It's Staining Time...

... conditions are perfect.

Well, we picked a stain. And by we, I mean me... but then I emailed photos and talked Mike through it and he ultimately came to the same decision as I did without me telling him what I thought, which means we're either both totally in sync or that I am super skilled at subtly leading a witness--er, a husband. Er, scratch that entirely, there was no leading involved.

What were we talking about, again?

Because I am secure in my high maintenance-hood, I had the (very patient) flooring guy running around in circles for me, ultimately putting down seven different stain samples. We ruled out the top three pretty quickly, which left us monkeying around with some custom mixes...

Ultimately we also ruled out the two darkest - they read very flat in person - the grain turned black and all the variations in the natural wood were lost. Sadness. So we mixed some things and came up with something I think we'll be happy with...

And now it's Tuesday and the floors are being stained, but last night I escaped to my parents' house with my boys and our dog for the rest of Spring Break. I'm happy to have more than a kitchen and a basement (that is only "finished" in the loosest sense) to roam around in, but I was going to be the best sort of backseat stainer. Now I can't be there to gush, swoon, cry, sweat bullets and check credentials. 

I'm sure the floor guys appreciate my absence, but little do they know Mike is under direct orders to drive home at least once (work shmerk) and send me photos. 

Mark my words, I will somehow weasel my way into the process!