BC Philippines May-June 2015 Patricia Javier & Rob Walcher Cover 1

fathers’ day TV’s favorite Guncles, Bill Horn and Scout Masterson, share their adoption story

the best choices for your family

back-toschool style These children’s digs and kicks make the grade

PHI LI PPI NE S

hollywood exclusive:

Constance Zimmer on being part of the ‘Entourage’ cast, Hollywood cliches, motherhood to Coco, and getting away with cuss art (for now)

family dining out special Take time out to eat out with the kids

patricia javier & ROB WALCHER

On making their family work despite their different heritage and family ties

bcmedia.ph P120 May-June 2015

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contents

INSIDE BC 10 sun goddess Because you’re literally a hot momma, here are some skin protection and beautification products for you and your kids

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16 back to school in good health Start the school year right with tips from renowned acupuncturist, Dr. Daniel Hsu

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22 bc reviews New set of books, apps, movies and more to culminate your summer vacay 26 cz Constance Zimmer on the Hollywood cliché’ that changed her life, being on Entourage, and raising Coco with her husband, Russ

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41 bc delicious Restaurant finds for your precious family eat outs 54 health is wealth Holistic chiropractor, Dr. Robert Walcher, and sexy actress wife, Patricia Javier-Walcher, talk about how they make their marriage work despite their cultural differences, and how they stay in shape while raising their boys, Robert Jr. and RJ 68 bc events BC Magazine throws a baby shower for a then-pregnant Ara Mina and Mayor Patrick Meneses’ little angel, Amanda

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ON THE COVER: constance zimmer and daughter, coco

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INSIDE BC

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54 16 72 making the grade A simple guide that scores an A++ to staying in style this backto-school season 80 bc easter funday BC Studio Cafe and Commercenter celebrate Easter Sunday with a blast!

90 the guncles heart simone TV’s favorite gay uncles, and actress Tori Spelling’s best friends and co-stars share their experiences in adopting and raising their daughter, Simone

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ON THE COVER: PATRICIA JAVIERWALCHER, DR. ROB WALCHER, WITH SONS Rj AND Robert

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Available at bc studio cafe 2nd floor commercenter Mall filinvest Alabang Tel. 831.7107 & 0916.507.3227

editor’s note

June Pride

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t’ll be the new academic year in a blink, and here come the school ties. We are all too familiar with worn out pens from signing checks for paying tuition fees, new books that make you go, “Why are these so frigging expensive and heavy?” Not to mention, the early morning rush and incessant preparing of the lunch boxes, forced morning baths, car pools or school buses honking outside your door (or in my case, riding out early with my 2-year old boy in tow who always insists on stopping by a cafe to buy banana loaf before we head back), homework, and so on. You know the drill.

This is probably the last year I’ll be keeping my son home, so I’m hanging on to him with all I’ve got.

School to me has always been a coming of age, a path to more independence that I get scared of as a mother.

It is true you never stop becoming a mother whatever age they are, but I just dread the thought of an empty nest when the kids all go off to college or so. But before I get ahead of myself and the waterworks come…

Our last bravo for the summer comes with Entourage’s Constance Zimmer on the cover. I’ve followed the TV show religiously, and cannot wait for the film to hit theaters this June. Entourage hit close to home, as I semi-work in the Hollywood industry and made some wonderful acquaintances there— Constance being one of them. She is as down-to-Earth as she is beautiful, talented, and funny—and this is why many people love working with her. Bringing our readers a domesticated, familial side to the actors we see onscreen is a big reason that BC is still around today. It’s about seeing that no matter how privileged other parents may seem, they are also finding their

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WITH PATRICIA AND ROB WALCHER and their youngest son, RJ; With “ENtourage” and “Unreal TV” STAR, CONSTANCE ZIMMER

way through this maze of parenting—and no one is the wiser regardless how deep their pockets, or how many paparazzi are on their trail.

Hot momma Patricia Javier—whom I’ve known even before I had my firstborn 11 years ago—is making a comeback locally. Together with her husband, Dr. Rob Walcher, the stunning duo grace our other cover with their two handsome sons. Shot on location at Balai Isabel near Taal Volcano, I was thrilled to have been able to catch up with the Walchers since our last meet up in L.A. at Patricia’s birthday party. Since the shoot, we have seen each other on different occasions, and it’s always great seeing their friendly faces and listening to their stories of adjusting back in Manila, which reminded me of my own tales 5 years ago when I moved back.

Although summer has wound down, we rounded up different restaurants that you can visit with your family for those weekend lunches or dinners. Eating out is a favorite Filipino pastime, so we hope you enjoy these gastro haunts as much as we did.

Even though most schools will have a uniform, the rise of private schools that don’t require it or have casual Fridays, bore our school style special. From bags, shoes, to the coolest digs, we’ve got your kids (literally) covered.

We also feature some of our Easter Funday photos, as well as a glimpse of our baby shower for actress Ara Mina and Mayor Patrick Meneses, so those who went can immortalize the amazing afternoons we had—and it is also in the hopes that you will join us during our next events as BC delivers F-U-N in all that we do.

So with that, happy 2015-2016, and let the school games begin!

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BC MAGAZINE

BCMEDIA INC.

Kariz Tanya Favis Editor-in-Chief

Kariz Favis Chairman & President

Martin Favis Creative Director

Martin Favis Vice President & Publisher

Domz Triumfante, Jr. Graphics Artist Arth Camacho Editorial & Marketing Assistant Contributors Patrick Dimapilis, Justin Favis, Theresa Guazon, Daniel Hsu, John Fritz Juanir, Albert Laresma, Amiel Medina, Kary Ycasiano

Job Ambrosio Director Dennis Castillo Online Director Charina Mitra Finance Manager

BC Magazine Philippines under license by BC Magazine U.S., and is locally published by BCMedia Inc., 2nd Floor Commercenter Mall Commerce Ave. corner Filinvest Dr. Alabang Muntinlupa City. Visit us online at bcmedia.ph.

Reproduction, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. For advertising, subscriptions, back orders or other inquiries, please call 831.7107, 0916.507.3227, or e-mail info@bcmedia.ph. Opinions expressed in this publication are that of the writers’ and are not necessarily endorsed by BCMedia Inc.

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BC Magazine Philippines is not responsible for unsolicited samples, products, work, and materials, and submissions are non-returnable.

If you wish to submit written work, photographs, artwork, products, samples, other services, etc., please accompany with a self-addressed envelope, postage paid, or a prepaid return label. b c PHILIPPINES { MAY-JUNE 2015 }

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Sun Goddess Your last hurrah for summer shouldn’t come at a price for your skin. Slather on these solar babies while you are on surf or sand P H OTO G R A P H S B Y Do m z t r iu m f a n t e , j r .

A dd i t i onal photographs by P A T R I CK D I MA P I L I S

Superdefense age defense moisturizer SPF 25 by Clinique . Huile tonic body treatment oil by Clarins . UV Expert GN shield BB Complete triple potency corrector SPF 50 + by Lancome . Reine Blanche illuminating foaming cleanser by L’Occitane en Provence

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ta n n i n g Natural facial night cream anti wrinkles

by Kleio skin care system

. Energizing emulsion for tired legs by Clarins . Rapid moisture spray lotion with cocoa and shea butter by Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula

. Ultra light daily

defense SPF 50+ by Kiehl’s .

Softening lotion Urea for face and body by Nazal MD

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hildren have much more sensitive skin, therefore a higher SPF is required so as to protect them early from the sun’s harmful rays. Apply sun lotion before a dip, then shampoo and soap the chlorine or saltwater out.

Caring oil by Nivea Baby . Caring cream soap by Nivea Baby . Shampoo

by Johnson’s Baby .

Sport 70 full-spectrum sunscreen by Armada VMV Hypoallergenics . Special intolerances

mineral cream (50+ SPF) fragrance, colouring, paraben-free by Mustela . Very high protection sun lotion (50+ SPF) water resistant

by Mustela . Swim & Play sun lotion (50+ SPF)

by Nivea Sun Kids

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color Veiled rouge voile elegance lipstick

by Shiseido . Golden bronze bronzer

by MAC Cosmetics . Shimmering eye cream ombre creme satinee eye color by Shiseido . Shades by Tom Ford . Perfecting stick concealer stick correcteur by Shiseido . Vintage eyewear by E of 7 . Colorstay moisture lip stain in 025 Cannes Crush by Revlon . Surf spray scented nail enamel by Revlon Parfumeri e . Nearly Naked liquid foundation in true beige by Revlon

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ummer always calls for bright, cheery colors— now is the time to experiment with those neon lips and tips, mommas.

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BC Bonacure color freeze thermo protect cream for color treated hair by Schwarzkopf . Precious essence illuminating hair balm in lavender and rose by Affinage . Creme de Jour control styling prep cream by L’Occitane en Provence . Keratin smooth shampoo by Tresemme . Aloe nourishing shampoo by Aloe Derma

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back to school in good health

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Dr. Daniel Hsu Suggests Natural Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immunity This School Year P hotographs B Y b e n j a m i n j a m e s words by d r . d a n i e l hsu

or many parents back to school preparations involve shopping for supplies, getting the kids fresh haircuts and making an annual visit to the pediatrician. But despite all of these preparations, a return to school can also mean coming home with a cold, or worse, the flu.

Enter Dr. Daniel Hsu, renowned acupuncturist and specialist in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). His Manhattanbased practice is bustling with parents and tots seeking his services to up their immune systems. Here, he shares his top tips, just in time for the schoolyear.

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Time for Bed

In addition to dramatically improving your child’s mood and ability to focus in class, sleep allows the body to repair and regenerate overnight. Getting enough shut-eye each night (a minimum of 7 hours, more for younger children) also helps the body fight inflammation and build up immunity. If insomnia is an issue, try creating a relaxing routine to help your little one wind down in the evening. A bath with soothing essential oils like lavender, followed by a cup of relaxing herbal tea can help calm even the most agitated child. Try making a cup for bcmedia.ph

immunity

“The importance of exercise— ideally outdoors— cannot be overstated, not only for overall health, but also for toughening up the immune system.” time together and encourage active behaviors from an early age.

Acupuncture

both of you to enjoy together as a ritual accompanied with a story or add a dash of milk to create a creamier taste.

Root (Huang Qi) to chicken soup and other hot dishes. It has a subtle, earthy flavor and scent, which will likely go unnoticed by your child.

Eat Smart

Try limiting your child’s sugar intake, and cook foods high in nutrients and antioxidants on a daily basis. If your child is picky, turn meals into a game, encouraging them to eat a rainbow of foods. Brightly colored greens, vibrant orange squashes and sweet potatoes, and ruby-hued berries are all rich in vitamins.

For an extra boost to the immune system, add the common TCM herb Astragalus bcmedia.ph

Before heading into the school year, give your child an added line of defense by scheduling some acupuncture sessions. Shoni Shin and Cold Laser are two styles of painless, non-invasive acupuncture that your children will be much more comfortable with than needles.

These treatments can be powerful tools for reducing inflammation and strengthening the immune system.

And – it doesn’t take much! Five to 10 sessions can have a major impact on your child’s health for over a month.

Get Outside

The importance of exercise—ideally outdoors—cannot be overstated, not only for overall health, but also for toughening up the immune system. Spend some time walking to and from school with your child, or if it’s too far, get outdoors and kick around the soccer ball, jump rope, or play a game of tag. Outdoor activities are also a great way for your family to spend

Back to school is an exciting and busy time, but keep in mind that when your child heads back to school, a strong immune system is going to be even more important than a sturdy backpack and harp pencils. Be prepared by giving their young immune system the added boost it deserves. bc

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school ties P hotographs from th e b r i d g e s c hool i nterv i ew by a r th c a m a c ho

Principal Tere Tabuena-del Rosario discusses how the teacher-student ratio can impact learning for children 6th grade and below, and how their small school in the south turned into one of the more respected scholastic institutions for younger kids today

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What is a good age to start school?

I believe that in this day and age, children between 2 and 3 should start some form of progressive schooling. I say this because kids are so advanced in technology—even 2-year old kids know how to scroll down an iPhone or an iPad—that the temptation is to use these to baby sit our kids. In the process, they are drawn into a world of their own, where they miss out actually on learning how to get along or play with children.

Nursery offers them a place where they can see the world has other kids their same size—who often want the same toys they want—and they slowly learn to share and use their words to express what they feel.

A lot of families now have

What do you think about the implementation of the K-12 system?

I believe that the K-12 in principle is good. To increase the number of years a child is in school–to the point that he joins the work force a bit later–is good. At that point, we can hope that foundation is strong, and the student has a better awareness of his strengths and interests so he can pursue them in the work force and be effective.

But as always, the growing pains are real, and we only hope that the gains far outweigh any damage. Only time will tell. As educators, TBS keeps its eye on the “ball”—the student—and we assist parents in making choices for their children, with our input on their learning styles, their academic

on two properties on both sides of the Preschool: 25 Canberra Street and 50 Cairo Street.

Our mission is to keep alive a child’s natural enthusiasm for learning, to appropriately channel and challenge it, and to cultivate in each child a genuine desire and passion to continue learning. In so doing, we envision children who will grow up with a strong sense of who they are and what they can contribute to the world.

Tell us about your history and founders.

We raised our children in the United States—and when we came back to Manila in 1998, I wanted to offer preschoolers the same kind of preschool experience my children had while we were living in Boca Raton, Florida. I

“even 2-year old kids know how to scroll down an iPhone or an iPad—that the temptation is to use these to baby sit our kids.” both parents working, and if the child has to stay home with a yaya anyway, then it makes more sense to have him in nursery school earlier. But if the parents have the luxury of being hands-on and staying home with their child, engaging them in rich language experiences, then their children should start at least by age 3.

What are the advantages of children starting out in a smaller school?

Children starting out in a small school have more of a chance for individual attention. As it is, all children develop at their own pace— no two kids are alike. In a classroom with a low teacher to student ratio, the children can go at their own pace, and their teacher has the chance to meet that child at his level of understanding and curiosity. Keeping the numbers small gives the teacher a better opportunity to track the students’ progress, and give attention to other important components in the learning process.

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readiness, and most of all their emotional maturity for the levels they are in versus where their parents may want them to be.

Very well said. How and when did The Bridge School start?

The Preschool was founded in 2001 and Grade School in 2008 by myself, Katrina Tabuena-del Rosario, Michelle Tabuena-Filart, and Denise TabuenaLumbad. The school provides an exceptional learning environment for preschool and grade school children.

