Hey there. When the holiday season rolls around, I love to walk past bakery windows. A long time ago in a different life, I took a trip to Paris around this time of year. Nestled between the macaron cookies and the tarts in the Parisian windows always sat a log shaped cake decorated with tiny meringue mushrooms. It always seemed out of place to me. Brown in color and lacking the festive feel of other sweet treats. However, the bûche de Noël is one of the oldest known traditions during this time of year. The French made the cake popular back in the 1900's, but the yule log for which the bûche de Noël celebrates is an ancient tradition. Read more here "The Delicious History of the Yule Log."

The last line of the article stuck with me, about how few people nowadays don't make yule logs at home but why not? Today, I found out why after about 5 hours of mixing, whipping and laboring over this special big, brown hunk of cake. It was a labor of love but as I worked my way through the recipe, I started to feel just a little bit merry and bright. I gather that by tackling something way far beyond my expertise, it ushered in something new.

Today's project is to create room for the new. Make a difficult holiday recipe, call a loved one that needs attention or make amends in your life with something that is overwhelming you. After all, the yule log was a symbol of clearing the air and making room the new.