If there is a word that describes my mom's dedication to my sisters and I it would be SACRIFICE.  My mom has never shied away a day in her life from doing what it takes to love and care for the three of us.  Whether it was the toddler years sucking up every ounce of energy possible, or the teenage years when we just had to have THOSE jeans, or supporting us now with our own children, she just shows up and chooses to serve.  My mom recently drove down to help me make three pies for a dinner I was hosting because she could tell I felt overwhelmed.  Thanks mom.  

One of my favorite memories of my mom regarding her sacrifice for us is the fact that my mom bought dresses for the three of us for Christmas and Easter every year of our lives, and then happily wore what she already had in the closet for the same special occasion.  As we grew and finances were tight, she joyfully found a career where she could have a flexible schedule.  She was home in the mornings, made breakfast and packed lunches, then went to work, picked us up after school and still made dinner......I seriously thought she was super human.  I was sure that I had never met a single mom like her.    

There were Sunday school lessons taught, Girl Scout cookies sold (AND delivered), piano lessons to get to, and a home to take care of.  She taught us how to take care of ourselves too so that when we went to college we were not one of those poor girls who did not know how to do a load of laundry or use an iron.  Thanks mom. 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm really thankful that there is a day called Mother's Day.  I just feel strongly that we might want to be thinking of how to thank our moms the other 364 days of the year.

love you mom, Sus

And to all you young moms out there!  We will be giving away a Hidden Cupcake for you to celebrate life with your kids!  This is all part of an amazing giveaway that my friend Courtney of Lil Light of Mine has dreamed up!  It's just a small way to say Happy Mothers Day!  You can check out her Celebrate Mom's Week at:

 http://lillightomine.com/celebrate-moms-kick-off.php

But in the meantime, like us on FB to enter to win your very own Hidden Cupcake!  

www.CabellsDesigns.com. or www.TheHiddenCupcake.com

 Good Luck and Happy Mother's Day!

One of the things we both really like is gardening. Cabell’s mom is a phenomenal gardener. My mother’s mother was a phenomenal gardener as well. So, I guess it’s in our blood. Even still, I’ve done a lot of what I like to call trial and error gardening. This makes my husband laugh because he would use another term for the “error” part of my gardening.

Anyhow, even the things I’ve planted that didn’t work have brought me joy. I just love being outside in the dirt putting something I think is going to be really beautiful in the ground and then waiting for it to become what it is supposed to be! If it doesn’t turn out exactly as I had planned, that just means I get to keep working at it. Then, when the next thing blooms big in its place and it’s better than I expected, it makes the bloom all the more sweeter!
Gardens are just one way we like to celebrate life together on any given day. In fact, I snipped this from my garden just the other day, and the second I brought it inside I took this picture and sent it to Cabell. We had a little mini texting party as we celebrated the first peony of the season from my garden!
I thought I would share it with you too in the hopes that it might make your day a tiny bit brighter. Happy spring!

Susan and Cabell

After the holidays, I feel like I just wait and wait for spring to arrive, and it seems it has officially decided to come and stay!

I love warm weather and all that comes with it. I love trees blooming, flowers popping up, and the ability to go barefoot outside. I love gardening, eating outdoors, and taking walks with my family after dinner.

We have just recently returned from a week at the beach where it was actually warm enough to go swimming. Now, THAT is something to say goodbye to winter for.

In a few short months it will actually be too hot to enjoy dinner outside, so while the weather is perfect, we go for it. I have always loved eating on the patio. My childhood memories of dinner on our screened in porch take me back to my mom’s great cooking, listening for the crickets to start their song, and watching for fireflies to light up the woods. The kid in me still comes out when we eat dinner outside. Even on school nights when things are busy and hectic, eating on the patio just seems to slow us down.

It’s a small thing, but it helps me celebrate life with my family on the simplest of days. So, this week, if you stop by, you will find us on the back patio grilling, eating, and just enjoying each other!

Here’s one great recipe that goes well with whatever is on your grill tonight:

Orzo and lemon pasta:

• 1 lb orzo pasta
• Olive oil
• Salt, Pepper to taste
• 1 Cup toasted Pine Nuts
• 12 oz feta cheese (or more if you like!)
• 1 bunch of spring onions chopped

Boil orzo and drain, toss with olive oil, squeeze of lemon, pine nuts, feta cheese, and spring onion. Salt and pepper to taste. We like it room temp. 

Enjoy barefoot and on the patio!

OK, so it’s pretty incredible when you get to work with your best friend in the world. That’s not just a corny first liner to this blog. Its just plain true. And that’s a good thing, cause Cabell and I spend a lot of time together dreaming up things we think our friends might like to buy either for themselves or for a special friend. (Well, we talk about a lot of other things too, but dreaming up new ideas is pretty great!)

Celebrating Life Everyday isn’t just a tag line we use for Cabell’s either. It’s how we try to live our lives. 

Our hope and dream for this blog is certainly to show off some new ideas, but we hope it becomes so much more than that. Our heart’s desire is that we might share some thoughts on how we celebrate the every day. Sometimes that’s about creating a beautiful environment and then inviting over some folks you love and cooking them dinner…. Sometimes it’s about sending just the right thank you to someone you really care about…. Sometimes it’s serving breakfast to your kids on a plate that says “You Are Special to me!” … And a whole lot in between.

I’m so proud of Cabell’s latest creations, I can’t wait to share them with you! Here’s just a tiny preview of the fun that’s to come!

Happy New Year!

Susan (for Susan and Cabell)