The Urban Darling -

Sage’s Wylde One In The Woods First Birthday Party

By Esperanza on February 21, 2025

Birthday, first birthday, baby birthday, birthday party, birthday party decor, DIY party decor, baby boy, cake smash, birthday backdrop, birthday decor, camp theme, camp themed party, camp themed birthday, party food, party decor, family blogger, lifestyle blogger, vintage style, baby boy style, The Urban Darling.

We celebrated Sage Wylder’s first birthday party a few weeks ago and I’m so happy with how his party turned out! I knew I wanted to do a camp theme, and Andrew helped me come up with the ideas for “Sage’s Wylde One In The Woods”. The decor for his party was DIY, thrifted, or items that we already had. We worked on projects like the signs and banners a little bit every day for a few weeks to get everything done on time! We invited around 30 guests and about 25 of Sage’s guests were able to make it. My brother, his wife, and his nephew as well as my sister and her boyfriend flew in so my whole family was able to be together which was really special. A few of my mommy friends and their babies came and it was so cute watching Sage interact with them. The party went super smoothly and everyone had a great time!

Sage Wylder’s Nine & Ten Month Baby Update

By Esperanza on February 15, 2025

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

We just celebrated Sage Wylder’s 1st birthday party a few weeks ago, but I still wanted to get up two more update blog posts, his nine & ten month update and his eleven and twelve month update! Momma feels like she is sooo busy all the time now. At nine months, Sage started pulling himself up to sit. On Halloween he started crawling after weeks of trying on his own without our help. Whenever we would try to help him we didn’t really get anywhere, so we kind of just let him do it when he decided to. A few days later he started pulling himself up to stand! Ever since then, things have been crazy around here ;P

Valentine’s Day Photoshoot With Baby Sage Wylder

By Esperanza on February 11, 2025

Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day photoshoot, couples Valentine's Day photoshoot, Valentine's photoshoot, Valentine's photography, baby photography, fashion photography, vintage photography, creative photography, vintage style, retro style, baby Valentine's photos, DIY Valentine's garland, DIY Valentine's decor, mommy and baby style, mommy blogger, family blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

How could I resist taking a few sweet photos with baby boy Sage Wylder for our first Valentine’s Day together?! I shot some photos with Andrew and I as well as a few of just Sage a few weeks ago (linked here), but I had a vision for some mommy and me Valentine’s photos and I love how they turned out! We used the same paper heart garland from the other photo shoots, and I picked up a simple bouquet at Trader Joe’s for only $5.99! I actually had picked out two bouquets that we held up for Sage to grab so he got the final say. I love the pretty peach color he went with! I wrapped the bouquet up in packing paper to give it an old-fashioned feel.

Vintage Inspired Valentine’s Day Photoshoot

By Esperanza on January 21, 2025

Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day photoshoot, couples Valentine's Day photoshoot, Valentine's photoshoot, Valentine's photography, couple's photography, fashion photography, vintage photography, baby photography, vintage style, retro style, baby Valentine's photos, family blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

I had a vision for some cute Valentine’s photos I wanted to capture with Andrew to remember our first Valentine’s Day together! On a recent thrift trip to Goodwill, we thrifted this adorable red gingham fabric for Sage’s 1st birthday party which is coming up at the end of the month, along with several other camp-themed finds. It has a vintage feel to it that I thought would be so cute for a Valentine’s themed photoshoot! I did a quick DIY paper heart garland with twine and a hole puncher to use as a prop, which turned out perfectly. We shot these during Sage’s 1st nap, but I couldn’t resist taking some Valentine’s photos of him when he woke up!

