Hi! I’m Hilliary, the writer behind Circle of Friends. You can also find me on instagram where I host The Stoop Series and what I’m reading and loving on Rec League. Lately I’m writing about hosting, home renovations, being out and about in NYC, and the vintage fashion I wear.

I wrote this newsletter the other Sunday as Michael was outside grilling clams we picked up from the farmer’s market, and it finally felt like Summer hosting is on the horizon.

Our backyard has actually been under construction the last few weeks as we are having to remove the bamboo. It is really nice to have the canopy effect for photos and the shade that it creates for Summer afternoons. Unfortunately, bamboo is extremely invasive and is spreading not only through our entire backyard, but also through our neighbors and if we don’t stop it now, it will keep on going down the entire block. Don't plant invasive species!!

The entire bamboo removal was supposed to happen some time ago, yet the day before, I discovered that a mama cardinal had returned to lay three eggs and was nesting, we will protect her at all cost!! So we completely changed plans and left all the bamboo stalks there until we knew that her fledglings were safe and had left the nest. We’ll be replacing the bamboo with some native tree species. Hoping she likes those just as much and will keep returning, as this is her home too.

As I look outside to a mostly barren garden, I’m imagining what our next style of the garden and Summer dinner parties will look like. Here’s what I have an eye on to add to my collection, or items in my collection that I use regularly and recommending to you!

Vintage Silver & Mother of Pearl Serving Set - no more sad salads

Vintage Pewter-like Fish Platter - I sourced a similar one for my Feast of the Seven Fishes party last Christmas, and always get questions and comments about it whenever I share it, so I found a similar one here. This one is Made in America by York Metalcrafters.

Vintage Guy Degrenne Stainless Steel Ice Bucket - My hot take is that wine bottles should never be “naked” on the table, I always put them on a wine coaster or in an vintage vessel

Set of Vintage Green Stem Luminarc Wine Glasses - my collection started with a few of these from my grandparents’ house. I now have over 20 of them, they are the perfect size for a skin contact during a dinner party or a mini martini.

Radicchio Bowl - I just love a Trompe l’oeil moment on the table

Vintage Swan Champagne Bucket - for all the swan fans out there!

Vintage Limoncello Glasses - Dinners should end with limoncello, my mom makes her own and I need to start doing the same this Summer too

Embroidered Placemats - These are on my personal wish list to layer these over my vintage white linen table cloths this Summer.

Pink and Red Stripe Tablecloth also like this stripe one and this one.

Silver Plated Tiered Tower - layer desserts, crudités, seafood, the skies the limit

Floral Cloth Napkins - these are made from off-cuts, cute and circular

Green Stripe Serving Bowl - I have this and use it in almost every table setting. It’s great for vegetable dishes orzos, a big thing of grilled peaches and burrata. I use it so often I’m debating getting the red striped one to complement it.

Ceramic Candlestick Holders - candlelit dinners only

Vintage Silver Plated Seashell Dish - I have a similar one that filled with chips and a classic French onion dip is always a party hit

Fancy Bits Cheese knives - they also offer engraving that would make a very cute hostess gift! Use HILLIARY15 for 15% off <3

Set of 8 Vintage French Guy Degrenne Bistro Dessert Cups similar options here and here.

Set of 4 Vintage Roemer Green Beehive Stem Wine Glasses- If you can’t tell I have a thing for green-stemmed wine glasses

Vintage Wine/Champagne bucket- A whole bucket might seem frivolous, but I can promise it’s my most used piece in my collection. This one is almost identical to mine which I’ve never seen before!

Vintage Linen Embroidered Tablecloth - the detail on this one is beautiful. For my longer table, I layer two vintage white linens. Here is another one under $100.

I sourced even more Summer hosting essentials on my Rec League!

I’m starting to plot and plan events in the garden this Summer, if you would like to partner on one, please reach out hilliary@yourcircleoffriends.com

Thank you for being here! If you liked this newsletter, please like, comment or share, it really does mean a lot to me!

