Coffee | Duoimagery-John and Bethany Detweiler

Birthday Delights

On April 12, 2013 / Birthdays, books / Leave a comment

My birthday was an absolutely glorious day. It got up into the 80′s and there was a breeze to blow through your hair, birds singing and flowers blooming everywhere. It felt like all the world was delighting in the sunshine.

I spent the first part of my day chilling in the swing by the pool, soaking up the sunshine and reading a good book.

The leaves are starting to color the trees with various shades of green!

My mom and sisters and I celebrated with refreshing cold coffees…

And John and I had a little date at our favorite date place.. Chipotle! I had a buy one get one free which made it even more awesome.

My amazing friends in my lifegroup threw my a surprise party! It was so fun and there was so much delicious food.. and I felt so loved. Annnnd… I forgot to take any pics

The next day we had my family birthday party by the pool!

Grilled veggie burgers, blue bell ice cream, tres leches cake..

So thankful for warmness and sunshine and happiness and family and love.

And PRESENTS!

My sisters gave me a Harry Potter birthday. Rachelle bought me Harry Potter’s wand while visiting Unviersal studios and the Harry Potter world.. ! And Sarah made this beautiful chest for me to store all the books in – and the fun little book, too!
My mom and John’s parents added a few more lovely collectible books to my shelf..

And last but not least.. everyone who gave to my charity:water birthday campaign, THANK YOU! It means the world to me! You are saving lives! Over 800 million people live without access to clean water. Millions of people die every day because of it. But we can make a difference! You can support my charity:water campaign by clicking HERE.

Peace and love, Bethany

iPhoneography life catchup

On April 1, 2013 / Just a random post / Leave a comment

Hello blogsphere! We have not fallen off the face of the earth – though judging by the last time I’ve updated this blog, we have. We’ve been excitingly busy and this post is all about catching you up!

Spring is finally, finally coming to visit us. This winter just wouldn’t give up. It’s terrible, but I’m getting used to easy breezy over-with-quickly winters of North Carolina. This one seemed to last forever.. but I think we finally do have spring.

So I celebrate with summer skirts! This one makes me want to ride a little bike around Europe.

And a soft serve cone! I don’t remember the last time I had one of these.. and I felt like a giddy little kid.

John’s family came up for a weekend.. and it was actually warm enough to go on a little hike!

Catching a ride..

They celebrated my birthday early since by the time they came up again it’ll be closer to the next birthday to celebrate.. Isn’t that the cutest cake ever?

And of course we spend lots of time hanging at our favorite “local” coffeeshop – Smelly Cat in Noda. It’s about 30 min drive but that’s not too far for this amazing place.

Sometimes we even host a service via online campus from Smelly Cat..

See the roaster in the back? I told you, good coffee.

We had a super fun “Aloha” themed birthday party for two of our friends in our life group. Sadly, somehow I didn’t even get a picture of the birthday guy & gal together!

We played a rollicking game of “Would You Rather” that had us falling over in laughter…

For one challenge I had to hold a spoon in my mouth the entire turn, talking or not.

I got to go see Peter Pan the ballet with my mom and sisters, which was absolutely beautiful.

The anticipation of the red curtain…

Charlotte has some funny little artsy sculptures.. this one is my favorite.

The next few pictures are just some of the random lovelies that have been happening in my life… such as a good book and coffee..

Cupcakes. Are always a good thing.

Warm, freshly baked bread..

One of my favorite foods in the world.. enchiladas suizas from On the Border..

Live music and a delicious coffee at Summit..

Oh so delicious Indian food for my mom’s birthday party..

FRENCH FRIES. One of my greatest weakness. And FlatIron knows how to do fries. Served with a creamy parmesan sauce. Out of this world.

Going to see Jack The Giant Slayer in our PJ’s with my sisters..

Chilling with my buddy, Julia..

Finding Eragon at a thrift shop for only $0.50 ..

Two new lovely books with a gift card from my family-in-law..

My favorite drink at Starbucks – iced Hazelnut macchiato..

Spring clothes and flowers!

Freshly baked granola bars..

A super fun date with John playing black light mini golf..

And my first time EVER playing arcade games..

Being silly at McDonalds with my buddy Julia..

And of course, getting happy meals, because we can.

I got to see Wicked! LIVE! It was so absolutely spectacularly wonderfully amazing… I actually cried.

Yes, we were thrilled.

And a couple days later we went to see Oz the Great and Powerful..