Education at TBS is experiential, interdisciplinary, and collaborative, rooted on Christian principles and on an understanding of Filipino culture and values. Our commitment is to the whole child—heart, mind, body, and spirit.

Our Preschool sits on its own 1300-square meter tree-lined property on 29 Cairo Street and 32 Canberra Street in the safe community of BF Northwest in BF Homes, Paranaque City. Its Grade School, likewise sits

was amazed at how much they loved school! They loved to read, and thrived on doing their best. I knew that this definitely had so much to do with their early school experiences, and I wanted to duplicate that here. I got my nieces, Michelle and Denise, to help me. Pretty soon, after my daughter, Katrina, graduated from Mills College, she joined the team.

Which level or grade is the most challenging to handle?

I think all levels are challenging because the children bring their own unique persona and characteristics at every level. I love having preschool and gradeschool as our focus levels because they are such formative years—you actually see them grow up right before your eyes. We feel we can actually “see” how they will be in their older years, and we are excited for them.

Does the school have a specific focus?

The school’s academic thrust is its

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reading and writing programs. We believe that if a child is a good reader and writer, you can teach him anything!

Every subject in school is founded on reading comprehension and writing ability. You can’t go forward teaching any other subject effectively without the child knowing how to read, and comprehend what he reads.

We find that kids who stay and complete our whole preschool program do great even in local schools and in our own grade school, too. Learning how to read and write is already challenging, and doing this in a small setting through our program has shown abundant fruit not just in English, but also in all academic areas.

Our grade school has Character Formation classes through our VALUES program, called Bridge Kids 252. Through these values classes we want every child to learn, understand, and embrace the 3 basic

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truths according to what Jesus modeled as a child in the Book of Luke 2:52.. “… and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” These three basic truths are wisdom, faith, and friendship—amplified through monthly virtues and over 100 bible stories. We want the kids to base their thinking and behavior on these terms: “I need to make the wise choice.”

(Wisdom) “I can trust God no matter what.” (Faith) And “I need to treat others the way I want to be treated.”

(Friendship).

This coming school year, these same values will be introduced in our preschool through their own favorite books and short stories.

Our challenge is to create a school environment that truly impacts the lives of our students, so that we can have a generation of children that grow up believing that God is relevant to their lives.

What is it like graduating at The Bridge School?

Graduations at TBS are special. In preschool, the Kindergarten kids have a moving up day—their graduation to First Grade. In Grade School, all levels have the same moving up ceremony, but it’s 6th grade that graduates formally into High School. This year was extra special because it is the first year we actually had a 6th grade graduating class! To celebrate this extra special day for the kids and the school, we invited our very first Bridge graduate, Stella Pangilinan! Stella belonged to our very first Nursery class, when we opened the school in 2001. Today, she’s a junior at Brent, and is a well-rounded student and track & field athlete. The message she imparted at graduation embodied so much of what we really stand for, and I would like to think that we helped build a solid foundation for Stella, in even a small way. bc

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BC STUDIO CAFE 2nd Floor, Commercenter Mall, Commerce Ave. corner Filinvest Ave. Filinvest Corporate City Alabang, Muntinlupa City For appointments, call 831.7107 0916.507.3227 or email graphics@bcmedia.ph

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+ These weekend reads will keep your teenaged kids happy and vegging on your couch with these age-appropriate bestselling novels; much-awaited films; dance and inspiring music; the APP of the summer

“Amazing how manageable life can feel with only one blanket and two arms...�

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orn with a facial difference that prevents August “Auggie” Pullman from entering mainstream school—as he often gets bullied—Auggie wishes to be treated just like any other ordinary kid. However, his new classmates at Beecher Prep just can’t get over how he looks. The book gives different perspectives on, “one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.” Author R.J. Palacio believes that, “Every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.”

Wonder, by RJ Palacio

READ UP: Eleanor & Park

by Rainbow Rowell, P855

Love and Misadventure

by Lang Leav, P575

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak, P435

A story of unrequited love in the school year 1986. Eleanor and Park maturely accept the fact that first love essentially does not last, but boldly dared in trying to make it so. The moment that Eleanor crosses path with Park, you will most likely reminisce your own first romance. Am already bringing out the tissues.

With beautiful illustrations and thoughtful writing, Love and Misadventure delves on an ill-fated love story—from the butterflies in your stomach to the wreckage (and heaven knows most of us have been on that rollercoaster ride somehow). The feeling of new love, to heartbreak, and to finding love once again is personal yet universal. Lang Leav’s suggestive poetry resonates with all ages.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl from Germany, who finds a bit of trouble controlling herself when she gets her hands on a book—she always ends up stealing it. Her foster father teaches Liesel to read, then she in turn, shares it with her neighbors—and even the man who stays in their basement every time bombing raids occur.

Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, P365

This collaboration between two Young Adult novel heavyweights set their novel at nighttime in an unlikely corner in Chicago, where namesakes Will Grayson and Will Grayson meet. Two teens with the same name, leading contrasting lives, all of a sudden see their lives heading in a new and surprising path, and crowing in absurd change of heart and the most astonishing musical ever to cover the middle school stage. This exciting, cutting edge book shows a combination of humor and heart that is loved by legions of fans.

Everyday, by David Levithan

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, P315

This comedic and heartwarming book about “misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world” shows a flagrant Bernadette Fox to others, but a loving Mom to her 15 year old daughter, Bee. One day, Bernadette disappears. It all began when Bee topped her class and asked Bernadette for her reward, a family trip to Antartica. In search of her mother, Bee gathers email messages, documents, and other correspondence that adds to the mystery and life of this well-written novel.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, P399

A story on reinventing oneself, child prodigy, Colin Singleton, has been dumped—19 times to be exact— by girls named ‘Katherine.’ On a total funk, Colin hits the road with his buddy, Hassan, an overweight Judge Judy, plus a feral hog on his trail.

Armed with $10,000, Colin quests to defy the “Katherine probability,” aiming to foresee how long a relationship will last.

His adventure yielded him to find love, friendship, and more in this cunninglywritten story.

“Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.”

The premise alone from “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” author smells like a blockbuster movie in the making. In the book, “A,” a teenager finds himself living a different life everyday. He is already used to this life, until one morning—A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. That is the lifechanging moment, as A knows that Rhiannon is the one he wants to spend each day of his life with. { MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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JuraSsic World (PG)

One of the most-awaited movies of this year is finally coming to theaters in June, and it stars none other than Chris Pratt as a velociraptor researcher, Owen Grady. Now that Isla Nublar, a fully-functioning (and supposedly, safe) dinosaur theme park has been successfully open to the public for 10 years, people have given up interest on it. This pushed a team of scientists to figure out a way to get the audience back by creating a DNA-enhanced hybrid Dino, which—as we all know from its prequels—will turn out to be a horrible idea. (Bigger kids, Sci-Fi Horror) Family Flicks

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Tomorrowland (PG)

Ted 2 (PG)

inside Out (gp)

Tomorrowland, a place that exists somewhere between time and space, will be unraveled by a science genius Casey (Britt Robertson) and one-time phenomenon inventor, Frank (George Clooney).

Bounded by a mutual destiny, they sail on a mission to discover the secrets to a place that exists only in their collective memory.

(Teens, Family, Adventure, Mystery)

As Ted (Seth MacFarlane) ties the knot with Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), there will be some things they need to settle. Despite Ted’s ill-mannered behavior (as previously exhibited in Ted), our newlywed couple wants to have their first baby–but in order to become fit to be a parent, Ted will have to convince the court that he’s a deserving dad. (Teens and Older, Comedy)

Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), an 11-year old girl, has a rollercoaster of emotions.

These emotions live in “Headquarters,” the control point inside Riley’s mind.

Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) guide Riley on an everyday basis. (Kids, Family, Comedy, 3D)

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relax and unwind

pass the time Because there’s always traffic, here is an app to get you by Mr. Jump (Free)

Don’t let the friendly-looking graphics fool you. In the same vein as Flappy Bird, tapping the screen to make the character jump doesn’t look that easy on its levels with tricky obstacles to test your reflexes.

short VIDS It’s astonishing, the insights on fam and relationships, that we can get out of such little footage at this day and age.

The Science of Happiness - Forgive and Forget: The Phone Call

A touching video showing that fights or misunderstandings within the family can be solved by a simple and honest apology.

Teens talk about Family

Discover what teenagers see and think about relationships with parents and siblings, how they argue and make up.

Music We Love These songs are fun and uplifting, which is why we’re playing them loud in anticipation for spring.

“Hold my Hand” by Jess Glynne

Jessica Hannah “Jess” Glynne is a British singer and songwriter of this dance-inducing, uplifting song. The official video set in a Cali desert where Jess is among girlfriends (albeit among dirt bike riders) tells you that family and true friends will always have your back.

“Cheerleader” by OMI

The video is not for younger children but the tune of this Jamaican reggae, soul and urban pop artist OMI resonates an upbeat summer, and the lyrics speak about being thankful for having your life partner with you.

“Unsinkable” by Lucy Spraggan

An inspirational track about not giving up–this song will surely be relatable to all ages as we all struggle through life.

This revered English musician describes her sound as, ‘A-Flop’–a combination of acoustic, folk, and hip-hop.

“Never Seen Anything Quite Like You” by The Script

Perfect for that first dance as husband and wife, those of you who have been with your better halves for a long time will hark back to memories from your early days together. Sigh.

Denise: Green laced dress by CHARINA SARTE, stylist’s own .

Necklace by SM ACCESSORIES . Floral wedge shoes by ALDO, P4,295 Alejandro: Checkered polo by BOBINETTE . Blue denim pants

by DIESEL, both Coco: Kitty dress by 77 KIDS, stylist’s own . White shoes by ae.com/77kids FLORSHEIM KIDS, P1,299

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Constance Zimmer was running late the day of our scheduled virtual “face-to-face” interview over Skype.

She apologizes profusely and explains that she came rushing from her mom’s house after helping the latter move to the next street, and later on having to brave the freeway traffic. Being no stranger myself to how these domestic changes go (we packed up around seven times in a span of 5 years alone, some even crosscountry), I know those things never finish on time, therefore it’s all copacetic.

I’m accustomed doing interviews over the phone or in-person but this was my first video call with a Hollywood star, and a thoroughly enjoyable one for me. Being that I was on my third trimester and pregnancy, and will be giving birth in Manila while Constance is in L.A., this was the most doable way to construct our story, despite the opposite time zones. It was around 3 PM for her, and 6 AM for myself—needless to say, I had a good start of my morning. If you go online to facebook.com/bcmagUS and view some excerpts from our video, we start out with a bit of a frazzled, just-arrived-at-home Constance, freshening up in her bathroom. She slathers on some lip-gloss and mascara as we conversed, multi-tasking (naturally), as any mom should know how to do. Of course, even sans make-up, she looks amazing—as would be expected from any woman who was able to join the roster of Entourage stars.

She steps out onto their hallway, revealing her equally beautiful and then 4-year old daughter, Colette (AKA Coco), whom I first saw as a chubby baby in her stroller at one of the celebrity baby events that BC is part of. That’s how far back we’ve talked about doing this cover shoot together. Funnily enough, due to TV shows like Entourage, it feels as if no time was lost in between. Yes, I am a Dana Gordon fan (Dana will hit the big screen this June together with the band of brothers headed by Vinnie Chase), although it’s hard to reconcile that this easygoing mom is anywhere near the all-powerful studio exec/suit that she so convincingly plays. After her role in House of Cards that put her at par with an A-List cast, Constance has been on a steady upswing Interv i ew and W ords by KAR I Z T ANYA F AV I S in her career. She is now one of the stars of the series, Unreal P hotographs by MEEN O P E L U CE TV, which delves into a behind-the-scenes look at the chaos S T Y L I N G B Y KAR I Z T ANYA F AV I S ( F O R C O C O ) surrounding the production of a dating competition H a i r by J o v a n T o w n s e n d M ake u p by M a r g e E n r i q u e television program.

On her homefront, the bedimpled, toned (Ugh—I mutter this lovingly), mother-ofone seems content to be just that: momma to her blonde darling Coco, wife to director and photographer, Russ Lamoureux, and foster parents to endearing cats. Although no plans of adding to the human brood are imminent, she’s clearly headover-heels with the little lady that “loves her all the way from the bathroom to Africa,”—just a little wary of the time when the cutie starts to put some letters together on that poster that sits on the bottom of an innocuous deer artwork that hangs on her bedroom wall. Here is a lookback at our mom-to-mom dialogue.

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C:

That’s why I had to say “cat.”

K: Haha! And how long have you been in the entertainment business?

C: For 10 years.

K: That’s not so long, counting everything you’ve achieved in the industry.

C: It’s funny, because it feels like a long Coco: Kaleidoscope dress by ANITA G., $36, anitag. com . Peacock Mary Janes by LIVIE & LUCA, livieandluca.com

K: You were reportedly born and raised in Seattle, and got the acting bug in high school. Is this accurate?

C: Um, no. (Laughs) K: See what IMDB does? (Laughs) C: Exactly, I will expound. I was born

in Seattle, but I was only there until I was 5. We moved out to Santa Monica and stayed there for 5 years, then we moved to Orange all the way through high school. It was in high school that I went through everything—gymnastics, dance, and anything that required an audience.

Except, I didn’t like anything that required working out as part of being in front of an audience. Like, with running track, gymnastics, and dance I had to workout.

It wasn’t until I was a senior in high school that I was in my first play. And I did Grease. Whoo!

K: Wow. Which character did you play?

C: In Grease, oddly enough, I played

Patty Simcox because I wasn’t really pre-

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pared to do the singing and dancing. I wanted to be the big, goofy, over-the-top character, which is what Patty Simcox is in the play. Then I was in Peter Pan, where I played Tiger Lily.

K: Oh, cute!

C: The leader

of the Indians. I got to integrate dance into acting, and so once I left high school I was like, “Oh, I know what I want to do.” …My cat has decided to join us.

K: [Laughs, as an adorable cat decides to stay with Constance] My dogs are barking, too.

C: If you see me doing something off-

camera, I’m just petting my cat. Sorry.

(Smiles) K: That didn’t sound so good, but okay.

(Laughs) C: I didn’t say anything inappropriate.

K: I know. (Laughs)

time for me—but yes, when I sit there and go, “Oh 10 years, okay.” So, it’s alright that I haven’t done this, this, and this. But nowadays, you see these young kids, coming up, and doing a movie and then all of a sudden they’ve done 12 movies in 2 years…then it makes you feel like you have not accomplished so much. It’s like, these reality stars, or the dancing reality TV stars are doing films and you’re like, “Wait, what did I miss?

