The Urban Darling -

Life Update: My New Relationship & Fresh Start

By Esperanza on October 16, 2024

I have been waiting to share this news for a few months now and I decided that I was finally ready to open up about my new relationship! Andrew and I met in an unexpected way on a dating app and hit it off right away. He was living in Portland but the app changed his location to Phoenix while he was here for a few day’s interviewing for a position (he is a chef/food consultant). It happened to be the day I created my profile otherwise we would have never matched! He came to visit me about a week later and we started officially dating.

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My Passion For Supporting Small & Local Businesses

By Esperanza on

Small business, local business, passion, ethical, sustainable, local, Phoenix, Phoenix business, local Phoenix business, ethical style, sustainable style, desert style, desert vibes, boho chic style, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling, Redemption Market, Apolis, Paper Anchor Co, Leah California, Nomad Design Co.

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. When I was 18 and going to college in Spokane, WA, I started an Etsy shop re-selling vintage clothing as well as my first fashion blog! I would share the photos I took for my shop on the blog. I was inspired by this small consignment boutique in downtown that I loved visiting and from there I started discovering record shops, thrift stores, and other small boutiques. They did not have these kinds of shops in the small farm town I grew up in! I think that’s where my love of small & local businesses began. I love sharing small & local businesses that I visit on my travels or here in my current hometown of Phoenix, AZ on my blog and socials. I like to think it’s my way of giving back and supporting those businesses, especially because I too am a small business owner as a blogger/content creator!

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My Life | My Style

Life Update: We Moved Into A Modern Rental Home

By Esperanza on October 5, 2024

Open Spaces, Onsen, waffle towels, move in sets, kitchen organization, bathroom organization, Sezane, Sezane style, modern interiors, modern kitchen, baby boy style, neutral style, neutral modern, first time mom, single mom, rental house, Phoenix house, lifestyle blogger, Phoenix blogger, milestone, life update.

My son Sage and I recently moved into a beautiful new rental home, which is a huge milestone for me personally after living with my parents for a year while I was finishing the last half of my pregnancy, giving birth to Sage, navigating postpartum, and getting over a bad breakup. It’s been almost 2 weeks and we are finally unpacked, finished quite a bit of decorating, and had my parents over for dinner! It’s a 3 bedroom house so Sage has his own nursery, we have a garage, a nice sized back yard, and the interiors are gorgeous. The place has a neutral modern feel to it, the owner remodeled about 4 years ago and the previous tenant kept everything in great condition. It was by far the best place out of the 13 homes I toured. The minute I stepped in, I knew it was perfect for us!

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Baby | Baby Style

Sage Wylder’s Five & Six Month Baby Update

By Esperanza on September 23, 2024

Baby, baby update, baby boy, newborn, newborn baby, first baby, new mom, first time mom, baby style, neutral style, neutral baby stile, baby milestones, baby photography, boho style, sustainable style, neutral nursery, desert style, desert vibes, lifestyle blogger, fashion photography, lifestyle photography, The Urban Darling.

I can’t believe Sage is now almost 8 months old! I am so behind on getting his 5 and 6 month baby update up because I have been busy with travel content from our Central Oregon trip, brand campaigns, and packing for our move which I will be sharing more about on here soon. So here is a quick recap of Sage’s milestones during these months! He has gotten so much gigglier but he can definitely be very serious and knows how to let us know what he wants lol. I sometimes think to myself how lucky I am to be this special boy’s mom during little moments throughout the weeks. He is changing so much everyday… it really does go by so fast!

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Bend, Oregon, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Bend, Oregon

By Esperanza on September 12, 2024

Bend, Oregon, travel guide, mini travel guide, Bend travel guide, things to do in Bend, where to eat in Bend, Bend boutiques where to shop in Bend, central Oregon, Found, Iron Horse Antiques, Dutch & Bow, West Coast Provisions, Root Adorned, Sparrow Bakery, Still Vibrato Coffee Roasters, Grove Market, Grove Food Hall, family travel, mommy blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, mommy, baby, family travel, The Urban Darling.

I am finally getting around to sharing what we did in Bend during our Central Oregon visit with my parents. I have come to terms with the fact that as a momma, it takes me a little while longer to get things done and that’s totally ok lol! During our week in Central Oregon we stayed at Eagle Crest in Redmond and drove to Bend to spend the day. I have been to Bend a few times over the years and loved it so I was excited to check it out again and share some spots I loved. I’m so lucky that I have been able to do so much traveling with my baby boy Sage Wylder! I love that I am making and capturing these special memories with him. I have been sharing our family travels in these “mini travel guides” where I like to highlight where we ate, where we shopped, and what we did which I hope you guys enjoy and find helpful for your travels!

