Bon Weekend: 9 May 2026

What to watch, see, do, try, and buy this weekend.

An early series on my original Habitually Chic blog was a Friday Bon Weekend post filled with things happening that weekend. In recent years, they morphed into a long monthly New and Noteworthy post. I brought the Bon Weekend post to Substack so you don’t miss anything worth seeing, doing, or trying this week.

I’m back and apologize for taking more time off than anticipated. I had a hair color catastrophe right before my trip which threw off my writing schedule. Then I decided to truly enjoy the beautiful weather in Paris because I haven’t take a proper vacation since before I started my original blog 19 years ago. Don’t worry though, I took a lot of photos and will share what’s new in the City of Light and what the chic Parisians were wearing soon. I also have no plans to travel any time soon and thrive when everyone else is away so I promise to buckle down and get back to work.

May is a busy month crammed full of events, exhibitions, and new releases before everyone leaves for the summer holidays so there is lots to see and do.

“The word May is a perfumed word. It means youth, love, song; and all that is beautiful in life.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, journal, 1861

What’s New and Noteworthy

Marcel - The new restaurant in Sotheby’s on Madison Avenue is now open for lunch in addition to dinner if you can manage to get a reservation. It was designed and developed by Roman & Williams and chef Marie-Aude Rose who also oversees the menu at La Mercerie which was also designed by Roman & Williams. The room includes on loan pieces and on view right now include paintings by Joan Mitchell, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline, and vitrines filled with smaller works.

La Mercerie Patisserie - Marcel will also include the all-day bakery and cafe La Mercerie Patisserie, offering pastry and viennoiserie, to stay or to go. Uptown really is the new downtown.

Papier Royal - The talk of the town in Paris is the new Papier Royal boutique from Ramdane Touhami in the Palais Royal. I stopped by the stationery shop and engraver while I was in Paris and can attest that it definitely lives up to the hype. (You can read a detailed article about it here.) I bought pens, scissors, and notepads but did not get anything engraved. I promised myself that I won’t order any engraved stationery until I have an apartment in Paris. There are a lot of empty shops in the Palais Royal, including the old Didier Ludot spaces, so I hope this entices more brands and specialty shops to consider opening in this location.

Orient Express Venezia - If trains give you motion sickness you can now stay at the newly renovated Orient Express Venezia, 15th-century Venetian palace that was once home to the Duke of Urbino and the Donà and Giovannelli families. “The Palace was transformed in the 1800s by architect Gian Battista Meduna and beautified with layers of Neo-Gothic and Baroque splendor. Now, through Orient Express, it begins a new hospitality chapter, honoring the legacy of a noble mansion while embracing the spirit of the iconic hotel brand. Just ten minutes from the historic quay, the palace gleams anew, its courtyard, terraces, and garden inviting exploration.”

Villa San Michele - Also recently reopened in Italy after a renovation is the Villa San Michele which is owned by Belmond, who also offers luxurious train rides. The hotel is perched high in the hills and overlooks Florence so you can have your city and country vacation in one trip.

“I don’t do ‘cool’, I do old-school. I create institutions.” - Ramdane Touhami

What to See

There are so many amazing art and museum exhibitions you should plan to see including Frieze and TEFAF fairs in New York next week.

Raphael: Sublime Poetry - This show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the first comprehensive exhibition on Raphael in the United States and brings together more than 170 of the artist’s greatest masterpieces and rarely seen treasures to illuminate the brilliance of Raphael’s extraordinary creativity. It runs through June 28, 2026, and includes important drawings, paintings, and tapestries from public and private collections across Europe and the United States, many of which have never been shown together.

Ruffles & Ribbons: Fashion Plates from the Time of Marie Antoinette - There were a lot of 18th-century exhibitions in Paris but we also have one at The Frick Collection running through August 3, 2026. “Organized in conjunction with Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture, this Cabinet installation presents twenty-four hand-colored engravings that depict French fashion in the late eighteenth century. Many were discarded when fashions changed, and others could have been destroyed during the French Revolution due to their association with the decadence of the ancien régime. The Frick Art Research Library has an impressive collection of three hundred and seventy original prints, a selection of which are on view at the Frick for the first time.”

Baroque Splendors: From El Greco to Velázquez - Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit the Baroque Splendors exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart André in Paris. It is in collaboration with the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York and will be showcasing Hispanic Baroque art including paintings by the great masters of the Golden Age such as Velázquez, El Greco, and Zurbarán. It runs through August 2, 2026.

Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony - This exhibition at Acquavella Galleries features fifty paintings, works on paper, and sculpture by Henri Matisse on loan from museums, foundations, and private collections and rivals any museum show. I saw it before I left for Paris and may have to go back again before it closes on May 22, 2026. “It traces Matisse’s investigation of form in two and three dimensions, from paintings and sculptures made at the start of the 20th century through the next five decades of his career. Although Acquavella has dealt in exceptional works by Matisse for over sixty years, this marks the gallery’s first exhibition devoted to the French artist since 1973. It’s free and open to the public.”

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art - If you’re traveling to London through 8 November 2026, add Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A Kensington to your must see list. This is the UK’s first exhibition on Elsa Schiaparelli spanning the 1920s to today, celebrating the innovative designer's influence. It traces the fashion house’s groundbreaking origins and its evolution under current creative director Daniel Roseberry.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style - I’m hoping to make it to London before 18 October 2026 to see Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style at The King’s Gallery. This once in a lifetime exhibition features more than 300 items, many on display for the first time, and is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of the late Queen’s fashion ever mounted. “Alongside clothing, jewelry, hats, shoes and accessories, explore never-before-seen design sketches, fabric samples and handwritten correspondence that reveal the behind-the-scenes process of dressing the most famous woman in the world and shed new light on the late Queen’s close involvement in the creation of her wardrobe. Highlights include her christening robe, bridesmaid dress, wedding dress, Coronation dress and the ensemble worn for the wedding of Princess Margaret.”

“I made sculpture because what interested me in painting was the clarification of my ideas. I changed medium and worked in clay as a respite from painting when I had done absolutely all that I could for the moment. Which is to say that it was always for the purpose of organization. It was done to give order to my feelings, to seek a method that completely suited me. When I found it in sculpture, it helped me in painting.” - Henri Matisse

What to Watch

There’s a lot on tv now but not much in theaters so I suggest keeping an eye on the Cannes Film Festival to learn what films should be on your radar when they are released worldwide later.

Your Friends and Neighbors - I really loved season one of this AppleTV series but season two seems to be falling flat. Amanda Peet has had some great scenes and I love the chemistry her character has with her tv ex-husband played by Jon Hamm. I wish they’d bring them back together more in season three. It would also be nice if they would also fix the color. I’ve tried watching on my tv and laptop and can barely see some scenes because they are so dark.

Running Point - Luckily, Running Point season two on Netflix didn’t disappoint and I already binged the entire season. It’s such a fun feel good show to watch when you need a good laugh. Kate Hudson wears some great outfits as the president of a basketball team as chaos ensues each episode. Seeing Scott Speedman make an appearance this season was a pleasant surprise too. I’m glad I’ll be able to see him on this show in case his series R.J. Decker doesn’t get picked up for season two. But ABC would be stupid not to renew it because it’s so good.

Widow’s Bay - I’ve tried to watch this series on AppleTV but I’m not sure it’s for me. I think it might have been if they left out the horror part and just made it a comedy. It stars Matthew Rhys as a New England mayor trying to boost tourism on his island must navigate strange events suggesting it might be cursed. I did love Matthew in The Beast in Me so that’s another great series to try if you haven’t seen it yet.

Legends - (This is not shown above but it featured in my first collage.) Legend refers to the background you make up when you go under cover. This series on Netflix was inspired by the real British war on drugs entering the country in the 1990s as customs officers go under cover to take down the gangs behind the drug smuggling. It’s the intellectual show that could only come from the British that I highly recommend watching this weekend.

Rivals - Everyone’s favorite 80s raunchy romp is back on Friday, May 15 for season two and I can’t wait to watch for more scandals and romance. It’s based on Jilly Cooper’s first book Rivals and she’s written 18 books so I hope this fabulous series lasts just as long. Remember not to watch this one with your children or your parents.

“In our vile English climate, rough winds shake not only the darling buds of May, but of June, July, August and September as well.” ― Jilly Cooper

What to Read

These are just a few of the new books getting buzz right now.

In the Great Quiet - A pioneer unwaveringly endures the Oklahoma frontier in an epic adventure about a woman haunted by secrets and searching for home.

Lázár - This is one of the hottest books released recently and the one I’m most excited to start now that I’m back home. It’s a remarkable novel made even more remarkable that it was written by Nelio Biedermann who is only 22 years old. He used his family’s Hungarian nobility as a jumping off point for his sweeping intergenerational story spanning 100 years.