What happened? What did I do?”

K: Yeah, I understand.

C: But I’m not complaining,

by any means. I’m very proud of my time. I’ve been in the industry, and what I’ve done, who I’ve worked with, and what I’ve accomplished. As long as I keep working, I don’t complain.

K: Of course, which brings us to your most memorable movie and TV credits.

Aside from Dana Gordon, for now.

C: It’s hard because there are so many

different categories. But for sure my most memorable TV credit was working on Seinfeld, because at the time it was my second job. My first job was on The Ellen Show back in the day, which Jeremy Piven was in.

K: Oh my God! And you’ve become costars in Entourage.

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That was when I met Jeremy. Way back then. So when I did Seinfeld, I couldn’t even really comprehend that I was actually acting on the show, because I had watched it for 6 years and I was on the 5th to the last episode of the final series of Seinfeld, and I had like three lines. I remember walking around and I was like, “Oh my God! I’m in Jerry Seinfeld’s kitchen!” I really couldn’t separate the TV show from the fact that I was actually there, working in it. So that, for me, was huge. I think Jerry Seinfeld might have directed that episode—or maybe not. Just ‘cause he was there, I felt like he was the director. (Laughs) And there’s Good Morning Miami.

C:

K: Good Morning Miami, I used to watch. I loved that show. When I watch it, my husband’s always like, “What are you watching?”

C: That was my first series regular job,

and it was by the creators of Will and Grace. Our stages were right next to theirs, so we all became friends. It was very surreal—all overwhelming and unbelievable [Waves to Coco off-camera]. It’s crazy how much happened, and it felt like it was overnight. Those are two memorable moments.

K: Good ones. And which brings us to, how has Entourage made an impact on your professional and personal career?

And are you anything like Dana Gordon

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at all?

C: I’m

not really like Dana. Dana’s a lot more conservative, and carries a lot more power than I do. (Laughs) I feel she’s got a little more of the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I think it shows. She has such a powerful position that it makes her just a lot more closed off and conservative, which I am not.

I’m definitely more crazy and lighthearted—and not conservative at all.

K: (Laughs) But you play her so well.

C: (Laughs) Thank you.

K: I feel like, “Oh God, she’s so good as Dana, it’s scary.”

C: Being on that show has been so ama-

zing. I started out as such a tiny, tiny character, and I was only supposed to be in 3 episodes.

K: I wouldn’t have guessed that.

C: When I auditioned in its

second season, they said it was just a recurring character, and it was going to be 3 episodes. They were trying to get more

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women characters on the show, and they were having a really hard time trying to figure out how to integrate them into this very male-dominated show. So three episodes…

K: Stretched to how many?

C: 5 years.

K: Nice! (Laughs) Do people address you as Dana Gordon in real life?

C: They do. It’s actually very funny,

it happened to me a couple of times.

Some people have come up to me and said, “I’m sorry is your name ‘Dana?’” I have these moments where I wanna say, “Yes, but it’s a character I play.” But I realize, you know what, it’s too much explanation. I’ve had people think that I was actually an agent, or that I did actually run a studio. I honestly take that as such a huge compliment because it means that the character is real to people.

K: I love that show. Actually, I know Mark and Rhea Wahlberg [Note: Mark is the producer of Entourage] because our

kids used go to the same school when we were still living in LA. They’re a great family.

C: Oh, Mark is, I think, honestly one of

the nicest people in the world that I’ve ever met.

K: I agree. And there’s so much eye candy on your set. No wonder the show lasted that long, too.

C: It was hard in the beginning, when

I wasn’t on it as much. I felt like my character was just kind of like, “Who is this person coming in and out?” There were all these amazingly beautiful women, and everybody would be naked, and everybody’s coming in suits. I thought it was really hard as a woman to not be completely insecure on that set. I’m sorry, but with the amount of beautiful women on that show, I was like, “If I’m gonna be sticking out on that show, I better be really good, and not because I’m gonna be naked.” I didn’t wanna bank on that. (Laughs)

K: (Laughs) Well, you should’ve! Just

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He’s a director, I’m an actor, and we both were like, “Ugh, we do not want to be a Hollywood cliché.” And lo and behold, I met him on my 35th birthday, and we didn’t expect what they said, it just clicked. It worked, we were very similar. have one boob showing or something.

C: And then at the final season, I looked

at my wardrobe rack and it was all lingerie and I said, “Oh wow, who’s wearing that stuff?” They were like, “Um, that’s your wardrobe for the season,” and I remember going, “This is nuts. This is not happening.” (Laughs)

K: Is it gonna be the same cast? It has to be.

C: Yeah. You can’t have the Entourage

movie without the actual cast, ‘cause that would be weird. It’ll be like, the younger version of the Entourage cast!

K: It’s the prequel.

C: Yeah, thank God

none of us would

K: Being on that show looked like so much fun, though.

C: It was the greatest job in the

world. I got to work with Jeremy, who makes you a better actor— because when he’s there, he’s there. He’s committed, and you don’t get that a lot. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing actors, but to have been on that show and have gone through that process with him, was amazing.

K: Just the same name.

C: It’s the same show

name, because the main character who Kevin Spacey plays is the only similarity. The original show was shot in the ‘90s, and this takes place in today’s time. It needed to be revamped, and Beau Willimon, who wrote Ides of March, is the writer. I wish I was in it more, I’m really only in half of the episodes—

K: So before you two were cast together, did they have you do a screen test? Did he have to approve you, or anything like that?

C: (Shakes head) No, because

in the beginning I was supposed to be in just three episodes. I think what we really benefited from was the fact that I had known Jeremy for so long, and we had chemistry in general, because we were really good friends. God bless Doug Ellin—every year, I would call or email him and say, “Is Dana coming back? Because I think it’s pretty good.” And I would never know how many episodes, or what the storyline was or anything.

K: I miss the show.

C: But you know,

we’re doing the movie. [Editor’s Note: As mentioned previously, Entourage hits the theaters in June]

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disc or DVDs through Netflix, you’ll have to be streaming it. We have 13 episodes of the first season, and it’ll only be on for two seasons, so it’s kind of like a miniseries of some sort. David Fincher is the producer, and he is directing a bunch of the episodes. It stars Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and Kate Mara, and I’m recurring. I think that the Dana Gordon fans will be very excited because she’s kind of a meaner, edgier version. And I’m a journalist.

My storylines take place in the newspaper, because it’s a remake of a BBC show called House of Cards, and it’s a ‘remask,’ they’re calling it, ‘cause it’s not really gonna be anything like the one that was on.

K: That’s a lot.

C: Again, I’m

be pretending to be in high school.

K: But on to more good news, you reportedly have a TV show with Kevin Spacey. Is this correct? [Note: House of Cards is on its 3rd season to date] C: Yes, it’s a Netflix TV series. It is

gonna be the first streaming-only TV series, as you won’t be able to get the

not complaining. I would never have thought that I would be doing a TV series with David Fincher, you know?

K: That’s crazy.

C: I remember

when I auditioned for him, I had told my agents, “You know, here’s the deal. I will go on this audition because everybody loves Dana Gordon.

Everybody wants that character on their

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shows.” So this character was very similar to her, and I said, “Alright, I’ll go in and I will play the game for David Fincher.” Because, come on, I’ll do whatever he wants me to do. And I remember saying, “There’s no way I’m gonna get this job, so as long as I just go in, give a good audition and he likes me, I’d be totally happy with that.” So I went in on the audition, and he worked with me for over an hour and I left the audition feeling like, I don’t need the job—that was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. I just worked for an hour with David Fincher and the casting director, and that was it. I was done.

K: Oh wow.

C: I thought

the job was gone, and 3 months later, they called and were like, “Alright, the part’s yours if you want it.” And I thought, “What? I’m sorry, I wasn’t prepared to actually get the part.”

(Laughs) So it was pretty great.

K: It is. A little more on the personal side now, you are reportedly an AIDS activist and are also involved with EMA, and are starting a parent board for that charity.

C: EMA is the Environmental Media

Association, and they’ve been around for over 20 years. EMA believes that through television, film and music, the entertainment community has the power to influence the environmental awareness of millions of people.

K: Right.

C: It’s about

making sure that everyone’s aware—of how we’re all affecting the environment, for ourselves, and for our kids’ kids, etc. I’ve been really involved with them for the last 5 years. They wanted me to be on their young Hollywood board, and I said, “That’s very, very sweet and nice of you, but let’s be real here, I don’t know if the young Hollywood board is exactly where I fit.” That’s my audience, that’s my Entourage audience, God bless them all. I said, “You know, I feel like we need to start a parent board. I feel when you become a parent, even when you’re just pregnant, or when you have your kids—as I’m sure you

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know—you become so much more aware of what’s going on in the world around you. I thought, who better to get a board to gather the parents? I think we’re launching the board with Nicole Richie, myself, Sarah Chalke, Busy Philipps, James Van Der Beek, Neil Patrick Harris, Angie Harmon, Alanis Morrisette, and Gabrielle Reece. We’re really trying to get a good range of parents. The fact that it doesn’t matter how much you do, you could do one thing, like recycle, and that’s plenty.

That’s more than what 50 million people do. We’re gonna try and talk about how it doesn’t matter how little you do, just do something.

K: Is it gonna be for speaking engagements? How will that work?

C: E! is a big sponsor of EMA,

and so they’ll probably do some at-home segments with some of the parents, talking about what do you do at home, and what kind of parent you are. Are you constant parent, a busy parent? Or

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whatever, and just try to show people that it’s easy.

K: That it’s doable.

C: Yeah. It’s doable,

right? There are a lot of charities and organizations environmentally that make it seem like it’s so hard to do, so people just don’t do anything. I’m not perfect. I don’t do everything I should be doing, but I do what I can.

It’s a bonus, being with somebody who is also in the entertainment business because we can empathize with each other. We can talk about our days, and the people that we deal with. Our highs and lows are completely relatable.

K: So how do you divide your parenting roles? I assume you have crazy schedules?

C: Yeah, but so far, so good. We’ve been

able to balance that. If I’m out of town

K: Right, every bit helps.

C: Exactly. And you can

start today. I try and just be a part of charities that I do in my daily life. The AIDS stuff I was doing since I was 18, and it’s more about when I did this campaign with Until There’s a Cure, which is AIDS awareness as well. Again, I just think that a lot of people just forget in our daily lives.

parts of his movies. He didn’t want me to feel left out, so I appreciate that.

K: So after about 4 ½ years as a parent, what have you found true about being a mother?

C: There’s a lot of clichés that Balalaika Toddler Screen Cap Sleeve Tee by ZUTANO, $20, zutano.com . Skirt

by CONSTANCE ZIMMER

Two mutual friends tried to set us up for six years. They just kept saying, “I swear you guys should just meet. You’ll love it.

You guys are perfect for each other.” He’s a director, I’m an actor, and we both were like, “Ugh, we do not want to be a Hollywood cliché.” And lo and behold, I met him on my 35th birthday, and we didn’t expect what they said, it just clicked. It worked, we were very similar.

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that I didn’t eat, and I’ll have that for dinner.

K: The benefits…

C: The smallest

K: (Laughs) What’s it like being married to Russ? How’d you guys meet, and how long have you been together?

C: We have been together for 6 years.

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K: We’re having take out!

C: Exactly. I’ll find a cookie

as a commercial director, a couple of short films, now he’s moving into the big time movies. It’s very exciting. Of course, I’ve been in all of his short films.

I forget where my keys are so it’s nice to just have charities in my life that I feel that I can do something for, you know, when I do remember. But I do think about it. (Laughs)

about it? [Puts her face close to the camera]

king us dinner, so that when she goes to sleep, we can sit and eat right away as opposed to when he’s out of town—forget about it. I do a lot of sleeping and no eating when he’s not here.

K: Russ is more of a TV or film guy?

C: He’s both. He started out

K: Life happens.

C: Yeah, everyday.

K: Let’s talk about your marriage for a bit.

C: My marriage! Yes, what

K: Same here, I prefer not to cook. I eat a lot though. (Laughs) C: I can give her a bath while he’s coo-

shooting, Russ is home. But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, so if we’re both working, we have a nanny that we’ve had since Coco was 10 days old who is part of our family. If I can bring Coco, I bring her with me. Russ and I try and parent her the same way together, because that way she doesn’t have one person she can run to. Both of us represent the same thing, just one male and one female—except that Russ does a lot of the cooking. He definitely is the one that keeps us healthy with the cooking.

I could say—

K: Which happens to be true.

C: Right. I feel like all the

clichés are true. How you’ll never love something as much as you love your kids, you’ll never stop caring, you never stop worrying. I got it. I figured that that would happen. When you become a mom, you see everyone so much differently, because you realize that everyone is a child of someone. It made me a lot more empathetic towards strangers—and just towards people in general—because I felt that wow, you know that person has a mom, somewhere. It’s something that I didn’t think I was gonna feel as strong as I did because you think, oh you become a mom and oh, you just love your kid. But I just started seeing everyone so much differently,

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The best is definitely when she just comes up to me for no reason and hugs me and kisses me and says, “Mommy, I love you all the way from the bathroom to Africa.

And back.

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Coco: Purple swirl dress

by ANITA G., $34, anitag. com . Bloom Sandals by LIVIE & LUCA, livieandluca.com

and for the better. I have a lot of sadness when I see homeless people. I get really upset because whether their mother is alive or not, just the fact that somebody brought or created that person, put them in this world, they went through their life, whatever they’ve been through— and now there they are, and I just—I get really, very emotional. [Voice shakes and starts to tear up] K: When you become a mother, something turns on inside of you.

C: Yeah, and it’s funny because

a lot of my friends are like, “You’re gonna make a great mother one day.” I never really understood what that meant, until I realized that it’s because there’s a nurturing thing that women do—but what you just don’t realize is how you are able to nurture the whole world when you become a mom.

K: What are your, “I wish I knew that” moments about being a parent and a wife?

C: I think the funniest thing is I wish that

I knew being a mom meant that I was

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gonna be making lunches at 11 o’clock at night.

because then you get like 5 hours of sleep, and you’re not nice the next day.

K: (Laughs) Nobody ever prepares you for that.

C: Nobody talked to me about that!

K: Something’s gotta give!

C: Yeah, exactly. Unless we

I was not at all prepared for trying to be creative, cutting sandwiches into shapes, trying to make sure they have a vegetable, and to make sure it’s chilled enough, or, “Oh God, she’s had eggs yesterday.”

K: Yup! Exactly.

