Those Little Square Snapshots

On Monday I shared a wrap-up of the most popular posts at Life, KV Style this year, so now, of course, it's time to share some of the most popular Instagram posts! (A few jewelry pieces made that list, so I'll link to those that are still available.) And since I got Instagram in January, that means this compilation is also the most popular of my Instagram posts ever. ;)

Earrings available here

Ring available here

Necklace available here

Ring available here

Necklace available here

Necklace available here

You all really loved that last one!! {Get the recipe here.} Hey, I'm fine with cookies being my most popular IG ever! ;)

Happy New Year, you guys! :)

A Full Friday! aka an Unintended TV Roundup

In no time, this week will be another distant memory, but for now, this was the longest week ever! Daniel's coming back for the weekend tomorrow and I cannot. freaking. wait. In the meantime, allow me to ramble on for a bit.

1~ I'm starting this off with something I have been dying to share. Have you HEARD this girl?? I haven't been keeping up with America's Got Talent at all until last week, when I saw Emily West sing in Judgment Week. And my jaw hit the floor and I backed it up and made Daniel watch it. Now it's your turn:

How anyone can sing that amazingly, perfectly, I have no idea, but she was absolutely incredible. Like, go-ahead-and-give-her-the-million incredible. So, naturally I looked her up and listened to everything iTunes could offer, as like many singers on these shows, she's already released multiple songs and EPs.

Well in all my looking, I found "Blue Sky" in which Keith Urban sings backup. {What such connections say about her belonging on this show, I don't know, but I'm just here for the music.} I was just sure he'd come in for the second verse and am so disappointed he didn't. It's so beautful and they sound so good together it probably would've brought tears to my eyes if he had--that would have been way too perfect. Regardless, the song is perfect enough! I have left it on repeat and it has joined the ranks of Kate York's "Go" and Danielle Bradbery's "I Will Never Forget You." It's my current song obsession. How was it not a hit when it came out four years ago??

As if that's not enough, what did she sing this week LIVE on AGT? "Chandelier." No one should sing that song but Sia, in my opinion. But she sang the crap out of it and got a much-deserved standing ovation. Needless to say, I am sooo hoping she wins. And either way, I hope she makes it big because everyone needs to hear her. How anyone has so many layers to their voice while having such absolute control over it is beyond me. At times she sounds like Faith Hill, then Joy Williams, then Natalie Larue, then way back to Gogi Grant. (Does anyone know who those last three are??) Just amazing. She deserves her own post. Which this practically now is.

2~ So, Andi made her choice this week. Thank goodness she picked Josh. (Hey, called it back in like week 2! ;) As you may know, I did quit watching after the Eric exit incident (which was never mentioned during this final show), but I tuned in to see how it all wrapped up the last two weeks. And while I was temporarily quite thrilled for her and Josh, the night ended with me frustrated--again. :P

In a nut shell, is it just me, or did she never say "I'm sorry" to Nick? Okay fine, I'm sure they're required to keep at least two guys around even if they're only in love with one--for the sake of argument, let's give her that. But when it's all over, and the guy you rejected sincerely thought you were in love with him, and you sure acted like it, I think an apology would be fitting. But she just got snippy with him for getting a little too personal in that interview, which as I saw someone correctly point out, she could have already held and settled privately. Plus, I couldn't believe how little Nick finaly said when he had the chance--he'd had months to think over all this, and yet when the time came it's like he had no idea what to say.

Ahh, frustrating. I wish there would be just one season that ended without frustration--I started out with Desiree and to this day am not sold on her and Chris, we all know what happened with Juan Pablo, and now Andi who can't even be courteous to the guy she did who-knows-what with, assured over and over that everything was going to be okay the night before she sent him home, and totally gave the impression--to him at least--that she was in love with him. Since I'm relatively new to this whole thing, is this how every season ends??

3~ And on the topic of TV, I'm excited that Who Do You Think You Are is back on. Simply fascinating. {Spoiler:} I just knew last week when they found out the great-great-great grandmother was tried for murder that she had to have a reason. And she sure did--what an awful, incredible story. Maybe someday I'll share some of the stories I've found in my family tree...

