Lifestyle

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“.

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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.

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Holiday Home | Holidays

Our First Holiday Season As A Family

By Esperanza on December 6, 2024

This time of year has been extra special, not only because it’s baby Sage’s first holiday season, but also because it’s our first time celebrating them as a family with Andrew and Arlo! Meeting Andrew this year was such a blessing after everything I went through in the past year, and I have so much to be thankful for. I remember being so sad last year at this time while I was still pregnant, and emotionally recovering from a difficult breakup. It’s amazing how much has changed in a year! Andrew has brought so much happiness into my life, I’m so lucky to have a second chance with an amazing man who makes my son and I feel so loved.

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Gift Guides | Holidays

My Holiday Gift Guides For 2024

By Esperanza on

The month of December is already flying baby! For those of you that are new here, my son Sage Wylder was born January this year, so it’s his first holiday season which has made this time of year even more special. Things have been crazy over here! Andrew drove the whole gang down to Colorado so that we could spend Thanksgiving with his family, and we just bought tickets to fly down there for Christmas. I somehow found the time to throw these holiday gift guides together for those of you who need some ideas for what to gift your loved ones this year, hopefully you find them helpful!

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Beauty | My Life

Mommy Makeover | New Hair, Fillers, & My First Wax

By Esperanza on November 7, 2024

Mommy makeover, mommy, makeover, self care, hair makeover, new hair, hair before and after, fillers, botox, waxing, brazilian wax, hair removal, Lady & Wolf Salon, Giovanni Med Spa, Opal Raw Beauty, Phoenix, beauty, Phoenix blogger, lifestyle blogger, mommy blogger, The Urban Darling.

At 7 1/2 months postpartum, it was time for a little mommy makeover! I needed a boost in confidence and some self care after many months of sleep deprivation and non-stop mommy duties lol. I wanted to get my hair done (dye & fresh cut) at my favorite salon in Scottsdale. I wanted to freshen up with some botox/fillers at Giovanni Med Spa and I decided it was time to try getting my first wax at Opal Raw Beauty! In this blog post, I am sharing more about my experiences at these local Phoenix businesses.

Holidays | My Life

Our First Family Halloween Costume

By Esperanza on October 31, 2024

Halloween, Halloween 2024, Halloween costumes, family costumes, family Halloween costumes, baby costumes, avocado, baby Halloween costumes, family photography, baby photography, couples photography, lifestyle blogger, family blogger, mommy blogger, lifestyle, family, fashion, The Urban Darling.

A few weeks back, Andrew and I thrifted the cutest baby avocado costume to dress Sage in for his first Halloween! I was just going to dress him up, but then I realized it would be really easy to do a family Halloween costume with that theme. Baby Sage was an avocado, I was an avocado tree, Andrew was an avocado farmer, and Arlo was the farmer’s dog, although he wasn’t feeling very photogenic that day, so we only got a few photos with him lol. I think it turned out so cute for our first Halloween together as a family, and I can’t wait to see what we come up with next year!

Baby | My Life

Visiting The Pumpkin Patch & Animal Farm

By Esperanza on October 20, 2024

Phoenix, couples, pumpkin patch, pumpkins, animal farm, couples photography, family photography, family, couples style, family style, baby style, baby boy, baby boy style, neutral style, retro style, desert style, desert vibes, desert plants, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

I was really excited for the holidays to come up this year because I knew it would be so fun experiencing them with my baby boy Sage for the first time! Andrew and I took Sage to his first pumpkin patch last week and even though it was soooo hot here in the Phoenix area the day we went, we had a ton of fun. The farm we went to had a little petting zoo with goats, cows, horses, sheep, a llama, and even zebras! Sage does seem to love animals, especially Andrew’s dog Arlo, but he wasn’t nearly as excited about them as he was the big orange pumpkins! Those really put a sparkle in his eyes lol.

My Life | My Style

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.

My Life | My Style

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!

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!