C: But then it’s funny because someone’s

like, they just sign up for the packed lunches at school, and I can’t do that— because of course I can’t control that, and I am a control freak. (Laughs) I think the wife thing would be that I wish I knew that I could never really stay up late, and try to get away with it the next day. You can’t really have a nice night because your child, no matter what, is always gonna get up at 7 AM. So if you wanna stay up late, and be a great wife and like, “Hey, let’s go out and party and have a good time!” Yeah…not so much,

go on vacation, and I knew I could sleep in.

K: (Laughs) What are your must-haves for kids?

C: One thing I do—Russ actually said

that he thinks like every mom should do this—I have like a little zippered pouch…

K: Yeah, like a kit.

C: Yeah, and in it I keep one of everything:

A Band-Aid, wipes, Neosporin. I have one or two toys, a pen and a pad of paper, a lollipop. It’s actually a bag that has one of everything for Coco. Whether it’s first aid, whether it’s keeping her entertained, you know at a restaurant, or God knows where we might get stuck. That pouch kind of stays with me in every purse, everywhere I go. I just realized it came in handy the other day because we were in Sea World and Coco fell, and I pulled out that little pouch

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and there’s my little Neosporin right in.

The Band-Aid and a lollipop, and I was like, alright, there we go!

K: We’re set! It’s like a happy kit (laughs).

C: Exactly. So that, and I learned that

over the years, that showing up in a restaurant where they don’t have crayons and realized I didn’t bring anything and I was like, ugh if I had just like a superpouch.

K: (Laughs) Which will give you an extra 10 minutes of sanity in that restaurant, right?

C: Right! Also, I would say in the begin-

ning when Coco was young, those allnatural, organic fruit pouches in those squeezy things? Those are amazing!

They don’t have to be refrigerated, so those were in everything I own—purses, backpacks. When Coco was a baby, they didn’t really have those yet and I was making all my own food. That was a lot of work.

K: (Laughs) Yeah it appears like it won’t be so much work, but it is.

C: Let’s see…what else is good? Toys-

wise…

K: I saw her room, and I love it.

C: Her room? It’s controlled chaos.

a little chaotic.

It’s

K: It’s very cool.

C: Something that’s

been in her room since she was a baby is that gigantic pin board, which I dunno if you’ve seen it in the photographs, but that has always been important because we always put pictures of family, artworks that she’s done, things we’ve done. We do it all year round so that by the end of the year, you kind of see everything that you’ve done throughout. In the beginning of January, we take everything down and try to kinda relive the year.

K: That’s an amazing idea. Like a memory board.

C: Some of it, she doesn’t even remem-

ber. That has been something I didn’t expect to get much use out of.

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K: Is it like a corkboard?

C: Yeah, but it’s huge.

It takes up a whole side of her wall. But you can make those. Nowadays you just put up your cork tiles on a wall, or anywhere.

But as far as going beyond, trying to be a minimalist with her toys, early on I was sent for six weeks in a year to Germany—every year, I think from when I was 4 until I was 18. All my influences are German-based toys, all the wooden stuff.

K: I love those.

C: There’s so much

character in it. My favorite-of-all-time toys that come from Germany are the Playmobil.

K: They’re sort of like Lego, but bigger.

C: Yeah, exactly! I mean the detail, it’s

unbelievable. The prince, pirates, and mermaids. You can get whatever you want, and it doesn’t look cheesy. It’s so classy. I’ve been playing with some of these since she was a year old, and it is still the toy that she goes to. Everything is organized into hats, jewelries, accessories, and she’ll sit there for hours.

You could take their hair off—it’s the

greatest toy in the world. I mean she’s obsessed—I’m obsessed with them.

K: On the topic of kids, are you guys still planning on expanding the family?

C: No. I thought I’d always have two,

but I never thought I’d be this set in my career after I had my first one. I think that made a huge difference in deciding to have another. When I’m not working, I got nervous about splitting that time and either way, I just felt like I want her to kind of have it all, all of my time.

K: The quality of life is sometimes harder with a lot of kids. What is the best and hardest part about being a mom?

C: The best is definitely when she

just comes up to me for no reason and hugs me and kisses me and says, “Mommy, I love you all the way from the bathroom to Africa. And back.”

K: Aww. That’s so sweet.

C: Everyday it changes.

The other day she’s like, “Mommy, I love you to death!” And I was like “Ooh!”

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When you become a mom, you see everyone so much differently, because you realize that everyone is a child of someone. It made me a lot more empathetic towards strangers, just towards people in general, because I felt that wow, you know, that person has a mom, somewhere.

K: That’s big! (Laughs) C: Yeah, I’ll take that.

Everything about being a mom is the best. I’m sorry to those, and actually feel bad for those people who choose not to be a mom, although I get it. Don’t do it unless you want to do it. I absolutely 100% agree, because you definitely have to want it to enjoy it. But I’d say that everything about being a mom is pretty spectacular. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing, but I definitely think that when she hugs and kisses me and says that she loves me—the simplicity of it is so wonderful.

K: It’s so sincere and heartfelt. Hardest part about being a mom?

C: The hardest part is knowing that

she’s going to grow up, because you see it happening right before your eyes.

Watching it is great and wonderful, but just knowing that no matter what you do they’re gonna grow up, and one day they’re not gonna want you to scratch their back and they’re not gonna come up to you and say, “I love you to the moon and back.” I think that’s hard to imagine. I hope that day never comes. I think that she and I are gonna stay best friends for life. Fingers crossed, that’s what I would hope for, but that’s definitely the hardest—just knowing, realizing they grow up, and they’re gonna go… away.

K: Away. Have boyfriends, husbands.

(Laughs) C: I don’t want to think about it. (Laughs) K: That’s always a hard thought. I already miss my daughters, and they haven’t even reached their double-digit ages.

(Laughs) Anyway, now that you’re a mom,

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how would you describe your sense of style? How has it evolved? Are you still the same?

C: It definitely evolved.

K: Jeans, shirt, flats?

C: What I try and go

for is classic, mixed with a little bit of unexpected. I can’t do trendy. It’s just not my personality.

(Whispers) So yes, I’m a big fan of jeans, pants.

K: Any favorite brands or designers?

C: I really love Karen Zambos. She has a

couple of lines. She has one that is just Karen Zambos, and then she has Karen Zambos Vintage Couture. I don’t know, but she gets me. It’s totally my style, mixing and matching vintage. I also like Petro Zillia.

K: So lastly, you have a great home...

C: Thank you, thank you, thank you very

much.

K: Did you hire a professional to design it? Or was it a collaboration of all your tastes?

C: We did not hire somebody, we desi-

gned it ourselves. Russ and I bought this house together, so we were able to design it together—which was pretty great as opposed to one of us moving into the other’s home. It’s a mid-century modern home, and we wanted to stay true to the type of house it was, without it being cold. Sometimes mid-century modern houses can be very cold because their style’s modern, so we really wanted to aim for comfort and style by having great modern pieces, but then bring in things like very eclectic art with artwork from the ‘50s or the ‘60s,

and wallpaper which is of the period, but bright wallpaper—not choosing something necessarily conservative or in one color. We have hot pink, hot orange, and hot yellow wallpaper in our hallway. We have lots of flea market, Ebay finds, as I’m a big Ebay fanatic.

K: I saw this very interesting poster, I’m not sure if it’s from Coco’s room. It’s a deer?

C: It’s got curse words on it?

K: Yeah.

C: The

curse words one, that one’s in Coco’s room. So as soon as she learns to read that, I’ll have to remove it.

K: It is cool, though.

C: That’s actually done by a friend of ours

who is an artist, and we have two of her prints in our house. A big one over our bed in our room, and one in Coco’s. Her name is Louise Bonnet, and I just love her stuff so much because it’s mixing whimsical with art. Her stuff’s phenomenal, and I highly recommend it for everyone’s home. Except the ones with the curse words, I do have to move that out of her room.

K: (Laughs) Maybe you still have a good two years?

C: I started her on these Bob Books,

which is a reading program, and she’s already read 2 of the books by herself.

K: So that gives you less time then.

(Laughs) C: I might only have 6 months. If

she can put together an F and a U and a C and a K, then I’m in trouble. (Laughs) bc

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Beef Tastes Better.

Landmark Supermarket Makati . Trinoma

Premium Quality Meats

makati Supermart alabang

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1 Steak from La Cabrera 2 Panqueque from La Cabrera 3 Sisig from Cafe Lima 4 New York Steak from The Farm Organics 5 Tacos from La Cabrera 6 Stew from Yoree 7 Barbeque from Yoree 8 Black Sesame and Green Tea Ice Cream from Marufuku 9 Cakes from Shine 10 Beef Yakiniku of Marufuku 11 The Farmer’s Burger from The Farm Organics 12 Liempo from Cafe Lima bcmedia.ph

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Fish and Frites

Chef and Founder, Sunshine Pengson

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Happiness Cake and Dulce de Leche

bright, shine-y day

lthough the Willy Wonkaish design and interiors is what will immediately pull you and your kids into Shine Bakery & Cafe (add to that its proximity to children’s stores), the crowning glory of this restaurant is as it should be: the delectable food.

Don’t be fooled by the whimsical interiors because at Shine, family dishes and comfort food take on a more sophisticated flavor that even a more trained tongue is intrigued.

As part of the elite restaurant roster of

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husband and wife renowned chefs, Sunshine (hence the resto’s moniker) and Rob Pengson, both largely of The Goose Station (TGS) fame—Shine was borne out of the couple’s need for a more casual place they could bring their children to, as compared to TGS, which is a fine dining establishment.

Rob was trained in culinary at the Global Academy in San Francisco, while Sunshine harks back to her long time spent in the City of Light for both culinary and pastry. Both went into catering for 7 years before venturing

into restaurants. With that kind of a background, it then comes as no surprise that the service at Shine is fast, and the food is consistently delicious.

Their mantra is, “Every meal is a celebration: a celebration between the most awesome of work mates, the best of friends, and the tightest of families.”

We all know that devouring favorite meals aren’t as special without your loved ones and best pals around.

At Shine, you can kick off your heels (well, not literally) and sit back as the interiors are charming, friendly, and the bcmedia.ph

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Pork Belly Confit

Umami Fries

Apple and Arugula Salad

staff are used to having children run around—they even have board games available while you wait for a feast for the tummy and eyes that is sure to come. Many a baptism reception and baby shower have been held here for those reasons as well.

Our personal favorites in this laidback patisserie and cafe include Mom’s Angus Tapa (Sunshine’s mother, Bella Yuchengco, handed down the recipe to her daughters—ask for it in Angus beef for a more melt-in-your-mouth experience) served, natch, on a bed of bcmedia.ph

fried rice; Umami fries (always a crowd pleaser, sprinkled with grated parmesan and toasted sesame nori); Happiness Cake (which this author has come back for countless times, much to her clinically overweight self’s chagrin), and lest we forget: the gorgeous and diet-dealbreaker eclairs. We can only wish there were more locations so that we can indulge in such a well-crafted menu anytime with our troop of little whirlers.

Chocolate Hazelnut, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Eclairs

Shine Bakery & Cafe is located at the 3rd Floor, SM Aura Premier, C5 Corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig 553.6566 or 0917.704.7118 Mondays to Sundays, 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM P500 per person with drinks; www.facebook.com/ShineBakeryCafe { MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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oree is Korean for “cuisine” so when you go to Yoree restaurant you are going there for genuine, authentic Korean dishes. Dishes are crafted with a Korean eye but for the Filipino tummy. The restaurant’s owners, Andrea and David Amado (David is part-Korean), partnered with a group from Korea who have had over 40 years of experience (and over 40 other establishments in Korea). Their Korean partners stay in the Philippines for 5-6 months a year, therefore helping to

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Jeonju Dolsot Bibimbap

ensure the quality and integrity of Yoree.

Yoree isn’t a franchise of a popular Korean joint, but a concept made for the Philippines.“We Filipinos generally love barbecued meat,” says owner, Andrea, of Etude House and Tous Les Jours fame. She adds, “Korea is very known for that. As long as the meat is lean, it’s fantastic.

It’s not unhealthy. Everyone now watches what they eat.” That’s why they go the extra mile at Yoree to make sure their dishes are both

exemplary and healthy. Andrea explains, “Other Korean restaurants in the country make it overly sweet, and make it cheaper by adding all these subsitutes. We wanna make it as authentic as possible. A lot of our ingredients are from Korea.” And this is the reason that Yoree is one of bcmedia.ph

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Pat Bingsu

Hamul Pajeon

the best Korean restaurants in our books to date.

which is fantastic, because they would know what is authentic.”

For example, with their luscious sliced pork belly meat, Sam Gyupsal, (which literally translates to ‘triple fat pork’), they make sure to trim the fat, even if it takes a lot more effort. This thinking extends to all their offerings. “We have 14 ingredients in our Bibimbap. Not all Bibimbap is created equal, let’s just put it that way.” Andrea says with a smile.

Many have discovered the unmatched quality Yoree offers.

Families fill the restaurant on that most sacred of times, Sunday lunch.

For kids, Andrea recommends what her own love. “I have three kids so I know what they eat. They prefer the Yangnyum Galbi. The cut is U.S. Prime, short ribs marinated. The thing with the marinade is it’s very important that we marinate without sugar or syrup. We use Korean pears, which actually tenderizes the meat. It’s a lot more difficult but when you try it, you’d know the difference.”

And when they cannot do it their way, they do what any responsible restaurant should—not sell it. “For our beef, we always use U.S. prime cuts. If it is not available, we are not going to sell it. It is not about profit, it’s all about giving and serving you the full Korean experience. If you go to Korea, it should taste the same. We get a lot of Korean guests, bcmedia.ph

Quality is king at Yoree and the owners hope their customers realize that what they serve here cannot be found anywhere else. “If you’re going for quality, go for Yoree.”

Woo Sam Gyup

Yoree is located at Molito Commercial Complex, Alabang, Muntinlupa City; 8940440; Mondays to Sundays, 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Budget approximately P1200 for two people. facebook.com/YoreeKoreanBBQ { MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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steak out

he “no frills” appeal of steak is why many restaurants serve it, but few can claim to make them taste as good as they should. Manila is littered with restaurants of varying cuisines offering prime cuts of juicy beef, but it is the first time it’s offered with a genuine South American twist, with a true blue Argentinian chef at its helm, Chef Juan Barcon.

