Monthly Newsletter: April 2022 (No. 3)
Thank you for joining us here at Our Technicolor Life!
This is the third newsletter and monthly feature highlighting upcoming events, happenings, and general news of all channels of Our Technicolor Life.
We have a lot of new subscribers and we wanted to welcome everyone and thank you for following us! For those new to Our Technicolor Life, we are a husband-and-wife team that lives a vintage lifestyle and has a passion for the arts. We entertain, sing, travel, create, and host tea parties out of our historic home. Follow along each channel - tea, travel, entertainment, art, lifestyle, and more that make up Our Technicolor Life.
TEA
March was a busy month of private party bookings for various celebrations at The Old Capitol Tea Room. We host private parties for groups of 10 or more weekday or weekends based on schedule availability. Our private parties are a great way to have the full tea room experience with your family and friends. We frequently host bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, book clubs, church meetings, appreciation celebrations, or just an excuse to play tea party with your own group.
If you are interested in more information about our private parties, please visit our private party information page where we've spent a lot of time and effort to make sure we've got all the details for you. It's also has many pictures & videos of previous private parties so you can see the set up.
Private parties are not themed like our public tea parties but a chance for you to host a special occasion or celebration with friends and family. If you would like your tea party themed, we have limited themes available as an add on package. *Sorry, we do not offer Murder Mystery or Grinch private parties.
To schedule a private party, please fill out our private party form and we will check the schedule for availability.
Our next private party availability starts in August. April, May, June, and July available weekends have all been booked. You can see dates that have already been booked on our handy dandy Upcoming Events calendar.
We did host a new theme this past month - Gilded Tea, combing our love for Downton Abbey and new series also by Jullian Fellowes, Gilded Age. All guests were encouraged to dress up for this tea event and could participate in our fashion show. We awarded prizes for most creative and most authentic in which the contestants walked the runway and the guests voted for the winners. There were so many wonderful ensembles and we so loved everyone's enthusiasm for this tea party and theme.
This month we are excited to be bringing back our Murder Mystery tea parties, a Be Our Guest theme, and a few more private party bookings. The Murder Mystery and Be Our Guest teas are sold out but we do have tables available for our Pirates & Mermaids Tea Party Saturday July 9th at 3pm featuring Captain James Hook himself!
We also have tables for new theme, Moulin Rouge Friday July 29th at 7pm featuring live music by the Tin Pan Alley Cats and of course some favorite songs from the movie, Moulin Rouge. A great excuse to dress up and have tea in the green fairy lounge.
You can purchase tables for each of these two events here...
Pirates & Mermaids Tea Party Saturday July 9th at 3pm
Tables are first come, first served. Simply click on the event you'd like to attend, select your table, and add to cart where you will be prompted to check out. The tables are on a time limit so they will not stay in your cart past 20 minutes. You may need to refresh the event page if there are multiple guests checking out. Please check out promptly when purchasing your table.
Just a reminder that all tickets for our public themed teas are now being sold in the form of table sales. Prices are still the same as they always have been but the system has been streamlined so now you can...
1) See and directly purchase tables for public teas events available at all times.
2) Have more advanced notice for when public tea parties are being hosted.
3) Select your table.
ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL UPON PURHCASE. NO EXCEPTIONS.
TRAVEL
The Not So Long Trailer came out of winter hibernation for a brief spring break adventure to the Gulf! This was such a special trip for us as we had the chance to visit two places in particular we have always wanted to visit. Plus we added Alabama and Florida to our sticker map! This is our second Not So Long Trailer so while we have camped in both states before, we had not been with our new camper.
Jeff and I are huge space nerds and we have always wanted to visit the U.S. Rocket and Space Center in Huntsville, AL. Having been to Cape Canaveral on a previous trip, we were excited to see more of the incredible space institutions and collections. The U.S. Rocket and Space Center did not disappoint. We spent the whole day exploring the two huge buildings and grounds full of space and flight artifacts. We experience an Apollo 11 virtually reality that used a mix of original archive audio and video together with recreations of the spacecraft and locations, all set to inspirational music. Not only did we get to relive the events of 1969, but we also could take control of the command module, land the lunar, and explore the Moon's surface.
