We didn’t use too many of the coupons this week, just the one for Charmin. Though we’ll probably also use the pizza and pie coupons before they expire. We were lucky enough to get one of the last sets of the solar landscaping lights. Either they were just low on stock or are selling out of them because there were only about 6 more left. They had a lot of new furniture items at our Costco this weekend too, which is strange because this isn’t usually the furniture season.

Wild King Salmon
Wild King Salmon Fillet - It’s really not the norm to see wild salmon at Costco, usually they have the nice farmed stuff (which I’m okay with) but this weekend they had both Wild King and Sockeye Salmon available. We decided to go with the king salmon though because the pieces were gorgeous and thick. We cooked it in a low-key way with just some lemon and dill to accent the taste and it was excellent. It definitely has more flavor than the farmed fish and I think it because of all the fat under the skin. At first glance, it might look like it isn’t even as fatty as the farmed stuff but it’s because you have to remove the skin to see where all the fat really is stored. Did I mention that it was delicious? I wish they would have the wild stuff more often but it is a bit more expensive than the farmed salmon; $10.99 vs $5.99 per pound. And because of that, it probably isn’t necessarily something I would want to buy every week. Although, it isn’t like you could go out to a restaurant and get such excellent quality fish for such a price. We were fortunate enough to find some pieces that were cut for two or three decent servings, instead of the normal big fillet. 1.10 pounds for $12.09; $10.99 per pound. Item #: 337735.

Healthy PopChips
All-Natural PopChips - This is my latest chip find at Costco that is a more healthy, though still snacky, choice. I mean, it’s not like it will ever be a substitute for a piece of fruit but they do quite a bit of work to make it a more healthful snack food. First, there are no preservatives or artificial flavors or colors, no cholesterol or saturated fat and no trans fat. But what is really cool is that they are not fried or baked but ‘popped’ through the application of heat and pressure to the potato slices. So, the result is something like a cross between popcorn, regular potato chips, and puffed rice in texture; very light, yet somehow substantial and crunchy still. I really like them. There are just 120 calories per 19 chip serving and just 4 grams of fat, which is amazing for chips. Especially chips that actually have such a good taste and texture. I guess that’s because they only use a little bit of safflower oil in the seasoning process, not the cooking process. The ones they have at Costco are barbeque flavored, more sweet than spicy as per the chip formula of barbeque, so they have a nice amount of flavor combined with the unique texture. I’d love to try some that are sour cream and onion flavored. If you look at their website, you can find all the details about how they make them, and the many flavors they produce. So, after doing that, I’m also thinking the Parmesan and garlic sound yummy too. 11 ounce bag for $4.99. Item #: 293453.

Chocolate Dipped Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies - Fresh from the Costco bakery is something new to tempt us with. Why do they do this to us? So, basically this is one of the tasty chocolate chip cookies from the Costco bakery, with half of it dipped in chocolate. Lots of chocolate taste going on, obviously. What can I say, they are delicious, even better than the cookies normally taste (because the addition of chocolate to a cookie is rarely a bad thing). I am hoping that these were something special they whipped up for Father’s Day and won’t be around on a normal basis, to taunt us. This just makes me love the Costco bakery people all the more; sure it might wreck my healthy eating for a bit but it is so worth it. How are they always coming up with all of these good things? And why is their stuff so much better than the stuff you find in other grocery store bakery departments? I guess it’s just better quality, like most things at Costco. 15 cookies for $9.99. Item #: 28556.

Adidas Tennis Shoes
Adidas Deflect II Women’s Athletic Shoes - If you read my blog regularly, you probably caught my post about a month ago when I bought the new EA Sports Active for my Wii. It’s a really hard workout with quite a bit of running. After doing all the running in my bare feet on my carpet, I realized that I needed a pair of indoor exercise shoes. So, Costco totally had me covered with a pair of inexpensive shoes that still offer me support and a decent sole. This is one of the things I appreciate about Costco, there are just certain items that they will always have in stock, and sneakers are one of those things. I’ve never been looking for a pair and they haven’t had something. Now, granted, when I’m looking it’s for something to either just wear in general or for some kind of basic athletic pursuit like walking. And I’m old enough to not really care what brand or even what color they are; I’m not choosy. But really, where can you get a decently made, name-brand athletic shoe for just over $30? I currently have another pair that I bought a while back that I actually run in and they are quite acceptable. Would I go out running a marathon in them, no, but for the bit of running that I do, they are perfectly fine. Plus, because of the low price, I can actually replace them every 6 months or so and not be so bitter about it. $31.99. Item #: 388978.

Super Sliders
Waxman SuperSliders Furniture Movers and Floor Savers - This is one of the cooler household items I’ve found at Costco in a while. But I probably just think that because I’ve been wanting the adhesive felt circles to go on the bottom of some chairs for a while now. Sometimes it really is just a beautiful conincidence that I’m looking for something kind of weird or out of the norm and Costco has it. In the pack at Costco you get 62 pieces all together with 4 each of the 2 sizes of super sliders and the 2 sizes of hard surface protection pads, plus 32 one inch felt pads, 12 one and a half inch felt pads, and then two 4.5 x 6 inch felt blankets (as they call them). The super sliders are really great for putting under heavy furniture when you want to move it across carpet; they really do just allow you to slide ridiculously heavy things like a sleeper sofa. It’s almost unbelievable how much easier it is to move stuff. I also like the little pads for protecting wood floors. But really I wanted the felt pads to put on all of the furniture in my kitchen to keep them from scraping and scuffing up my tile floor, plus it just makes a horrible sound sliding across the tile. So, with this set I should be able to cover all of the legs on my kitchen furniture and have a few replacements even. 62 piece set for $16.49. Item #: 244293.