So, did you watch CNBC’s “The Costco Craze” documentary last night (if you’re in the US)?  Had you entered their $10,000 Sweepstakes on Facebook?  Well, if you entered the contest then surely you watched to see if you were the lucky winner.  However, if you missed it, the lucky winner was Mia Fitzgerald.  How nice to have $10,000.00 to dream about spending this weekend, huh?

If you’re in the US (or Canada, I think), you can always catch the documentary this weekend if you didn’t tune in last night.  ”The Costco Craze” will be on again Saturday evening (April 28) at 8 and 11 pm Eastern.  Or, you can put off watching it until Sunday (April 29) when it is on at 3 am Eastern.  I guess, that Sunday time is really more like Saturday night to most people.  But nonetheless you have some viewing options.  And of course, since all of those times are Eastern time, if you live on the west coast that 3 am time is only midnight for you.  Even I can stay up that late. Well, my DVR certainly can at least.  Here’s another little preview of the documentary, just to get you in the mood.  Wonder who the ‘obsessive’ fan is in this clip?  LOL

Update: I wanted to let everyone who can get CNBC Asia that “The Costco Craze” documentary should be on there this weekend on Saturday, April 28 at 12:00 & 19:00 and on Sunday, April 29 at 2:00, 8:00 & 21:00 (Singapore/Hong Kong time).

This safety recall affects Costco Canada shoppers. Between July 2011 and March 2012, Costco Canada sold around 57,000 of the recalled Testarossa hair dryers that are manufactured by Conair and have a Costco item number of 273260. If you purchased one of these hair dryers, stop using it immediately.

There is a defect in the hair dryer, which could cause cracking or failure of an internal screw boss which holds the motor mount to the housing. The cracking or failure of the screw boss may cause small plastic or metal parts to become
loose and potentially eject from the front of the dryer during consumer usage.

The recall only involves the Testarossa professional hair dryers that are model number TST65C with a UPC code of 068459 060419. The model number can be found near the certification label on the handle of the hair dryer. The date code can be found on the plug prong and the recalled codes are: 0511YL, 0611YL, 0711YL and 1111YL.

Fortunately, neither Conair nor Health Canada have received reports of injuries as a result of the defect. However, Conair is proceeding with a voluntary recall of the dryers.  You can have Conair replace the hair dryer with a comparable model by calling their toll free number 1.866.729.2389. Or, if you would prefer, you can return the unit to Costco for a full refund.

If you have other questions or concerns, you can find more information at www.conaircanada.ca/recall or you can email Conair’s customer service at consumer_canada@conair.com.

There seems to be a lot of news about new Costco locations this month, especially after the little bit of news to report in March.  Lots of progress on locations that we all knew were coming and a few rumours surfacing (again) about Wichita.

Costco coming soon to Spanish Fork, Utah

Spanish Fork, Utah

As you can clearly see from the photo sent to me recently (thanks, Tyler!), building has started on the new Spanish Fork Costco location.  And despite what it says on the sign about it opening in Winter 2012, the Costco website says that it will be opening in October but they don’t list a specific date yet (though they usually seem to fall at the end of the month).

Pittsfield Township (Ann Arbor), Michigan

It looks like things are moving along quite well with the new location in Pittsfield Township, near Ann Arbor.  The opening dat has been set as June 29, 2012; so just two months away!  Everyone waiting for the new Costco location to open is very lucky because the opening date is a whole month earlier than it was originally set.  The new warehouse will be 148,000-square-foot with 720 parking spaces and a gasoline station.  It will be located on a in the Airport Plaza industrial park near the corner of State and Ellsworth behind Tyner’s Furniture store.  As a result of the new opening date, they’ve started to accept applications for new employees at the store.  You can apply online through the Costco application website (this link goes right to the page for openings at the Pittsfield Township location).

• AnnArbor.com: Costco announces official opening date for Ann Arbor area store
• AnnArbor.com:  Now hiring: Costco moves up opening date and is accepting applications for Ann Arbor area store

Construction Photos for Pittsfield Township and Coralville (Iowa) Locations

If you’re interested in keeping an eye on how the new Costco locations in Pittsfield and Coralville are progressing, you can check out these photos from the construction company, Jackson Dean Construction.  They have lots and lots of construction-y type photos, doing things with various pieces of big equipment.  But they also have images from inside the warehouses that is kind of cool to see.  It’s naked Costco, no branding, no shelves, nothing but walls and concrete.

