Monthly Newsletter: February 2023 (No. 13)
Welcome to Our Technicolor Life! We are a husband and wife team that lives a vintage lifestyle in full color through our many adventures in our tea room, travel, entertainment, and art. Follow along each channel that makes up Our Technicolor Life.
We are Jeff and Carrie Ketterman. During the day, Jeff is a General Manager with Kasgro Rail Corporation Management Division. With a fleet of over 500 heavy-duty cars, Jeff works daily to provide solutions to various needs of the multi-dimensional rail transportation industry. By day, Carrie is a painter, illustrator, and author creating murals, & paintings.
After closing up shop for the day. Jeff and Carrie host themed tea parties out of their historic home at The Old Capitol Tea Room, travel to festivals and vacation in The Not So Long Trailer, and have two bands, a 1950s style band, Rosie & the Rockabillies, and a 1920s style band, The Tin Pan Alley Cats. Each of these channels makes up our Technicolor Life.
TEA
The Old Capitol Tea Room is closed in February. We finally get to put the furniture back in place and enjoy sitting in the living room after the holidays! We had a lot of first timers join us this season and saw a lot of familiar faces as well. It's our pleasure to open our home to you and host you for our "teatre" events. This is a term we came up with where tea meets theatre. We strive to create a fully immersive experience from the music, décor, characters, theme, and overall ambiance when you come over for a tea party event.
Here's a sneak peek at what we've got coming up in the Spring & Summer 2023 Season!
Upcoming Events
The tea room really is our home. We were asked several times over the past few months if we did in fact live here. We do! We physically move furniture out of our living room and dining room area to set up the chairs and tables to host tea parties. It is a ton of work behind the scenes, but it is very rewarding to provide an experience of a themed tea party in a historic home.
That being said, when hosting tea events throughout the year, we don't get to really live in our downstairs space as it is usually set up for a tea event. Going into the 2023 season, we are planning to host more Friday & Sunday public events leaving a day off in between events to reset. Too many times in 2022 we overbooked, overworked, and underestimated the toll it would take on us physically, mentally, and financially as we put a lot of stress on ourselves and wear & tear on our home. I realized in August that we had overbooked ourselves and that 60 events were beyond what our staff (Jeff & I) could handle on top of our other jobs and responsibilities. While there won't be the sheer number of events on the calendar this year, we plan to offer multiple dates for our fan favorites and host "the best of the best" tea events in terms of overall theme.
Events will be posted on our upcoming events calendar with more heads up about the themes and when tickets will go on sale. The best way to find out about our events is here on the website. Events will be posted and tickets for sale under upcoming events before going to Facebook, so please be sure that you are subscribed to the website and read our monthly newsletters.
Private Parties
Our private party information has been updated with a private party booking form and booking availability. In 2023, private parties will primarily be hosted on weekdays and weeknights with limited weekend availability. We host baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, book clubs, church groups, meetings, etc. The cost is $35/person (kids and adults) and include a traditional afternoon style sweet and savory tea tray made up of finger sandwiches, desserts, selection of 3 loose leaf teas, and tax. We require a minimum of 15 people to book a private party and can seat 32 comfortably between our dining room and living room.
There is a $100 booking fee to be paid in advance to secure your desired date. This booking fee secures your date, time, and two hours in the tea room. This booking fee is non-refundable and does not go towards your final bill. October, November, and December are our busiest months of the year and private parties are NOT available on weekends. We are happy to look at weekdays and weeknights during these months.
If you are interested in a private party, please fill out our Private Party Booking Form. We do require the $100 booking fee at the time of your booking to secure your date at the tea room. This booking fee is non-refundable and does not go towards your final bill. Final headcount and payment must be submitted one week prior to the event.
The private party booking form now includes party time frames for you to select. Our public tea events do take precedence over private parties. If we have a Friday/Sunday public tea event, we do not host private parties the Saturday in between.
Weekday Private Party Time Frames
12-2pm OR 1-3pm
Weeknight Private Party Time Frames
5-7pm OR 6-8pm
Weekend Private Party Time Frames
12-2 pm OR 1-3pm
TRAVEL
Mucha at the Speed Art Museum
One of my favorite artists is Alphonse Mucha. I love anything and everything Mucha. In the past I've created several paintings emulating his style. So, it was a given that we would eventually make our way to the Mucha Exhibit at Speed Art Museum in Louisville.
