Travel

Staycation At The JW Marriott Desert Ridge In Scottsdale

By Esperanza on April 8, 2025

Scottsdale, Desert Ridge, JW Marriot, JW Marriot Desert Ridge, hotel review, hotel stay, hotel vacation, staycation, hotel staycation, Phoenix blogger, family blogger, family travel, family style, mommy blogger, lifestyle blogger, baby boy style, mommy style, retro style.

This past weekend, Andrew, Sage, and I did a “staycation” at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Scottsdale. It was a much-needed getaway for our little family with lots of fun activities in a beautiful desert setting! This was our first staycation together, and I have to say, it’s a super convenient way of “getting away”. We may have to do another in the future, maybe in the summer here in the Phoenix area, to take advantage of the pool! I’ll be sharing more about the hotel, its amenities, and what we did during our quick stay.

Our Family Trip To Payson In Northern Arizona

By Esperanza on April 4, 2025

Northern Arizona, Arizona, family style, travel style, baby style, family trip, family travel, baby style, baby boy, Payson, winter style, outdoor style, hiking style, family blogger, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, men's style, women's style, first time mom, new mom, young family, family, Phoenix blogger, The Urban Darling.

My parent’s invited us to come with them to Payson in northern Arizona for a hiking trip! The cooler weather was super nice for a few days, and I’m glad we were able to do a few more hikes before it’s too hot here in the Phoenix area. One of the hikes we went on was a total of 8 miles with Andrew carrying Sage in our Ergobaby the whole time! We were both very tired after this trip and needed several days to recover when we got back home. My favorite part of the trip was the epic view from the rim where we shot these photos of our little family! It was nice spending some family time on this quick getaway.

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

By Esperanza on December 12, 2024

Flagstaff, Flagstaff travel guide, Flagstaff restaurants, Flagstaff coffee shops, Flagstaff breweries, brewery, coffee shops, restaurants, travel guide, Arizona, Arizona travel, family travel, family trip, family style, traveling with a baby, where to eat in Flagstaff, where to stay in Flagstaff, what to do in Flagstaff, family blogger, family travel, The Urban Darling.

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!

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA | Travel

Our Stay At High Country Motor Lodge In Flagstaff, AZ

By Esperanza on November 22, 2024

High Country Motor Lodge, hotel review, hotel, Flagstaff, Flagstaff hotel, hotel design, hotel lobby, hotel experience, lobby design, boutique hotel, family travel, travel blogger, family blogger, The Urban Darling.

We had the best time on our trip to Flagstaff and an amazing stay at High Country Motor Lodge! Formerly a roadside motel, the property has been renovated into a beautiful 4 star boutique hotel. It’s located minutes from downtown Flagstaff which made it really easy for us to sneak back for Sage’s naps in between exploring the city. It was the perfect hotel for our first family trip! With a unique nordic spa experience in a mountain setting, a cocktail bar & lounge, and it’s convenient location I couldn’t recommend this hotel more for your visit to this Arizona mountain town. In this blog post, I am sharing our experience at the hotel!

Bend, Oregon, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Bend, Oregon

By Esperanza on September 12, 2024

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I am finally getting around to sharing what we did in Bend during our Central Oregon visit with my parents. I have come to terms with the fact that as a momma, it takes me a little while longer to get things done and that’s totally ok lol! During our week in Central Oregon we stayed at Eagle Crest in Redmond and drove to Bend to spend the day. I have been to Bend a few times over the years and loved it so I was excited to check it out again and share some spots I loved. I’m so lucky that I have been able to do so much traveling with my baby boy Sage Wylder! I love that I am making and capturing these special memories with him. I have been sharing our family travels in these “mini travel guides” where I like to highlight where we ate, where we shopped, and what we did which I hope you guys enjoy and find helpful for your travels!