My Life

Life Update & Dating As a Single Mom

By Esperanza on September 3, 2024

I have been meaning to share a life update on here for several months now but life has been so busy! For those of you that are new here, I was in a relationship with Sage’s father Schyler for almost 10 years, but we split up a little over halfway through my pregnancy due to his mental health issues. I held out a lot of hope that if he was able to get help, we would somehow be able to be a family again. Although he was able to get help eventually, and is doing better, it became very clear that would not be possible. It’s not something that I ever thought would happen before I got pregnant and this whole situation has been very tough to share, but unfortunately that has been my reality.

Sisters, Oregon, USA | Travel

Mini Travel Guide To Sisters, Oregon

By Esperanza on August 19, 2024

Sisters, Oregon, travel guide, mini travel guide, Sisters travel guide, things to do in Sisters, where to eat in Sisters, Sisters boutiques where to shop in Sisters, central Oregon, Crazy Like A Fox Vintage, Inscape Plant Co, Rescued Living, Fika Coffee House, The Barn In Sisters, Sisters Saloon, western style, western town, mommy blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, mommy, baby, family travel, The Urban Darling.

Towards the end of July, Sage and I flew to Oregon with my parents to spend time with my brother and his family who live in Salem. We stayed at Eagle Crest in Redmond and during our week there, we spent a day in Sisters. My dad is from Oregon so growing up we would do a lot of road trips, camping trips, etc. all over the state. I remember visiting Sisters when I was a little girl so it was really cool getting to re-visit the western style town with my son Sage. I vividly remember eating at Sisters Saloon which I was happy to see is still there! I also found so many cute boutiques and this adorable coffee shop to check out during our time there. The town definitely attracts a lot of tourists and seemed to be thriving! I’m sharing the spots we checked out in this blog post.

Breckenridge, Colorado, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Breckenridge, Colorado

By Esperanza on August 11, 2024

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I’m finally getting around to sharing my last mini travel guide from the Colorado trip that Sage and I took with my parents back in May! As a single mom, I’m finding that it takes me much longer to get things done and that’s ok. Since then we have also taken a trip to Oregon that I can’t wait to share with you guys soon! In this blog post, I’m sharing some of the spots that we checked out during our time in Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge is a very popular, family friendly ski town in Colorado that is fairly small and easy to get around. Plus, the Rocky Mountain setting is gorgeous! We visited in the Spring so of course there wasn’t any skiing going on, we were mainly visiting for the setting. I discovered some very cute boutiques which you guys already know I love, and we popped into the this adorable bakery that had the most delicious pastries. I’ll be featuring these spots below!

Aspen, Colorado, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Aspen, Colorado

By Esperanza on July 15, 2024

Aspen, travel guide, mini travel guide, Aspen travel guide, things to do in Aspen, where to eat in Aspen, Aspen boutiques, Aspen hotel, Aspen restaurants, Aspen tourist attractions, Ralph Lauren, Kemo Sabe, downtown Aspen, Paradise Bakery, Bear Den, Hotel Jerome, Maroon Bells, mommy blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, mommy, baby, family travel, The Urban Darling.

My favorite town that we visited during our Colorado trip definitely has to be Aspen. I have always wanted to visit Aspen which is known for being a popular winter destination. Even though we visited in the spring so we didn’t get those classic winter vibes, it was such a perfect day with gorgeous weather. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and the beautiful historic downtown Aspen was so charming. We drove up from Breckenridge, about a 3 hour drive (with traffic) from the hotel where we were staying. In this blog post, I am sharing the spots we visited during our day in this popular Colorado tourist destination.

Travel | Vail, Colorado, USA

A Mini Travel Guide To Vail, CO

By Esperanza on July 13, 2024

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On our recent trip to Colorado, we spent a day exploring Vail, a popular ski town for tourists. We were staying at a hotel in Breckenridge for a week and it was a super quick 45 min drive to Vail in our rental car. Vail is known for it’s Bavarian style villages, but the tourist parts of the town are actually much newer than some of the other ski towns we visited like Breckenridge and Aspen. It’s also known for it’s high end dining and shopping. Even though it was the off season, we really enjoyed just getting a feel for the town without all the tourists.