Saturn V Hall was incredible! The authentic Saturn V Apollo moon rocket runs overhead the length of the building and is surrounded by historic artifacts & interactive exhibits from space exploration. There was a lunar roving vehicle, Lunar Module, Apollo 16 capsule, Apollo 16 recovery parachute, Gemini training capsule, swing arm where you could pretend you were walking towards your capsule for loading, various mission space suits, the quarantine Airstream for the Apollo astronauts, and my favorite an actual moon rock brought back from Apollo 12.
We also did a little shopping at Unclaimed Baggage. In all the times we've been through this area, we'd never had time to stop and shop. Unclaimed Baggage buys orphaned bags and gives them a second life being resold in a second hand store - Unclaimed Baggage. You never know what's going to turn up and we were excited to finally visit. While there weren't many vintage clothing items, we still loved the visit and managed to leave with a few goodies!
The next place we have always wanted to visit is a fictional town that exists in real life because it was a set from one of our favorite movies, Tim Burton's Big Fish. If you've never seen this 2003 movie, you really should! It's a gem of a movie with a fantastical tale of one man's unbelievable life. It is a beautiful, sweet, magical, and moving movie. Well, several years ago we learned that the filming location of one of the most endearing scenes was filmed in Alabama, and that the owner of the property of Jackson Lake allowed people to come experience what remains of "Spectre", the little town that plays a big role in Edward Bloom's life. (Edward is the main character of the movie.) Now there isn't much left of Spectre, but there are enough buildings and iconic set pieces to make it feel like you are connected to this little town and movie. The entire town was built as a movie set, so the buildings weren't built to last the years of time, but several are still standing. Still, we absolutely had the best time on Jackson Lake Island. It was everything we had hoped it would be for us. Jackson Lake Island is located in Millbrook, AL. just north of Montgomery. Oh, and there are lots of goats on the island.
Our main destination was Florida for our stay in Sopchoppy, FL. at the unbelievably beautiful Ochlockonee River State Park so that we could explore neighboring towns like Apalachicola, Panacea, St. George Island, Carrabelle, and Wakulla Springs - home of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Tarzan's Secret Treasure. Well, where the underwater scenes from these legendary films were shot anyway.
We love classic movies from the 1930s-1950s We especially love the classic monster movies. Wakulla Springs is where the 1954 film, Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed in addition to Tarzan's Secret Treasure from 1941. The springs were once crystal-clear to a depth of 120' making it the perfect location for underwater scene film shooting. Wakulla Springs is also home to one of the most gorgeous lodges and full-service hotels.
The Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park is the world's largest and deepest freshwater spring rimmed by an ancient cypress swamp. While we were walking around the boat launch area, we ended up chatting with one of park rangers about our love of these movies. He was so pleased that we were so excited about the film locations, he offered to take us on his next boat tour (which was sold out!) and to go see the area where many of the water scenes for both films were shot. The boat ride was incredible and Scott, the park ranger was a fountain of knowledge as we cruised the river telling us about the property, the river, the animals, and overall history of Wakulla Springs. We learned so much on the guided boat tour in addition to seeing 20 alligators, dozens of bird species, a pair of manatees, and all of the lovely cypress trees and draping Spanish moss scenery. Our visit to Wakulla Springs was a perfect adventure! Oh, and some of the following photos just may have been enhanced a bit to give them a more "creature" feel.
The rain stayed with us on and off the next couple of days but we didn't let that stop us from exploring. We visited neighboring towns of Apalachicola, Panacea, Carrabelle, and even a visit to Tallahassee to check out the Railroad Square Art District. We collected shells, grabbed some great seafood, picked up some tasty oranges at a roadside stand, and visited a few great shops in the area.
Moving back towards home, we journeyed through Columbs, Georgia and enjoyed the fantastic riverwalk along the Chattahoochee River. We also visited the unique Museum of Wonders, a drive-thru art museum, strolled the main historic street of downtown Columbus, and also visited blue legend Ma Rainey's house. Known as "The Mother of Blues", Rainey's home is located in her hometown of Columbus, GA and is now a museum you can tour.
The last leg of our journey home included a stop at Rock City. We had been through Chattanooga several times and had been to Ruby Falls and Lookout Mountain but never to Rock City. If anyone had told me that there were gnomes, a fairyland, and Mother Goose Village, I would've visited years ago! I am so glad we took the time to visit this Georgia travel favorite! We stayed so long we practically shut the place down and walked the trail twice! Rock City is atop Lookout Mountain in Lookout Mountain, GA. It opened in May 1932 and celebrates 90 years next month. The attraction gained prominence after owners Garnet and Frieda Carter hired Clark Byers in 1935 to paint "See Rock City" barn advertisements throughout the Southeast and Midwest, United States. Byers painted over 900 barn roofs and walls in 19 states by 1969. It's pretty much an American legend and an incredible attraction.