La Cabrera Manila was borne out of the intense passion felt by Carlo Calma Lorenzana and his wife, Julia, for the steaks they sampled on their honeymoon in the Lagarde Vineyards area in Buenos Aires last 2013. So good were the steaks that

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Panqueque con Dulce de Leche Y Helado

the couple decided once was not enough, and had the succulent cuts two days in a row. If you’re wondering why the restaurant is called such, it is the street name in Argentina where the original restaurant—tagged as one of “The 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America”—may be found.

Through familial connections— Carlo’s father worked once as a consultant for an Argentine conglomerate that happened to own Lagarde wineries in Argentina— Carlo, and his friend Bobby Basa Tenchavez, brought the restaurant to Philippine shores together with Carlo’s brother-in-law, Luigi R. Quisumbing, and close friend, Gail bcmedia.ph

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family dining Pamintuan. Along with another Carlo Lorenzana [real name is Carlos Solomon G. Lorenzana], and his brothers Eugene and George, the team eventually put together the Gaston Riveira-owned, Palermo-bourne resto. The latter Carlo, whose family owns the Shi Lin Group—and is armed with the know-how in running successful restaurants—brought La Cabrera in Manila to full fruition.

La Cabrera aims to bring South American cuisine to our shores, and with the culture already gaining relevance here in the country through wine, tango, football, and especially the Pope, the timing is perfect for the rise of authentic Argentine cuisine. The fact that, in this case, “Argentine cuisine” equates to “steak” should make it easy for Pinoys to accept these new

Side dishes

imports with very open arms.

It’s hard not to gush everytime a new dish is served, starting from the Provoleta, which is a grilled provolone cheese you can sink your teeth into while you wait for the star on the menu to arrive—the steaks.

With their proprietary technique of preparing the meat, La Cabrera serves best-tasting steaks that are juicy and flavorful, along with an array of excellent hot and cold side dishes, such as a tomato and green olive puree, mashed potatoes, corn, cherry tomatoes, among many more—all laid out (and unlimited) for the diner’s pleasure. Portions

are generous, and 90% of the menu may be shared by 2-3.

Cap off a carnivore’s dream with a panqueque or the Rogel de dulce de leche, the latter which Chef Juan diligently churns himself for hours.

La Cabrera is located at Ayala Business Center, 6750 Ayala Avenue, Glorietta Complex, Makati City; +63 905 290-0703; Mondays to Sundays, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Budget approximately P2000 for two people. www.facebook.com/La-Cabrera-Manila

Entrana (Skirt Steak)

Rogel de Dulce de Leche

Chef Juan Barcon

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Seafood Kaki Motoyaki

Gyoza

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circle of happiness

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s a young boy, Marufuku coowner, Jae Guanio, loved Japanese food, and harks back to Sunday dinners and that extra serving of tempura as some of his most cherished childhood memories. Now a father himself, Jae saw the same love for Japanese cuisine in his own son, which made him think of the lack of quality Japanese dining establishments in the Ortigas area. Today, an 80-seat, casual, relaxed Japanese restaurant hidden away on the ground floor of a condominium building

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is arguably the best Japanese restaurant in Manila because of its varied offerings.

Even the curry is one of a kind, and we are not curry people.

Restaurant manager and co-owner, Catherine Limsui, tells us that Marufuku stands for “a circle of happiness,” and diners will leave feeling satiated and come back for more of the genius fusions. It has come full circle from the happy tummy of a boy passed on to his son. Families (and many Japanese businessmen—so you know its authentic to their palate)

Futomaki Marufuku Roll

flock to Marufuku for their tempura, sushi, sukiyaki, and selection of sake and whisky. Methods such as Robatayaki, the grilling of meats and vegetables over an open, charcoal flame and Kamameshi, the steaming of rice and other aromatic

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ingredients in traditional kettle pots, unique techniques that provide both a distinct character and help preserve natural flavors. At Marufuku, cooking is not so much about reinventing tastes, but about underscoring the innate character of every ingredient used.

Chicken Teriyaki

Some truly noteworthy dishes are the Seafood Kaki Motoyaki, which we would probably include in our last meal on Earth, washed down by their in-house Black Sesame ice cream—they are that superb.

Marufuku also prefers to highlight less frequently used regional Japanese cooking techniques. A collection of individuals, bonded by their love of Japanese dining and their desire to bring the true flavors of Japan into this cozy corner north of Manila.

Beef Yakiniku

Beef Curry Rice

Black Sesame and Green Tea Ice Cream

Marufuku is located at Ground Floor, The Crescent Building, 29 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas, Pasig City; 02 5703989; Mondays to Sundays, 11:00 AM to 10:30 PM. Budget approximately P1000 for two. www.facebook.com/ MarufukuJapaneseRestaurant

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party of five

ost restaurants touting home-cooked dishes fail to impress without having to commercialize it, yet a newcomer aims to buck the trend. Café Lima, the 4th ‘baby’ of actress Sherilyn Reyes-Tan (Shey) and former basketball pro-turnedbusinessman, Chris Tan, boast of dishes and meals that Shey herself cooks and enjoys at home, and now wish to share with others. Though their location’s nondescript size made them hesitate to pull the trigger, they decided to give it a go. “Chris says that our food is restaurantquality, so we were inspired when we chanced upon this space,” shares Shey.

Café Lima’s selling point is simple and straightforward: Home Kitchen. The

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Chicken Inasal

food they offer is the same that they have at home. From their special Adobo, which does not make use of soy sauce but a special homemade vinegar, to their own meaty Kaldereta with cheese that eschews the need for potatoes so that you get mostly protein. When Chris is asked by friends what he recommends he answers truthfully: “It’s hard for me because all the food that we serve, we like.” At a budget of around P300 per head, they make sure that the meals are enough for a hungry family because as Chris says, “When you eat you don’t just cook for yourself, you share.” The restaurant’s name is also “home-cooked” since they derived the name from their fan page group, “Tantastic Five.” Other dishes to try include the Mr. Reyes Liempo, a recipe passed down by Shey’s bcmedia.ph

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Mama Shey’s Gourmet Tuyo & Special Vinegar

Mr. Reyes’ Liempo

Pork Sisig

Sinigang na Bangus

father, as well as their Bistek Tagalog with a unique twist. “We serve it with ripe mango because we grew up eating it with it.”

Chris lets us in on the secret and difference of Café Lima among other restaurants serving Filipino food: “My wife,” he says lovingly. “She makes it stand out. She’s the life of the kitchen, so it’s her. Knowing that she is the one who cooks and prepares it all. Our cook is really good but the signature dishes of Café Lima mostly belong to her.”

Ultimately, home-cooked meals are essentially made from the heart and the folks here at Café Lima have that in spades—and that is what makes their dishes so darn good. bcmedia.ph

Calamansi & Iced Tea

Cafe Lima is located at Roof Deck of 8 Jade Building Santolan Road Ortigas Ave. San Juan; 09175343310; Mondays to Sundays, 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Budget approximately P600 for two people { MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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Farm Salad

don’t panic, it’s the farm organics

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ow do we write impartially about The Farm Organics knowing that its co-founders is actually our Editorin-Chief, Kariz Favis, and her husband (BC’s Creative Director), Martin? We decided to list out some facts about the restaurant that is front and center in the healthy food revolution that the Philippines is experiencing today.

The Farm was born in the island of Tigbao, Masbate in 1976, and has been in the Favis family for more than 3 decades.

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Martin’s father, Randy, took the reins in managing what was then a cattle and horse breeding farm alone, and in 2003 started using natural farming methods together with his wife, Maria.

In 2010, after a 6-year stint forming BC Magazine in the US, Kariz and Martin came back to Manila to form BC Magazine Philippines. The couple now have two children, and have adopted a healthier diet and lifestyle since the birth of their firstborn 11 years ago.

Martin and Kariz asked their father,

Randy, to turn the farm in Masbate into the first organic livestock farm, without knowing that Randy has actually been practicing so, prior to their request. Taking it a step further, the Favises had the farm certified organic by the OCCP, and to our knowledge today, the farm is the first and only certified organic cattle farm in the country—and has also been certified organic for poultry, pigs, and coconuts, apart from the cattle.

In 2012 (and shortly after the birth of their third child), they launched organic meat stalls at the Landmark supermarbcmedia.ph

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The Farmer’s Burger

kets under the brand name, “The Farm Organics.” The Farm Organics is now carried by Echostore, Echomarket, Sugarleaf, Gana Vida, Makati Supermarket, South Supermarket, to name some.

In 2013, Martin and Kariz asked some friends (actors Oyo Sotto and Kristine Hermosa-Sotto, who incidentally live close by which made them ideal partners so they could take turns in watching the

resto) if they would be interested in co-owning the first branch of a restaurant whose goal is to serve topnotch certified organic steaks and burgers. A partnership was formed, and to date, The Farm has two locations (BGC and Commercenter Alabang), with a third one on its way late 2015 at Twin Lakes in Tagaytay.

The restaurant’s credo is to serve healthy, affordable, and delicious meals—and prior to The Farm, these three adjectives could not go together. By controlling their own beef supply and commissary, The Farm is able to deliver all three combined.

The Farm also makes their own pasta fresh, everyday, and they use organic, and the best, freshest ingredients. Soup is slow-cooked for hours, salad dressings are made in-house, and organic eggs and butter (never margarine) are used in cooking and also for baking delectable desserts. The Farm uses coconut oil for frying. They also serve the only organic bone marrow in the country, very rich in linoleic acid which has cancer-fighting properties (debunking all you know about the negative effects of consuming marrow).

If you want to be #healthierthanmost, it’s never too late to adopt a cleaner lifestyle, and this restaurant can be your best ally.

The Farm Organics is located at 2nd Floor, Commercenter Mall Alabang, Commerce Ave. corner Filinvest Ave. - Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang; 831 7493; Open everyday, 11 AM to 10 PM; Rizal Drive, Forbes Town Center, Burgos Circle Bonifacio Global City, Open everyday 11 AM to 11 PM. Budget approximately P600 for two, inclusive of drinks. www.thefarm.ph Organic Beef Spaghetti

Fresh Tomato Soup

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Regular New York Steak with Mashed Potato and choice of gravy or blue cheese butter

Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

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P hotographs , S T Y L I N G , and S tory K a r i z T a n y a F a v is A dd i t i onal P hotos P a t r i c k Di m a pilis and C a r lo P a r a n a d a W ardrobe A ss i stants A r th C a m a c ho and C e l B a n c olit a H a i r and M ake u p T h e r e s a G u a z o n of D a v i d ’ s S a lo n S hot on locat i on at Balai Isabel

(RJ): Red and Blue His Collection Shirt by Elle, P799 . Jogger Pants in Navy by H&M, P699 (Patricia): Red Cover Up by Coco Cabana Resort, P599 . Gold Ivory Crystal Necklace by Anemone, P399 . Porto Smocked Bikini Top by Anemone, P1,395 . Asilah Drape Hipster by Anemone, P1,295 . Black Leather Sandals by Gibi, P1,099.75 (Robert Jr.): PB Blue Shirt by Desigual, P1,495 . Field Trip Denim by Mothercare, P1,199 . Blue and Yellow Rubber Shoes with Velcro by Florsheim, P1,499.75 (Robert): Knit Long sleeve in Black by Forever 21, P445 . Long Woven Pants in Navy by Forever 21, P1,025

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After more than a decade of living in the United States, bombshell actress Patricia Javier is gearing for a comeback--with three handsome boys in tow. We catch up with the sexy, olive-skinned, sweet-faced mother of two on how she makes her bi-racial family work, how they stay fit together, and how they survive illnesses through holistic practices and nary a paracetamol in their medicine cabinet

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“Our kids never had to take antibiotics, they’ve never gone to the doctor, and I just adjust them regularly.”-Rob (RJ): Urban Indigo Shirt in Gray by Mothercare, P399 . Multi-colored suede shoes with Velcro by Florsheim Kids . Jogger Pants in Navy by H&M, P699 (Patricia): Full lace floral pattern cardigan by H&M (coachella collection), P1990 . Bikini top, model’s own . Long necklace with feathers by Anemone, P395 . Navy Porto Smocked Hipster

by Anemone, P1,295 . White Leather Sandals by Gibi, P1,099.75 (Robert Jr.): Dark Summer Polo

by H&M, P599 . Field Trip Cargo Pants in Sand by Mothercare, P999 . Blue rubber shoes with Velcro

by Florsheim Kids, P1,399.75 (Robert): Plain Tank Top by H&M, P699 . Long Knit Heather Grey Pants

by Forever 21, P1,025 . Natural Dots Chambray brogues by Toms, P4,995

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atricia Javier (Genesis Canlapan by her real moniker) gave me a pleasant surprise when she showed up at a BC event at The Farm in BGC where we were throwing a baby shower for a mutual friend and recent BC cover mom, Ara Mina. Last I saw Patricia was at California where we both used to live [San Diego for her, specifically]—driving their Range Rover—and still looking very much like her present self. We were pleasantly surprised to see one another serendipitously a the shower, as Ara was her “That’s Entertainment” afternoon TV show batchmate, and she came to bestow best wishes on Ara’s pregnancy.

the resto) about how they met. Here’s a good #tbt for this story--Rob relates that, “A friend of mine invited me to go to a Filipino concert. I had no idea who Patricia Javier was. I just went for something fun to do on a Thursday night, and when we got there my friend mentioned, ‘Oh, I know Patricia Javier’s road manager.

Maybe I can introduce you guys.’ So at the end of it, they introduced us and were going out later that night and we invited her to meet up with us. That’s how it started.” I mentioned that I remember Rob telling me at Balai that he always had a preference for Asian women. “I’ve always kind of dated a little bit of the opposite

of what I am. Most people would think that I would date blonde, very tall women, but I wanted somebody a little bit different. I didn’t wanna date my sister, haha!” Same ‘opposites attract’ sentiments go for Patricia, “I want my next generation to be good looking! I would always dream about blue eyes and blond hair.”

While she’s back here testing out the entertainment waters, the couple decided to go on wellness missions together. Patricia states, “What we do is we go to different places where they invite us to do a health talk, and then I also add beauty tips for those who are trying to save [Note:

Fast forward to Balai Isabel in Batangas (which she and her ultraripped, blond, headturning husband, holistic chiropractor, Dr. Rob Walcher are endorsers of), where this photo shoot was held. It only took a few text messages to plan our onenight, work-slash-getaway to make up for lost time. Patricia and her family are in Manila because she, “Missed being in front of the camera. I miss my co-artists. I’m so blessed that Viva gave me another opportunity to come back.”

