When we returned from our Florida beach vacation earlier this month, Savvy Dad went to WalMart solo for a blitzkrieg grocery shopping trip. He spent more than $300 on groceries. The cupboards were bare no more!

Typically we don’t buy meat or seafood at WalMart, but purchase our steaks and ground chuck and tilapia and salmon filets at Publix or Harris Teeter. However, Savvy Dad was impressed with the look of the new Genuine Steakhouse steaks at WalMart and bought a $14 package. I’ve seen the commercials and WalMart is really pumping this line of steaks on TV and on their website as being prime cut and “bursting with flavor.”

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this.

Savvy Dad fired up our backyard gas grill and threw the steaks on. Now they looked beautiful. We were both anxious to sit down and have a nice juicy steak for dinner. Unfortunately the steaks tasted horrible. They had very little flavor. I am not a food critic, but I’d describe the taste as flat and old. We ended up giving the steaks to our dogs, who were quite happy with the $14 dog treats.

Not wanting to flush our hard earned money down the drain, or down our dogs’ gullets, I took the receipt and the empty package to WalMart’s service center. My money was refunded, no questions asked, and I promptly respent the $14 on supplies for my daughter’s 6th birthday cookout. However, we will never buy steaks at WalMart again. Thankfully all of our other food purchases from that grocery trip, including a pack of chicken breasts, have been fine.

Rick Smolan, the Time Magazine and National Geographic photographer behind the Day in the Life, 24/7 and many other large collaborative photography projects has done it again. For his April 2008 published book, America At Home, he and his team at Against All Odds Productions focused on the most important place in most people’s lives: home.

The photos in the book were taken during a seven day-period last September by 100 photojournalists, as well as thousands of amateurs. America At Home also features evocative captions, thought-provoking statistics, plus personal essays from noted writers including Amy Tan, Dominique Browning, former editor in chief of House and Garden Magazine, Dominique Browning, Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and New York Times correspondent David Pogue.

America At Home is a gorgeous collection of photography, but what makes this book especially great for gift giving (for Father’s Day or a birthday) is that you can upload a picture of your own to create a personalized book jacket. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes once you choose a cover photo (the digital file you upload must be high resolution.) The possibilities are endless. You could choose an old family photo, a favorite vacation picture, a picture of your children, your pets, or even your house.

America At Home (including custom book cover) retails for $39.99.

Click here to read more about the new book, America at Home, and to see your own virtual cover online. If you order America at Home from the website, they will throw in the cover for free (it normally costs $7.95)

Carrie C., who commented, “My husband is a photographer and would L-O-V-E this so much! (And, it would help me a ton, he SO HARD to find gifts for!),” is the winner of the Baby Bonding Book for Dads giveaway. Congrats Carrie!

Freelance writer and editor James di Properzio and his wife, award-winning writer Jennifer Margulis, a former Fulbright Scholar, teamed up to write The Baby Bonding Book for Dads, which features honest commentary from dad to three kids di Properzio, as well as beautiful photographs of dads bonding with their babies.

The Baby Bonding Book for Dads features gorgeous photography from Christopher Briscoe, whose work has been published in Time, USA Today, and The Los Angeles Times. He has photographed such celebrities as Michael Douglas, Kathryn Zeta Jones, Kirk Douglas, Rob Lowe, Ray Charles, Bo Derek, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

From the publisher:

Many new dads have never even held a baby, or they have little or no experience in taking care of babies. Men can feel apprehensive and unsure about how to interact with their offspring…bonding with a baby or toddler is about the small moments that you spend together, looking at each other, talking, taking baths and walks, and playing. It’s not something that happens instantly; instead, it’s a relationship that grows over time. The Baby Bonding Book for Dads is about practical, everyday things that fathers can do to enjoy being with their children and forging the bond between them. Topics include newborn bonding, carrying, skin-to-skin contact, diapering, going places, napping, playing, exercising, and reading to baby. The instructive yet lighthearted text is delivered from a dad who has been there (Properzio is the father of three), and is paired with the delightful photography of Christopher Briscoe, making this book a handy guide and a perfect gift for any new father who’s feeling a little nervous about the new responsibility in his life.

And here’s my favorite dad, Savvy Dad, bonding with our oldest daughter in 2002 (she turns 6 this weekend!)

For a chance to win a copy of The Baby Bonding Book for Dads, simply leave a comment on this post between now and midnight Thursday, June 12. For two entries, leave a comment and subscribe to the Savvy Housewife RSS feed. A random winner will be selected from all eligible comments (U.S. and Canadian addresses only) and the winner’s name will be posted on Father’s Day.