The exhibit it quite extensive and very informative. If you are a fan of his work, I would highly recommend it. Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist that lived in Paris during the Art Nouveau period at the turn of the twentieth century. His painting and illustrations of French actress Sarah Bernhardt brought his work to prominence in the late 1890s. I’m sure if you are not familiar with his work, you have no doubt seen his work, as it is used in various ways in fashion and jewelry.
Jurassic Quest
When I came downstairs with a dinosaur dress and a pith helmet on, Jeff knew some type of adventure was ahead. We finally got to check out Jurassic Quest, a traveling, animatronic, interactive, dinosaur exhibit at the Kentucky Exposition Center. It has traveled through the area before, but our schedule never allowed us to check it out until this year.
Jurassic Quest is world-famous, life-side dinosaurs that have been meticulously painted and animated to be realer-than-real. The exhibit included a Spinosaurus, T-Re, and a 50-foot-long megalodon. You can ride a Dino, create crafts, dig for fossils, and meet other smaller dinosaurs. Check out their schedule and ticket information at www.jurassicquest.com.
After visiting the dinosaurs, we paid a visit La Bodequita De Mima Cuban Restaurant and Rum Bar in Louisville for the first time. If you get the chance, try it out. Great food and amazing drinks. We will be going back there, soon. The drink menu was superb and we couldn't make up our minds what to order so we tried a few appetizers and sprit the Cubano sandwich.
I'm still thinking about all the deliciousness this one place had to offer and cannot wait to go back and try more of the menu items. The vibe is the best part, you are transported back in time to 1950's Cuba. La Bodeguita de Mima is a homage to the matriarch of the family, "Mima". Chef Fernando Martinez once asked Mima, how could we possibly cook for all our guests as passionately as you cook for us? She answered immediately, "We will simply continue to cook for our family, but now our family has gotten bigger." You will feel like one of the family and enjoy some seriously delicious Cuban fare and cocktails.
La Bodeguita De Mima Cuban Resturant & Rum Bar
275 E Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Circus
“Ladies and gentlemen…children of all ages…”
I think it’s safe to say, I secretly would like to run away and join the circus. IF I could be the ringmaster. The Circus came to town so we made an afternoon out of the occasion with a visit to Mornign Fork on Frankfort Avenue for brunch and then a trip to the circus.
ENTERTAINMENT
Rosie & the Rockabillies at Yew Dell
It's official, Rosie & the Rockabillies will be back for their 4th summer at the gorgeous Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood Thursday August 3rd. This is such a fun summer concert series called Bourbon and Botanicals and you can get your tickets on the Yew Dell website. Check in about getting tickets early as this concert series sells out very quickly. You get to explore the beautiful botanical gardens, sip some tasty bourbon beverages, and of course hear some great tunes by Rosie & the Rockabillies. Stay tuned for other fun summer concert gigs!
Yew Dell Botanical Gardens: www.yewdellgardens.org
Tin Pan Alley Cats Private Bookings
Our duet, The Tin Pan Alley Cats is started to fill in the dates with private concert bookings. We play a lot for dinner entertainment, corporate events, and various private parties. The TIn Pan Alley Cats has the sound of a full swing band with lots of energy, vintage style, and a lively stage presence. Jeff arranges each of our numbers, creating the accompaniment tracks that he then plays piano along with live while I handle the lead vocals. WIth the sound of a big band but being a duet, we work really well for both intimate and mid-size venues. Whether we are playing as a featured performance or as background music, we embrace the vintage style that we both have such an affection for. And, with our theatre background, our performances are just that, a performance.
We cover the classics and standards of the 1920s-1959s as well as new artists that have a classic vintage sound. A la Post Modern Jukebox, we sometimes put a classic spin on modern popular hits.