We go way back—back when none of us were even beginning to think about having children. Patricia and I would periodically do night outs with her then paramour, TV host Marc Nelson. I was a flight attendant and when I would be out of the country, I would even ‘lend’ my then-boyfriend, now husband, as an escort to her red carpet events should she find herself sans date.

I met her Dr. Rob in person back in the U.S. during one of Patricia’s birthday parties when they only had one son. Rob was always generous with his smiles and was a charming host. I ask him during our post-shoot interview (again, at The Farm--since they are healthy eaters they frequent bcmedia.ph

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Patricia used to work at a skin clinic in San Diego]. Patricia is more than proud to help spread the word about her husband’s admirable profession.

“Since chiropractic isn’t very much known yet in the Philippines, Rob talks about its health benefits. After he does an adjustment, the patients really feel good.”

On the topic (and after having been ‘adjusted’ myself minutes prior to our dialogue), I ask Rob if he plans to continue his practice in Asia.

“Currently we don’t have a practice here, but we’ve seen such a high interest with what we’re doing that we’re looking into finding a location.”

But first, I ask, what is chiropractic?

“Chiropractic is evaluating someone’s spine and nervous system. The nervous system is an organ, and the spine’s main purpose is to protect the nervous system. We develop stress in (RJ): Red and Blue His Collection Shirt by Elle, P799 . Jogger Pants in Navy by H&M, P699 (Patricia): Red Cover Up by Coco Cabana Resort, P599 . Gold Ivory Crystal Necklace by Anemone, P399 . Porto Smocked Bikini Top by Anemone, P1,395 . Asilah Drape Hipster by Anemone, P1,295 . Black Leather Sandals by Gibi, P1,099.75 (Robert Jr.): PB Blue Shirt by Desigual, P1,495 . Field Trip Denim jeans

by Mothercare, P1,199 . Blue and Yellow Rubber Shoes with Velcro by Florsheim, P1,499.75 (Robert): Knit Long sleeve in Black by Forever 21, P445 . Long Woven Pants in Navy by Forever 21, P1,025

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our spine from everyday lives--that stress compromises the nervous system and that creates symptoms, tension, headaches, numbness, tingling, allergies--these are all symptoms that your body is not working properly.

Chiropractic locates the problem in the nervous system and gently restores the proper position of the spine which allows the nervous system to work like it’s supposed to.” Spoken like the true doctor that he is.

I ask whether being adjusted is something one can do on a daily basis, because it only takes about 3 to 5 minutes and yet you immediately feel more connected to your body. I don’t know if it was psychological, but it sure did the trick for me, and I can’t

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wait to go back to Dr. Rob for seconds.

He expounds, “Yes it’s beneficial to do regularly, much like how you brush your teeth to prevent cavities—in the same concept, chiropractic done regularly combats the stress that we’re under everyday from how we sit, sleep, work, taking care of our kids, emotional stress—all of that accumulates. Over time, these stress cause arthritis, nerve problems, health issues—so the adjustments helps slow that process and combat that.”

It is also interesting to note that although he is a medical practitioner, Dr. Rob doesn’t believe in artificially medicating, and claims that the best first aid equipment to have in the home is a trusty old towel to cool down the body when you have a fever. He

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“When we took this adventure, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’ve battled this feeling for years, but we made the jump.”-Rob

(Patricia): Gold and Blue 2 Rows Necklace by Anemone, P495 . Off White Essential Twist top by Anemone, P1,195 . Navy Ruffled Skirt by H&M, P1,990 . Yellow Linen Platform Wedges by Toms, P3,795 (Robert Jr). Green Basic Shirt by Desigual, P1,795 . Urban Indigo Pants in Green by Mothercare, P999 . Brown and Orange Rubber Shoes by Florsheim, P1,499.75 (RJ): Mango Shirt in Green by Mothercare, P499 . Classic Blue Checkerd Shorts by Nautica, P3,295 . Red and White Laced-up Canvass Shoes by Pediped (Robert): Long Knit Heather Grey Pants by Forever 21, P1,025 . Bone and White Boat Shoes by Gibi, P2,499.75

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explains, “In Chiropractic, we believe that the power that made the body heals the body, so if you’re getting sick that means that your immune system has been compromised—it’s weak.

When you get adjusted regularly, you get sick less often, so our kids never had to take antibiotics, they’ve never gone to the doctor, and I just adjust them regularly. But since we’ve been living here, they’ve been sick—we always have a sore throat. We’re not eating as healthy; we eat bread now and we’ve never eaten bread before.”

Patricia adds, “But we love pandesal.”

Rob starts to talk but trails off, “Well, it’s good, but it’s…” She reminds him, “Remember, I told you to embrace it?

So you can survive—it’s survival of the fittest here!” Patricia jokes, lovingly.

At 40, Rob is a self-confessed Crossfit-

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holic, and has ranked number 1 in Asia on different occasions. Their son, Robert Jr. even accompanies Rob and can already do pull-ups. Patricia stays in the fitness game by eating everything in moderation, and running after her two boys—Robert Jr., who is 8, and RJ, 3 years old. Patricia laughs, “Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want me to get a yaya, so that I’ll stay in shape!”

for grass-fed ground beef to make homemade burger patties himself.

Patricia adds, “I believe that our body is a temple of God so we always have to nourish it to make God happy. We need to be a good example to our children, and also to be strong so we can take care of them properly. If we live healthy, they will copy what we do when they grow up.”

ob expounds that, “By just personal belief, your body is your number one asset and we neglect our body. We put so much thought on our careers and everything else. Taking care of my body as best as possible and the food we put into our body is our fuel, and the only way you can perform to your best abilities is if you have proper food.” Take it from a man who scours weekend markets

I have always personally wondered how marriages of people from different races and cultures work. In the Walchers’ case, Rob divulges that, “It took many years—and you know the good thing about it is that I’m always attracted to the family culture—which is one reason I’ve always dated Asian women.”

R

Patricia opens up, “I was raised in a poor family, so it was a new life for

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me. It was exciting, and the nice part about it is having in-laws who don’t meddle. It felt like just the two of us. I guess the adjustment was when it comes to family closeness. In my family, I am very tight with my mother and father. I was the breadwinner of my family before we got married, and when I was in the States, I had a hard time deciding whether I should send money. I was embarrassed to ask my husband. Sometimes I had to do it in secret, but I can’t do that anymore because he can now speak in Tagalog, haha! He’s really embracing Filipino culture and tradition.”

Patricia points out some big advantages of being married to a ‘foreigner.’ “Of course I am very blessed that my kids look like that—I always say it is a gift from God. I don’t know how to speak English very well, even though almost all of my relationships are with “Ingleseros.” It’s also an advantage,

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because if I knew how to speak English well, then we would always fight.

When I get mad, I literally don’t know what else to say so I’ll just keep quiet and then my anger goes away.

Another advantage of being married to someone who isn’t Filipino is that he’s not the jealous type, especially with my line of work. He’s the one who says, “Yeah babe, you wear that.” He’s the one who gives me advice, and he doesn’t shout at me even if he’s mad-he’s just very quiet.

What about the disadvantages?

Patricia mentions, “The language barrier. There’s something you want to say which gets [lost in translation].

And sometimes, it’s hard to explain how Filipinos always help out their families. With their family, they see each other during Christmas, or when there’s an occasion. I see my family here every hour.”

On the flipside, Rob states that, “The advantage is that Gen is very supportive of everything that I do.

She has the most belief in me and in what we’re doing, so those are all huge advantages. She has never nagged me, and that is a common trait of Americans.” As for the harder parts, Rob confesses that, “Since I’ve come here it’s been tough, because we only have one car and I don’t know my way around although I’m driving still—so we’re spending a lot of time together right now. We used to have two cars, so we are going through some growing pains. We’re currently staying with her family, and it’s a totally big adjustment for me.” Patricia interjects, “But the thing I like about him is at the end of the day, even if we get annoyed at each other, he’ll just suddenly tell me, “I love you babe.”

Patricia notes that as a couple they have learned that, “If the other one is

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“I was raised in a poor family, so it was a new life for me. It was exciting, and the nice part about it is having in-laws who don’t meddle. It felt like just the two of us. I guess the adjustment was when it comes to family closeness.”-Patricia

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“The language barrier.

There’s something you want to say which gets [lost in translation].

And sometimes, it’s hard to explain how Filipinos always help out their families.”Patricia

so mad, just let him be mad and wait for him to cool down. That’s the time you can say your opinion, so you can both understand each other easier.”

Rob smiles, “When we took this adventure, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’ve battled this feeling for years, but we made the jump. We knew what was going to happen so we’re dealing with i and we’re doing pretty well.”

I inquire about what they’ve both learned from living in the U.S. and in Manila. Patricia admits, “You are very independent there, even when you don’t think you can do it—so you become stronger.” I also remind them

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about the funny ‘tabo’ story. For those who are not in the know, bathing with a tabo (a small bucket or dipper with a handle used to scoop water from a pail) is akin to Filipino culture, and is one ritual that Patricia assures her husband that he should experience.

She expounds, “Yes, it’s very funny because he shouts when he bathes in cold water. We bought this portable heater which you dip in the water, so we always have to heat the water before he takes a bath. In the States, he would take a bath 3x a day—here, I think he only does it once a day because of the hassle of heating the water. Haha!”

(Patricia): Long Five Rows Necklace by Anemone, P595 . Mint and Red Woven Cardigan by Forever 21, P805 . Black Biarritz Buckled Halter Top by Anemone, P1.640 . Fringe Bottom Detail Shorts

by H&M, P1,190 . Yellow Flats by Gibi, P1,099.75 (Robert): Black Lace-up Pants

by H&M, P2,290 . Navy Denim Herringbone Brogues by Toms, P4,995

It’s worth mentioning that I see Rob’s bcmedia.ph

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sincere efforts in trying to make their life in Manila work with his beautiful brood. He and Patricia are extremely hands-on with their gorgeous sons, and Patricia loves that they have boys and claims it is easy to care for them even though they are energetic, because guys are not too fragile. Presently, their eldest, Robert Jr., is more of Daddy’s mini-me, and although the little one is still somewhat of a Mama’s boy, Patricia knows that he will start to favor Daddy soon, too).

I agree that I love having a son too, because you can roughhouse with them more. Rob is a big sports fan, and is already teaching their tykes about baseball, and has been bringing them to work out with him. Patricia notes that her boys are very sweet, and always showers her with kisses—as us moms with sons know all too well.

Patricia becomes pensive about Robert Jr. and RJ, and on what she has learned from being a parent. “They keep me grounded. With all my decisions, I always think about whether it’s good for the kids. It’s important also for them to go to Sunday school. Not really to be very religious, but if as a couple you both have faith and have someone you call ‘God,’ then it’s easier to connect.” Rob adds, “We are both 100% committed to our kids and their wellbeing­ —it’s amazing how much you are willing to do for your kids over yourself.” bc

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“We are both 100% committed to our kids and their wellbeing...–it’s amazing how much you are willing to do for your kids over yourself.”-Rob

(Patricia): Abstract Printed Long Dress by H&M, P2,290 . Necklace with Green Pearl by H&M . Neon Trim Burlap Strappy Wedges by Toms, P3,795 (RJ): Mango Shirt in Green

by Mothercare, P499 . Black Pants by Ralph Lauren (Robert Jr.): 61 Shirt in Gray by Mothercare, P1,199 . Tapered Denim by H&M, P899 . Black Lace up Shoes

by Florsheim P1,499.75 (Robert): Cream Corduroy Jacket by Cloth Logic . Cream and Black Knit Top by 21 Men, P805 . Black Lace-up Pants by H&M, P2,290 . Suede Slip-ons in Tan

by Gibi, P2,699.75

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BC’s baby shower for Ara Mina and Patrick Meneses N

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An intimate afternoon well-spent with Ara Mina and Patrick Meneses, as BC anticipates their baby girl P H O T O G R A P H S B Y C a r lo p a r a n a d a a n d Ahl e e D e l Ros a r io

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t was an afternoon filled with fun, food and laughter as family and friends joined BC Magazine, along with

Florsheim Kids, Mothercare, Silly Monkey Clothing, Tous Les Jours and Scarsdale as we threw a baby shower

for a then-expectant Ara Mina and

Mayor Patrick Meneses last November 20, 2014. The couple was expecting their first daughter, Amanda. The couple was joined by loved ones at The Farm in Bonifacio Global City, where guests feasted on delicious treats from our sponsors.

We also

enjoyed charades, a song lyrics game enthusiastically participated by Ara’s musician friends from the industry, and guests were happy to take home prizes from our aforementioned partners.

Congratulations again to Ara and Patrick!

Scarsdale Artisanal Delights donuts

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Moses basket from Mothercare

Pastries from Tous Les Jours bcmedia.ph

o h , M a n dy !

Rica Camille FarinasMathay Krissel Garduque and daughter

Sabina, Tom, Maxine, Mathis Sabina, Tom, Maxine, and Kariz Favis, and Mathis and Kariz Favis, and Patricia Javier Patricia Javier Macky Mathay and daughter, Raven Charlize

Jamie Rivera

Ara Mina and Mayor Patrick Meneses with gifts from Florsheim Kids bcmedia.ph

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Mylene Zapanta Ariel Fulgado

Dessert Table featuring cakes from The Farm and Tous Les Jours

Ming Tinana, Jaime Rivera, Pilar Mateo, Elene Dela Vega, Jan Marini, Patricia Javier, Ara Mina and Mimi Qua Gifts from Scarsdale Artisanal Delights

Jeff Fernando

Edgar Martinez

Jarwin Ante

Charles Ang

Tess Guanzon

Gretchen Pullido and Jan Marini

Farah and Ching Onkingco, and Ebby Labto

Odie Jose & Anne Cabral

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o h , M a n dy !

“Baby” lyrics game with Jamie Rivera and Jan Marini

Beth De Guzman, Ria ReyesMendoza, and Therese and Euan Mendoza

Yeng Maralit

Cakes from Tous Les Jours

Christine Baniqued and Lucille Alindogan

Trish Maralit and Elene Dela Vega

Gifts from Silly Monkey Clothing

Leny Sanchez

Cathy Valencia-Lim

Word Guessing Game

Nomer Yuzon

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Making the Grade

Rye: Solid Blue Polo Shirt with Green and White Stripes by Nautica, P2,495 . Tan Colored Pants

by Mothercare, P999 . Dark Blue and Gray Rubber Shoes by Gibi, P999.75 . Green Archie Alien Set Bag by Travel Buddies

P hotographs and styl i ng by K a r i z t a n y a f a v is A dd i t i onal photographs by D O MZ T R I U M F AN T E , J R .

