Monthly Newsletter: February 2024 (No.25)

Welcome to Our Technicolor Life Monthly Newsletter!

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Our Technicolor Life's monthly newsletter! We're thrilled to have you join us on our colorful journey through the many facets of our adventurous lives. As always, we're Jeff and Carrie Ketterman, a dynamic husband and wife duo who are passionate about embracing a vintage lifestyle in the most vibrant way possible.

A Glimpse into Our Lives

In case you're new here, let us introduce ourselves once again. Jeff spends his days immersed in the bustling world of rail transportation as the General Manager at Kasgro Rail Corporation Management Division. With a fleet of over 500 heavy-duty railcars, Jeff is at the forefront of providing innovative solutions for the ever-evolving rail industry.

Meanwhile, Carrie's days are filled with creativity and artistic expression. As a painter, illustrator, and author, she breathes life into murals and paintings that tell stories with every brushstroke.

Adventures Await

After our workday concludes, the real excitement begins! Our historic home, known as The Old Capitol Tea Room, transforms into a hub of themed tea parties that transport us and our guests to different eras and worlds. From the glitz and glamour of the 1920s to the groovy vibes of the 1960s, we've hosted an array of captivating events this past month that ignite the senses and spark joy.

Speaking of our musical passions, our bands are another cornerstone of Our Technicolor Life. Rosie & the Rockabillies, a vivacious 1950s-style band, and The Tin Pan Alley Cats, a toe-tapping 1920s-style ensemble, allow us to spread our love for music and nostalgia far and wide.

TEA

There are no teas currently. There are just a few short months out the year when we put all of the tea room away and reset the house back to "normal". We have been pretty much living in our living room as this area is primarily set up for tea parties during the tea season. It's been so nice to reflect on all of the events we hosted last year and to discuss new themes and set up. We have some exciting new themes and extra bits that we will be unveiling this tea season. If you've been on the upcoming events calendar lately, you might've seen our spring and summer line up!

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/upcoming-events

Upcoming Events

We're kicking off the spring season with our Lucy and Desi Tribute Show, Be Our Guest Beauty and the Beast Story Time, Tuesday Afternoon Fancy Tea, Harry Potter Tea, The Music That Helped Win the War Tribute to WW2, Deadly Derby Murder Mystery, Mother's Day Tea, Mary Poppins Sing Along, Breakfast at Tea-ffany's, Alice and Hatter, and Under the Sea.

The Lucy & Desi Tribute Show

I Love Lucy was never just a title! We certainly love Lucy around here and we are excited to bring our I Love Lucy Tribute Show to Lucy and Desi back to the tea room.

Tuesday April 2nd at 7pm.

Be Our Guest Story Time Tea Party

Be our guest, be our guest, come to tea and we'll do the rest. Join us for an enchanting evening with Belle and the Beast with a live story time.

Friday April 5th at 7pm.

Tuesday Afternoon Tea

Indulge in an afternoon of sophistication at our Tuesday afternoon tea party.

Tuesday April 16th at 1pm

Harry Potter Tea Party

Celebrate with us at The Old Capitol Tea Room for a magical evening of Harry Potter hosted by the Professors of Hogwarts.

Friday April 19th at 7pm

The Music That Helped Win the War Tribute Show to 1940s WW2

A tribute to World War II featuring 24 classic music hits, actual historic audio and visual clips from World War 11 and 24 vintage costumes.

Tuesday April 23rd at 7pm

Deadly Derby Murder Mystery

There's been a murder and we need your help to solve the case!

Friday April 26th at 8pm

Mother's Day Tea Party

Treat Mom to a delightful afternoon tea party complete with live music by The Tin Pan Alley Cats.

Sunday May 12th at 1pm

Mary Poppins Sing Along Tea Party

It's a jolly holiday tea party with Mary and Bert!

Friday May 17th at 7pm

Breakfast at Tea-ffany's Tea Party

Grab your little black dress, pearls, and tiara for our Breakfast at Tea-ffany's Tea Party!

Friday May 24th at 7pm.

There are several more events that are getting added to the calendar this month so stay tuned and don't forget to mark your calendars for the ticket release date! Tickets to our spring and summer events go on sale February 28th at 11am so set yourself a reminder and be ready to snag some tickets.

We're excited to be able to utilize the tea garden more this season now that it is complete. The plan is to have the majority of these events out in the tea garden, weather permitting. Every tea event will go on rain or shine but again, weather depending we'll try to host most of these outdoors. We also plan to add some Sunday afternoon tea events depending on demand for the various themes so don't worry if a Friday sells out quickly, there's a good chance that we'll add a Sunday afternoon too.

