We’re in for another Saturday of rain in New York tomorrow so I’ve got lots of suggestions for things to do and watch in its soggy where you are too.

If you are planning a trip to NYC this fall, you might want to check out the new Fifth Avenue Hotel that is about to open on October 16, 2023. It’s located at 250 Fifth Avenue in the NoMad area of the city near to lots of great shopping in the Flatiron district and not too far from all the great restaurants in the West Village. “The Fifth Avenue Hotel is rich, layered, textured, and highly bespoke not only in the decor, but in the hotel experiences,” said Alex Ohebshalom, the property’s founder, in an interview with Travel + Leisure. “We take a maximalist approach in design, decor, and aesthetic, but we marry that with a very intimate, bespoke, and highly customized service offering.”

I was just thinking that the pastel decorated rooms reminded me of Le Grand Mazarin hotel in Paris that I posted yesterday and it turns out the 153 rooms and suites of the Fifth Avenue Hotel were also designed by London based interior designer Martin Brudnizki. The in-house restaurant Café Carmellini from chef Andrew Carmellini will bridge the “culinary past of New York while being firmly rooted in contemporary tastes”.

During fashion week, I posted that followers should keep an eye on the luxury womenswear brand Veronica de Piante who showed a very chic collection. I wasn’t expecting them to open a store so quickly at 833 Madison Avenue but it’s a very welcome addition to the neighborhood with decor that is just as beautiful as the clothes.

I first became aware of artist Lucy Sparrow‘s work with felt when I visited her Felt Bodega downtown. She’s back again this fall with her new Felt Bagel Shop at 209 East 3rd Street which will run until October 31, 2023. The items for sale feel like a mix of bagel and bodega shop offerings and it’s always fun to buy items and brands you love in felt.

I was home sick all week so I missed the press preview for the new exhibition Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain, and the Origins of Fauvism at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I can’t wait to see it since the “les Fauves” or wild beasts as the press called them at the Salon d’Automne in 1905 are some of my favorite artists. Don’t forget to all see the new Manet / Degas at The Met as well if you haven’t already.

The Manet / Degas exhibit at The Met originated at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and their latest exhibition Van Gogh à Auvers-sur-Oise Les derniers mois (Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise The Final Months) is already garnering large crowds.

“Vincent Van Gogh arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise on May 20th 1890 and died there on July 29th following a suicide attempt. Although the painter only spent a little over two months in Auvers, the period was one of artistic renewal with its own style and development, marked by the psychic tension resulting from his new situation as well as by some of his greatest masterpieces. No exhibition has previously been exclusively devoted to this final yet crucial stage in his career. In just two months, the artist produced 74 paintings and 33 drawings, including some iconic works: Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet, The Church at Auvers, and Wheatfield with Crows. Comprising some forty paintings and around twenty drawings, the exhibition will highlight this period thematically: first landscapes featuring the village, portraits, still lifes, and landscapes depicting the surrounding countryside. It will also present a series of paintings in elongated double-square format, unique in Van Gogh’s body of work.”

It runs through February 4, 2024 so you have some time to plan your visit.

I think I may need to book a trip to my old stomping grounds of Boston to see the new John Singer Sargent exhibition Fashioned by Sargent at the Museum of Fine Arts before it end on January 15, 2024.

“Organized with Tate Britain, “Fashioned by Sargent” explores the artist’s complex relationship with his often-affluent clients and their clothes. The exhibition reveals Sargent’s power over his sitters’ images by considering the liberties he took with sartorial choices to express distinctive personalities, social positions, professions, gender identities, and nationalities. Alongside about 50 paintings by Sargent, over a dozen period garments and accessories shed new light on the relationship between fashion and this beloved artist’s creative practice.”

Everyone needs a ticket (general admission included) to visit this exhibition, including members.

One of the first tickets I book for every trip to Paris is for the exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. On view from October 18, 2023 to April 2, 2024 is Mark Rothko.

This will be the first retrospective in France dedicated to Mark Rothko (1903-1970) since the exhibition held at the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1999. The retrospective brings together some 115 works from the largest international institutional collections, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Tate in London and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., and from international private collections, including the artist’s family collection.

Displayed chronologically across all of the Fondation’s spaces, the exhibition traces the artist’s entire career: from his earliest figurative paintings to the abstract works that he is most known for today.

