Happy 20th Birthday To Me!

So if there is one thing I find difficult to grasp in this world, it's having no control over something. And me turning 20 is one of those things. I am terrified! What happened to me being able to go, "Well seeing as I am still a teenager..." It's hard to actually admit defeat to how fast time goes! So...To ease the pain I am going to party it up :) Haha! I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone on what those tasks are going to be, so I'll post photos when the festivities are over :).

On that note, I finished my second painting! Lately I have just not been in a good mood. And procrastinating beyond all possible repair (AKA my profs are really not liking me ATM).

My reason for being so down in the dumps? I think a lot of it has to do with me lacking confidence in myself. Anxiety can break so many things, and I really need to focus on myself first before I try to help or worry about anyone else. I truly do believe gaining the courage to rid of the negative energies in your life and stand up for what you believe in will lead you faster to success, and love.

To celebrate my new birthday, and a new step in my life, here is my little friend- The Buffalo.

When you look at him, may he protect your heart and courageously carry you over your obstacles and "the mess of things".

I wish you all a wonderful weekend! X O

Annie

Mid-Week 7 pretty things!

So I feel like I am just getting onto this band wagon but hey-better late thannever.I follow this wonderful girls blog named Rachael who always brightens up my day. You can find her blog here at: http://talk2thetrees.blogspot.com/

She posted recently about how fellow bloggers can now blog hop onto specific topics and one of them was 7 pretty things Sunday. Well personally I love Sundays, and if you're anything like me you're in need of pretty things around the middle of the week.

So here is my super late post about pretty things that motivate me/make mehappy, and I hope you enjoy!

1)

Stars

Nothing makes me happier and is prettier than going up to cottage country (which I am so craving right about now) and sitting with your friends and loved ones while you look up at a sky full of stars. The feeling is unlike any other. You feel small, yet maybe you feel loved and I get the feeling sometimes that world is just hugging me with its incredibleness.

2)

Me like whales.

Whales are TOO pretty! Did you know that some whales actually sing? Bet

you didn't. Which reminds me, does anyone know the band Said the Whale? If you don't, check them out. If you do, still check them out: http://www.myspace.com/saidthewhale . Whales are absolutely majestic creatures that are big and small, and many people confuse them with dolphins a lot of the time because of their appearance sometimes being so similar. Whales are pretty, pretty awesome indeed.

3)

New Zealand

Yes, I would like you to come to terms with the fact that there is such a place as paradise. It happens to be way down under in the Oceanic Ocean and it's called New Zealand. I have done project after project on this beautiful place. Pretty is an understatement really. If I had lots of money the first place I would be going is here. Meet the land of 4 seasons, all year. Do you feel like skiing down a mountain and then landing in the ocean with your bikini on? (Sounds like old spice commercial material) This is possible. So when I win the lottery, come join me in discovering The Land Before Time: 3D edition (minus the dinosaurs sorry).

4)

Alison Sudol & her gorgeous red hair

Alison Sudol is the lead singer of A Fine Frenzy, who writes beautiful songs, one called Almost Lover that I suggest if you gain anything out of this post, it be this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsWsasqIoyk&ob=av2e . She is amazingly talented. But enough about the music gush, her hair is gush worth too. She is sporting hair accessories by www.shopbando.com which are incredibly pretty. I had red hair for the longest time because of this chick.

5)

Dandelion Parachute Ball Tattoos

For the longest time I have been thinking about getting this tattoo, any of my friends can tell you. Why haven't I? Who knows (Imma chicken). But if I do ever get the courage to share this pretty tattoo among the others who do have it, I was thinking of turning the seeds into musical notes. Dandelions have been a huge part of my childhood, and I am sure I am not alone. I have always been a kid at heart and what this tattoo would mean to me is to follow my dreams, to remember to have confidence in myself and who I am if I ever lose sight. I love this tattoo. It's pretty, and it embodies my personality entirely.