To Book: Inquire about available dates of The Tin Pan Alley Cats by emailing us at ourtechnicolorlife@gmail.com
ART
Paintings & Etsy Shop
A lot of people know us as Lucy/Desi or the tea lady but my only a few know me as the artist. Truth be told, the tea room and the bands/tribute shows are part time gigs. My real job is as a full-time artist with an emphasis in painting. I run an Etsy shop and offer mural services. I went to school for art and it was painting that started my creative career path. For a short time, I moved to Chicago trying to pursue a career in theatre and it was all wrong place, wrong time, but I started really focusing on painting to make some money. Long story short, painting was what I knew and could create an income for myself. I opened an Etsy shop painting glassware, shoes, wood crafts, and other found objects.
I'm always exploring new series to paint and to paint on but this month has found me getting back to my roots with painting on canvas and walls. In January, I started a series of portraits with a pop art style featuring some of my favorites like Lucy, Little Edie, Audrey Hepburn, and Elvis. These are all acrylic on canvas and I'm working to get canvas and poster prints of all of these added to my Etsy shop. I also started to get back into collage. A few Christmas's ago, Jeff found a huge collection of vintage 1950s magazines on eBay and got them for me. I spent hours just pouring over the pages, looking at the ads, articles, and of course the fashions. It occurred to me that I should use these in some of my designs (and no, its not in me to cut them out of these vintage magazines) but I could photograph them and use photoshop to edit. So...now I have a collection of vintage collages turned into journals on my Etsy shop.
The creative juices are running this month since we have some breathing room from the tea parties and entertianment gigs so check out my Etsy shop and art page, Maiden Kentucky on Facebook. I've got a lot of ongoing projects including paintings, new designs, and some very exciting illustrations coming in the form of coloring books and our very first children's book. And just in time for Valentine's Day, I designed some famous vintage couples coffee mugs! ❤️
Murals
When I can't afford a super big canvas, a wall will usually do the trick. I love painting on a big space and started painting murals about 12 years ago. It started painting play rooms, nurseries, and has expanded over the recent years to offices, windows, and even a dug out at a local baseball field. In January, I stayed busy with two really neat mural projects.
I headed to Madison, Indiana and spent two days painting this Tangled mural scene for a nursery. I love all the colors, lights, and trees reaching out across the ceiling. I'll be heading back sometime in the late Summer/Fall to add a Beauty and the Beast themed mural in another room.
The other project I worked on in January was at the new gymnastics gym, Spirit Elite Athletics in Corydon. I painted these silhouette gymnasts on the 8 panel windows in the gym. It was great to be there seeing so many girls of all ages working on their skills from tumbling to complicated flips. I'm really jealous of the bouncy floor and especially the oversized trampoline.
I have bookings throughout the year for other mural projects but always have a few openings here and there if you have a mural project in mind. For pricing information or to inquire about availability, just send me an email at maiden.kentucky@gmail.com.
LIFESTYLE
This is for the ladies again! We all know I have a great fondness for clothes, hats, and accessories. I have been organizing my closet getting ready for the spring season and especially organizing my novelty statement bags. Even the most basic outfits can be transformed with a fun novelty bag. Add some pop to your outfits by mixing up your usual purse with a popcorn shaped purse, straw strawberry shaped bag, or my favorite, this blinged out money clutch. It's been such a dreary overcast January around here, I've been finding that adding a novelty bag to my everyday look makes me happy and provides a pop of color and cheer.
See my some of my collection below in these two videos. You can shop these bags using the links to each purse and discover even more online.
Part 1 Bags/Purses:
👜Lipstick Purse:https://amzn.to/3Hm4f3F
👜Strawberry Purse: https://amzn.to/3j9A9It
👜Movie Purse https://amzn.to/3ZZleBi
👜Money Purse https://amzn.to/3wq5DgL
👜Bamboo Bag https://amzn.to/3HqOWYL
Part 2 Bags/Purses:
👜Stars Clutch:https://amzn.to/3WFNLc7
👜Flower Box Purse: https://amzn.to/3kOhhzv
👜Rattan Bag: https://amzn.to/3HwrdGx
👜 Popcorn Purse: https://amzn.to/3XHV4BE
👜 Camera Purse: https://amzn.to/3Y3RAsG
This concludes our January as we move into February in Our Technicolor Life! Please explore the website and share with friends & family! This website our one stop shop for all of our 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
Tuesday February 14th - Happy Valentine's Day
🚨Spring Tea Tickets On Sale February 1st 11AM🚨
Check out our Upcoming Events