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!
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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