Kimberly Wester

Conveniently located just off of State Road 49 in Chesterton, Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve is both an amazingly peaceful spot for a picnic or a nature walk and a nature photographers paradise.

Carefully planted with native foliage and wildflowers, it is also sprinkled with genius landscaping, rockscaping and engineered structures that include bridges, waterfalls, ponds and walking paths.

The main structural showpiece is an outdoor ampitheater that offers incorporated leveled seating and sits above the largest and most breathtaking waterfall in the preserve.

My girls and I were recently invited to picnic here with my family. At first, I was hesitant to go, as my girls aren't really the picnicing type - especially in such a peaceful spot. To my amazement, the girls embraced to the peacefulness of the spot and enthusiastically took it all in. They were even very patient with me as I indulged my obsession with the macro setting on my camera.

I truly believe that words cannot describe such a beautiful place. I will simply show you in the photos I was able to shoot that day.

As the foliage is destined to change with the season, I'm looking forward to going back and seeing the changes as they take place...and getting more photos.

It is usually not my character to promote myself for anything other than business. I believe in letting my character speak for itself and tend not to toot my own horn. However, I was recently nominated for the RESA Professional Stager of the year award and have just taken a look at my competition. Let's be honest, I need to toot my own horn if I have any chance of winning this thing. ( I mean, really, have you seen the list?)

Most of the nominees are stagers that inspire me and that I strive to be like. I would have a hard time deciding who to vote for if I was not on the list myself. I truly am in awe that my name is even on the same list as theirs and really the nomination itself is a greater compliment than any of you will ever know. I was very surprised when notified of the nomination and am still overwhelmed by it. But, here goes - reasons to vote for me:

1. I am a staging pioneer in the NWI area. When I started staging, most agents here were entirely unfamiliar with the concept. Though I do not take all credit for their current familiarity, I know I have worked tirelessly to bring it to the forefront.

2. I am very passionate about the staging industry as a whole and the professional stagers who comprise it. I take every opportunity to contribute to the success of our industry and that of each individual stager who has ever reached out to me.

3. I think that my talent shows in my work and that it can speak for itself. (because I am blushing over the fact that I even just wrote that line)

4. I strive to be an honest, ethical and moral person in my daily life, so that naturally spills over into my business. I can't sleep or eat if I am dishonest. I am well rested and need to loose a few pounds.

5. I am slightly prettier than Craig Schiller (though he looks better in jeans than I).

Well, that is all I can think of and my brain is starting to hurt from the effort that required. Truly, whoever nominated me, I thank you very much for your faith in me as a stager and member of this community. Whoever wins, they are without a doubt deserving and I will forever be grateful for being nominated along side them.

Oops, I forgot! Here's the link to vote: http://www.realestatestagingassociation.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=304550&module_id=33101&log_id=12005655

HA! I'm so good at this...