My next newsletter will be a guide to vintage shopping in Amsterdam, if you want that in your inbox, make sure to subscribe :)

We are currently living in an on-going design project, which we lovingly refer to as Casa Salamanca. My husband and I moved into our Brooklyn townhouse in 2024 and we naively thought we would restore, renovate, and decorate the whole thing in a year - all while doing as much as possible with vintage, antiques, and pre-loved pieces. I’m not talking about order everything on Charish white glove delivery and call it day, I mean drive to Brimfield in the middle of the night to get first selection, find a bench, then learn how to reupholster it myself with fabric from at an estate sale type of vintage DIY- for just one bench. Needless to say, it’s been more than a year and there are still countless projects on the to-do list. About once a day I recite to myself the quote, “you don’t need a designer, you need a decade” as a reminder of what’s to come.

Our North Star has always been not only a home for us and our three rescue pups, but also a space to host and build a community and share how we’re doing it in the most circular way.

So now pulling back the metaphorical curtain to share what we’ve done so far, what’s in the works, and what’s down the road, which does in fact include curtains.

One of the most difficult parts of designing a home ourselves has been finding good and reputable people to work with; we have had a fair share of bad experiences, so let our mistakes learnings be beneficial as we’ve now vetted and found great people to help bring our visions to life.

I’ve joined Rec League to share my recommendations, so here is my rolodex of contractors and collaborators mentioned in this post, and I’ll continue adding to it, so it can be a resource to reference for your own home projects (if based in NY, sorry non NY readers!)

, you didn’t miss it, it’s been living in drafts but here is the start of an interior design piece, thank you for the reminder to put this out there!

Three Design Projects Currently In The Works:

Custom Relaxed Roman Shades

I wish I could say there was a method to this maddess but as we are designing the home in our free time and in the style of almost-nothing-new, sometimes we go with a project that presents itself. Back in January on a thrift trip upstate I found a bolt of vintage fabric for $20! On the subway home, I posted the above note, having no idea how much was on the bolt or how many yards I would need for my dream of relaxed Roman shades in our library room.

When I tell you this is why we are doing it this way, I had looked on all the websites of places to order roman blinds and nothing was speaking to me, then when I’m not looking, I find the perfect fabric hidden in a corner on an antique barn for the exact amount of the cash I had on hand and ended up being the exact amount of fabric I needed. The library is painted Farrow & Ball Salon Drab, the ideal brown and my favorite color in the whole house. The fabric is a brown and almost black thin stripe, exactly the type of dark, moody vibe I’m going for.

We’re working with Picnic House Drapes to create the relaxed Roman shades I envisioned, they are based in Brooklyn and create beautiful custom drapes and upholstery. I promise I’ll share the final product!

Some of my inspiration:

Upholstering A Chaise Lounge

This vintage chaise in the style of an Adrian Pearsall wave chair was an impulse purchase from Facebook Marketplace without a real spot in the house in mind. I do not recommend this type of behavior, this one found a home in my cloffice, perfect for reading, relaxed working, and Millie’s throne. The piece had recently been upsholsted in a chevon fabric, but the Target Missoni-era interiors of college past were sunsetted with my life as a sorority girl and I’ve been sitting on Schumacher zebra-print samples since before it was all over my fyp. I’ve been taking upholstery classes at Blue Bench in CT, but am not quite ready to tackle a whole chaise lounge on my own, I’ve been learning traditional tack method and not sewing yet, so I’m working with Bettertex , a rec from my friend . Albert picks it up and drops it off so the biggest lift for me is my analysis paralysis on which color zebra to go with.

Library Bookshelf

Since Day one, we’ve wanted to build out a floor to ceiling bookshelf in the room I refer to as the library, (in the photo, it will be the empty wall above the pink couch.) We want this room to be dark, moody, cozy, a place you want to curl up and read or watch a movie with a glass of a good red.

The vision for the bookshelf is to start above the couch as to not have the couch sit any deeper into the room since it’s already a narrow space. The design is for a dark wood, and various sized shelving to house books, art, and curiosities.

We’re working with Heights Woodworking, follow him on Instagram, as we’re going to document the process together, alongwith other upcoming projects we’re collaborating on too.

The antique barn I found the fabric at was mentioned here:

So much more to come! xx Hilliary

Thank you for reading Circle of Friends, I’m so grateful! You can follow along on Instagram and watch all of The Stoop Series now on YouTube.