The Urban Darling

A Mini Guide To Laguna Beach In Orange County

By Esperanza on October 19, 2023

Laguna Beach, Orange County, California, California beaches, California travel, California road trip, beach, beach photography, maternity photography, maternity, maternity style, second trimester, The Urban Darling, Laguna Beach guide, travel guide.

My parents and I visited Laguna Beach for the day on our recent trip to California. We all agreed that we absolutely loved it! Not only is Laguna gorgeous but it boasts the most beautiful beaches, amazing boutiques, and great restaurants. My mom played photographer for me for the day and I was able to capture some great content that day. I love the beach maternity photos we were able to capture towards the end of my 5th month of pregnancy! I definitely need to plan a trip to Laguna Beach in the future with more time to explore! I wanted to share some of the beaches and spots we checked out that day.

Maternity Swim Photo Shoot In La Jolla

By Esperanza on October 15, 2023

Maternity, maternity swim, maternity photography, maternity photo shoot, swimsuit photo shoot, maternity swim photo shoot, pregnancy, second trimester, swimwear, sustainable swimwear, sustainable style, fashion blogger, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, La Jolla, California, California travel, La Jolla beach, San Diego.

While I was in La Jolla with my parents and sister, we found the dreamiest little cove where my sister shot some maternity swim photos for me! I was nearing the end of the 5th month of my pregnancy when we shot these and I am now about 25 weeks pregnant. I love how these photos turned out and I felt beautiful while showing off my baby bump! It has been truly astonishing watching my belly grow, especially in the second trimester where it’s really started growing rapidly. The first trimester I felt like I just look bloated lol but now it’s quite obvious I’m pregnant. What our bodies can do to grow a baby is so incredible.

San Diego, California, USA | Travel

5 Things To Do In San Diego

By Esperanza on October 14, 2023

San Diego, La Jolla, San Diego travel, La Jolla travel, California travel, California road trip, US destinations, travel guide, La Valencia, Hotel Del Coronado, Old Town San Diego, Balboa Park, things to do in San Diego, travel blogger, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling, maternity style, southern California.

At the end of September I went on a trip to California with my parents who live in the Phoenix area. My sister Rocio was able to join us for the first half of the trip before heading back to Los Angeles. My mom wanted to explore the beaches in California while staying at a hotel in Escondido for the week. All three of them have been to San Diego several times but since I had never visited, they decided to take me around the city for the day. At almost 6 months pregnant, I was proud of myself for doing so much walking and exploring. I had to drink a ton of water, tried to keep the sun out of my face, and take some breaks for sure. I was able to get a pretty good feel of San Diego in a short amount of time so I thought I would share a few things to do there!

My Style | Pregnancy

2nd Trimester Maternity Style With Nisolo Boots

By Esperanza on October 7, 2023

Maternity style, maternity outfits, 2nd trimester, 2nd trimester maternity style, 2nd trimester outfits, maternity, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, Nisolo, fall boots, early fall style, sustainable style, sustainable blogger, The Urban Darling.

I had another appointment for my pregnancy this week and I couldn’t believe that I was 24 weeks pregnant. I am in my sixth month of pregnancy so in just a few more months, baby boy will be here. So wild! I have done a few fashion photo shoots recently styling my new Nisolo boots for fall, so I thought I would share them in a 2nd trimester maternity style blog post! I will hopefully be sharing a few more maternity style posts throughout the remainder of my pregnancy so be sure to check back for those.

Travel | Tri-Cities, Washington, USA

A Local’s Guide To Tri-Cities, WA

By Esperanza on October 5, 2023

Kennewick, Washington, downtown Kennewick, historic Kennewick, Tri-Cities, Richland, travel guide, Tri-Cities travel guide, shopping guide, cute stores, cute boutiques, boutiques, coffee shops, cute restaurants, plant shops, boutique clothing, vintage decor, vintage clothing, boho decor, home decor, things to do in the Tri-cities, Moniker Bar, Dovetail, Badger Mountain, Richland Parkway, Downtown Kennewick, Uptown Mall, Urban Grounds, Yet Lovely, Slate & Aloe, Earth Spirit, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, The Urban Darling.

I decided to pull together a little guide to my hometown of Tri-Cities, WA! The area has grown so much since we moved back and there are some really cool spots that have more of a bigger city feel like Portland or Seattle which I was thrilled to discover. I’ve included some of my favorite boutiques, restaurants, and coffee shops although there are many that didn’t make it into my guide. I’ve also mentioned a few things to do in the area! I hope this guide is helpful for anyone moving to this quickly growing city or even a local who wants to discover some new spots.

