Sorry for the hiatus...

It has been awhile...I apologize.  I have been to Costco many times since my last post but I have been sick and tired and severely unmotivated. We are expecting adorable little #2 in May/June and it has been a rough haul.  I am feeling better and will hopefully be better about keeping up with my obsession.

So what to post about...there are just so many things...But I think I want to talk about books at Costco.  Am I the only one who gets all warm and fuzzy inside at the extremely low prices of such great books?? There are several tables FULL of books in our Costco's here in UT.  Not only are there books...but there are regional specific books.  As many of you know (ok so only one person reads this and she knows) Utah is full of these crazy Mormon folks who just LOVE their Mormon culture...including books.  There are books written by the leaders of the LDS Church, there are LDS cook books, LDS art books, scripture aids, LDS artist calendars, LDS childrens books...it is endless...and I...LOVE...IT.!!!!! I bought my Mom this great book that has all these beautiful pictures of Christ and the words to a primary song.  It is beautiful.

There are also all the top selling books, from fictional, to biographical, to political, to self-improvement and anything in between.  And the childrens books...Oh I don't even know where to begin on the childrens books...I could brows for hours...I have honestly bought all of the Dr. Suess collections, they come in packages of 3...for like $9.99 it is amazing.  And at the beginning of the school season there are all sorts of educational helps...there was this one that I was dying to get (litterally) it was a dry erase book...huge...spiral bound...for pre-preschoolers...I was drooling.  Still one of my biggest non-buyers remorse purchases I never made...oh well, what can you do when you live on a budget???

Also...they are always hosting authors!! It is great!! So about a month ago I am walking in my Orem Costco and there is this guy sitting at a table with the Tennis Shoes Among the Nephits series on the table (read them as a pre-teen and teen and LOVED them) anywho...so there was this guy sitting there and I was in a hurry but I stopped and asked "Are you Chris Heimerdinger?" And sure enough...it was.  So if I was in the mood to buy the whole seriese I could have had them signed...another one of those non-buyers remorse moments...

So grab your purse and your Christmas list and head down to the book section at your local Costco...they are sure to have something for everyone on your list!!!

PJ's

Here is the Adorable Little Girl being my model for the day...

This post is about the adorable and super cozy Carters PJ's that you can get at Costco.  They are the best! I have to physically restrain myself from buying a new pair every time I go, no joke, I stop at the table every time I go in and look at the new prints and drool over the ones I want.  Thankfully she had a recent growth spurt and I HAD to buy some new ones.  I just couldn't resist these froggy PJ's. They are also the best priced...unless you can find a $5 PJ sale at Carters which maybe happens once a year.  They also sell two piece Kirkland PJ's in organic cotton for the Organic lover in you, but like all things Organic they are more expensive...though I will say that two piece PJ's are nice because they don't grow out of them as quickly.

A word about Costco returns

Have you ever tried to return anything to Target? Not fun.  They suck.  Basically you need your receipt, it must be within 30 days and you must sign over your first born child.  Plus...you can only return it for something from the same department...Can you say LAME.


Now let me give you an example of a Costco return...I had several items that I had purchased for my husband that he didn't use.  I have no idea how long ago they had been purchased...MONTHS.  So here is the actual conversation that took place.

Me: "Hi I have a few returns...I bought these quite a while ago, and I don't have the receipts."

Customer Service Dude: "No problem...scan...scan...scan would you like this back on your card?"

Me: "Yes that would be great...wait actually can I get a Cash Card instead?"

Customer Service Dude: "Of course! Here you go, have a great day!"

Me: "Thanks!!"

This is just one more HUGE reason that Costco is the best!!!!

Fitz's Rootbeer

This post is a shout out to the Kansas City area Costco's.  Fitz's Rootbeer is AMAZING!! No joke, it is by far the BEST soda I have ever had.  You can check it out at www.fitzsrootbeer.com.  Apparently it started as a drive in but now they brew and distribute their Rootbeer as well.  You can still go to the original restaurant in St. Louis Missouri.  Anyway, you can buy it by the case at Costco in Kansas City, probably in other parts of the state as well.  So if you live in the Kansas City area I highly recommend picking up a case, it is perfect for any get together, and makes those BBQ's all the better!!!

Can you say Vacation???

So this is a post about something for which I have yet to use but dream daily about using...Costcotravel.com.  Costco offers some amazing vacations!! From cruises to tours to all-inclusive resorts.   I "cruise" the website on at least a weekly basis dreaming of the day when I can add "all-inclusive resort" to the list of places I have been. So if you have yet to check it out I highly recommend it.  Costcotravel.com.

Duh...

I was sitting here in bed wondering which amazing item I should post about next when all of the sudden it hit me! Duh...my bed!!! We purchased the NovaForm memory foam mattress from Costco 2 and half years ago and we still love it!! We paid somewhere around $650 in the store for it (king size).  Saying we love it is a total understatement. Our previous bed cost us over $1200 and lasted less than 2 years....now we had it for longer than that but it only 'lasted' for about 2 years before it became the "taco bed." This happens when the pillow top collapses and leaves two big indentations where you sleep...hence the feeling like you are sleeping in a taco.  When I was pregnant with the Adorable Little Girl I had to throw my leg over the side to help give me enough momentum to get out of my 'taco'.  It was awful.  It was not however my misery while prego' that got us the new bed...it actually happened when she was born...we were in the hospital that first night and she sort of started to cry so Buff-Tuff Man got up to pick her up out of the bassinet thingy they had her in and WHAM his back totally seized up. He has her picked half-way up and I (having delivered a baby less than 10 hours prior) have to get up and take the baby and then help him back to the futon thing he had been sleeping on and give HIM a back massage!!We got the new mattress pretty much right after I got out of the hospital; best investment EVER!! (I am sure I will say that about many things but seriously...BEST EVER!! Oh ya, and someday I will totally get pay back for that massage...)

