My Life

My Passion For Supporting Small & Local Businesses

By Esperanza on October 16, 2024

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!

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.

Baby | My Life

Sage Wylder’s Newborn Baby Photo Shoot

By Esperanza on February 22, 2024

Boho chic style, boho nursery, neutral nursery, neutral baby boy style, baby boy style, boho baby, boho neutral, newborn, baby, baby boy, baby photography, newborn photography, creative photography, fashion photography, first time mom. new mom, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

Introducing my baby boy Sage Wylder! Sage was born at 12:27 am on January 31st via C-Section at Chandler Regional hospital after 3 days of labor. I am so thankful that he is here, safe & healthy. He is an Aquarius and I’m a Cancer so we are both water signs! I never thought I would have an Aquarius and I can’t wait to see what his personality is like in the upcoming years. Sweet baby boy was in the NICU for 3 days and after a week of recovering at the hospital, we were able to come home. I finally got the chance to shoot some newborn photos of Sage at 2 weeks old! My mom helped me shoot a lot of these photos and the rest I shot myself. I love how sweet he looks and I will definitely cherish these photos of my baby forever!

Baby | My Life

Our Hospital Birth Story & Baby Name Reveal

By Esperanza on February 14, 2024

Hospital birth, labor & delivery, c-section, birth story, our birth story, newborn baby, newborn, newborn baby, newborn, newborn photography, baby photography, new mom, first time mom, baby boy, lifestyle blogger, Phoenix blogger, The Urban Darling.

At 41 weeks of pregnancy, I still wasn’t dilating or having strong contractions. My doctors wanted me to be induced before 42 weeks, so they scheduled me for an induction on Sunday January 28th at 10 pm at Chandler Regional here in the Phoenix metro. I was disappointed because I really wanted to be able to go into labor naturally, but I was also worried about waiting and any complications that could arise if I did. So my mom and I packed up the car and headed to the hospital with as much positivity as we could muster. I was excited to know that at least we would be leaving with baby boy. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong with my labor, delivery, and everything that followed after, did… In this blog post I am sharing a recap of our birth story!

My Life | Pregnancy

What I Packed In My Hospital Bag

By Esperanza on

Pregnancy, maternity, first time mom, first pregnancy, hospital bag, hospital bag checklist, labor & delivery, pregnancy advice, boho nursery, boho chic style, neutral nursery, boy mom, baby boy, boy nursery, neutral desert nursery, nursery design, interior design, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling, Dagne Dover.

I thought I would share what I packed in my hospital bag with all the other new moms out there! My momma friend sent me her checklist and I watched some YouTube mom’s videos as well to perfect my hospital bag checklist. Even though I ended up having a C-section, I still used almost everything on this list, except for half the things in my Frida Mom Labor & Delivery Postpartum kit unfortunately. I hope you momma’s find this checklist helpful in those last few weeks while you are getting ready to head to the hospital to deliver your baby!

My Life | Pregnancy

My Pregnancy Baby Bump Growth Updates

By Esperanza on January 24, 2024

Pregnancy, maternity, motherhood, pregnancy photography, maternity photography, maternity style, baby bump, bump updates, bump growth, belly bump, baby bump growth, pregnancy transformation, pregnancy progression, boho chic style, sustainable style, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, first time mom, first pregnancy, Storq, The Urban Darling.

Something I really wanted to do during my pregnancy was to capture my baby bump growth each month with a photo, that way I would be able to see/look back on my full pregnancy transformation. It definitely wasn’t easy to do some months, especially as I grew more and more exhausted but I’m so glad I made it happen. The transformation of pregnancy is truly incredible, beautiful, and empowering. I know I will cherish these photos for years to come and maybe baby boy will love seeing them someday too!