My Life | Pregnancy

First Trimester Update: Pregnancy Symptoms & Must Haves

By Esperanza on September 14, 2023

1st trimester, first trimester, first trimester symptoms, my first trimester, pregnancy, pregnancy must haves, pregnancy symptoms, first pregnancy, baby bump, maternity style, pregnancy style, maternity, boho chic style, sustainable style, clean hair care, clean skin care, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, The Urban Darling.

A few months late, but I am finally sharing my first trimester recap! I’m currently 21 weeks into my pregnancy and life has been so busy. Luckily during a lot of my first trimester, I was able to take things slow, take naps, and meditate which was much needed because of all the symptoms I was feeling (more on that later in this post). Going into my second trimester, life got much busier! Between creating content for my social media business, researching + creating a baby registry, pregnancy symptoms, pregnancy appointments, trying to make time for self care, and making time for my relationship… my plate has been super full. I’m hoping things will slow down a little bit soon and I’m trying to focus on how lucky I am to be pregnant. Getting back to it, in this bog post, I wanted to share some of the pregnancy symptoms I experienced, things that helped with them, and my must have items for the first trimester!

My Life | Pregnancy

Our First Baby Gender Reveal

By Esperanza on August 26, 2023

I have been dying to share our baby’s gender since we announced our pregnancy two weeks ago. It’s usually recommended to wait until you are past the first trimester to share pregnancy news. We waited until I was about 4 months pregnant and it was so hard keeping it a secret because I wanted to shout it from the rooftops but we wanted to make sure our risk of miscarriage was far enough behind us after having had an early miscarriage when we first started trying to get pregnant. I have known the baby’s gender for about a month now so the wait to share that news was much shorter at least!

Ojai, California, USA | Travel

Ojai Travel Guide | What To Do, Where To Shop, & Where To Stay

By Esperanza on August 18, 2023

Ojai, California, Southern California, California travel, US destinations, Ojai travel guide, things to do in Ojai, where to shop in Ojai, where to stay in Ojai, Ojai lodging, boutiques, vintage airstream resort, Ojai Valley Inn, travel blogger, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, The Urban Darling.

Ojai, California is a place that I have always wanted to visit! I had heard amazing things about the calm, peaceful, and serene vibes in this beautiful California town. So when I flew to Los Angeles to visit my sister, I decided that we had to do a roadtrip to Ojai! It worked out perfectly because we went at the beginning of my visit and stopped in Malibu for the day on our way back to Los Angeles. Check out my Malibu blog post here! We were there for about 24 hours and visited so many cute boutiques and stayed at the cutest vintage airstream resort, Caravan Outpost. It was the perfect girl’s trip!

Couples Style | My Life

Our Desert Pregnancy Announcement Photoshoot

By Esperanza on August 12, 2023

Pregnancy announcement, Pregnancy announcement photoshoot, pregnancy, maternity photography, desert photography, couples photography, desert, Tri-Cities, couples, baby, couples style, desert vibes, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, The Urban Darling.

I’m so happy to finally be able to share our wonderful news: WE’RE PREGNANT! Schyler and I have been wanting this for quite awhile now and I have wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, so I’m thrilled to finally be starting this journey into motherhood. It has been so hard keeping this a secret but I’m so excited to be sharing more about my pregnancy moving forward!

My Life | My Style

Boho Lingerie Photo Shoot & Turning 30

By Esperanza on August 9, 2023

Lingerie, neutral lingerie, chic lingerie, lingerie photo shoot, self love, boho chic style, boho bedroom, boho decor, boho lingerie photo shoot, 30, lifestyle blogger, fashion blogger, at home photo shoot, turning 30.

I was scrolling through my camera roll this week and remembered I hadn’t yet posted these lingerie photos Schyler took for me a few months back. I debated whether or not to share these because I know being too “sexy” in photos can be a little controversial. I was raised Catholic so there is a part of me that always feels a little uncomfortable about sexuality and things of that nature. All that aside, as a woman, I’m very proud of my body and looking at these photos makes me feel empowered, confident, and beautiful. I turned 30 this year and I am at the point in my life where I care less what other people think and more about doing whatever makes me feel happy and good about myself. That kind of freedom is a thing of beauty.