5)

Prom photos

Yes, even friends sometimes can be pretty! Haha I kid, they are always pretty. But I specifically remember my prom regardless of if everything turned out the way we wanted it, was one of the prettiest days I have ever seen. Everyone I had spent 4 years with were dressed in white and smiling unbelievably big. Together we were really one big ball of pretty. This is a night I will never forget, as I hope everyones prom to be (that is, if you drank way too much).

7)

Whimsical wedding photos

Lastly, I leave you with a photograph from a wedding photo-shoot with two love birds named Zack and Bree. I am in love with whimsical wedding photos and they are beyond pretty. Yes, I too am a girl: I dream of my wedding day being this cute little ball of fluffiness where everyone just tells me how pretty I am till it hurts to smile and eat so much cake that I gain 5 dress sizes in a night. Who knows what on earth will really happen that night. All I know is if I do get married, you can sure as hell expect to see me taking photos with my new found hubby as cute as this.

Anddd that's a wrap! Hope you enjoyed my mid-week pretty things affair, and I would love to hear if you have a mid-week pretty thing that cheers you up! (We all need them :) )

All the best my dears,

Annie

Hello hello!

So this post is about how INSPIRED I feel right now! My birthday is around the corner (February 6th) and on that note I have been boggling my mind over what I want to do with my friends!

The result however has lead me searching Toronto and running into festivals and events that I want to go to or attend for hobby reasons!

One like this:http://www.blogto.com/events/49851

See a local artist every monday for 6 weeks and have lunch with them. Why do it? Well why the hell not! Go contemplate something!

My scavenging of whatever-ness also lead me to find a musician I LOVED watching live. His name is Rich Aucoin, and he is from Halifax, Nova Scotia. My first encounter with him was at a local venue where he opened up for [insert band name that I can't remember for the life of me]-anyways! If you like to move around and party, please support this man. He involves the audience non-stop in his sets with regards to singing, props and instruments.

My favourite was he brings a rainbow parachute to his concerts sometimes. You know the one- every kindergardeners daydream! You run under the parachute with your friends all at once and giggle uncontrollably. Imagine going to a concert where everyone you don't know is doing this with you. I promise by the end of it we we're all good friends and any awkward atmosphere that once existed was nowhere to be seen.

I lav him, he's so so exuberant, check him out and love it for yourself: www.myspace.com/richaucoin

Other than that, being a February baby, life is hard! We winter babies seriously need to put good thought into what the hell we can do while it's blizzarding out there (unlike you lucky summer bums)!

Initially I had a brilliant idea, genius even. Around my area there is a restaurant called Odd Fellows. They rent a private winnebago in the back of their store. Yes, you heard me- a winnebago. I told all my friends we were going on a little holiday (which in my opinion we were) and we would have a fun little dinner with some drinks on our super awesome lawn chairs. Great and dandy but they are closing!!!! :(. So plan down the drain...

So here's my list of ideas:

1) Skating dance with DJ (sounds epic, I know)

2) Tubing

3) 80's & 90's dance club

4) Weird/funky restaurant (what? I'm not sure.)

5) Music concert (what? I don't know either.)

And that's all I've got. Lame, I know. We'll see how things go and I'll let you know ;)

Anyways, that's all for now and if you have any ideas for me, please don't hesitate!

Peace out peeps!

Annie

Bright Owl

Done with acrylic paints

By: Antonietta Faiella

Hey guys!

So I realize it's been quite a long time since I've made my last post. I should have no reason! But I won't lie, I have been incredibly busy as I am sure most of you have been too.

So what have I been up to? Well the first thing is for Christmas I was presented with a beautiful Easel! It's so nice to start painting again, as I haven't done it in a while! My end goal right now is to make a series of paintings for a gallery in my city (Which in this case I have LOTS of work ahead of me)! But till then, the painting about is my first of the year! It's called Bright Owl. I am fairly happy like I said considering this is my first painting in a LONG time.

So here's a little bit more about me: I'm currently attending my first year of university and boy oh boy, it's definitely a change! If you didn't like how little time you had before, this is NOT the path for you! But I won't lie, University has definitely contributed to a more happier Annie :)

University just started up again for me and I'm SUPER excited as I'm taking a really awesome looking course called Fairytales and Fantasies. In class we shared some of our favorites! I always loved the action packed stories like Robin Hood, Peter Pan and Puss in Boots. How about you?

