PepperLou Gifts: A mother and daughter dream come true KTRK HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- PepperLou Gifts started as a dream by Valerie Cassady and her daughter Ellie. They always wanted to open their own store, but it wasn't until Valerie needed a space for her interior decorating business, that PepperLou Gifts was born. Valerie wanted to open the Memorial-area store to give Ellie a better future after she graduated high school. Valerie said, "As a young adult with special needs, there aren't a lot of programs out there to make them feel a part of something big. And so we started PepperLou for Ellie."