Sorry folks. Yesterday got the better of me and I was entirely jet-lagged from Vegas. Besides that my dear, lovely, wonderful two year old was up at 5:30 am two days in a row and we were swamped with work yesterday (which is a good thing!!) Excuses, excuses...

As promised, I am committed to going through what we saw in Vegas (not revealing any industry secrets) but I will tell you as much as I think I am allowed to. Here it goes.

Our first appointment on day 1 of the show was to see the all new Baby Jogger City Select, which I was eager to see as of course, it was the subject of my pre-show blog after seeing the the advertisement for the stroller in Preg and Newborn mag. Baby Jogger has followed in line with some other great companies who've created single chassis, two seaters including Uppababy and Phil and Teds. This modern 21st century tandem stroller is seriously the future of the double stroller. By single chassis I mean, one single stroller that weighs the same, same width, same everything as let's say, your Bugaboo, yet can accommodate two kids, including two toddlers, a newborn and a toddler, two newborns...heck, any combination you can think of, and with sixteen different customized choices to fit your family, Baby Jogger has seriously thought of everything with the City Select.

Of course, I loved that immediately after we entered the booth, the president of Baby Jogger, a cool dad, who actually designed the City Select himself (as well as all the other City strollers- remember, stroller engineers are usually really, really uber-smart Ivy League school grads) came up to us and did the demo on the stroller for us himself. To me, I was incredibly impressed by the attention we received from the company. He actually mentioned to my husband, who is also my most valued employee, that his first concept for the stroller was on a napkin at a restaurant, so all you folks that have ideas hit you when you're out and about with your kids, do this. Find a napkin and a pen because apparently, it works.

Therefore, I have to say that the prototype for the City Select was very cool. The chassis comes in somewhere in the heavier-than-25-but-lighter-than-30 range, quite light for a double. The fold was incredibly easy and definitely in line with the other Baby Jogger strollers. The stroller can be folded with the front seat on, so it is convenient for suburban moms. However, as I mentioned, there are other single chassis double strollers out there, but the design on the City Select is completely different than anything in the industry. First off, the mechanism that fits the adapter for the second seat/car seat/bassinet is on the top of the front wheel, instead of on the actual frame, making installation of the second seat/carseat/bassinet, incredibly quick and easy. The car seat adapter was made to still fit over fourteen different makes of car seats. What's also cool is, the two stroller seats are the exact same seat, compared to the other companies that make the second seat a different size and shape. The wheels are no-flat! I love the practical option for a toddler seat and bassinet, or a toddler seat and car seat. Of course the seats can either face you or away. Moms of twins will love the two car seat option. Look for the City Select at Strolling In Style and www.strollinginstyle.com in January of 2010. It will retail for $499 base (chassis +seat). Other options include bassinet, and car seat adapters. The stroller will come in black, red or off-white.

Also in Baby Jogger news, a new color City Mini, the new Scarlet/Grey, has arrived and should be available in store and online very soon. A car seat adapter for the Chicco car seat will soon be available for the City Mini as well. And bad news for those City classic fans, it will be discontinued for the 2010 production year.

Later on that day, we visited the most awesome brand ambassador in the entire world (hope she reads this too) over at Phil & Teds most excellent buggy company!

The world has been awaiting the Smart buggy from Phil and Teds and it will finally be released first quarter of 2010. Here is the scoop on the Smart Buggy. Think of it as a small, lightweight, four wheel version of the vibe. Same chromed out frame and black to chrome contrast. However, the canopy of the Smart is made entirely of Lycra! Definitely innovative. The seat is not lined in cloth but in a rubbery type material, although the new "cushy ride" accessory from P &T will be an optional addition. A Peanut bassinet is available from P &T for the Smart, as well as car seat options for Graco, Peg Perego and Chicco, although I'm not sure which will come first and in what succession they will be released. The Smart Buggy is definitely the buggy for the urban mother, who travels by car and public transit and needs an easy quick compact fold and a lightweight zippy ride. The Phil and Teds Smart Buggy is definitely smart for mom's in any urban or suburban area. One more plus for the Smart- the larger than umbrella stroller wheels will allow city moms to easily maneuver cracks in sidewalks.

In other P &T news, production for the Hammerhead Buggy, once scheduled to be released this coming October has been pushed back. The four-wheel all terrain buggy by P &T will be very similar to the Sport, and will have two front wheels instead of one. It will be available in black and red, hopefully by next Spring.

My fingers are sore and my store needs attention so goodbye until next time when I will cover Bugaboo "red", Valco and I'coo!

I'm not sure where to begin. There is so much to tell about our time in Las Vegas at the 2009 ABC Convention. It went by in a whirlwind and there was so much to see and so little time that of course, I had absolutely no time to blog/tweet/or facebook. We were so swamped and at the end of the day all we wanted was to go to the hotel and sleep it off!