4~ I'm pleased to announce that I seem to be improving from this cold thing that has knocked me flat all. week. long. (You know, more so than usual.) If this is the case, now I'll have about a week of improving from the aftermath of it, if that makes any sense.

5~ And now as we've been left with the close of another month and the start of a new one, I wanted to share your all's 5 favorite Instagrams of mine from the crazy month of July. :)

By the way, this necklace is available right here for just $21!

So! Anybody else keeping up with America's Got Talent? Did you hear "Blue Sky" when it came out 4 years ago? Were you happy for Andi and Josh? Are you into genealogy at all?

My Friday Five: Jewelry, Insta, and Music ... of Course

It's finally Friday! Pretty sure I already felt like the past two days were Friday, so I'm glad it's here for real. And since it is, you know what that means...

1~ First of all, you may or may not be wondering about the exciting announcement that never came this week. Yeah, I hate it when that happens. I'm so sorry for the confusion--there was a miscommunication, so that'll be coming next week! But in the meantime, to make up for it a little, I can go ahead and pass along that the end of the month means this weekend is time for Short & Sweet--my special 2-day sale in my Etsy shop. Come back tomorrow for what the special will be and so you can beat everybody else to it!

2~ I've mentioned on here before how much I love Instagram. [You can follow me here! ;)] One of my favorite things about it is the fact that you can follow celebrities--like clearly themselves, unlike with Facebook where you're never really sure. Or maybe it's not really them on Instagram either and I really am just that gullible. But for the sake of my enjoyment we're gonna keep assuming the former, and I'm gonna keep being delighted with getting to look over the shoulder of some of my favorite celebrities. Five of my favorites are Drew Barrymore (not a big surprise after Wednesday's post I'm sure--which if you missed it, totally take a look; this post means so much to me), Danielle Bradbery, Clare Bowen (from Nashville), Sharleen Joynt (you know, from The Bachelorette ;), and Alex & Sierra.

3~ And speaking of Alex & Sierra, I couldn't wait for them to release something back when they won X Factor, and they have finally, finally come out with their first single. I don't know when their album will finally appear, but I'd say this song is pretty strong indication that it could be freaking awesome. As it should be. Here's their official lyric video (the video of them should be a-mazing.)

4~ Speaking of new releases, my dear friend Ruth Gado Coleman just released her first EP, Sweet Grace. I met Ruth back in 2010 at the GMA conference IMMERSE in Nashville, and we've formed a special friendship over the years since, as we mutually discovered the other's health problems. Ruth has dealt with far more health issues than you'd think anyone should have to go through, but the songs on her EP are the result of her valley journey. Be sure to check it out--my favorite is "The Blood Covers All."

5~ And while we're on the topic of music, did any of you watch Rising Star this past Sunday? I was so excited about it, of course because of the potential brilliance of the whole idea, but also because Brad Paisley and Josh Groban were gonna be on it. But I agree with the comments I saw from viewers all over Facebook: way too slow, too much talking, not enough singing, and ... Josh Groban is not ideal in this case. I don't know why they didn't make him a judge and someone else the host--the set up gives the implication that he's just a host and not really qualified to be a judge, or at least that was the feeling I got. It's already been claimed on Facebook that this coming episode will move faster and have more singing and less talking, and last week's slowness was to help us get the hang of it, but you have to wonder if they're really thinking, Oh crap, they hate it guys--we better fix this! :P Who knows. Hopefully this next episode will be much better ... and Josh Groban will have warmed up to the job a bit....

So, do you have a favorite celebrity Instagrammer to follow? Are you an Alex & Sierra fan? What did you think of Rising Star?  Don't forget to come back tomorrow for my big ol' two-day sale! :)

  
P.S. Linking up with Little Friday, Friday Favorites, That Friday Blog Hop, Friday Favorites, Friday's Fab Favorites, High Five for Friday, Thinking Out Loud

West Virginia Day: Instagram Photo Tour

Happy West Virginia Day! For those of you not from here, today is West Virginia's 151st birthday (born right in the middle of the Civil War thanks to Abe Lincoln's help, because we didn't want to secede with Virginia--your history lesson for the day!).