One advantage of being sick this past week is that I had time to binge season three of the French series Lupin on Netflix. I have to say that it feels on par with season one with even more amazing disguises and intrigue. And just wait until you see the ending! I love that they actually film all around Paris too. If you have never watched it before, you are in for a treat but please make sure you watch it in the original French with subtitles and not dubbed into English.

I never read the book Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus so I don’t know much about the series Lessons in Chemistry on AppleTV debuting today but the previews look charming.

Set in the early 1950s, “Lessons in Chemistry” follows Elizabeth Zott (played by Larson), whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a patriarchal society. When Elizabeth finds herself fired from her lab, she accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives — and the men who are suddenly listening — a lot more than recipes.

I missed half of the films I was supposed to see at the New York Film Festival so luckily I saw The Pigeon Tunnel at the beginning. Filmmaker Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of David Cornwell, the former spy known to the literary world as John le Carré. The beginning is a little contrived but once it gets to the spy stuff, it really gets cooking. It will air on AppleTV on October 20, 2023.

Those outside of Los Angeles might not be familiar with Mr. Chow, the man or the restaurant but the upcoming documentary on HBO will introduce him to a larger audience. It debuts on October 22, 2023 at 9:00pm.

“The documentary aka MR. CHOW details the vibrant and varied life of Michael Chow. Born Zhou Yinghua, he triumphed over trauma, loss, and prejudice through acting and art before crafting a new identity as restaurateur Mr. Chow. After decades as a successful businessman and celebrated host to artists, actors, musicians, designers, and models, Mr. Chow has turned to painting and once again redefined himself — this time, as the artist M.”

The Gilded Age, everyone’s favorite American period drama written by Julian Fellowes returns for season two on HBO on October 29, 2023. In season two, Bertha inches toward a leading role in society, Marian starts teaching, Ada begins a new courtship, and Peggy taps into her activist spirit.

Antoinette Poisson is not a woman but a firm “inspired by the old charm of 18th-century interiors, using designs and motifs based on both original creations as well as prints from historical archives, Antoinette Poisson offers a complete collection of paper and fabric goods, from dominos and notebooks to wallpapers and textiles, as well as ornamental antique objects such as their timeless memory boxes”.

Jean-Baptiste Martin and Vincent Farelly who run Antoinette Poisson will take readers inside their historic townhouse on the Atlantic coast to discover a style and art of entertaining rooted in French tradition and elegance in the book, A Year in the French Style: Interiors & Entertaining by Antoinette Poisson, which will be published on October 24, 2023.

They also have a lovely store in Paris if you aren’t familiar with them.

I fell in love with the work of Vincenzo De Cotiis when I saw the 17th-century apartment he designed for fashion designer Pierre Hardy and his husband, Christopher Turnier, in Paris. It’s the perfect example of how modern and contemporary furniture and art look best against the juxtaposition of historic interiors. Now the Milan based architect is out with a new book of his work Vincenzo De Cotiis: Interiors for those who also admire his work.

Even before I came across the new article this week, Is the Body the New Face?, I had already started to treat my body skin with the same care as I show my face skin. It’s usually the hands that give away a person’s age so I always rub the rest of my face creams on the back of my hands. That’s not very cost effective so I just started using the The Body Peel – Resurfacing Serum with 12% AHA/BHA/PHA, 1% Resveratrol + Peeling Peptide and The Body Retinol – Repair Serum With 0.1% Pure Retinol, 10% AHA + 5 Peptides from Nécessaire.

After I read how Victoria Beckham slaters herself up before bed, I placed a new order for The Body Serum – With Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide + Ceramide and The Body Lotion – With Niacinamide, Vitamins + Peptides.

I also have an appointment with Oni Skincare next week and will have her treat the spots on my hands.

I ordered the Rhode Peptide Lip Tint in toast recently and while I love the feel of the product and the tube, it doesn’t actually give much color. I just ordered the other colors to see if they are any darker. I already had the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm for Hydration and Shine in brown sugar and it leaves the perfect amount of tint. But regardless, they are both great for keeping your lips hydrated and chap-free in the cold dry air of fall and winter. They are also perfect for keeping in your bag or coat pocket.

Wishing you all a peaceful and pleasant week-end.

XOXO,

HC