TRAVEL

The Music City

It's been pretty chilly and actually quite a bit of rain and smidge of snow so we're not out and about too much this January. We did however have a Rosie and the Rockabillies gig booked for our good friends at US Bus Tours so we made our way down to Nashville, Tennessee. We've played several gigs for the lovely folks of US Bus Tours over the years including a Rockabilly Ball in Omaha, Nebraska but this time, thank goodness was much closer. Jeff and I love a good trip to the Music City for many reasons - the music, the food, and the vintage.

We played our gig for the annual US Bus Tours concert and then headed to Broadway to hear some great tunes at the honky tonks. My favorite place to hear music is at Robert's Western World where we caught a fantastic old school country band that had the entire jam packed and singing along with every word. In fact, the whole Broadway strip was hopping, it was a nice sight to see even with it being a freezing January evening.

One of the first things I do is look for vintage shops when we travel and the second thing I research is the best brunch spots. Nashville is full of both - great vintage and soo many enticing brunch spots to check out. We decided to try Another Broken Egg, a Louisiana based breakfast spot that definetly treated us right! There were soo many delectable dishes and cocktails, it took us awhile to decide what we wanted to order. Finally narrowing it down we enjoyed a perfect brunch before heading out to some new vintage shops.

We're no strangers to the Nashville scene so this trip we decided to visit some in East Nashville that we hadn't been to before. We headed to Transmigration Vintage and The Hip Zipper. Styles from Edwardian to the 1960s are the vintage we love to look for and both of these spots offered a great collection of early vintage. I will say that Jeff cleaned up at The Hip Zipper. It was like everything was custom made for him as each piece fit him to a T. Vintage in hand, and for once more for Jeff than myself, we made our way back to Indiana after a fun weekend in Nash-Vegas.

ENTERTAINMENT

Our Technicolor Life Podcast

One thing we get asked a lot is why don't you guys have your own show? Well as much as we would love that, it has yet to happen or maybe the right person hasn't seen us yet so in the meantime, we decided to start a podcast! You can now listen to us every Tuesday chatting about the goings on of Our Technicolor Life. We talk tea, travel, entertainment, art, and upcoming events. We also answer questions you ask us! Drop us a question on our podcast page. You can listen to each episode on our podcast channel and if you have an Apple phone, you can now find us on Apple Podcast, just look for Our Technicolor Life.

Listen Here: https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/podcast

Ask Us A Question:

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/lifestyle

Tin Pan Alley Cats and Rosie & the Rockabillies

For both The Tin Pan Alley Cats and Rosie & the Rockabillies, we have expanded the set lists quite a bit. We're booking some new venues and have a lot of private party requests that are starting to fill the calendar.

If you'd like to book either band, don't hesitate to reach out. Our spring and summer are already starting to fill up with requests. If you are interested in booking the band, just shoot us an email with the date, location, and any event details at ourtechnicolorlife@gmail.com.

Or you can head over to our entertianment page and fill out our entertainment booking form.

Booking Form:

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/entertainment

The Chicken Coop Annual Fundraiser

If you love the 70s then you'll love the "I Love the 70s Variety Show." The Chicken Coop annual fundraiser is back February 16th and 17th so its time to dust off the platforms and join some of your favorite local performs as we pay tribute to the music and fun of the 1970s. Extra bonus, Little Edie is set to make an appearance and even sing a little bit. It's a great cause and great excuse to get out of the house for an evening of fun and laughs, plus great music. You can get tickets for The Chicken Coop Annual Fundrasier at www.thechickencooptheatre.com.

ART

It's Tea Time Coloring Book

I am so thrilled to announce the official Old Capitol Tea Room inspired coloring book called "It's Tea Time." It is available now for order on Amazon and features over 40 illustrations and soothing tea quotes.

Order a Copy:

https://amzn.to/47YgFdp

Kentucky Derby Hats

As crazy as it sounds, we are less than 100 days away from the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby so that means its hat time. I've been creating fascinators and (REALLY) big hats just for the occasion. If you are looking for a fun hand made creation made by yours truly, I have my hats available for sale on Etsy.

Etsy Shop:

https://maidenkentuckyart.etsy.com

Pet Portraits

With the teas on break, it's my painting season. It's the perfect stay indoors and get some orders completed. If you'd like a pet portrait painted of your furry friend, I have slots open in groups of 10. You can order a pet portrait from my Etsy shop as well and follow the information in the listing to place your order and send along pictures of your pets. I'll be painting pets until March then I'll switch gears for a few mural projects so order early.