A ss i sted by a r th c a m a c ho shot on locat i on at b c stu d io c a f e , c o m m e r c e n t e r m a ll , a l a b a n g

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Sophie: White Tank Top and Pink Floral Dress

by Little Luli . Brown Strappy Leather Shoes by umishoes from bc studio cafe P3,500 . Monkey Face Back Pack

by Zoo Packs

Alech: Blue Jacket by Elle, P2,999.75 . Lime Polo Shirt by Mothercare, P499 . Brown Khaki Pants by Elle, P2,495 . Navy Blue Laced up Shoes

by Florsheim Kids P1,499.75

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Jezzyrein: Knitted orange dress by Mothercare, P1,499 . Floral Stretchable Leggings by Mothercare, P599 . Black Leather Shoes with Ribbon by Elle, P1,499.75 . Orange bird back pack by zoo packs

Sophie: Pink Floral Dress with Fuchsia Side Ribbons by Baby Nay from bc studio cafe, P2,450 . Brown Suede with Flower by Naturino from bc studio cafe, P2,552 .

Percy Penguin Set Bag by Travel Buddies

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Making the Grade

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Jezzyrein: Reversible Jacket in pink and white by desigual, P3,495 . Knitted Sleeves in Blue and Red Stripes

by Mothercare, P799 . White Pants by Mothercare, P799 . Blue Suede with Pink and Silver Sequins by umishoes from bc studio cafe, P3,500 .

Yellow Panda Bag

by Beatrix New York

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Alech: Light Brown Shirt by Little Luli . Slim Knit Harem Pants by Right Bank Babies from bc studio cafe . Dark Blue and Gray Rubber Shoes

by Gibi, P999.75

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Rye: Blue Polo by Nautica, P2,495 .

Dark Blue Suspender by Mothercare, P699 . Blue Green Pants by Nautica, P2,495 . Sky Blue Boat Shoes

by Little Green Trike from bc studio cafe, P2,100

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Alech: Sky Blue Jock’s Jacket by Mothercare, P699 . Caramel Colored Corduroy by Mothercare, P999 . Laced Leather Shoes in Tan by Gibi, P2,299.75

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Making the Grade

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Rye: Gray Colored Coat with Big Red Buttons

by Right Bank Babies from bc studio cafe, P2,950 . Multi Colored Polo Shirt by Mothercare, P649 . Black Strappy Boots

by Gibi, P2,299.75 . Danger Set Bag

by Travel Buddies

Sophie: Navy Blue Sequined Dress with ribbon by Mothercare, P1,499 .

Indigo Colored Stretchable Leggings by Mothercare, P899 . Fuchsia Leather Flats by Camper from bc studio cafe, P3,900

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Rye: Blue Longsleeves Shirt by Desigual, P2,195 . Slim Knit Harem Pants by Right Bank Babies from bc studio cafe .

Shoes: Model’s Own

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cardigan

Making the Grade

Jezzyrein: Checkered Headband by Mothercare, P299 . Red Cardigan by Elle, P3,499.75 . Pink Dress with Blue Knit by Nautica, P2,995 . Black Leather Buckled Flats by Elle, P1,499.75

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shopping bag

Elle

Bright Casual Red Dress

As it celebrates 70 years of fashion, ELLE presents its stylish hot weather wear with a vibrant and colorful ELLE Kids Spring/ Summer 2015 Collection. Florals, bright casual dresses in red and navy blue hues, Stripes in grey and red are at the forefront of girls’ wear. Relaxed, cool vibes, nautical looks in light fabric rule the ELLE Kids collection for boys, with laidback polo shirts taking center stage. Also part of ELLE’s 70th year celebration is the launch of the ELLE Juniors line for girls. Chic as its younger counterpart, this soon to be offered collection provides a myriad of on-trend style options for the young ladies.ELLE Kids apparel, and shoes are available at all leading department stores nationwide and Ogalala Store at Shangri-La Mall. Visit ELLEkidsPH for the latest trends and updates from ELLE Kids. facebook.com/ELLEKidsPh, twitter.com/ellekidsph, @ELLEKidsPH

Stripe Shirts in Light Fabrics

Swaddledesigns A-list celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marcia Cross, Tori Spelling and Bridget Moynahan have all been spotted with SwaddleDesigns--the recognized brand of multi-purpose layette products. Swaddling, the timeless tradition of wrapping newborn babies in blankets, is scientifically proven to aid babies transition smoothly from womb to world, reduce colic and fussiness, and lessen the incidence of Sudden Infant Death (SIDS). Because swaddling can be complicated, especially to new parents, SwaddleDesigns is the only product with instructions sewn to the edge of the blanket, so parents have an effective swaddling technique right at their fingertips. facebook.com/pages/Swaddle-Designs

kidzania At KidZania, children (ages 3 to 14) get to role-play key functions and independently explore a kid-sized city with over 100 role-playing activities in the different establishments found in a real community. They can pretend to be firefighters and policemen out to save the world, pilots off to adventures, or teachers educating and taking care of young minds, helping them understand the functions of these people in the real world. While learning about different careers, children also discover the innerworkings of a city and the concept of earning and managing money.

KidZania incorporates real-world brands into establishments, partnering with businesses to bring to life a kid-sized city that pays incredible attention to detail—from paved roads, storefronts, buses and cars—to provide children with an authentic, interactive, immersive, and memorable experience. In coming up with their own make-believe worlds, with different characters, stories and themes, kids enjoy the freedom to let their creativity run free. Helping children explore their interests, gifts, and talents and learn through fun role-play is the bcmedia.ph

key objective of KidZania Manila, opening at the Bonifacio Global City in 2015.

At KidZania Manila, kids Having the opportunity to serve others and practice responsibility – kids will definitely be inspired to create a better world!

facebook.com/KidZaniaManila, twitter.com/kidzaniamanila, @KidZaniaManila

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BC & Commercenter’s Easter Like No Other

BC Magazine Philippines together with Commercenter Alabang celebrated Easter Sunday last April 5, 2015 with a blast! The whole day affair was brought together

by The Farm organics, ELLE, and The Bridge School. Kids enjoyed decorating eggs, cupcakes, and an Easter-themed photo shoot with our resident white Easter bunnies at the new Bc Studio cafe at the 2nd Floor of Commercenter Mall Alabang. IGM Kids Hub and Vogue Couture also prepared a chic and endearing fashion show that showcased the brands’ summer collections, modeled by BC celebrity cover kids. Kary Ycasiano of She Dreams in Ink handled the set design for the event. BC Easter Funday was also joined by partner vendors such as Pottly ‘n Tubby, Little Luli, Bug & Kelly, La Pomme, Oh my fudge!, Vogue Couture, and Fringe Salon.

BC Cover family, Lara Quigaman-Alcaraz, Marco Alacaraz and their son, Noah

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BC Cover Parents and The Farm’s Oyo Sotto and Kristine Hermosa-Sotto

Paranaque Councilor Wahoo Sotto, and wife, Nina

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Pia Guanio Mago and daughter, Scarlet, during the run through

BC cover family, Boyet Ahmee, Callie Ahmee, and Dimples Romana-Ahmee

Sherilyn Reyes Tan with daughter Sabrina

BC Cover mom, Patricia Javier and sons RJ and Robert, with her niece

Ara Mina with daughter, Amanda Meneses

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Raquel Trillo wears ELLE Kids Philippines

Mateo Vivas wears ELLE Kids Philippines

Scarlet Guanio Mago wears Desigual from IGM Kids Hub

Mikel Trillo wears Nautica Kids clothing and Chicco Philippines shoes from IGM Kids Hub

Chloe Lamata wears ELLE Kids Philippines

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Lucy Castro wears ELLE Kids Philippines

Pottly Faith wears ELLE Kids Philippines

Sabrina Tan wears ELLE Kids Philippines

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BC studio cafe Mathis Favis wears AGATHA RUIZ DE LA PRADA, Little Green Trike Shoe Company from BC Studio Cafe

Bradley Buschbotter wears Childish Clothing, Da Lil Guys

Sabina Favis wears Desigual from IGM Kids Hub

Robert Walcher wears Da Lil Guys from BC Studio Cafe

Tubby wears Zutano

Roxanne Grace Thompshon wears Baby Nay from BC Studio Cafe

Noah Alcaraz wears Fore Axel & Hudson, Ferd, pediped Footwear from BC Studio Cafe

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Marco Tancinco wears Ciao Marco Amanda Bundalian wears 77 Kids

Scarlet Guanio Mago wears Stella Cove

Maxine Favis wears C&c CALIFORNIA, DIESEL KID, UMI CHILDRENS SHOES from BC Studio Cafe Gian Tancinco wears Diesel Kid, Little Marc Jacobs, Pepe Shoes

Robert Walcher wears Fore Axel & Hudson, Petit Bateau from BC Studio Cafe

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Callie Ahmee wears Baby Nay from BC Studio Cafe bcmedia.ph

V o GU e C o u t u r e

Vogue Couture

Vogue Couture

Vogue Couture

BC studio shoot

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pa r t n e r s, a r t s & C r a f t s

SheDreams DreamsininInk Ink She

Oh My Fudge!

Vogue Couture

La Pomme

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Little Luli

Bug & Kelly

Pottly n Tubby

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bc directory FASHION

(Kids) FLORSHEIM KIDS USA TriNoma Mall; Greenbelt 5; Robinsons Ermita; SM Mall of Asia; Marquee Mall-Angeles; SM Cebu; SM Pampanga, SM Clark (Dept Stores) Rustan’s; The Landmark; SM; Robinson’s MOTHERCARE (see Lifestyle for all branches) Right Bank Babies BC Studio Cafe 2nd Floor Commercenter Mall Alabang Zutano BC Studio Cafe 2nd Floor Commercenter Mall Alabang Little Luli and Luiz; littleluliandluiz@ gmail.com My Pink Wasabi; mypinkwasabi.com; 1535 Joshua St. Jordan Plaines Novaliches, Q.C. Bug and Kelly 826-8960; bugandkelly@yahoo. com Pottly and Tubby pottlyntubby.com (Adults) GIBI shoes Glorietta 2; Market Market; Marquee Mall; The Landmark; SM Department Stores THE SM STORE All SM malls

HEALTH AND BEAUTY MUSTELA Alabang Town Center, Ayala Trinoma; Ayala Fairview Terraces; Robinson’s Manila; Glorietta 4; Greenbelt 5; Greenhills; Shangri-La; Megamall; Mall of Asia; Ayala Cebu; Mothercare stores; Rustan’s; Landmark; Wellworth; Watson’s; Chimes Davao; Purebeauty; Medela House Makati Medical Center makatimed.net. ph; 632-8888999; mmc@makatimed.net.ph Shimmian shimmianmanila.com; Medical Plaza Ortigas, SM Pampanga, SM SOUTHMALL, Cedar Executive Bldg II Timog, Quezon City

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the guncles heart simone

BC gets the exclusive on Bill Horn and Scout Masterson’s family of three, where our favorite TV ‘Guncles’ are raising their darling Simone Lynn, in the most modern, chic, and most importantly, loving way possible W O R D S A N D I N T E R V I E W B Y KAR I Z F AV I S A D D I T I O N A L W O R D S B Y VA L ER I E ANNE DE L CA S T I L L O

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nown to most as Tori Spelling’s BFFs on the hit reality television series, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood”—Bill Horn and Scout Masterson have come a long way on the show—which also followed their journey to becoming parents via open adoption to present day: as proud fathers to their adorable daughter, Simone. The latter is already

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a mini-celebrity like her godmother, Tori Spelling, at this tender age—and even has her own following and fashion blog made in her honor.

Bill and Scout are not only juggling the reality show and their public relations firm (Marque Communications) while bringing up their child, the duo are also founders of “Hold My Hand,” an instrumental mentoring service for couples

who want to adopt, or are already going through the process.

Our favorite “Guncles” tell us about coming out to their families, the “gayest story ever told,” starting their adoption work from scratch for baby number 2, and a heartwarming “chicken nugget story” that is etched in the mind of a little girl whose life is forever changed because of these two lovable men.

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THE GUNCLE S

We work with a lot of charities, and we try to do as many things to give back as we can, and kind of be a part of that. To show people that our family is just like theirs, so if there’s like a walk for breast cancer or whatever, we try to do as many of those things as we can. To just be a part of everyone’s community.

––SCOUT, on giving back Kariz: How did you meet Tori Spelling and her family, and how long have you known them?

Bill: I actually worked in a PR firm, and

I went on a trip to Turks and Caicos. I was one of the people on the trip who was actually assigned to make sure that Tori and her brother got to the event, that they were being taken care of, that they were happy, and all that fun stuff.

But then we got stuck there for 8 days, because 9/11 happened. You become quick friends with someone when you spend 8 intense days together. And then I met Scout three or four months later.

sort of into going out–but then it just happened to be when we were there at the same time.

K: It was destiny, I suppose.

S: I suppose. Together ever

after.

people are more friendly.

B: We’re not, like, flipping any tables.

S: It’s not like being on a more con-

troversial show like Jersey Shore...the fans of the Tori & Dean Show watch it because they enjoy it.

K: And they love you guys.

S: Yeah, so everybody has

event, and it was performed by drag queens.

K: Ok, that sounds like fun.

S: Sandra Dee was an African-American

K: You saw your future. (Laughs) B: But then I was with a friend

who knew another drag queen very well, and when the two drag queens were talking with one another–and Scout was with his friend–I went up to my drag queen friend, and that’s how we were actually introduced.

K: I love the gayest story ever told.

B: I love the drag show, but 20 years ago

when I was young, we weren’t really

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pride. We see people make shirts that say, “I Love My Guncle,” and it’s really cute. We’d like to think that it was all because of Tori calling us that.

K: So being in the entertainment industry, what is the biggest challenge that you’ve had to overcome as a gay couple?

S: Being in the show that we’re on,

K: How, and where?

Scout: We were at an event…

B: …Gayest story ever told.

S: It was a “Grease” sing-along

drag queen who was about 6’5”. So we were there, I was with a friend of mine who was a drag queen for fun. So after Grease, they have a carnival that they all go to. They set up a little carnival for the charity part, and my friend was reading palms—that’s where I saw Bill, he was creepily staring at me.

Universal sort of ran with it.

S: It’s cute because now we see, like, gay

From simonefashionblog. blogspot.com: Simone in Little Marc Jacobs K: How long has it been, though?

B: We will be 11 years [together]

on Super Bowl Sunday. That was February 3rd.

K: Who coined the term “Guncles?”