Now that we are back I can get serious about everything we saw and let all of you in on the best kept industry secrets! Lucky you, if you read my blog this week...

Of course, I can't write everything today. I am going to break up my blogging into daily snippets. There is no other way, because if I tried to write everything here it would end up being a fifty page blog which I highly doubt you want to sit through in one reading. Face it, you're busy moms (or dads) and this will make it easier on all of us!

This is how I will break up my blogging.

Days 1 and 2: Here, I will focus on the current brands we carry and what is coming for 2010. I will review the Baby Jogger City Select (yes I saw it!), the Phil and Teds Smart Buggy and Hammerhead, the Bugaboo "red" campaign, as well as the new Valco Ion and Matrix; I'll cover the newly redesigned I'coo Targo and Peg Perego Skate, and the all new redesign on the Bob Revolution.

Day 3: I will let you in on what new lines we will take into the store for late 2009 to 2010.

Day 4: I will focus on new stroller accessories, including new branded accessories for 2010!

Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow! Happy Strolling!

Baby Jogger City Select and the quest for a single to double tandem stroller

I just happened to be in the bookstore in the local mall yesterday night with my two year old and my husband. My two year old was, for once, well fed and quietly looking at a magazine with pictures of dogs. I picked up the newest Preg and Newborn mag and- low and behold-I come across this add for the all new Baby Jogger City Select.

Wait one moment. A stroller that I don't even know existed? How is that possible? I thought I knew everything that was out there... See pictures above. I was a bit floored. Here is my honest opinion.

The City Select seems too good to be true. Sure, it looks like the tandem double every mom of multiples or mom of two dreams about. Two car seats, bassinet and toddler seat, two toddler seats and about fourteen other combinations all of which are customized. Also, speaking of a single to double tandem, a few months back I saw a picture of Rebecca Romijn pushing her twins in what looked like a single stroller with two car seats at staggered heights. It looked and pushed like a single. The city select is "almost" the same as Rebecca's, except it looks like it has two front wheels. Rebecca's had one and the car seats were facing away.

The reason I'm a skeptic about the BJ City Select is that I have absolutly no specs. How much does this bad boy weigh, how small does it fold, how wide is it, how big are the seats, what is the weight limit. is it user-friendly for us moms?? So many questions that I must have answered.

The worst part is, I dislike how secretive BJ is about this one (I'm sure they are going to make a huge to-do about it this weekend in Vegas). I mean, I am a Baby Jogger dealer. I own and operate a stroller specialty store and had no idea, pricing, or information on the stroller... I had to find out about it in a magazine add. I wish BJ was more open with retailers....we can keep secrets too!

The only other stroller the City Select compares with is the iCandy Apple/Pear/Peach, which is coming to the states this fall. The i-candy sports the same, single to double chassis with many customizable options. It is now the test to see which one is built to withstand, and which one makes more sense in this market. The price on the City Select I saw on one website was $499, but that must be for the single chassis and seat, and of course the other items such as car seat adapters, bassinet, extra seat, etc are optional. The iCandy will most likely be in a higher price range but that is yet to be determined.

More to come on the City Select and the iCandy after the ABC show this weekend...

Phil and Teds Peanut on the Vibe. Just had to post a couple of pics in case anyone wanted to see it. It is in store and on display and I assure you that it is beautiful. With the seat off, it is even sweeter, and it's not even that hard to do. Come on in for a demo! I just love Phil and Teds. So beautiful, so practical.

We are headed to Las Vegas for the All Baby and Child Show (formerly JPMA) in a few weeks. This is the show that all other shows bow down to. Imagine, anything and everything you would ever need or want for baby in display in one giant place! Of course, we are headed straight there to find the newest and most awesome, super, incredible, spectacular strollers and accessories for the store. Every best brand in the industry is bringing their finest, and we will also be able to get a sneak peak on the 2010 collection of some brands and their accessories. Can you believe in just a few short months it will be 2010??

Of course, we have twelve amazing brands but we are still looking for some industry changing, innovative, and practical strollers for our South Florida moms and the store. It's amazing how the needs of our customers in this area are so varied, yet so alike at the same time.

Also, we are going to be searching for some new registry accessories including possibly, shopping cart covers. If there are any suggestions on other items that you think we might want to carry or you would like to see us carry, please email me at info@strollinginstyle.com and let me know!

Check out our new album on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=105265&id=40362206951 Also please note that our Twitter has changed to StrollinInStyle!

It has been a rainy few days in South Florida! Hopefully that means a change in the seasons. Definitely can't wait for fall! It was one long, hot, steamy summer.

Happy Strolling!