Order Pet Portrait:

https://maidenkentuckyart.etsy.com/listing/1654143084

This concludes our January as we move into the February! Thank you for stopping by and exploring Our Technicolor Life! Please check out all the features of the website from our Tea, Travel, Entertainment, Art, and Podcast Channels. This is our one stop shop website for all events and information. Don't forget to subscribe so you stay in the loop and check out our upcoming events section right on the home page.

Yours truly,

Carrie & Jeff

AT A GLANCE - FEBRUARY EVENTS

Friday February 16th - The Chicken Coop Theatre Fundraiser

Louisville, KY

Saturday February 17th - The Chicken Coop Theatre Fundraiser

Louisville, KY

Wednesday February 28th - TICKETS FOR THE OLD CAPITOL TEA ROOM GO ON SALE

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/upcoming-events

The Our Technicolor Life Podcast

Here we go! Our latest venture, Our Technicolor Life PODCAST. 📻🎉🎧

We’ll be chatting with you every week about the going-ons of Our Technicolor Life including tea, travel, entertainment, art, and more!

In our very first episode we talk about who we are, what we do, and how we met! You can listen to our very first episode right now here.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/podcast/episode/2c70e044/welcome-to-our-technicolor-life-season-1-episode-1

We also want to hear from you! Have a question for us? You can drop us a message on our website. See the link below to ask us a question.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://www.ourtechnicolorlife.com/lifestyle

#OurTechnicolorLife #theoldcapitoltearoom #thenotsolongtrailer #rosieandtherockabillies #tinpanalleycats #carriecookekettermanart #ourtechnicolorlifepodcast

Monthly Newsletter: January 2024 (No.24)

Welcome to Our Technicolor Life Monthly Newsletter!

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Our Technicolor Life's monthly newsletter! We're thrilled to have you join us on our colorful journey through the many facets of our adventurous lives. As always, we're Jeff and Carrie Ketterman, a dynamic husband and wife duo who are passionate about embracing a vintage lifestyle in the most vibrant way possible.

A Glimpse into Our Lives

In case you're new here, let us introduce ourselves once again. Jeff spends his days immersed in the bustling world of rail transportation as the General Manager at Kasgro Rail Corporation Management Division. With a fleet of over 500 heavy-duty railcars, Jeff is at the forefront of providing innovative solutions for the ever-evolving rail industry.

Meanwhile, Carrie's days are filled with creativity and artistic expression. As a painter, illustrator, and author, she breathes life into murals and paintings that tell stories with every brushstroke.

Adventures Await

After our workday concludes, the real excitement begins! Our historic home, known as The Old Capitol Tea Room, transforms into a hub of themed tea parties that transport us and our guests to different eras and worlds. From the glitz and glamour of the 1920s to the groovy vibes of the 1960s, we've hosted an array of captivating events this past month that ignite the senses and spark joy.

Speaking of our musical passions, our bands are another cornerstone of Our Technicolor Life. Rosie & the Rockabillies, a vivacious 1950s-style band, and The Tin Pan Alley Cats, a toe-tapping 1920s-style ensemble, allow us to spread our love for music and nostalgia far and wide.

Happy New Year from Our Technicolor Life! My goodness 2024! Here we go! Thank you all for being here, we've been catching up, celebrating the holidays, and looking forward to sharing more of our technicolor life with you this year.

TEA

There are no teas currently. There are just a few short months out the year when we put all of the tea room away and reset the house back to "normal". We have been pretty much living in our living room as this area is primarily set up for tea parties during the tea season. It's been so nice to reflect on all of the events we hosted last year and to discuss new themes and set up. We have some exciting new themes and extra bits that we will be unveiling this tea season. Jeff and I are still in the planning stages for events so nothing has been posted as of yet. This is the time of year we take into account camping trips, music and entertainment requests, tea events, and specialty projects and work schedules. There are a lot of moving pieces outside of the tea room but my goal is to announce some of the spring tea events in late February/early March on the website. Stay tuned!

We did however, host quite a few events in December! We saw many fan favorites return with Grinch Story Time and Tea, our Christmas Carol Radio Show presented by The Old Capitol Player, and our White Christmas Sing Along Tea Party.