S: We were filming the show and

I guess Tori just started calling us that, and then all of sudden, it just took off. I think she said it once or twice, and then while we were watching the show, they literally started putting on the bottom corner, “The Guncles”.

K: It’s like a household word!

B: She came up with it, and

then NBC

been really nice. For us, it’s kind of the one thing that’s a little hard is that we share a lot of things online—and I think that it’s important to do that because Simone was born on the show eventually, so we share a lot of our lives and her life online—but there are times when I get concerned about whether somebody will start kind of following her. But there is a separation, and we try to live somewhere that is kind of really “neighborhood” and not too congested— just because I feel like it’s better to try to keep out of the way from everybody.

That’s the only thing that I think about a lot—just having to be extra careful. I don’t think people mess with babies as much as they do little kids.

B: And when you said “the entertainment community,” I think of Los Angeles. People seem to like the idea of having a gay couple with a kid. I think people are more excited than it being a negative…We’re not alone—we’re not the only gay couple in Hollywood. { MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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Even our family members thought “open adoption” meant that the birth mother or birth family could come back and “take the baby back.” They didn’t realize that open adoption just meant that you knew who the birth parents were, so you had an openness in that regard. It’s a positive thing.

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––SCOUT, on misconceptions about open adoption At Liam McDermott’s birthday party

There’s certainly a number of folks that are adopting and it’s not unheard of.

K: Is this accurate, that you guys are the first gay family to appear on a reality TV show?

S: Yeah, that’s confirmed by GLAAD. K: Is there any pressure to be examples to those who are still struggling to find acceptance in their own community? You guys are like an icon right now.

S: We do get younger kids who reach

out and say, “You know, I never thought I could look forward to having a family.” We both kind of grew up around the city—he grew up in New Jersey, but I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania—and we didn’t have examples of gay families. Here or there, somebody would say that person was “gay,” but there weren’t any role models like there are now—we weren’t able to just watch a show or go online. We do think about that a lot—we work with a

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lot of charities, and we try to do as many things as we can to give back, to show people that our family is just like theirs.

If there’s a “walk for breast cancer” or whatever, we try to do as many of those things as we can. To just be a part of everyone’s community.

B: I don’t think that we feel any pressure to be role models, I think we feel pressured to be good parents— and then whatever comes out of that, the good, bad, the ugly—it’s life. It’s what every parent experiences, so that’s how we relate with people, both gay and straight. That’s enough pressure— trying to be a good parent. I’m done.

K: Haha, exactly. I so understand. You mentioned about coming from a small town. Can we go back to how you came out to your families?

S: I come from a split home. My

mom and dad divorced when I was very young, so I grew up mostly with my mom. I would see my dad on a

regular basis when I was a kid, it was every other weekend or something like that, but we never really had a lot in common. It’s just a very small town and he was a factory worker, he was in an industry where there were no gay people—so I think that relationship was harder because I didn’t really have anything to relate to. My mom was very open and loving, so when I say officially when did I come out? When I told my mom in my 20s. All she said to me was, “I always knew.” If you are to talk to her, she would say, “I can’t believe I’m a grandma, that’s so exciting to me.”

So she actually lives right down the street from us now, and she’s Simone’s ‘granny-nanny.’ She’s in our home and in our lives every single day.

K: That works out. That’s wonderful.

B: I came out senior year of colle-

ge. Just to be safe, I waited until my parents paid the last school tuition in my college. I dyed my hair green at bcmedia.ph

THE GUNCLE S one point when I was younger, and I thought I was cool. I wasn’t. They had threatened to pull my college tuition if I didn’t dye my hair back, so I was like, well, if I did that, then they’ll pull me out of college. I told them in the winter of my senior year. And then my mom’s first reaction was, one of first things she said in the car when she was crying was, “I’m just gonna have to—“ We’re both only children (motions to Scout).

So my mom said, “I’m just gonna have to come to grips with the fact that I’ll never be a grandmother.”

K: Well, that changed.

S: Basically, the message is, our mothers

are only thinking of themselves. (rolls eyes and smiles) B: You come out, it’s gonna be all about them and not about us.

K: Haha! They’re thinking like, “My son is so handsome and I can’t have a grandchild.” (Laughs) S: Our ceremony was very much about

them as well.

K: (Laughs) We’ll go back to your ceremony in a bit. Can you tell us more about your adoption mentoring service, “Hold My Hand?” And what made you decide to do this?

S: Talking about adoption on Tori &

Dean’s show really opened up people to ask us questions on Twitter, on Facebook. Just generally, at that time, a lot of people weren’t familiar with open adoption. Even our family members thought “open adoption” meant that the birth mother or birth family could come back and “take the baby back.”

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They didn’t realize that open adoption just meant that you knew who the birth parents were, so you had an openness in that regard. It’s a positive thing. We then realized that we had this platform opportunity that it would be good to talk about adoption as much as we can, because we didn’t really see a lot of positive shows or stories being told out there about adoption. Most people, if they’re on a talk show, they’ll talk about the negative part of adoption or the negative experience. For months, we found ourselves answering questions on Facebook and Twitter, like “How did you get started? I don’t have a lot of money, how can I adopt…” With that, and going through our experience for about 6 to 7 months, we thought, “Well this is silly, let’s call it something so we can help more people.” So last November [2011], we launched “Hold My Hand.” It’s just us doing it, but we’d like to make it better and have a bigger message. We personally have helped over a hundred people and families with their adoptions within a year. We kind of do that in our spare time, but we help people with everything—from pointing them in the direction of where they can get started, to find out more in their community about adoption to literally, being up in the middle of the night, texting back and forth with someone who’s waiting in the hospital for their baby to be born.

K: Wow. S: So we’ve

had all different kinds of people who are adopting and don’t have any children of their own. They ask us, “What do I need for my nursery?

or What did you use?” Luckily for us, we’ve been able to try out pretty much around 90% of the products out there, so we have the ability to share our knowledge about that. With “Hold My Hand,” we don’t charge people money because we feel like it’s something we wanna do to help. We’re not social workers, but we know how expensive adoption is. I mean even for us, at times, it was a struggle to have a lot of the money at once.

K: Do you remember how much it cost?

S: Yeah. We worked with a non-profit

so it was a sliding scale. If we added up everything with Simone’s adoption, it would be probably just under $40,000—and you need all that in cash. A lot of people don’t have 40 grand lying around. So we tell our “Hold My Hand” clients that there’s all different ways of doing it—there’s foster-to-adopt through state programs.

We didn’t pick surrogacy because it’s $100,000 to $150,000 dollars, and that’s just out of our budget.

B: It wasn’t as important for us, because we couldn’t have a child “naturally,” you know what I mean? We didn’t feel as tied to that process as other people— like a straight couple—might.

S: We wanted to give a child a home that needed one.

K: How long was the process to adopt Simone?

B: About 2 years, from when we started

the process with the agency, it took us about 6 months to get on the books, to get paperwork signed and start officially looking, then after that, it took us a

{ MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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year. We were getting very frustrated. We were thinking that there would be more ups than downs, and we weren’t getting any phone calls.

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K: Simone’s birth mother is part of your extended family, is this correct?

B: Yeah. We text with her, send pictures,

exchange Christmas presents.

K: That’s nice.

S: That’s also

why we like to share our story is because so many people don’t have a great relationship with the birth mother. We’ve heard all kinds of crazy stories about birth mothers stealing cars, that kind of stuff.

B: We never hear good stories, which is often the case. So it’s nice to share happy stories.

K: Right. How do you plan on telling Simone about her birth mother in the future?

B: No secrets.

S: It’s important for her just to be

a natural conversation in our home, at our dining room table. We have a bunch of pictures, and one of them is of Bill and I with her birth mother and a picture of her as a baby. Bill has taught her a bedtime story that Simone knows now, about adoption.

B: Yeah, we call her our little nugget— “Nuggie”—so it’s all about the daddy wanting a chicken nugget, searching, and then he got a phone call and he got on a plane, and he went across the country, and then we found Simone.

And she now knows it by heart.

K: So cute!

B: Every single

night when I tuck her in, she goes—“Tell me the chicken nugget story!”

S: It’s part of who she is, and it’s part of who we are. We’re not gonna make a big deal out of it. We’re just gonna be part of her story.

K: How old is she now, by the way?

S: Two and a half.

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The Guncles with Simone during her second birthday

B:

Fourteen. She’s 14 years.

K: They’re all going on fourteen. How do you guys split parenting duties?

B: Scout cooks.

S: We keep it easy, we don’t really have

specific chores. We’ve had a lot of couples ask us that, too. A lot of gay families who are adopting say, “How do you split it up?” I think, in the single lifestyle, you kind of let things go, there’s not a structure to the home. We just kind of pick up where the other one leaves off.

Growing up, I had friends who, the dad took the garbage out—we just kind of do whatever.

K: To pitch in.

B: I tuck her

in, and Scout enjoyed cooking even before Simone.

K: I enjoy eating, so I would love to go to your house. (Laughs) S: Yes! Hahaha!

B: My mom told me that my dad never

changed my diaper. I think that’s where a lot of people’s mindsets come from, that’s what confuses them about us. “It’s the woman’s job to do this.” and it’s the man’s job to do that.” Well, that isn’t how it works today with our straight friends, and that’s certainly not gonna work with us.

K: Certainly not. Haha!

B: If it’s a poopy diaper,

it’s whoever is

the closest.

K: Haha! So aside from the show and Hold My Hand, what keeps you guys busy?

S: We’ve been developing and kind

of pitching our own show about us, about our adoption story, our Hold My Hand clients. Hopefully, knock on wood, that’ll be coming to light in the coming year. We also have our own boutique PR firm[Marque Communications], and we work with baby and kids’ products, which we found are interesting to us. Bill comes from a long background with PR, and I come from entertainment. I was a casting director for 13 years. We joined forces together to do events, traditional PR, celebrity seeding of products. We have clients that we keep all year round, like the 4moms Origami and Skip Hop. Bebe Au Lait is also our client. This year we worked on a few events with Britax. We work with Daddy Scrubs.

K: I know you work with Baby Buggy too? We featured Jessica Seinfeld. That’s her organization, right?

S: Yeah. We were able to hook up LA

Family Housing to be a Baby Buggy recipient. LA Family Housing is about people working their way out of poverty, so it’s a live-in facility of people with children of any age, and you either go to school or you work, and they save bcmedia.ph

THE GUNCLE S

I think we feel pressured to be good parents—and then whatever comes out of that, the good, bad, the ugly—it’s life.

It’s what every parent experiences, so that’s how we relate with people, both gay and straight. That’s enough pressure— trying to be a good parent. I’m done.

––BILL, on BEING ROLE MODELS

that money in lieu of you staying there for free, then you use all the donations to live. At the end of 2 years, they help you get an apartment, furniture, and pay for all your utilities with the money you saved. So you work your way out of poverty, and that’s teaching people how to survive in the world.

dies expire. They fingerprint you, so ours expired.

K: That’s amazing. Do you have a favorite daddy duty?

B: I like reading to her at night.

S: My favorite thing is when she was

K: Which you have not, I assume.

S: I thought once you adopted,

a baby, I would dream about the time where she could be old enough to lay and watch a movie with me. So now, I enjoy that.

B: Now he gets to watch, “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.” K: Haha, congratulations!

B: She’s never been to China,

wants to go to China.

and she

K: Are you guys planning on having more children?

S: We announced that we are gonna

start for the second baby; we just don’t know how long it will take. The other thing about adoption is that we have to start over, just like we never had adopted a baby. So you have to start from scratch, no shortcuts.

B: Everything expires—our home stu-

K: And you can be denied a child? Is that a possibility, even if you’ve already adopted?

S: Yes. I mean, I think if we commit

felony.

a

all that stuff was good. That’s not the case—you start from the beginning. We have such a great relationship with our birth mother that I’m honest with the fact that it’s frightening to think about having a whole new birth mother and a whole different personality in our lives.

There’s a possibility that the next birth mother will be crazy, or not as nice or as fun.

B: Or she could be an international supermodel.

S and B: You’ll never know.

K: The genetics could be awesome. Best and most challenging part about being a parent?

B: We’re in the “terrible twos” right

now, and we’re potty training—it’s sort of that you’re in between, “When am I being too strict?” We don’t wanna let her get away with things just because she’s 2. We’ve seen parents do that.

S: I don’t wanna be B: She could be

Dina Lohan. our birth mother.

Shhhh…

S: Yeah, I think that’s it. Juggling everything—we like to take Simone to school. She goes to a toddler school.

S: We’re not willing to let go of anything in her life, so just juggling work, the show, Hold My Hand, Simone, and the charity—it’s a lot. So for me, when I think about parenting is I’m always exhausted.

K: Right. It never ends.

S: I can’t imagine, I’ll

give you a lot of credit for having several children.

K: I almost forgot to ask you about your wedding.

S: We had a ceremony that Tori threw

for us on the show. It was a lot of fun, just a small group of friends. This was when she was starting out with her wedding planning. Being around her, she encouraged us that birthdays have to be gigantic celebrations. Simone’s two birthdays have been pretty epic.

K: I saw the photos on people.com S: We’re spoiled for a normal birthday

party.

K: That’s gonna set the stage for the rest of her life.

More from simonefashionblog.blogspot.com: Bill and Simone; Wearing her 100 Gumdrop necklace; With BFF, Lucy, dining at the Beverly Hills Hotel; Simone at the Farmer’s Market bcmedia.ph

{ MAY-JUNE 2015 } b c PHILIPPINES

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People seem to like the idea of having a gay couple with a kid. I think people are more excited than it being a negative.

––BILL, on BEING gay celebrity parents

Yeah. It’s all because of her godmother, Tori.

S:

K: Of course. Tori had snow in her birthday party, in LA. And lastly, do you already have funny daddy experiences? At her age? Embarrassing ones?

B: Oh, the Target story.

S: We were at Target buying

something, and I was looking for

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shower gel or shampoo for her—and she, you know, they had everything from the bottom to the top shelf, and she had to have strawberry—like everything has to be strawberry—so I’m looking for strawberry shampoo, and I said, ‘I just don’t see any, Simone,’ and I’m looking, and she had seen a bottle at her level with a little strawberry on it, so she scre-

amed to me, she said, ‘Bend over.’ and I said, ‘Why?’ ‘I said bend over.’

And everybody in Target was there looking. So that was pretty embarrassing.

K: Haha! Do you guys want another daughter?

B: Either way it’s fine with us, as long

as he or she is healthy.

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TV’s favorite Guncles, Bill Horn and Scout Masterson, share their adoption story

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