Now I know everyone has their preference for mattresses but we tried the soft bed because lets face it, when you lay on that thick pillow top in the show room it feels like heaven.  Then after a few weeks of such dismal back support your back decides to revolt and you spend the next eternity searching out a good Chiropractor (if you live in the KCMO area his name is Richard Emery and he works MIRACLES). Anywho....so we decided to give the memory foam a try, and who can afford a tempurpedic???!!! So we thought, "lets give Costco a try...if we hate it we can always return it right?"  It was an instant success...there will be no refunds here!!

Buff-Tuff Man's Pasta

Here is the first recipe I will post about.  It is DEEE-LISH!!!! My Buff-Tuff Man made it up one day and it was an immediate success! Here you go...

• One package of your favorite type of Garofalo pasta from Costco (of course) we happen to really like it with bow tie pasta.  Cooked pasta to package directions
• One tub of your particular Costco brand of Tomato Basil soup.  Find this in the refrigerated section of the deli. (I recently tried one of the 'organic' soups and really loved it!!)
• However many Kirkland Signature meatballs you want...I think we use about 4 per person.

Put the soup and meatballs in a sauce pan and heat over low heat until the meatballs are heated through.  Pour over cooked pasta, sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. This will serve up to 6 adults depending on your personal portion sizes.  We like to make it and freeze the rest in Tupperware for the Buff-Tuff Man to take to work for lunch.

All of these items are to be purchased at Costco to guarantee the best outcome.  This is one of the EASIEST yummy pasta's we eat.  You can add a can of regular tomato soup to the sauce but it is totally optional.  This entire meal can be prepared in about 20 minutes.  Serve with Costco's fresh Rosemary Olive Oil Artisan bread and impress your family/guests.  A total hit every time!!

Yes man - Costco "exclusive membership"

Ok so I thought this was HILARIOUS when I saw it...but just to clear things up...Poor Norm was mistaken...

Nikon Coolpix P100

I just wanted to show you what camera I will be using for most of the photo's I take for this new blog.  It is the Nikon Coolpix P100...I got it at Costco for I think $359.  It came with a case and a 2G SD card.  I love it.  I am so not a photographer but I have taken some pretty good photos with this camera just using the built in settings.  We also went ahead and bought the two pack of 8G SD cards (at Costco) which I would highly recommend if you plan on using the HD camcorder mode as this takes up a lot of space. I was just watching some of the video's we shot this summer on our 46" 1080p HD Vizio (and yes I got it at Costco) and they looked amazing!! This camera is so worth every penny.  Especially if like me you are not a photographer but would like a little better quality than the average point and shoot.

An Intro...

Ok, so just to begin lets be honest.  I need help...I am 100% addicted to Costco.  Which is made obvious by that fact that I have created a blog dedicated to my passion for Costco.  And since we are being honest lets get a few other things out in the open...I am NOT a writer, nor am I a photographer, nor am I a marketing guru.  What I am is a 30 year old stay at home Mom of one adorable little girl, a wife of one handsome buff-tuff man and the owner of one BIG dog and one little cat.  I do have a bit of education under my belt...but I don't think my Psychology degree's qualify me to be any sort of "expert" on anything.  However if you are looking for an Organizational Development Consultant shoot me an email.

Ok so now that that is all off my chest let me tell you what I am thinking....I LOVE COSTCO. It is a little silly really.  It has been a joke for the last several years that I am somewhat obsessed with Costco but it has really become apparent to me lately that I may be a little more addicted than the average Joe.

A few weeks ago my buff-tuff hubby decided he needed to create a budget for us...I immediately knew I was in trouble.  I am usually the one that manages all the finances (how else could I slip in that extra shirt, or jacket?) but he has decided to be more involved.  He also decided this at the very beginning of September...now I am in double-trouble.  You see August was a fun month at Costco...all those great back to school supplies (oh ya, that adorable little girl of mine is only 2 and not even starting pre-school yet) so maybe I got a little carried away and spent a little more money than I normally do at Costco.  So somewhere around Labor Day we were at Costco as a family with a good friend of mine (who loves me despite my obsession) and he started to notice something a little odd and finally blurted out "You have something from EVERY TABLE!!" He was totally exaggerating however because I OBVIOUSLY didn't have anything from the Men's clothing tables...anywho...Just a little story to give you an idea what it is like in my Costco-loving-Kirkland-crazy world.

Basically I decided to start this blog to give me an avenue of expression for how much I love Costco and the things I buy there.  So I will have different posts dedicated to my favorite purchases so that you to may go out and try them also.  I may even get a little crazy and share some of my favorite meals that are made from food that I religiously buy at Costco.