Messaggi.

Messages come to you in sometimes the strangest and most unexpected ways. I just returned from my first business trip, which took me to Bologna and Firenze. For those of you who might not know, I accepted a job in July that brought me back home to New York. Although it was a brief visit, I was able to see all of my friends and Florentine families, and it confirmed that Firenze will always be a second home to me.

I have a lot to write to bring you all up to date, especially the not-so-easy transition back to life in NYC. The real reason I decided to write tonight despite my bleary eyes from traveling all day is because over the weekend in Firenze I met a girl whose life I apparently changed. We met at an apperitivo that very dear friends of mine had planned for my return, in one of the bottegas I had been working in during the spring. She is not the first to tell me that my blog comes up near the top of the list (or it did when I was an active blogger) when one googles "leather and Florence". I introduced myself (as Amanda) and she said - are you vita pelle? To my surprise she said she had found this bottega in Firenze because of me. She is from Canada and had been thinking about moving to Italy. After she had followed my blog she decided that she too would pick up and do it, and she is there now, following in my footsteps. So a big "salute" to you, not only did you open my eyes to realize how powerful my message has been, but you also encouraged me to get back on here and continue to share my story with the rest of the world in the hopes that the artisans of Firenze will continue to be discovered.

And then I can tell you all about what life is like if and when you decide you want to come back to (another kind of) reality...