Also what have you been up to this whole break? Are you ready for this New Year and what's in store for 2012?

Here are some of my New Years Resolutions:

-Get back on track when it comes to my music!

-Possibly become a Residence Adviser for my university

-Definitely become more organized

-Get a good stable job preferably with a good team

-Paintings for the gallery

-Open up and gain more confidence in myself and around other people

-Buckle down to my books and get back into the swing of things :)

Wishing you all the best this year! Make your dreams come true! After all, 2012 is apparently the year of no excuses :)

Cheers!

Annie

Hello hello! I will not deny it, I have been trying to "relax" (more like be extremely lazy) before my exams next week. So I decided today would be me breaking the trend! And instead laid around with a homemade bowl of soup :). There are so many amazing recipes of soup all over the internet! But the most appealing ones I found on www.pinterest.com if you're looking! This is kind-of a spin off of several soup recipes I found:

Veggie Supreme Vegetable Soup (Ooh-lala!)

Ingredients:

However much you want of kale

2 handfuls of snap peas

a handful of bean sprouts

5 carrots

3 Stocks of celery

chopped cilantro

1 onion

1 red pepper

Red pepper flakes

Vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste

I literally just chopped all the ingredients up, and put it all in a big pot where I watched the yummy-ness begin :) So voila! I made some for my dad and apparently it was, "The best soup I've ever had." Haha, I'm sure he was just trying to be kind, but I'll take it!

Enjoy!

Annie

Who am I? What am I? Where am I? Questions questions questions!

Hello! So if you've made it to my blog, thank you so much for your time! And I feel like I at least owe it to you to talk more about me and why I decided to make a blog! So here it is:

Firstly, my name is actually Antonietta, but almost everyone I know calls me Annie (I am half Italian and it is a tradition to carry down your grandmother's name). I am from Canada, and I am an eccentric odd-ball with a funny laugh, and a passion for the arts :). When I was a wee little child I was ALWAYS drawing and expressing myself through creativity whether it be painting (sadly sometimes on my grandmother's walls), singing, playing an instrument or wanting to act (I made a pretty ridiculous with from the Wizard of Oz when I was in grade 2). More so this year I was introduced to the wonderful world of DIY and all the beautiful blogs of people sharing new ideas and beautiful artwork! It really inspired me, as I'm sure many other people to do the same!


Why did I chose the name "A Purple Aura"? :o. Well if you believe in various ideas of spirituality, they say that everyone carries a different colored aura or atmosphere about them! I have always been told mine is purple, for self-expression and creativity. I felt like it was just coincidentally perfect for a blog name, and voila!

As you can see, I have created different tabs (recipes, music, inspirations, diy and life). More so during the Christmas break (which I am sure all of us are excited for!) I plan on posting some DIY's and some great Christmas recipes that are perfect for getting into the holiday spirit.

One of my deepest passions is also creating music and of course, listening! So I felt like it was important to incorporate. If you have read this far (which believe me, I know I can rant), then your reward is I will share a song that I am absolutely in love with right now.

The artists name is Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Grant), and her song is called Video Games. First off (besides silly controversy over whether her lips are real or not), she does have a recorded version of this song, but I feel like the live performance was a lot more wholesome and personal. With little-to-no money, she spent her time writing a new album that was released this year. I enjoyed her album, but this song was specifically magical above all-else.

I hope you all enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOP2Yd_jpYQ

Take it easy :)

Annie

Making A Blog

Hey there! So this has been an interesting experience, trying to make a blog that fits your personality and motivates you to keep up with it. Hopefully I do! As you can see, I've made new tabs that kind-of categorize some of the things I want to talk about in my blog.

Till next time, just thought I'd share a Russian artist I love named Philipp Igumnov. He uses a variety mixed medias to create his images. Check out his Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcum/ Enjoy!

Annie :)