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.