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!