Redding, California

It looks like Costco may be building a new store in Redding in a planned shopping center on Oasis Road near I-5.  The new location would be a replacement for the existing Costco on Dana Drive the new location would also have a gas station.  The new store has apparently been talked about for a couple of years but a newly developed high capacity on-ramp to I-5 from Oasis Road has made it possible to build the new shopping center, and thus give Costco a new home in Redding.  The developer of the new shopping center, Don Levenson, is in talks with Costco to buy their existing building to help with the transition to the new location.  There had been an effort last year by the city to help fund Costco’s new building with redevelopment money that would have allowed the city to purchase the current Costco location to use as a new police headquarters.  Unfortunately, that plan is no longer viable.

• Redding.com: Costco plans moving ahead; Redding, firm officials hold meetings

Wichita, Kansas

It might just possibly be that Wichita could be getting a Costco location finally.  Apparently, Costco has been eyeing several sites around Wichita, but it doesn’t seem that they’ve got a deal for any of them yet.  Of course, Costco is almost always totally silent on their new locations until they are pretty far along with planning permits and all deals in place.  It is rumoured that they would like to be in the Towne East Square shopping area.  But there are quite a few barriers to that plan, it seems.  And really, so far this is all total speculation and rumours.  And there have been rumours about a Costco location coming to Wichita for years and years now.  We’ll just have to wait to see if anything comes from this lastest burst of talk.

• The Wichita Eagle: Costco may be close to a Wichita deal

Baxter, Minnesota

Woot!  The proposed new Costco location in Baxter has been fully approved by the city council!  The approved plans for Costco include a  143,698-square-foot warehouse with a gas station, tire center and an off-sale liquor store.  There will be four additional commercial pads on the site at Elder Drive as well.  The additional commercial sites will be set up for other businesses and a section of the overall site will be used for stormwater management.  Of course, the planning approval and everything is all tied up in Costco closing on the property where Home Depot currently resides; closing should take place sometime in May.

• Brainerd Dispatch: Costco passes through all city of Baxter approvals

Rochester, Minnesota

Good news for those in Rochester too:  Costco has started filing for building permits and will soon be getting to work on the new location.  The proposed Costco will be consist of a 152,934-square-foot warehouse and a gas station in the new commercial development at 19th Street Northwest and West Circle Drive.  Costco and Kwik Trip are the only names confirmed for the development. The new development also includes spots for a grocery store, two or three restaurants, a pharmacy, a bank and a future phase for 1.5 million square feet of industrial sites.

• PostBulletin.com: Heard on the Street: Work to start on Costco store in Rochester

Hope everyone survived US Tax Day okay this year.  I got all of our tax stuff and my mom’s done on time, luckily.  And hopefully I’m done with that until next year (well, except for my UK taxes that are easier and not due until the end of the year).  I’m a bit annoyed with Zipcar this week because it seems that they have gotten rid of the car location that is nearest our flat.  While the other one is just a bit further, when it’s raining out, every extra metre is a pain in the bum.  I’d like to think that they’ll be bringing back the spot right by our flat, but I don’t usually have that kind of good luck.  Anyway, enough of me complaining.

Don’t forget that there are coupons right now for both the US and UK to use.

Diced Chorizo

Diced Chorizo –  Chorizo in its many forms is a staple item in our fridge.  It’s great sliced and just eaten as is or added to stews or soups, tossed with pasta or added to scrambled eggs to zest them up a bit.  Chorizo has a smidge of a spicy flavour going on, not really hot, but lots of flavour.  It gets all that flavour from smoked paprika, various herbs, nutmeg and garlic. The mix of flavours is perfect for pairing with lots of different things.  The sausage is quite firm, so if you’re going to do something with it, you either need to slice it or dice it.  This package of nicely diced chorizo takes one of those steps out of the process, making it just that much quicker to prepare things.  I had intended to try it with scrambled eggs, because that is one of the suggestions on the package that caught my eye.  But I didn’t get a chance to do that yet.  The two packages are great because it allows you to add one package to something that you are cooking and then you still have a second package perfectly sealed up and waiting for the next chorizo recipe you whip up.  Since this is already diced I find it perfect to toss in with soup to give it a little flavoursome punch.  And of course, it is awesome with pasta.  Since it is so nicely cut up already you can easily add it to just about anything.  I’m thinking it would be great to add it to scrambled eggs and use the mix to fill breakfast burritos, which are one of the things I really miss from Austin.    2, 200 gram packages for £4.39. Item #: 0128271.