We're not letting The Not So Long Trailer sit idle for too long before we hit the road again for the annual Mayberry Lucy Festival in Granville, Tennessee. This is our third year participating and performing in the festival and we are so excited to be back for the 2022 celebration. The Mayberry Lucy Day is Saturday April 9th with a full line up of activities and performances. We will be performing our Lucy & Desi Tribute Show twice on Saturday along with the exceptionally wonderful Mayberry cast and crew. AND you don't want to miss seeing Keith Thibodeaux aka Little Ricky, because he will be there sharing stories of his experiences in showbiz, I Love Lucy, and more!
Check out the full line up and list of activities and performances all day long. More information about Granville and directions can be found here.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Tin Pan Alley Cats played the Limbo this month and the Moulin Rouge theme was so popular in February, we brought it back for one more showing complete with new songs we worked up for a Moulin Rouge medley including Elephant Love Medley, Come What May, Sparking Diamond, One Day I'll Fly Away, Your Song, and of course Lady Marmalade. The Tin Pan Alley Cats will be back at The Limbo Wednesday April 27th from 8-10pm. The Limbo is the coolest tiki bar experience with delectable cocktails, live entertainment, incredible decor, pinball machines galore, and will transport you to another worldly paradise. Oh, and did we mention, Graham, the bartender makes delicious cocktails! Seriously!
Located in downtown Louisville at 411 West Chestnut Street, we'll see you next month. Stay tuned for next month's theme but save the date for Wednesday April 27th 8-10pm!
Rosie & the Rockabillies are back to regular rehearsals in preparation for our spring and summer festival lineup. Check out the upcoming events on the home page for full line up of festivals and performances. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of band rehearsal the other night.
ART
We are 36 days away from the 148th Run for the Roses so my studio has flowers, tulle, ribbons, bows, and feather galore! After a two year hiatus making Oaks and Derby hats (other than for myself) it is so nice to be making hats and fascinators again. I've been making hats for the last 8 years and have a selection of hats as well as Derby crafts for sale on my Etsy shop and Maiden Kentucky business page. Click on Etsy button to see my shop and Maiden Kentucky to go to my Facebook page.
Here are some of my recent hat creations! These will be for sale on my Etsy shop ame Facebook page. More photos to come to show how they look while worn. Stay tuned for those!
Be sure to check out my shop frequently as I'll be adding Derby crafts and hats often!
LIFESTYLE
Meet Ethel, our 1959 yellow Rambler. Our love of vintage and a vintage lifestyle spills over into the cars we drive as well. We are on our second classic car, a 1959 Rambler Six. We previously had a 1962 Corvair before buying the Rambler. The opportunity to buy the Rambler was quite serendipitous. And, it was not only the decade we were looking for, but it was also already the color we wanted. It needed some engine work and a new interior, but we were more than happy to give this classic car some new life.
With the pandemic that seemingly stymied everything, we decided that getting out for a weekend drive could do wonders for our attitude. So, we started planning short adventures in the Rambler every weekend. We wanted to explore the southern Indiana and northern Kentucky area, trying to stay within 100 miles of home.
It was such an escape for us! We get the opportunity to dress in some of our vintage clothing, hop in our classic '59 Rambler and just explore the region, socially safe. We call our adventures...Ramblin' Rambler Road Trips! These journeys have been documented with pictures, itineraries, and sights to see along the way. We plan to have our Ramblin' Rambler Road Trips Guide published later this year once we finish up another book project that is due out this summer. It's an exciting feature we've been wanted to write/illustrate for quite some time. I won't give much away just yet but I can say it is inspired by everyone's favorite redhead. But we'll talk more about that next month.
Thus concludes our March and we move into April in Our Technicolor Life! Please explore the website and share with friends & family! We try to make this website a one stop shop for all of our events. 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 - APRIL EVENTS 💕 Private Party Booking - April 3rd 💕Mayberry Lucy Day in Granville, TN. - April 9th 💕 Murder Mystery Tea - April 15th *Sold Out 💕Private Party Booking - April 16th
💕 Be Our Guest Tea Party - April 23rd *Sold Out
💕Tin Pan Alley Cats at the Limbo - April 27th (8-10pm)