Oh and we downed TWO extra large popcorn tubs. LIKE A BOSS.

A red velvet cupcake. Muah.Sipping my drink.. again.. :p
Breaking out the spring colors! Finally!

And last but not least, EASTER!

Easter at our church is a huge celebration.. watching people receive new life in Christ. It’s the best way to celebrate Easter.

A cute little Easter basket from my mom with a boy and girl bunny..

Sarah made the most adorable eggs in a nest for dinner – hardboiled eggs in pasta. Adorable AND delicious.

My happy Easter outfit..

It was a rainy Easter morning, so our sunrise service had to be indoors. But that didn’t stop the sunrise.. the orange lights slowly made their way up through the service, with the rays beaming out, I think it was the most beautiful unreal sunrise ever.
Here’s how I described the weekend in a nugget on FB.

“What better way to celebrate Easter weekend than with 6 incredible services, full of awe filled worship, anointed messages, people giving their lives to Christ for the first time, (including at least two people via online campus!) people re-dedicating their lives and person after person taking the plunge and celebrating new life in Christ by baptism! My weekend was so full of happy tears, chills and ferocious clapping and screaming and laughing and celebrating. Jesus is alive friends, because I just spent a weekend watching Him resurrect people.”

xoxoxo, Bethany

The aroma of the coffee bean

On June 27, 2012 / Beauty, Coffee / 2 Comments

I’m not the DIY type. I’m not super crafty and its prettier, easier and faster for me to just buy things rather than try to create them. But something caught my eye on pinterest and it looked so easy and it was something I adore. Candles. And coffee. Both of which I have a borderline obsession. It was like a holy matrimony.
There was a picture of a little ceramic cup filled with coffee beans and a tea light. The warmth from the candle makes the beans release their aroma.. and ooh la la.
I couldn’t resist and had to try it. Only, I improvised a little and used a coffee mug. Because I think that is just way more awesome.

So now I can enjoy the coffee aroma even when John is not creating something magical with his espresso machine.. and at the same time, the little flickering light of a flame.
-beth

For the love of travel

On June 5, 2012 / Travel / Leave a comment

masquerade birthday party!

On March 12, 2012 / Birthdays, Coffee, Fashion, Food Photography / 3 Comments

my best party animal buddy had her 22 birthday last week and had a marvelous masquerade party!

putting the candles on the cake..

john made his signature espresso drinks. =}

absolutely delicious food: shiskabobs, coconut rice and salad.

we played a hilarious take on hot potato. we set the camera on timer and passed the camera around the circle. you had to hold the camera facing you as in a self portrait and then pass it on to the next person. the person that the timer went off on and subsequently took a photo of had to share an embarrassing moment!

happy 22nd to one of my best friends in the world. i don’t know what i would do without you. <3
-beth

beach trip! iPhone photos

On February 13, 2012 / Coffee, Nature, Travel, Weddings / 1 Comment

often our trips are best expressed through our iPhone photos.. the little moments and the little joys. so excuse the poor quality of some of these photos.. but i just couldn’t leave them out because they so perfectly expressed those moments.

house of joe. we found this coffee shop at the beginning of the trip and frequented it during the week. the owner is friends with our very own bald guy brew of blowing rock and goes snowboarding there, so it made a rather quick friendship. besides the coffee and smoothies were superb and the atmosphere wonderful, so who could blame us for going there every other day?

most of the days were overcast and a bit windy.. but gorgeous none the less. and hey, we didn’t have to worry about sunburns. i actually love the beach when it’s chilly and breezy. when there’s clouds and dark skies. it’s more wild somehow.

ruth’s 21st birthday actually fell on her wedding day, but they threw her a little party at the crab shack we went to a couple nights before. it was overlooking the bay and quite a charming little place with delicious food. she was pretty delighted when they brought her a chocolate brownie for her birthday.

i love storms on the beach. the incredible strength and power of it all makes one feel so small and awed. the howling wind, surging waves and lightning striking on the horizon is enough to make you realize this life isn’t all just about me.

during our spa themed bachlorette party for ruth, the guys went out and got sushi. mmm. look at that? so beautiful. yes i’m jealous.

and the wedding day dawned beautiful with our first real sunrise of the trip. for real. how special is that?

i have too much to say about her wedding.. so maybe i will just not say anything. it was beautiful. and i almost cried during the entire ceremony.

coffee shop again, yes!