I know what you’re thinking. A tie? For Father’s Day?

Let’s face it. Some dads are traditional. They don’t want a feng shui office makeover, a paraffin wax hand treatment, laser hair removal, or a man bag.

Bird Dog Bay makes fabulous, fun silk ties featuring traditional designs and more funky lines tied to nature featuring feathered and furry creatures, from toucans to one of my favorites, dog park. Need a tie for next year’s Kentucky Derby? Try this one. I also love the political debate Poll Position tie and the Adirondack Afternoon pattern.

Actually, you’d be hard pressed not to find a tie for your favorite guy at Bird Dog Bay, based in Chicago.

Be sure to check out Bird Dog Bay’s Gus Happens page where you can see what general misadventures the resident dog and Bird Dog Bay mascot has been up to (and what he’s been gnawing on).

Use the code dadsday for 25% off your Bird Dog Bay purchase (where they’re offering free shipping on purchases of $100 or more.)

Savvy Dad is the master chef at Casa Savvy Housewife.

Savvy Dad loves beer.

When Savvy Housewife got the chance to review the The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Cookbook by John Schlimm, she knew this was one cookbook Savvy Dad would want to check out.

Savvy Dad loves the following quote from the book,“Beer makes you feel like you should feel without beer,” from Australian poet Henry Lawson.

The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Cookbook is a hardbound collection of more than 400 food and drink recipes. Not only would it make a fabulous Father’s Day gift, it would be a nice hostess gift in this season of summer cookouts (perhaps paired with a six pack of the recipient’s favorite beer or some nice pilsner glasses). The book also serves as a party drinks handbook, with a comprehensive collection of recipes for mixed drinks, chuggers, shots, chasers, party punches, milkshakes, and flaming drinks (flaming Dr. Pepper anyone?) — all made with beer.

Author John Schlimm is a member of one of the oldest brewing families in the United States, beginning with his great-great-grandfather, Peter Straub. A writer, educator, and artist, Schlimm is the author of several books, including titles on beer and brewing such as The Straub Beer Cookbook and The Straub Beer Party Drinks Handbook.

The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Cookbook retails for $24.95 and is available at Amazon.com (where it is currently on sale for $19.95).

So what is your favorite dad’s favorite beer? My dad is partial to Beck’s, which Savvy Dad also likes. Savvy Dad tells me his favorite beer changes with the seasons, but his current favorite, Yazoo Hefeweizen, is brewed locally here in Nashville

We have two dogs who definitely give our house that lived in, well-loved ambience. Jack is the MOFO shedding variety (part Akita.) He is gorgeous. He is red. He is a giant walking fur ball. Oh, and we have another rescue dog, Bailey, who is part Corgi part German Shepherd. She was our first “baby” when we got married 11 years ago.

Exhibit A and B on a “good fur day,” meaning Jack had recently shed his coat and I used it to stuff 485 throw pillows. Also, you can clearly tell who the alpha dog is around here.

An Ordinary Life is hosting a giveaway for the new Dyson DC25 (valued at $499…be still my anal retentive heart.) Click here for details on how to enter (giveaway closes June 25.) If you win, however, be forewarned as I may stalk you.

So do you have a Dyson? What do you think about it? Would you recommend it? We have a Dirt Devil Vision, which has actually held up very well under heavy use.

Although I am a big fan of online media, I love magazines. There’s something fun about going to the mailbox and pulling out a thick new glossy magazine to browse through.

I love home magazines especially. My mother shares several magazines with me, including Southern Living (which is one of my all time favorite magazines) and last night I curled up in bed with the new Hallmark Magazine that had arrived while we were on family vacation in the Florida Panhandle (sigh…I am still missing the beach breeze). My Saturday nights are pretty exciting, eh?

I recently signed up for a free subscription to Hallmark Magazine as part of Amy Allen Clark’s Freebie Friday feature on Mom Advice. One of my favorite parts of Hallmark Magazine is the 4-Ingredient Challenge, which highlights reader submissions. I also love Real Simple magazine.

Southern Living, in my opinion, is a must read once you are a mortgage-payin’, grocery shoppin’, domestic diva in training. Some of my favorite recipes, such as this chicken and wild rice casserole, have come straight from its pages. I’ve even toured Brenthaven, Southern Living’s 2000 Idea House, which was built here in Middle Tennessee. The wall color in my dining room was inspired by the Idea House.

What are your favorite must-read home magazines?