The Urban Darling

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.

Mini Travel Guide To Sisters, Oregon

By Esperanza on August 19, 2024

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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

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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.

Baby | My Life

How I Take Care Of Myself As A Single Mom

By Esperanza on June 29, 2024

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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.

Portland, Oregon, USA | Travel

Mother’s Day Weekend In The PNW

By Esperanza on June 22, 2024

We spent my first Mother’s Day weekend in the PNW with my parents, my brother, and his family. My parent’s and I flew down to Portland, OR with Sage and then met up with my brother, his wife, and my nephew Brio in Troutdale, just outside of Portland, where my mom had rented us an Airbnb for 3 days. My parent’s really wanted the cousins, Brio and Sage to meet, and my brother wanted to see Sage while he was still teeny tiny. We actually ended up having so much fun exploring the Troutdale area! Schyler (Sage’s dad), and I had lived in Portland for 5 years and I hadn’t really been back since, so it was cool (and bittersweet) to go back there with Sage. Afterwards, Sage and I drove up to Eastern Washington to visit Schyler for a week before heading back to Phoenix. In this blog post, I am sharing everything we did during our PNW trip!

Baby | Baby Style

Sage Wylder’s Three & Four Month Baby Update

By Esperanza on June 16, 2024

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I am finally sitting down to share Sage Wylder’s three and four month updates! As I mentioned in his one and two month update, the newborn phase was tough for me as a new, single momma. Every week gets so much better! Sage was a very serious newborn, but during months three and four, Sage started turning into this smiley, sweet, and curious baby boy. I have been loving these past few months with him and discovering his personality more and more. I feel like we have such a great connection and bond now which is so rewarding as a momma. He is such an amazing baby and I am so proud of him. Enough gushing, let’s get into the updates with tips and mommy must haves I loved as well!

My Life | Sedona, Arizona, USA

Visiting Sedona With My Baby Sage Wylder

By Esperanza on June 7, 2024

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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!