Grinch Story Time Tea

Christmas Carol Radio Show & Tea

White Christmas Sing Along

TRAVEL

A few years ago Jeff and I had a conversation about how we really don't need anything for the holidays and what we enjoy most is adventures, traveling, and creating experiences. So in the past couple of years we've sort of created the tradition of going on a trip for New Years. We both agreed we're not too big on the big New Years galas and party type thing because they always seem like kind of a bust not to mention expensive. We also love to head South so this year we decided we'd like to spend New Year's Eve in one of our favorite places, New Orleans.

There is just something about this town that gets in our blood. It's the history, the vibe, the music, the architecture, the food, the overall celebration and we cannot get enough of it. We also love to find unique places to stay using Air BnB which gives us so many more options and pricing to work with especially when going for a typically pricey time of year. We primarily start our trips that don't involve our camper by looking at Air BnB. On our last NOLA visit we stayed in an adorable shot gun house in Algiers Point that we would've never explored before. This time we knew we wanted to be more in town and not rely on the ferry, although, it was incredibly easy and cheap to use last time. This year we found a charming spot called the Ravenwood Manor in the Bywater neighborhood. It was just a 15 minute walk to Jackson Square and had soo many wonderful cafes and curiosities to explore in our immediate area. We visited the Bywater Bakery, The Country Club, Elizabeth's Restaurant, Dr. Bobs Art Studio, JamNola, Silk Road, and the lovely Crescent City Park, all in the Bywater area.

We also made time to explore and shop around some of our favorite places in the Quarter and along Magazine in the Garden District. Most people ask us how we can eat the things we do and still stay somewhat fit - the answer is we walk just about everywhere. In New Orleans, you are supposed to slow down and enjoy the Big Easy. You just can't take it all in and explore the city unless you are on foot so that's what we did. I also love that we didn't go down to NOLA with any really specific plans. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to get us a table at Commander's Palace for Sunday New Year's Eve Jazz brunch! And I did! I watched their website like a hawk all year and grabbed a reservation back in October! It was a delightful way to kick off New Year's Eve and in the near 70 degree weather we made our way to City Park before hitting the town in our Gatsby wear to ring in 2024.

Other highlights included Cafe Brulot at Antoines, I'm obsessed with the tableside coffee experience and those cups! We watched the firework show from the comfort of Crescent City Park on the wharf with a third of the crowd around Jackson Square and simply walked the block back to our house.

We loved it so much we realized we needed to plan a return trip. Having talked about it again for several years but never actually doing it - we are going back for Mardi Gras. I thought Jeff was joking but he said why not its right up our alley with the costumes, pageantry, and celebration. I am for one tickled to use our bit of time off to go back to New Orleans and especially to pack strictly for Mardi Gras!

Carmel Christkindlmarkt

But before we made it to NOLA, we wanted to really get in the Christmas spirit by heading back to Carmel, Indiana for their stunning Christkindlmarkt. We went to this event last year and were blown away by how spectacular it was. I even showed my brother photos aka the brother who lives in Switzerland and he concurred that Carmel was very authentic.

This very authentic German market is well worth the road trip! We truly felt like we were transported to Europe in many ways. We visited Switzerland to visit my brother and it truly had a very Swiss feel about it. With favorite holiday foods from Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and other European countries, the smells are glorious. The craftsmanship on display is amazing. And, they have a huge outdoor ice rink for skaters. The Market is free to attend, and parking is free as well. This festival was voted at the #1 Best Holiday Market in the USA Today "10Best" competition for the fourth time. The raclette and mulled wine made for a scrumptious lunch as we explored all of the vendors surrounding the park and rink.

The Glitz

If you’re looking for a colorful, festive, “glitzy” outing, let me suggest The Glitz in Versailles, KY. It has become a holiday tradition with me during the Christmas season. It’s located a little off the beaten path, just north of Nonesuch, KY. Yup. Nonesuch. 😁

To be a little more helpful on the location, it is located about 20 miles southwest of Lexington, KY in Woodford County (you can make a whole day of it and visit the Woodford Reserve Distillery as well).

The Glitz operates out the lower level of the Irish Acres Gallery of Antiques. The one-of-a-kind antiques are amazing! Just walking the glittery, ornate rooms of this gallery will have you wishing you could win the lottery and purchase more than a few things.

The Glitz is not nearly as pricey, however. The three-course lunch is just $35 per person, and the food is amazing! I realize this is not a stop that everyone will enjoy, but if, like me, you enjoy the glitzy, glamorous, and glittery, this will not disappoint. I never pass up an opportunity to dress up for an occasion, and The Glitz provides the perfect opportunity!