Sisters, Oregon, USA | Travel

Mini Travel Guide To Sisters, Oregon

By Esperanza on August 19, 2024

Sisters, Oregon, travel guide, mini travel guide, Sisters travel guide, things to do in Sisters, where to eat in Sisters, Sisters boutiques where to shop in Sisters, central Oregon, Crazy Like A Fox Vintage, Inscape Plant Co, Rescued Living, Fika Coffee House, The Barn In Sisters, Sisters Saloon, western style, western town, mommy blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, mommy, baby, family travel, The Urban Darling.

Towards the end of July, Sage and I flew to Oregon with my parents to spend time with my brother and his family who live in Salem. We stayed at Eagle Crest in Redmond and during our week there, we spent a day in Sisters. My dad is from Oregon so growing up we would do a lot of road trips, camping trips, etc. all over the state. I remember visiting Sisters when I was a little girl so it was really cool getting to re-visit the western style town with my son Sage. I vividly remember eating at Sisters Saloon which I was happy to see is still there! I also found so many cute boutiques and this adorable coffee shop to check out during our time there. The town definitely attracts a lot of tourists and seemed to be thriving! I’m sharing the spots we checked out in this blog post.

Breckenridge, Colorado, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Breckenridge, Colorado

By Esperanza on August 11, 2024

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I’m finally getting around to sharing my last mini travel guide from the Colorado trip that Sage and I took with my parents back in May! As a single mom, I’m finding that it takes me much longer to get things done and that’s ok. Since then we have also taken a trip to Oregon that I can’t wait to share with you guys soon! In this blog post, I’m sharing some of the spots that we checked out during our time in Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge is a very popular, family friendly ski town in Colorado that is fairly small and easy to get around. Plus, the Rocky Mountain setting is gorgeous! We visited in the Spring so of course there wasn’t any skiing going on, we were mainly visiting for the setting. I discovered some very cute boutiques which you guys already know I love, and we popped into the this adorable bakery that had the most delicious pastries. I’ll be featuring these spots below!

Aspen, Colorado, USA | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Aspen, Colorado

By Esperanza on July 15, 2024

Aspen, travel guide, mini travel guide, Aspen travel guide, things to do in Aspen, where to eat in Aspen, Aspen boutiques, Aspen hotel, Aspen restaurants, Aspen tourist attractions, Ralph Lauren, Kemo Sabe, downtown Aspen, Paradise Bakery, Bear Den, Hotel Jerome, Maroon Bells, mommy blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, mommy, baby, family travel, The Urban Darling.

My favorite town that we visited during our Colorado trip definitely has to be Aspen. I have always wanted to visit Aspen which is known for being a popular winter destination. Even though we visited in the spring so we didn’t get those classic winter vibes, it was such a perfect day with gorgeous weather. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and the beautiful historic downtown Aspen was so charming. We drove up from Breckenridge, about a 3 hour drive (with traffic) from the hotel where we were staying. In this blog post, I am sharing the spots we visited during our day in this popular Colorado tourist destination.

Travel | Vail, Colorado, USA

A Mini Travel Guide To Vail, CO

By Esperanza on July 13, 2024

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On our recent trip to Colorado, we spent a day exploring Vail, a popular ski town for tourists. We were staying at a hotel in Breckenridge for a week and it was a super quick 45 min drive to Vail in our rental car. Vail is known for it’s Bavarian style villages, but the tourist parts of the town are actually much newer than some of the other ski towns we visited like Breckenridge and Aspen. It’s also known for it’s high end dining and shopping. Even though it was the off season, we really enjoyed just getting a feel for the town without all the tourists.

Denver, Colorado | Travel

A Mini Travel Guide To Denver, CO

By Esperanza on July 7, 2024

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On our recent trip to Colorado, Sage and I met my parents in Denver after visiting his father Schyler in Eastern Washington. We rented a car at the airport to drive to Breckenridge where we would be staying for the week. My mom and I wanted to take advantage and spend half a day checking out the city before heading to our hotel. None of us had ever been to Denver and my mo mom and I were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked it! It was very clean, pleasant city and we really liked the vibes there. There is actually so much to do, way more than we were able to get to. It has so many cute restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and tourist attractions so I think it’s a great city to visit! In this blog post, I am sharing a “mini travel guide” for Denver based on what we were able to do with a half a day.