the spotlight is shining bright. put on your shades and meet Carla.



Carla & Alex

A beautiful, smart and insanely crafty and creative girl.  A Michigan native who now lives in Minneapolis, Carla is a designer by day and the finger tapping mastermind behind the super cute blog, Hammers & High Heels by night.  Oh, and she is also my newest cousin.  Yes, nepotism is still in full force.  Carla married my handsome cousin Alex Zidarevich, Amber's brother (last spotlight star).  Everyone welcomes new people into their familes, but you know you hit the jackpot when the fit in as if they've been a part of the family forever. I also have met her family and they are all wonderful, just like her.  Carla considers herself an "oversharer", which I love, and find incredibly charming (and very familiar).  Carla is now an honorary Croatian for life.  Welcome Carla and introducing her is an honor. 

What or who inspires you?  I think I get inspiration everywhere I look, whether it be in daily life, magazines, or TV.  My favorite place for inspiration is through blogging.  I love to read blogs, I think that is the best place to get inspiration and if you like DIY projects they are everywhere in the blog world.  I keep a tiny moleskin notebook in my purse and a pen at all times, I write down things that inspire me so I never forget what or where I saw something.

Where is your nook?  My ‘nook’ is in the historic Homewood neighborhood in Minneapolis.  I love the charm and story that comes along with a historic place.  It is also a place that is currently in revival, I love how much my neighbors care about our little community.

What's your favorite way to burrow?  My favorite way to chill is at home with my husband enjoying a glass of wine while we cook dinner together.

Please Carla, you must describe your style.  My style is sort of eclectic, I fill my home with lots of vintage finds along with things from Target or Ikea and you will find my home is mostly gray, white, soft blue, or black.  When it comes to apparel and accessories I love to be very feminine, dresses and heels are a must.  I fear really bright or patterned things (unless you’re talking leopard print, I have a strange love for it). My closet is a lot of solids in white, gray, khaki or black; I like things that are simple and classic.

List one weird thing about you.  There are a lot of weird things about me! Haha, it is hard to pick one!  I’ll pick my need to hair tease.  Ever since my roommate in college taught me how to ‘poof’ my hair I haven’t been able to leave the house without a proper hair ‘poof’, I feel like I am walking around with a bald spot if I don’t have enough volume in my hair. I was also offended when the Bump It was created because I had to deal with people asking me if I owned one.  Never have, never will. Things also got worse when Snooki came around with her terrible ‘poof’ (mine never looks like that by the way, that is a fashion don’t). So yes, I will always be with my weird big hair.

What's on your playlist?  I listen to everything, country, pop, R&B, hip hop, and alternative. I’d say right now I am listening to my playlist that consists of R&B   and pop from the late 90’s, for some reason I can’t get enough right now (SWV anyone?).

What's one of your favorite recipes?  I love my husband’s grandma’s homemade mac n’ cheese recipe, it is a family favorite and I count on having it at every holiday now.

What is your favorite place to vacation?  This is a sad one, I feel like I don’t have a place I can say is my favorite spot to vacation since I haven’t been to the same place twice. I like to go to new places every time we get a chance to travel.  Of places I have been to, I loved Catalina Island and the Bahamas the most- beach vacations are my favorite.  I did love that Catalina Island had a lot of history to it, the city of Avalon oozed a vibe from the 1920’s.

What is your favorite object in your home?  Hmmm, I love all the antiques in my home because they are one of a kind. But if I had to pick just one it would be the antique dressform my husband surprised me with last year (above).  I have never had my own dress form and I would always talk about wanting an antique, and one day Alex surprised me with one.  I use it to display (and store) some of my accessories, it makes of a nice way to enjoy and display the accessories you love.    

Where do you see yourself in five years?  WOW! No idea, haha! Currently I am very happy right where I am.  My husband and I both have careers that match a passion we have (do what you love philosophy). I feel very lucky and hope to keep growing and advancing in my career.  I love working on my home and blogging about it (our blog friends are awesome!), I hope our blog is still around and growing.  All around I hope we are still this happy in 5 years.  I’d say the one thing we are missing is our family over in Michigan (we are living in MN, moved for work).  I’d like to think in 5 years we will have found a way to have a life in Michigan with our family around us and still have the same amount of happiness that we have found here in Minnesota. 

Thank you Carla!