The Heat is On

Looks like we're in for a little taste of Hell in the upcoming days.

And I'm so not looking forward to it. It's bad enough that we are already in a drought. This will make the cracks in our yard
grow exponentially bigger.

Even the drought tolerant purple coneflower
is caving in to the lack of water.

Poor thing's petals are shriveling up. :(

But at least I got a few pictures in before
the drought began taking its toll.

One day last week we had tolerable heat day; a beautiful, breezy day with some gorgeous puffy white cumulus clouds.
As the boy and I were getting into the car to go to the park,
I happened to look up and saw this....

The most gorgeous sunbeams I've seen in a very long time.

And for once I had my camera in my hand!

I was so thankful that I did!

While the hydrangeas were still doing well,
I got some nice shots of them.

This was before the drought had really kicked in.
Now they are drying up just like everything else.

...except for these Star Gazer lilies.

And they are always gorgeous!

I just love these flowers. 

~~~~~

 Wherever you are, I hope you stay cool!
Until next time....

Dessert Date with My Son

Now that school is out, the boy and I have time during the day to do some things we couldn't normally do during school hours. So we had a dessert date. :)
 

The boy and I took a little trip up to NoDa (North Davidson Street) the other day to Amelie's French Bakery and Cafe. (I must admit, we did not originally go to have dessert, but to take a ripped pair of the boy's shorts to a friend so she could repair them. She just happens to work there and is a member of the Charlotte crafting group, Crown Town Handmade, which I once belonged to as well.) Anyway, regardless of how we ended up at Amelie's, I'm so very glad we went!

Amelie's opened in Charlotte in 2008, and even though I'd always heard about it and how good it was, I had never been. It's a little out of the way for me to go to that part of town, so I just had never bothered making the trip. However, after this experience, I think we'll be going back!

The atmosphere was so much fun and everything looked so scrumptious! I let the boy pick whatever he wanted to make it sort of a special trip. I didn't want to just walk in, hand the shorts to my friend and then walk right back out without ever having tasted anything! After much debate, he chose to indulge in a piece of raspberry chocolate torte (which was absolutely decadent, I might add!).

 

Yes, I know it's not organic, but it IS local, and it doesn't come with all those yucky chemical preservatives like are in Oreos or Chips Ahoy, potato chips, or even a Hershey bar. And in addition to not having all the yucky chemical preservatives, we are supporting the local economy instead of buying a pack of Pepperidge Farms cookies or some gross honey buns at WalMart (which I absolutely detest and will not go to if at all possible). There's a huge difference!

He also tried their caramel latte since he likes the caramel macchiato at Starbuck's (the boy likes coffee). It was a bit on the strong side so he gave it to me and got something else. I liked it a lot.

very cool chandelier inside Amelie's

a little sparrow watching us through the window

If you live in Charlotte, or just come here to visit, 
Amelie's is a treat you should definitely try...often!

I know we will be going back, that's for sure!

It was totally delicious!