Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Black & Blue and Bugaboo!

Last night I was able to attend a beautiful dinner and presentation by Bugaboo at the Black + Blue Restaurant downtown.  I love learning and I love good food.  Perfect. Win win.  Oh ya, and I was able to hang out with some other bloggers too.  Another win.


When we bought our first stroller, I had no idea what to look for.  I didn't realize how much we would use it either.  Knowing what I know now, 8 years and 3 kids later, I would have invested in a different one.  Would I invest in a Bugaboo? Read on.

Bugaboo was showcasing the beautiful Bugaboo Bee3 as well as a new jogger and a collaboration with Diesel.  I will say, the designers desire is to produce strollers that are innovative and they are. Where you see #2 listed saying `Smooth ride', they have a ridge down the center of their tires that ensures this.  The suspension is able to be altered as the child ages and changes in weight.  They do think of everything.


The Cameleon is a stroller that can have two wheels removed so that you can use it on hiking terrain.  They sun canopy on all of them can be increased in size with a simple zipper.  I was also impressed with the fact that you can remove the chair from one frame and put it on another, so if you wanted to get a jogging stroller too, you would just need to purchase the frame.

{The Bugaboo Bee3}

Although I'm huge on functionality, I'm also a frugal mom so the price tag on these is too steep for me (about $1000.00).  Over the past 8 years, I would say we use our stroller at least 3 days a week so I do recommend investing in a good one.  What would I do?  There would be a couple of options for me.  I could buy a Bugaboo second hand on craigslist.  That's me, though, I tend to buy almost all big items second hand.  Another option would be instead of receving typical baby shower gifts, maybe have a `contribution to my beautiful stroller fund' instead (and hope you have some very generous friends and family).  Finally, we did go through 3 strollers over the years with our double lasting the longest.  The total cost of these three strollers would be about $500.00 (all second hand) so not far off from a used Bugaboo.  That perspective makes the price tag a little easier on me.


If I did get one, which one would it be? The Donkey is the one that I would get because it's a double that fits through a doorway (a must!) and we use our double all the time for Nya on one side and groceries or a cousin on the other.  In the past 8 years there were probably 4 years where we had two kids in a stroller at a time.   

And now, I must talk about the FOOD!!!


I loved that we got to wine and dine at a beautiful restaurant.  I love good food.  We had a private room and the restaurant is huge!  Three levels and a roof top restaurant.


{See the stroller in the center of the square table? Ideal set up!}


The service was amazing and so was the salmon.  


I've been off sugar for over 6 weeks but I had to try the dessert; Crispy Chocolate Manjari Cake.  Probably one of the best desserts I've had in my life. I'm serious.  The wafer in the middle was perfect.


It was fun to be part of an event like this!  I enjoyed a night out.  I learned a lot about Bugaboo strollers and was able to try out a beautiful new restaurant.

Do you think a stroller is worth a huge investment?  Did you use yours often?  If you are a stroller user, what would you have done differently? Totally curious what you think.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Love,
Louise

PS Have you been to this restaurant before?!

6 comments:

  1. Such a great post! Yes, in retrospect, I would have done a lot more research on the kinds of strollers out there, even though our first stroller, the Graco quarto tour, is still going after 6 years and 3 kids (and I still use it). It's not a light stroller or that easy to manoeuver, but it's sturdy and has held up:) I also would have looked into a better double, but ended up getting a good Urban Mountain Buggy (which also fits through doors!), second hand and we will use it often and love!!

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  2. Suzanne1:58 PM

    When we had Alexis five years ago, we bought a city mini, by baby jogger. Best stroller ever...especially the price. It was $250 and we still use it all the time, getting ready for baby #3 to take it over. It has the quickest folding system. So easy, fast, and light. I travelled a bunch when I had just Alexis and I could hold her, my luggage, and fold the stroller all at once it's that easy. Debated getting a double, but found it wasn't all that necessary. Just wore the new baby of me during those few months that the two year old still needed a stroller for longer walks. Planning on doing the same this time around:) I could never spend $1000 on a stroller....my first car didn't cost that much!

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  3. We have been done with strollers for a bit now, but I do regret not having bought a good one from the very beginning. We got a cheap one for Baby #1 and then ended up getting a Phil & Ted with #2 came along. I definitely wish we had done that from day #1. Things you learn along the way! This one does look interesting and I like that it can be used for so many different things. But, I am not sure about the extra frame to make it a running stroller - that just sounds expensive!

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  4. We went to Black & Blue for Marks Birthday this year (instead of a birthday gift) It's pretty awesome, but a big splurge!

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  5. No opinion on strollers, but yes I've eaten there! Fantastic. So good. :)!! great wine, great steak! There was also an NHL meeting happening there that night as well so we were in the presence of some highers-ups and players and had awesome service.

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  6. Soooo awesome!

    We were Chariot people. I wanted a stroller strictly for outdoors, in that, I didn't go into little shops or anything. I wanted a stroller that would carry both kids and a bunch of cargo. I could walk to the grocery store and load it up with a week's worth of groceries (it was a lot less when they were 0-3 years old), and equally could handle a rugged trail and snow. Plus we hooked it up to our bike and I could go for rides with them.

    Brand new, a Chariot was really expensive, around $800 for the model we wanted, so we bought off of Craigslist and it was totally worth it. We sold it for nearly the same price when we were done with it. Not sure I could be convinced to buy anything other if I needed to choose again. I loved our Chariot a LOT.

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