We first fell in love with Kristen Bell during a 2012 appearance on Ellen, when she shared the story of how her now-husband Dax Shepard surprised her with a sloth on her 31stbirthday—and she had a total meltdown. (Who can forget the footage of Bell lying on her bed and hysterically crying?)
In the seven years since, Bell has given us many more reasons to love her: For portraying the plucky Princess Anna in Disney’s Frozen, for making us LOL as Kiki in Bad Moms, for giving us both a Veronica Mars movie and a fourth season, and for playing the hilariously flawed Eleanor Shellstrop in NBC’s existential satire The Good Place. Ahead of the hit show’s return (the fourth and final season of The Good Place premieres September 26 at 9 PM ET), Bell shared a few of her favorite things with O.
Croutons.
Sometimes I buy them, and sometimes I make my own. Just cut up a loaf of sourdough, add Lawry’s seasoned salt and olive oil, and bake. People forget about them, but not me, man. I would have croutons over any potato chip.
A pillow from Jimmy Kimmel and his wife.
It’s embroidered with my tweet asking my husband, Dax Shepard, to marry me, as well as his tweet saying yes. We’d waited to get married because half our friends are gay and we didn’t think it was appropriate to have a wedding until they could, too. The morning DOMA was squashed in the Supreme Court, I proposed on Twitter.
The Tiny Chef.
He’s a green stop-motion character on Instagram who cooks mini plant-based dishes while singing popular music—but almost entirely in gibberish, which I think makes him universal.
Michigan.
Watching my children catch lightning bugs like I did as a kid and experiencing the state’s sweltering humidity and mosquitoes on steroids—that helps the world make a bit more sense to me.
Senior rescue dogs.
I’ll scroll through Petfinder for hours asking, “Are you my dog? Are you my dog?” But my husband is allergic. When we met, I said, “I can’t not have dogs.” He was like, “I get it, but I can’t breathe. Can you get a hypoallergenic one?” Now we have 16-year-old Lola and one we recently adopted. She’s named Taffy, but we call her Tiffany, or Triscuit, or Biscuit, or Barb.
Massages.
I like hugging, holding hands, any sort of touch. If I could get a massage every weekend, I would. My favorite spot is Dtox Day Spa in Los Angeles, but I’m not picky. When I was pregnant with my first child, I’d go to the Chinese foot spa up the street from our house, where you sit fully clothed in a La-Z-Boy, listen to weird spa music, and watch Asian game shows on mute. The massages were so unbelievable that I went twice a week.
Empathy.
It’s one of the first emotions I’m teaching my daughters, because I think we’re happier and stronger as a species when we recognize we’re not the only ones on the planet. I wish the world had an endless supply of it. Well, that and grilled cheese.
Matcha.
I need a cup first thing. I even tell my girls, “Mommy doesn’t talk until she’s had her matcha.” My own mom knows this all too well: In middle and high school, she came into my room each morning armed with a shot of orange juice, because she knew I’d be a nightmare without it.
Metamorphosis Studio.
I’ve never loved working out until I started going to Metamorphosis. Instead of yelling at you like at a boot camp, the teachers are super encouraging—though the classes are still challenging. It’s shocking to me that at 39 years old, I now have the butt I’ve always wanted.
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