Del Monte Sliced Pineapple

Del Monte Gold Extra Sweet Pineapple Wedges – We’re big fans of pineapple, but nobody here really loves the thought of cutting up the pineapple ourselves.  It’s not so much that I’m lazy (though sometimes I am) but I always feels like I waste more of the pineapple than I actually get out of it when I cut it up myself.  And I hate all the pokey bits on the pineapples too.  As with mango and other prepared fruits and veggies that we buy at Costco, it makes it so convenient to add fruit (or vegetables) into our diet.  It just takes a bit of the barrier out of getting our five a day.  With the prepared pineapple, you get the very thick slices that are great for eating just as they are or cutting up into cubes to add to other things.  The only bad thing about the slices is that they aren’t great to add right into the blender for things like smoothies; they just don’t seem to get blended in super well.  But with a bit of chopping you can roughly cube it up pretty quickly and blend away.  And chopping it into cubes it way faster and easier than cutting up a whole pineapple yourself.  I was also impressed that the pineapple was still really juicy and moist, even though it had been cup up already and wasn’t in juice or anything like that.  And as the name suggests, it really is super sweet.  It’s that perfect pineapple taste that is so delicious.  We don’t do anything fancy with our pineapple, we just eat it as is usually.   875 grams for £2.99.  Item #: 0124863.

Compeed Blister Patches

Compeed Medium Blister Treatment Patches –  If you walk around a lot, especially in new shoes, you’re likely to get a blister or two.  This especially seems to be the case when you’re on vacation and don’t want to be limping around with a giant blister.  Luckily we found these great Compeed blister patches.  Once you get a blister or the painful beginnings of one, you can put one of these on and breathe a sigh of relief that it won’t get worse.  They are like a puffy band-aid that really adheres to the site of the blister to keep it protected from infection, as well as from further rubbing which will make the blister even worse.  They use “hydrocolloid technology” that gives your blister the right environment to heal while also nixing the pain.  The other good thing is that once you put the patch on, you can leave it on (in fact you really must leave it on until it falls off on its own), even in the shower, because the patch is waterproof and will give your blister protection from any bacteria or dirt that might lead to an infection.  I think these are awesome.  They proved a total vacation saver on more than one trip too.  Compeed nicely packages five of the patches in a handy little plastic case that you can easily keep in your purse for any blister emergencies on the go.  Since you get a three pack at Costco, I keep one of the plastic cases in my puse, Dave keeps one in his backpack that he takes to work, and then we have one at home too.  It’s great and we always have our feet covered.   3, 5 packs for £9.49.  Item #: 0108310.

 

It’s the perfect time to start planning for your Summer travel, and naturally, Costco Travel is there to help with great deals on hotels, rental cars, full vacation packages and cruises.  Costco Travel’s Spring/Summer 2012 savings travel guide has some great locations for you to choose from, such as Orlando and Maui.  If it is a lazy beachside vacation that you have in mind, there are plenty of options to choose from such as Maui, Cancun, and Tahiti.  However, if you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids you can choose from a couple of different Orlando vacations with trips to Universal or Disney World.  And if you’re looking for something a little cooler, there’s an Alaskan cruise to tempt you.   So many options, so little vacation time.

If you were dreaming of pending your holiday in Europe somewhere, you should check out Costco Travel’s Europe page.  They have vacation deals to the big cities in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Greece and Spain.  So, plenty of options to choose from.  What I really like is that all of these locations have a ‘Your Way’ option that lets you choose the hotel that you prefer and some other options too (depending on the location).  It’s great that they have something to let you build your vacation from a small selection of choices to get the perfect holiday for you, and all at a great Costco price.

If you’re planning to go to Italy this summer or anytime really, then you definitely want to check out the Italy Travel Connection article in the April Costco Connection.  This is a nice article from Sarah Torromino-Bastié, from Your Travel Planner, about what to do and see in Rome, Florence and Venice.  As a native of Italy and a personalize travel itinerary planner for Italy and France, Sarah has some excellent quick tips on what to see in all three of these fabulous Italian cities.   It’s a shame that the article was only a single page, as a bit more on each city would have been great.  But this is certainly enough to get you thinking about all of the exciting things to see, do, and taste in Italy.  Also, on the facing page there are a couple of ads for some of the Italian travel options that Costco Travel offers.

And , did you know that with every Costco Travel cruise or vacation package that you book for travel through September 30, 2012 you get a free 30-page 11 ¼” x 8 ¾” custom photo cover photobook.  This is a great way to take all of your photos from your Costco Travel vacation and keep them forever.