Baby | Baby Style

Our Favorite Baby Products From Lalo

By Esperanza on

Lalo, Lalo baby products, baby products, baby toys, Lalo baby toys, baby play kitchen, play kitchen, baby tower, play tent, high chair, first bites kit, baby, montessori, montessori bay, neutral baby style, baby boy style, family blogger, mommy blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

Before I became a mom, I would see these adorable wooden play kitchens and I knew that I wanted one for my baby one day! I am so excited that Sage is finally old enough to play in his baby play kitchen from Lalo. When Sage and I were living with my parents, he loved watching his abuelita cooking. Now, he loves watching my partner Andrew in the kitchen. Andrew is a chef, and we have already started involving Sage in the kitchen when we are cooking. When he is old enough, he has a wooden tower that will allow him to work at the counter with us. For now, he seems to really enjoy banging around his baby play kitchen with his food and toy sets he got for Christmas!

Gift Guides | Holidays

My 2025 Valentine’s Day Gift Guides For The Family

By Esperanza on January 10, 2025

I thought I would share a roundup of Valentine’s gift ideas for him, her, and for toddlers! As a first time mom, I was the most excited to put together a Valentine’s gift guide for toddlers. I had a lot of fun working on that one, so I hope you guys enjoy it! It’s always a little tricky finding things that aren’t just candy or a little too cheesy. As always, I try to offer ideas for gifts that are classic and timeless. There is something for everyone’s budget as well!

Couples Style | Holidays

Getting Dressed Up For Our First New Year’s Eve

By Esperanza on December 28, 2024

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Not only have we been celebrating all of Sage’s first holidays, but Andrew and I have been celebrating all of our first holidays together too, which is really special! I can’t believe that after 4 months of dating, we didn’t have a single photo of just the two of us. It was about time to correct that, so we thought we would get dressed up in honor of our first New Year’s Eve together. It was really fun seeing each other in our fancy party attire, and I think we look pretty snazzy if I do say so myself!

Food | Urban Darling Home

5 Easy Gluten-Free Breakfast Ideas

By Esperanza on December 20, 2024

Gluten-free, Gluten-free baking, Gluten-free recipes, Gluten-free breakfast ideas, Gluten-free cookbook, Gluten-free diet, Gluten-free pastries, baking, cooking, cookbook, chef, modern kitchen, neutral kitchen, family blogger, breakfast ideas, easy breakfast ideas, family style, The Urban Darling.

Andrew and I recently filmed a video for my socials of five easy gluten free breakfast ideas. We spent the whole day baking and shooting these delicious recipes that we have been enjoying for days now. I snapped a few photos on my camera that I thought I would share in this blog post with the finished dishes as well! I thought it would be helpful for those of you that are gluten-free or have recently gone gluten-free. For those of you that are new here, Andrew is a chef & food consultant and these recipes are all from his cookbook, “The Simple Art Of Gluten-Free Baking Cookbook“.

Family Style | Holidays

Family Christmas Photos In The Arizona Desert

By Esperanza on December 19, 2024

Holidays, holiday photos, family photos, holiday family photos, Christmas, holiday style, family style, family photography, family blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, couple style, vintage style, baby style, baby boy style, vintage baby boy style, desert photoshoot, desert, Phoenix, The Urban Darling.

I wanted to show Andrew this beautiful spot that my family and I have visited several times since moving to the Phoenix area. Superstition Mountain is located in Apache Junction has been the backdrop for many photoshoots like my full term maternity photos and some family photos with my mom and sister after Sage was born. I thought it would be the perfect spot for capturing some holiday photos of Andrew, Sage, and I as well! I love that I have captured so many life milestones in this gorgeous desert setting.

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA | Travel

Flagstaff Travel Guide | Where To Eat, Stay, & Things To Do

By Esperanza on December 12, 2024

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In early November, we went on our first trip together as a couple, and as a family! Andrew, Sage, and I spent a few days in Flagstaff and boarded Arlo at a local dog boarder. During our time there, we stayed at an amazing hotel, High Country Motor Lodge (read more here), and ate at some incredible local restaurants. In this blog post, I am sharing those spots as well as fun things we did while touring the city! I actually visited Flagstaff with my parents last year (read that blog post here), while I was still pregnant and healing from my traumatic breakup, so it was very full circle to go back with my son and new boyfriend Andrew. It was such a great trip, and I can’t wait to see where we end up going next!