Photo by AdamTowner.com
We’ve loved partnering with Yoplait Light this month for Swap Madness and sharing daily tips for simple lifestyle swaps that, over time, can make a big difference in our daily lives. This week, we documented our adventures in Doing the Swap ourselves — putting these and more daily swap tips from Yoplait Light into action, and are now sharing our personal photos and real-life results! For this experiment, Amy and I decided to play to our passions: she to fashion & beauty; me to cooking & DIY projects. Read on!
AMY’S ADVENTURES IN SWAPPING
Photo by AdamTowner.com
Many of us fall into a fashion routine or, for lack of inspiration or energy, play it safe when dressing for everyday, like the neutral outfit I pulled together today, feeling a bit run-down after our trip to SXSW. I love taking risks with fashion, however; and Yoplait’s reminder that small changes like adding a bold lip color, a single piece of statement jewelry, or swapping out one item of clothing for one in a bold color or mixing prints are easy tips I dish out to friends all the time.
Photo by AdamTowner.com
Ta-da! Here I am in a completely opposite outfit, by only changing 4 things: I swapped my blush-colored gloss for a bold pink lipstick; I swapped my simple pendant for a statement necklace made of big, white geode stone slices on an oversize gold chain from Anthropologie; I swapped my neutral blue/gray sundress for a vintage bright green fit-and-flare dress and a bold red belt (both from Goodwill). If you really want to swap your everyday look for something stunning, try mixing all four together as I did! Fashion editors say “more is more,” and swapping playing it safe for taking fashion risks is something I always advocate at our clothing swap events.
MELISSA’S ADVENTURES IN SWAPPING
Photo by ShoestringMag.com
One of my absolute favorite ways to spend free time is cooking at home for friends and family — and I usually, subtly, use it as a way to prove by example that meals can be exciting, delicious, easy to make, affordable, and relatively good for you.
One of my secret weapons in the kitchen is the Misto olive oil sprayer, which for around $10 not only stretches your bottle of oil (and therefore budget) but also means you use less oil while cooking for the same results, stretching the calories, too. Score! This recipe for spaghetti pizza, for instance, called for about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, but by misting rather than coating the pan, I swapped the amount of oil used down to about 1 tablespoon and the pie was yummy.
Photo by ShoestringMag.com
Another one of my favorite things to do is use everyday objects in unique and beautiful ways, like swapping regular gift wrap for creative materials like ribbon made from the inside of old VHS tapes and hand-printed wrapping paper made from brown paper grocery bags stenciled with a repeating design or stamp. Show your love for your friend or relative with something made with love, while showing Mama Earth a little love, too — trust me, it feels great all around.
“Like” Yoplait on Facebook for more lifestyle swap tips and recipes like these, and while you’re there, tell us all about which of Yoplait Light’s daily swap tips YOU tried or incorporated into your life! You can also chat with us on Twitter all month long using the hashtag #swapportunity.
Swap.com Mobile is a free iPhone is app that lets you scan items into your HAVE and WANT lists, manage your account, see what you can get for your stuff, and participate in swaps.
I love the VHS tape as ribbon idea!