Brown County & Story

We love to visit Brown County so we made a special reservation and made a day at of it. We spent the day in lovely and historic Nashville, Indiana, followed by dinner at The Story Inn, where we donned a Victorian look for the occasion.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Old Capitol Players headed back to the lovely Magnolia Venue for an evening of A Christmas Carol Radio Show performed live. We are so excited to be partnering with Matt, Brian, and all of the staff at The Magnolia in Clarksville, IN. We have many more exciting shows lined up for the 2024 season.

A Christmas Carol at The Magnolia

Polar Express in Santa Claus, IN.

It’s not the Christmas season until you make a trip to Santa Claus, Indiana! We had an invitation to bring our Polar Express Storytime to the old Santa Claus church next to the museum, amd had a great afternoon enjoying the quaint surroundings! After Jeff, I mean Mr Conductor, read and entertained the filled little church with the story of the Polar Express, we visited the museum, wrote a letter to Santa and visited Santa’s Candy Castle! We also got to visit with Santa himself! Jeff apooogized for being so bad this year, and vowed to do better next year!

The Tin Pan Alley Cats have been busy at work these past few months expanding our repertoire and we danced the night away at the University of Louisville Women's Club Holiday party. If you have an event or celebration, don't forget about the music. Its such an important ingredient for any party and The Tin Pan Alley Cats is a great bang for your buck. We work really well in mid-size venues and for a smaller budget.

Tin Pan Alley Cats Play a Holiday Party

Of course, we can't talk music and not talk about Rosie. We're super excited to be expanding our music with the gang. We are undergoing a bit of rebranding to bring you even more fun and dance music for the 2024 season. If you'd like to book the full 5-piece band, don't hesitate to reach out. Our spring and summer are already starting to fill up with requests. If you are interested in booking the band, just shoot us an email with the date, location, and any event details at ourtechnicolorlife@gmail.com.

Rosie and the gang are heading to Nashville this January to play for our friends with US Bus Tours! We have played for this fantastic group of people and are excited to see them again. Plus a little time in NashVegas never hurt anyone!

ART

Last year I finally picked up a book that had been on my shelf for more time than I care to admit but I finally read it. The Artist's Way by Juila Cameron has reallly transformed my thinking. She teaches an idea called morning pages and every morning you must write 3 pages and it can be anything - stream of concious, something thats bothering you, a daily observance, anything but it must be 3 pages. It was a habit I had to really make time for starting out but it is so rewarding in working out problems, clearing headspace, and for me just a great place to get my ideas written down.

I published 4 books last year - Camping Critters Lucy and Ricky Raccoon Buy a Camper, The Lucy Coloring Book, The Grey Gardens Coloring Book, and Witch Hazel's Moonlit Tea Party. They are all online for purchase and I cannot tell you how reqwarding it is to see these sketches and ideas from my morning pages actually become real and phsical items on my book shelf. I always fancied the idea of being a writer/illustratorsh for kids books and with an emphais on the illustration part. I decided no more excuses, with the technology and bits of learning i did via youtube and other such resources I found I could take these book ideas and see them through.

So I'm super excited to announce more ideas are coming to fruition in 2024. This January I am so thrilled to announce the official Old Capitol Tea Room inspired coloring book called "It's Tea Time." It is available now for pre-order and features over 40 illustrations and soothing tea quotes.

My sketchbook is overflowing with ideas for books so I am extremely grateful for this time during the dreary cold winter months to be able to work on these. My next book is one I have been wanted to do for the longest time, an illustrated love letter and sort of preserving of history for my hometown, Louisville. I've always loved collecting little memories or bits of history in illustration of pen and ink drawings so I'm pairing the two together in my latest book, "Only in Louisville" coming out later this spring.

Pet Portraits

The winds have howling and the rain has been coming down. It's the perfect stay indoors and get some work completed. I am thankful for a fresh stack of canvas, an organzied cart of paint, and plenty of cute pets to paint. I open up slots of 10 for pet portraits a few times throughout the year. This was the lastest round of pet portraits.

This concludes our December as we move into the New Year! Hello 2024! Thank you for stopping by and exploring Our Technicolor Life! Please check out all the features of the website from our Tea, Travel, Entertainment, Art, and Podcast Channels. This is our one stop shop website for all events and information. Don't forget to subscribe so you stay in the loop and check out our upcoming events section right on the home page.

Yea...did you catch that?!? We've started a podcast so stay tuned!!!

Yours truly,

Carrie & Jeff

AT A GLANCE - JANUARY EVENTS

Monday January 1st - New Year's Day

Saturday January 13th - Rosie & the Rockabillies Private Booking

Nashville, TN.