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.

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!

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!

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.

Baby | My Life

How I Take Care Of Myself As A Single Mom

By Esperanza on June 29, 2024

Boho nursery, nursery, neutral nursery, boho desert nursery, boho chic style, neutral style, baby boy, baby, baby style, baby carrier, Solly baby wrap, wrap carrier, single mom, first time mom, new mom, self care, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, mommy blogger, The Urban Darling, wellness tips, self care tips, skincare tips, skincare.

At 5 months postpartum, I finally feel like I am getting back to feeling a bit more like myself. After having Sage, the newborn stage was very tough for me, as I was experiencing baby blues, sleep deprivation, and overall just adjusting to life as a new, single mom. In those first few months, you are basically in fight or flight mode so any form of self care really just went out the door for me. I was lucky if I was able to squeeze in a shower! I knew it was a temporary stage, but I did wonder how/when I would get back to doing things for myself. Skincare, wellness, and self care in general have always been very important to me and over the last few months, I have finally found ways to work those things back into my life.

My Life | Sedona, Arizona, USA

Visiting Sedona With My Baby Sage Wylder

By Esperanza on June 7, 2024

Sedona, Arizona, mother, baby, mom, new mom, first time mom, first baby, baby boy, family photography, maternity photography, baby photography, fashion photography, desert, Oak Creek Canyon, Phoenix blogger, fashion, style, lifestyle, desert vibes, desert style, neutral style, baby style, sustainable style, mommy style, The Urban Darling.

My parents invited me to visit Sedona with them a few weeks back where we visited a lot of the same places from our previous trip when I was 6 months pregnant. I was excited to get the chance to re-visit these places, but with my baby boy Sage Wylder in tow this time. On our last trip, my parents and I said we would have to come back again with my baby boy, but I never realized it would be so soon! My mom had taken some maternity photos for me on our last trip to Sedona, so we decided to capture some photos with Sage and I in the same spots as a comparison. I’m so glad we did because these will be so cool to look back on over the years and show Sage when he’s older!

Baby | My Life

Three Generations In The Arizona Desert

By Esperanza on April 12, 2024

Generations, family, family photography, Phoenix, desert, desert photography, Arizona, Arizona desert, Superstition Mountain, baby, baby boy, baby photography, mama, new mom, first time mom, fashion photography, creative photography, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

My younger sister Rocio was finally able to come down from Los Angeles to meet my son Sage Wylder, who is now 2 months old! While she was visiting, my mom drove us to Superstition Mountain, where Rocio took my full term maternity photos so that we could shoot some family photos together. My mom, sister, and I have never taken photos together for my blog, so it was really special to be able to capture these, especially with baby Sage! There are three generations of my family in these photos that I know we will cherish forever.