of social media.

Top tips for when you network with people in the trade?
Being new to any industry is daunting, especially the wine industry, when some norms are spit buckets and people with professional titles like Master Sommelier. My approach is to be myself, be kind and ask a lot of questions.

What are the most memorable moments you've had working at NSM?
Any time I get to work with a brand that I am already loyal to is exciting, like rolling sushi with Flahavan's oatmeal or snacking on Nairn's oat crackers at the office. Going to wine tastings isn't too bad, either.

What are your favorite websites, blogs and/or social media accounts that you follow?
Reddit is my go-to, which leads me to a lot of miscellaneous online publications. As far as social media goes, my Instagram is flooded with food and tattoos, and my Twitter feed is outlined by comedians and politicians, who both provide equal amounts of entertainment.

Best dish you’ve eaten while traveling?
I’ve eaten so much amazing food that it’s almost impossible to choose. Panang curry in Bali. Dak galbi in Seoul. Shawarma pita in Tel Aviv.

Favorite thing to do in NYC?
Take advantage of all the amazing museums (and suggested donations) and different kinds of food (and cocktails).

The Story of Oat Sushi

The challenge was to make our steel cut oats work even harder for our health, so we put our imagination to work first.

Oats are one of the healthiest foods we can eat. They’re pop-medicine-approved for almost any diet trend - anti-inflammation, vegan, naturally gluten-free. Everyone from cardiologists to Cheerios would agree they’re good for heart health.

Our oats of choice are Flahavan's Irish Oats, which also happen to be eco-friendly, thanks to cutting-edge renewable energy practices that may be unexpected from the oldest family-owned company on the Emerald Isle. And being from Ireland, where the weather is gloomy for oat lovers but great for slow-ripening oats, these oats are naturally creamier, higher in protein and higher in beta glucan than other brands, keeping us feeling fuller for longer.

On the heels of a wildly successful, savory Turmeric Oatmeal with Kimchi and a Fried Egg recipe, we had our challenge: how do we keep using these little gems of creamy stealth health to delight foodies, from the blogosphere to the cereal aisle?

Making Oat Sushi proved surprisingly easy during its first trial. Keeping in mind eggs and bacon, staples of a traditional Irish breakfast, and the fact that Ireland eats more oatmeal per capita than any other country, we created the Full Irish Breakfast Roll, combining hard-boiled egg and dulse, a seaweed that tastes incredibly bacon-y when pan-fried, with avocado and arugula to create an unbeatable meal that gives Irish tradition a whole new meaning.

We love Flahavan’s oatmeal and are happy to be working with a company that puts so much care into their products and such confidence in the creativity of our team… which includes you! See the recipe below, give Oat Sushi a try and send us your own ideas and tips to @FlahavansUSA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Spring Fête Inspiration

We’re already two months into spring, but we haven’t been feeling the springtime weather in NYC. Thankfully, the chill of winter finally seems to be moving out and making way for warmer weather as we enter into June. In celebration of sunny days, we’ve created a Spring fête inspiration board. Let’s party!

Resources:

• Blackberry thyme cocktail
• White strawberry-lemon sangria
• Edible flower ice cubes
• Blueberry oatmeal crumble bars (we definitely suggest using Flahavan’s Rolled Oats for this!)
• Blue cheese & bacon spring pea salad
• Tissue paper flower pom-poms
• Baby’s breath & butterfly centerpiece