2 birthday bashes & a shower

Two Sundays ago, on March 30, Krista Ranillo and her husband Niño Jefferson Lim hosted a baby shower for their third child due anytime this month, which is also the birth month of Krista and Niño. Venue was the social hall of a subdivision in Valencia, California, where they’ve been residing since 2011.

“It’s a girl,” Krista told Funfare two weeks before the affair. “We are naming her Nathalie Lourdes after Our Lady of Lourdes to whom I prayed to bless us with a daughter when I visited The Grotto.”

The couple has two sons, Nate Jacob, two years old, and Nolan Jayden, one year old, so named so that their initials (NJ) would be like those of their dad (who manages 13 supermarkets around California).

Krista’s parents, Mat Ranillo III and Linda Tupaz (bottom), were around to help entertain the guests.

Photos by Girlie Rodis

The birthday of Tirso “Pip” Cruz III falls on April Fools’ Day (April 1), and this year he celebrated it (his 62nd) last Sunday, April 6, among friends at The Valencia Place (on #38 Valencia St., Quezon City), an events place built by Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde.

Host was Pip’s wife Lyn Ynchausti who, together with good friends Lorna Tolentino and Maritess Gutierrez (with Lyn’s fellow Paulinians Maricar Magalona-Martinez and Bernadette Joaquin-Fabian), are managing the place under Heads & Hearts, the company they have recently set up.

“Initially,” Lyn told Funfare, “we wanted to just rent the front portion to set up a restaurant we are calling 38 Degrees (opening in July), “until Mother Lily let us manage the whole place (formal opening soon).”

Top to bottom: Pip and Lyn with their children Bodie, Djanin and TJ…with Mother Lily, and John Estrada and his wife Priscilla Meirelles…Susan Roces and Dulce…Christopher de Leon and wife Sandy Andolong…and Gloria Romero and daughter Maritess Gutierrez.

Photos by Ver Paulino

Since she’s still recovering from that box jellyfish sting, Anne Curtis wasn’t able to attend the 20th birthday bash of younger sister Jasmine Curtis-Smith last April 5 at the Liquid Bar inside the Manila Ocean Park, aired as a special episode on the TV5 social-media music show SPINNation (every Saturday night at 11).

“Happy birthday,” said Anne in a video message, “I’m always here to protect you.” (But she attended, although briefly, the birthday dinner for Jasmine the next day.)

Also sorely missed at the Liquid Bar event was Jasmine’s boyfriend Sam Concepcion who had an unpleasant encounter with Anne during Vice Ganda’s birthday party at 71 Gramercy (co-owned and co-managed by Raymond Gutierrez) last March 30.

“I’m thankful that my sister is willing to be judged for protecting me,” said the teary-eyed Jasmine. “And I love her,” dismissing questions about the incident by adding, “That’s not my issue. I was not there. It’s not my problem. Who knows what really happened? That’s between the both of them who were there. I refuse to be involved because I was not there. My relationship with anyone has not changed. My sister, my family and with Sam, it’s all the same. Life is so short, so why focus on negative things when there are so many things to be thankful for?”