Houston FashionABLEs unite! Our good friends and style sistahs Katelyn and Cynthia (you might recall our talented girl Cynthia from her fabulous blog) are top ten finalists in the Yves Saint Laurent "Parisienne Contest"! The finalist who receives the most votes will receive an all-expense paid trip to Paris for two, as well as a YSL bag and $250. Katelyn, fluent in French, is the official entrant, and Cynthia with undoubtedly be her 'plus one' after we aid them in victory! We can each vote once per day through 11:59 EST, November 30, so click to it! To start reading Katelyn's adoring memoir that was hand selected for the finals by YSL approved beauty and fashion experts, check below the chic chicks' fab Parisian photos in the romantic, fashion centre itself:
"“There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more.”
— Adam Gopnik (Paris to the Moon)
This is from author Adam Gopnik’s original and fresh take on the American living in Paris in the late 20th century. I read this lovely book before leaving for Paris—a city overflowing with opportunity, history, charm, and maybe, just maybe…love. While Gopnik left New York City as a travel writer for the ‘New Yorker’ newspaper, corresponding with a multitude of Americans a sea away, about his new life with his wife and two children—I found myself at the dinner table of a french family I had never met on the eve of September 27th, 2008—I found myself as ‘fille au-pair’ (somewhat like a Nanny), for the Bernard family with three children in a cottage-esque home. *I would soon to find out that this cottage-esque home, was once habited by the great Victor Hugo and his ‘maitresse’ or lover…Juliette Drouet. Oo la la, only in France! 
—When I arrived at Charles de Gaulle, I was greeted by Monsieur Dominique, the father of the trio I would soon be in charge of, the very first question has asked me, (after “ca va? vous allez bien? etc! etc!) was, would you like to go into Paris and see the city? Or would you prefer to unload your luggage and get settled? Jet-lagged though I was, I decided to jump start my life in ‘I’ile de France’—I was entering the parisien life—la vie en rose! My life as a “parisienne” ...