What Gail Simmons Can’t Live Without

This is an on-the-go lip-and-cheek balm made with olive oil from the Sofia Coppola winery.[Editors’ note:Casey Wilson is also a fan.]It looks like mini-deodorantand is very small, so I keep it in my purse at all times. I use it every day when I’m on the go just to brighten my cheeks and lips. My daughter goes into my purse to use it, too.

I am aStar Warsand science-fiction and fantasy fan, and also a bigpopcornfan — we make it in my house a lot. I don’t like microwave popcorn, though. I prefer air-popped kernels. At Christmas, we were playing this game called theMinnesota Dice Game, although I think everyone just claims it’s their state’s dice game. Everyone brings a bunch of gifts and you throw them in the middle, and if you roll doubles, you get to choose a gift, but then in subsequent rounds you can steal — it’s a bit like a white elephant. Anyway, last year, I snatched this popcorn maker after fierce competition, and I love it because it’s the shape of a Death Starandmakes air-popped popcorn.

So everyone’s heard about Parachute from the subway ads, but they’re actually really goodsheets.[Editors’ note: We have written about themattress topper from Parachutebefore.]I love linen sheets. I actually bought some linen sheets from a fancy Italian linen brand when we moved into our home a few years ago, and we loved them because linen is just the most comfortable fabric. It gets softer the more you wash, and more worn in, in this great way. Well, we wore them in so much that we got holes in them. Then we thought,Parachute is so approachable, we might as well try them. Now, we’ve had them for three months, and we love them. They’re great linen sheets that won’t cost you a crazy amount.

Loeffler Randall is such a great shoe brand at such an affordable price. I buy so many shoes from them, it’s embarrassing. I havetheir bootsandsummer sandalsandespadrilles. These are beautifully designed booties because they’re put-together and help you look like an adult in meetings.

Yeti makes thatfamous cooler, and I have these twocoffeemugs from them that I just love. Everyone gives me a millionthermosesandwater bottles, and I don’t use them at all except for my Yeti. I like making mycoffeeat home when I can, and since I don’t always have time to drink it at home, I like carrying it. The thermos is so good at keeping my coffee warm, and it’s just a badass-looking, simple mug. Very functional.

Everyone knows about Manuka honey now because of its medicinal properties, but a friend of a friend sent me some of these Manuka-honey drops that I became addicted to. I love these lozenges because even if you’re not sick, they’re deliciously tasty. Heading into flu season, I’m going to be on the road a lot for the book tour, and I’m constantly talking, so I’m going to be packing this one with me to keep my throat in good shape.

It’s a hotel in Austin I discovered a few years ago that’s incredibly luxurious, by far my favorite city hotel in America. It has the most beautiful vibe and every design detail is thoughtful — you want to move in, but you can’t. So every room has a bunch of stuff in the bathroom that you can buy, and of course one of them is this indigo kimonorobe. The first one or two times I was there, I adored the robe and didn’t take it off the whole time. It’s nice because it’s thin, so you’re not sweating like when you wear terry robes. This thin cotton gets softer as it’s washed. Two years ago, I took three girlfriends there for a weekend, and as a gift they bought me the robe — now I wear it every day.

This is a beauty company with a store in Soho and Boston that was one of the first all-natural beauty stores of its kind — everything’s ecofriendly and sustainable and fair trade, and they make this beautiful hand soap that I use for everything in this beautiful lemongrass scent. I wouldn’tbrush your teethwith it, but for everything else, it’s great.

Valerie is an amazingly accomplished chocolate-maker and pastry chef — I discovered her Good Mix a few years ago, which is a crunchy mix of all sorts of delicious things that she then covers in chocolate: almonds and sesame seeds and raisins. It’s like trail mix, but covered in chocolate. Andthenshe came out with Hot Good Mix, which has just this light dash of cayenne pepper or spicy paprika, and I can’t even explain, but it’s super addictive. I got it for all my friends for Christmas last year.