However, although we were technically in the Union, West Virginia is so not a northern state. At least not if you're from southern West Virginia, which I am. [Imagine my surprise when I recently found a special southern bloggers network that doesn't include West Virginia! The included portions literally wrap around the sides of the state. I was pretty disappointed. :P They may beg to differ up there in Wheeling and Morgantown, but we're southern around here, y'all. Okay, rant over.]

In honor of gorgeous West Virginia's birthday, I wanted to do something different on this special day, in place of My Friday Five, and simply share just some of my state's beauty, according to my Instagram. So instead of five things, you're getting twenty-five pictures. ;) Enjoy!

~~~

Meanwhile, don't miss out on my flash auction on Instagram this weekend! 

Keep an eye out there for the rules, and the 15 pieces to bid on will be up Sunday at 4! I would love, love, love to see you there!

P.S. Linking up with Be.You.Tiful Link Party, Lovely Thursdays, Little Friday, Friday Favorites, That Friday Blog Hop, Friday Favorites, Fab Favorites, High Five for Friday, Anything Goes Linky

My Friday Five: Best of May, Friends Facts, Aknu, and Andi

Don't ask me how on earth May is coming to a close. This is the fastest year in the history of the world, and I guess it'll be time to start Christmas shopping next week, huh? (I actually already got one Christmas gift this weekend at Woodchoppers ... oops.) But like it or not, it's time for a farewell to May and hello to June! Let's do a bit of reminiscing for My Friday Five, shall we?

1~ My top 5 pictures on Instagram this month of May, according to all you lovely people:

2~ Your all's favorite 5 posts of mine from May:

Easy Fried Broccoli {you guys liked that one extry good, as Andy Taylor would say...}

Fibromyalgia Awareness Week: My Story

Hope in the Nightmare: Fibromyalgia Is Just a Label

My Friday Five: News, Music, and the Bachelorette

3 Life Lessons from the Friends Finale

3~ Speaking of Friends, have you all seen these 25 [truly] fascinating facts about Friends? I won't give them away here, ... but Monica and Joey? Really??

4~ In other news, most of us probably know that Alex & Sierra won X Factor this past (and last) season, which I was thrilled about. But during the auditions, this group called AKNU performed, and I LOVED them. Here's their audition:

I have no earthly clue why they didn't make it past those yes's from the judges, but their EP finally came out this week. And this song from it is pretty awesome. You can't help smiling while you watch it--every move is as natural as breathing to them, and it kills me! :D

5~ Guys, as long as The Bachelorette is on, it's probably gonna make it on here. ;) Here's where we stand now:

Clearly, I rock at this. One of my top 2 picks, Carl, went home this week. And Marquel is not how I thought he'd be. Meanwhile, did you SEE how Josh M. was around Andi? He is so smitten and so giddy he can't even talk to her! And not in the I-just-met-you-and-I'm-in-love-with-you-to-the-point-of-tears, creepy way that often happens. Guys, they're perfect. Forget my picks for last week, I'm totally changing them:

• It's gonna be Josh M. And they're gonna get engaged and get married and live happily ever after. :D
• Top 3 will be Eric (his date with her was so sad to watch), Nick V. (who I don't think is quite as bad news as I feared he might be last week), and obviously Josh M.
• The next Bachelor will probably be "the farmer" as everyone calls him (Chris) because based on what I've seen, America appears to love him. I'm still rooting for Marcus though.

Will I be back with totally different predictions next week? Gosh, I hope not but who knows. But I'm excited that it's finally on for two nights next week. Looks like it's gonna get ugly too... Leave it to The Bachelorette to make you look forward to Mondays. :P

And oh my gosh, did you know that Sharleen from last season has a website and recaps these episodes? I may be a wee bit excited now...

Can you believe June is already almost here? Did you see Aknu on X Factor? 

What are your thoughts on The Bachelorette this week? Be sure to come back tomorrow 

for this month's Short & Sweet special at Katya Valera!

 P.S. Linking up with Friday Favorites, That Friday Blog Hop, Little Friday Fab Favorites, High Five for Friday, Friday Favorites, Five Things Friday, Thursday Favorite Things