My Life

My Wedding Beauty Prep | Microneedling, Lip Filler, Botox, & More

By Esperanza on September 20, 2025

Wedding, wedding beauty, beauty prep, wedding beauty prep, microneedling, lip filler, botox, lip blushing, PRP SkinPen microneedling, Chemical Peel, Oxygen facial, lip filler, hair makeover, lymphatic drainage, bride, bride to be, bride 2025, The Now Massage, Elevate Grace, Phoenix, The Pretty House Beauty Lounge, Bonita Aesthetics, Karma Aesthetics. — Screenshot

Like any bride, I wanted to look and feel my absolute best on my wedding day. Andrew proposed to me in April after eight months of dating, and we quickly set a wedding date just six months out. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of finding “the one” and getting married. After the heartache I experienced in a past relationship, meeting Andrew and getting engaged truly felt like a dream come true. As the big day approached, I became more intentional about my wedding prep — hitting the gym more regularly, cutting out alcohol, drinking more water, taking collagen, and more. But along with the lifestyle changes, I also had a long list of beauty treatments I wanted to explore. In this blog post, I’m excited to share the full rundown of my wedding beauty prep!

Celebrating 18 Months Of Breastfeeding My Baby

By Esperanza on August 5, 2025

Breastfeeding, baby weaning, breastfed baby, breastfeeding journey, breastfeeding mom, motherhood, motherhood journey, baby boy, first time mom, boy mom, new mom, mom style, mommy blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling, toddler, baby.

My breastfeeding journey is sadly coming to an end, so to celebrate 18 months of breastfeeding my son, Sage Wylder, Andrew took these beautiful photos of us. When Sage was taken to the NICU after my c-section, I fought really hard to be able to breastfeed him because it meant so much to me. I totally would have kept going, but the toll it was taking on me physically was really starting to wear me down. It’s been an emotional roller coaster—mentally and physically. I wish they would warn you about the hormone crash that happens when you start weaning your baby off breastfeeding. It’s been brutal, not to mention how much I miss the connection between Sage and me during those precious moments. I’ll forever cherish that time, and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it as long as I did! Also, Sage looks huge in these photos, lol—I wish we’d taken them when he was littler, but it’s hard to make the time in these busy days. I’m so glad we made the effort!

My Life | Travel Style

My Surprise Beach Picnic Proposal In Malibu

By Esperanza on April 30, 2025

Proposal, surprise proposal, beach proposal, engaged, engagement, engagement photos, engaged couples, El Matador, Malibu, California, family travel, family style, family blogger, beach picnic, The Urban Darling, engagement ring.

We are ENGAGED!! Andrew proposed to me on our second day in Malibu on El Matador beach with a surprise picnic that he planned with my sister. They had been designing the ring & planning the proposal since the beginning of January! We have been talking about getting engaged/married since we started dating, but because Andrew is from Colorado, I thought he would propose on our upcoming trip there, so I wasn’t expecting it. He and Sage “popped” the question together which was so sweet and special! After all the heartbreak I went through in my previous relationship, I’m so lucky to have found this man, and for a “second chance” at love. I can’t wait for the future for our little family!

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!

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.