Permanence - How much would you sacrifice for a life you never thought possible? And how long can you stay in paradise before the cracks start to show? Permanence is an exploration of desire, novelty, and choice, that explores the tantalizing quandary of what, if anything, can withstand the daily toll of “forever”.

"I'm glad that I didn't grow up in a castle and that I didn't grow up with all of this wealth. But I recognised those feelings in my family – in my great-uncle, my grandmother, my father."

- Nelio Biedermann

More New Books

Arbiter’s of Style: The New Wave of French Interior - Francophiles will love this look at French interiors from Paris and Ormesson-sur-Marne to far-flung holiday locales such as Cap Ferret, the Pyrenees, Biarritz, Île de Ré, and Saint-Tropez.

Cottage Gardens - The perfect book for the gardener in your life and a great last minute’s gift for Mother’s Day.

“A weed is but an unloved flower.”
― Ella Wheeler Wilcox

What I Bought Recently

I did a lot of shopping in Paris this winter so I told myself that I wasn’t going to buy so much in April but that plan quickly flew out the window.

My lovely Parisienne friend Marino Gallo worked on the new Massimo Dutti Limited Edition collection and kindly invited me to their pop up in the Marais. I was blown away by the fabrics and the reasonable prices. I ended up buying a linen trench and suede dress that I was hoping to wear to an event next week but I’m not sure the weather will cooperate.

I bought the black Toteme silk blend dress for Paris but ended up not wearing it. If you want a less expensive alternative, this black Cos fluid midi dress is almost the same. It does have side slits which I’ll have my tailor sew up. It’s also available in white.

I was gifted a pair of suede sandals from The Row and they are insanely comfortable but obviously, a less expensive option is a pair of Birkenstocks. The EVA Birkenstocks are perfect for summer and even more comfortable too.

While in Paris, I picked up a pair of Hermès slingbacks and espadrilles. These Marion Parke slingbacks and these Castaner espadrilles are a great alternatives.

Eyeing, Buying, and Trying

Canopy Bedside Air Purifier - There is a lot of construction in my neighborhood and my building right now with hallway renovations happening. Just as I was about to research an air purifier, Canopy offered to send me one and I’m so glad I said yes. It's small but mighty and has worked perfectly so far. You can’t even hear it on low and I’m glad that you can turn the lights off for sleeping. I loved it so much that I got another one for my living room.

Dr. Diamond Metacine Eyelift - I finally got too try this new eye serum when I got home and I love the applicator and how it gives my eyes an actual lift.

La Bonne Brosse Brush - The colorful brush brand is offering 15% off their chic brushes through May 10, 2026. A few people have asked me the difference between them and Mason Pearson brushes. I think Le Bonne Brosse brushes are great for every day while I use my Mason Pearson most to pull my hair back smoothly.

Prescription Sunglasses - Every time I sit outside and try to read, I realize that I need prescription sunglasses. Warby Parker has hundreds of options for prescription lenses and readers so you can actually read your beach reads on the beach.

Liberty x Ruggable Rug - Ruggable has great new collections with Liberty, which includes this pretty floral rug and Scalamadré where you can find the chicest Le Tigre rug that matches their iconic fabric. I also love this modern plaid outdoor rug for covered porches and playrooms.

Potted Plant - Now that I’m back and not traveling for a while, I need to get some new potted plants for my apartment. I love this potted lavender but they also sell annuals and perennials to be planted inside or outside and other indoor plants.

Counter Skincare - A lot of new skincare arrived recently and I’m loving the Counter products. Not only are the formulations nice but the packaging feels heavy and luxurious. They are currently offering 20% off sitewide during their Friends and Family Sale. Products to check out include the Retinatural+ Advanced Super Serum and Vitamin C Serum.

Monogrammed Notepads - I ordered these monogramed notepads recently and they are so perfect for notes and to do lists that I might order more colors. You can customize them in many different sizes and color combinations for the pads and font colors and styles. They’d make a nice hostess gift but one of my followers ordered them for a teacher gift.

Diptyque Candles - Diptyque has released new candle scents including Rhubarb which would make a great gift for a gardener or baker. You can also buy a discovery set of five new scents in miniature candles which includes Café (Coffee), Ortie (Nettle), Rhubarbe (Rhubarb), Sésame Noir (Black Sesame), and Shiso (Trees).

“Nothing ever seems impossible in spring, you know.” - Lucy Maud Montgomery

Bon week-end !

XOXO,

HC

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