i just purchased a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge 3.0 V6 2WD truck. i've never owned a ranger. we've been trying to pay bills off so we went down to being a 1 CAR family. wow! that's a wake-up call. i was looking for a smaller truck (used to have an 08 King Ranch F250) for better gas mileage, because the wife just had our first kido, A BOY!!! Now that i have the truck i want to dress it up of course. what i'm wanting to do is:

bigger tires - not too big, maybe 31's
black rims - probably xd enduro or xd hoss. (i wanted xd misfits but it looks like they don't make them in the right bolt pattern.)
small grill guard - 3 in bull bar with skid plate (aries or westin?)
lift

i've never had a lift on any of my trucks so i'm not familiar with them. it's a 2WD so i won't be using the truck for mudding. i'm more getting the lift for looks. i'm thinking of either a leveling kit or a 2.5 -3 in body lift. any other suggestions? any recomendations for this process? does brand matter here? what's the best bang-for-the-buck? WHAT SAY THE?!

Thanks in advance for any help/advice/suggs and recs!