goy and i had pinky promised to go and try to see the sea manatee while we were there. so the night after the wedding goy and daryl, andrea, rob, john and i went to this park that was supposedly the best place to sight them. we watched a beautiful sunset, laughed at the clumsy pelicans and admired dolphins lithely dipping in and out of the water around us, but no sea manatees. maybe next time..

afterwards we went to this delicious restaurant with the most curious of names.. “the yellow dog”. i admit we were turned off by the name at first as it revoked images of shaggy yellow dogs shaking off ocean water.. but we got over it and were delightfully surprised at the incredible dinner we ate. i can honestly say i had the best tilapia i’ve ever enjoyed in my entire life.

and with that, the beach trip came to a close. i was sorry to leave. i always am. the beach, as all wild places, is so refreshing, so healing, so rejuvenating. i never want to leave places like that. and for some reason God feels closer. i don’t know why.

we headed over to “the jungle” where john’s parents live to spend an evening with them before heading home. they work at a boy’s camp in the middle of a jungle, complete with alligators and wild pigs and all! it’s an incredible place.

i sat in front of the fire watching the sparks fly around and feeling the warmth against my face and pondered. how this was one of those moments where i realize life will be different from now on. not in a bad way, just different. change. letting go.

embracing the moments that i’m living. with the people i’m living them with. to never take those moments for granted. because they’re gone so quickly. there’s more beautiful moments around the corner, yes, but what of the moments i lived and did not enjoy? they are lost to me. so i resolve to enjoy ever moment. every person.

-beth

rainboarding! sugar mountain.

On January 23, 2012 / Coffee, Sports / Leave a comment

next weekend we are going on a snowboarding trip at snowshoe ski area. so this past saturday we had planned to go up to sugar mtn to warm up a little bit before the trip. well.. it rained. all day. so john, daryl, sarah and i just headed up to the area anyway, hoping the rain would stop and figuring we could hang out at coffee shops till it did.

which, of course, is exactly what we did. it was a perfect coffee shop day. foggy, rain drizzling, a little breezy.. just .. not such a great ski day.

at the coffee shop they were selling these necklaces made with a nicaraguan coin. and the proceeds from the sale went back to fund a mission in nicaragua who help the hungry and needy. i couldn’t resist.

finally the rain stopped and we got to go for the night session. it sprinkled a little bit and the snow was extremely wet but it was still fun.

while we were waiting for the night session in the lodge, a hillbilly bluegrass band graced us with their live performance. after a couple songs we all thought we were going to go mad. after an hour and a half of it, we did.

it was dark of course and very foggy, so the lights streaking through the fog and the silhouettes of dark trees and people made the feel very eerie and adventurous. (for a little redneck ski area with barely any snow. hey, its good to have imagination!)

(excuse the mediocre quality of the last four photos, they’re iPhone pics.)
have a happy monday full of rain and coziness!

coffee shop ~ mini session ~ love

On December 28, 2011 / Coffee, Couples, Love, Portraits / 4 Comments

We got to do a mini session of one of my best friends and her boyfriend. They’re very carefree, fun people and love books and coffee and hanging out. So naturally we had a lot fun in a coffee shop/book store.

Camping trip – Grayson Highlands

On October 25, 2011 / Camping, Coffee, High Dynamic Range Photography / 1 Comment

This last weekend John and I went camping in Grayson Highlands, VA with my mom and little sister. (my dad and other sister are in Samoa right now!) Anyway.. it was absolutely gorgeous, crisp and beautiful. It felt like we had entered winter though.. almost all the leaves had already fallen off the trees, and it got down into the 30′s at night.

We sipped more coffees and hot cocoas on this camping trip than almost all the others combined! =}

We walked down to the creek once the sun had come out and warmed up the air a little bit. I actually love hiking when its crisp cool air. I feel energized.

We stayed by the creek for a long time soaking in the beauty of it all. The sound of water splashing down over the rocks, the smell of the leaves..

But most of the time we spent next to the fire. Talking, reading, drinking hot drinks..

And did I mention we forgot our tent? We were so thankful, both days and nights the skies were beautiful and clear, no rain! Not just no rain, but the stars were absolutely spectacular. Striking.

And of course lots of marshmallow roasting and yummy s’mores..

We love Grayson Highlands. It’s the closest place in the east we’ve found that resembles the west. The wide open spaces. The getting above timberline. That’s rare out here. And we love it. Feels like you can breathe.. and see.