On The Run: Paris and a new chapter in Toscana

This post is more of a journal entry. Something that I felt the need to write, because my heart is heavy. This past weekend completed a 2 year journey working with Beyonce. Having completed two tours with Beyonce and one with JayZ (Mrs Carter Show/On The Run), I have experienced so many incredible things, have traveled the world many times, and have gained the most incredible family. The end of the tour kind of snuck up on me, and I didn’t expect it. It wasn’t until about a year into the tour that I really started opening my eyes to how incredible my job and my life really is. I was still adjusting to being out in the real world. However, being on the road for 2 years didn’t feel like real life. It honestly felt like an extension of school.

Just like the rest of my tour family we’ve had ups and downs, amazing shows, great traveling experiences and not so good ones.. we’ve experienced heartbreak, we’ve fought, and experienced the most incredible highs one could imagine. I can’t even begin to tell you about all of the amazing people I’ve met. I’ve experienced love from so many fans and people around the globe…language barrier or not.

This post was prompted by me sitting in my Italian class this morning in Tuscany.. (yes, I moved to Tuscany.. for a little while anyway). Everyone in the class was introducing themselves to each other, and then it came my turn. People asked why I was there and what I do, etc. So I stumbled through telling them about my adventure in the past two years in broken italian.. and that is when I realized that that chapter of my life is over (for now anyway).. I haven’t accepted that yet. Yes, when one door closes another opens, and I’m excited about a new beginning, however.. I wasn’t ready for that life to end. I wasn’t ready to leave my sisters in the band.. I wasn’t ready to not wake up, go to soundcheck, play a show, etc. But what can you do? I’m so grateful to Beyonce for not only giving me the opportunity to play, but more for just bringing me together with my family. We have become a family. I’m so grateful and blessed for being able to have had that experience.. and it’s certainly not over. But you have to understand, before I joined Beyonce, I was still in school.. so this is really the first time in my life I have no strings attached to anything or anyone. It’s so freeing. It’s overwhelming. It’s exciting. It’s petrifying.

Which brings me here.. To Toscana. In my house on top of many hills.. with the most amazing view that I didn’t think existed in real life. Yet, here I am. I cook. I learn Italian. I play music. I write music.. I meet new people. It’s an amazing life. As they say here.. “prima o poi le cose belle finiscono” which means “now or later all of the beautiful things end”.
Anyway.. enough of that. I’m working on the next few episodes of the cooking show..which will air soon! I have so much love for all of the fans and friends that have followed my journey the past 2 years.. It’s not over yet.. So stay tuned!! Thank you all for your support!

P.s. To my sisters.. Rie, Katty, Crystal, Bibi, Joy, LT, Dani, Tiffany, Crissy, Montina..I love you with ALL of my heart. God blessed me with you all in my life. See you really soon.. one way or another!10685792_10202672571963194_8656351411958126434_n

Con molto amore (with much love),
Adison

beyGOOD Christmas Extravaganza in the Bronx

Last night the Mrs Carter Crew put on a Christmas Extravaganza for families in need in association with Beyonce’s Beygood program! All thanks to Denee Baptiste and the Mrs Carter Dancers for putting it all together!

These kids all wrote us their Christmas wish lists and everyone in the crew bought them their presents all wrapped and ready to go! We had lots of festivities for the kids including a dance area,
Arts and crafts, reading to the kids, and taking pictures with Santa Claus!

Naturally at Adi’s Jazz Kitchen we have to run the cookie/cupcake decorating station, which was a complete success! Who doesn’t like christmas cookies and cupcakes?! Come on now.. I started baking as soon as I got back into town from our Boston show at 430 AM all day until the event.. Now keep in mind there were hundreds of people and all this baking took place in one oven w 2 racks and a very small nyc kitchen! What a blast though…

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The gingerbread recipe I used was killer! I highly recommend it. (They come out chewy and very flavorful)
http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/411823

Here’s the red velvet cupcake recipe I used (also highly recommended!)
http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/478166
In addition to making regular cream cheese frosting, I also made my own recipe: NUTELLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING! Can you say dabombdotcom? Here it is:

3 cups conf sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter softened
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups Nutella
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Blend all the ingredients together. Frost cupcakes when cooled completely. Store extra frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

It’s so important to remember to give back to those who might need a hand this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Life on the road with the Mrs Carter Crew and Beyoncé

Just like any other leg to this tour there have been ups and downs.. Mostly ups! I love being on the road in the US just because of the simple fact that it’s not TOO far away from home, and I still get to use my phone and have internet :D. Plus, this leg is shorter than the others, which is nice since the holiday season is here and we all just want to be home with our families. Meanwhile, I have my lovely tour family and here’s some of the adventures we’ve had so far this leg…

We had a blast in San Jose at Christmas in the Park..

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getting in the Christmas spirit with my favorite movie..

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We go to rehearsals and rock out…

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Kind of like Larry (Les Twins) and Derek did today on the bus in Kentucky..

We catch lots of trains, planes, boats, and buses..

There’s ups! like seeing my suite mate from Interlochen (high school) in Houston, Emily for lunch!

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Then there’s more ups like getting picked up in cool dude cars on occasion..

photo-76The best part about this leg so far was the COOKING PARTY that we had at Jennita’s! Here’s a sneak peek (full episode to appear soon)!

I made apricot glazed turkey meatballs, and they were a hit! I love sweet and savory. yum yum yum!

Lots of the crew cooked too including Katty, and her “Not Paula Deen’s Banana Pudding”

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photo-78Crissy even gave LT a peanut butter facial! She’s very convincing. 😉

Then there’s the times where we are killing time backstage (everynight) so we watch Ancient Aliens.. Dun Dun Dun!!!

photo-85and Rie always falls asleep.. she’s dreaming of aliens..

photo-86Then there’s the Mrs Carter Show..

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It’s a good job.

Christmas in the Park with my Beycrew!

Here I am again, starting another leg (the 5th one to be exact) of the Mrs Carter Show World Tour with Beyonce. It really snuck up on me this time.. I was having such a good time with my family and my sweetheart over Thanksgiving I barely noticed I had to leave the day after. We started off in Vancouver (which is beautiful I hear.. No time to explore) then we flew into San Jose today. My spirits were lifted when I saw a Christmas fair outside of our hotel!! So we went, we ate, we stole Santa’s sleigh, and we decked the halls and it was a blast!

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See you tomorrow night San Jose!

Halloween down under with the Mrs Carter Band

Hey Everyone! Here are some shots and videos from the Mrs Carter Show Halloween party and the band carving watermelons! I didn’t buy a costume so I tore the sheets off my bed and made a toga! It came together with the help of some of Crystal’s birthday flowers.. Always finding ways to improvise over here.. Here’s the stuff!

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I hope you all had a very spooky halloween!

In other news.. Stay tuned for a new episode of Adi’s Jazz Kitchen.. Featuring a very talented special guest!! Take a guess who..

Dun dun duuunn!

Fish Tacos down unda with the Mrs Carter Crew!

The lack of a kitchen on the road really infuses a deep sense of excitement (over the normal amount) within me when it comes to good food..  As you can see by this video, I am more than thrilled when our “after show” food is us getting our own taco truck. You can also see, that I’m not the only one! (Both of the Larry’s, Crystal, and Rie seem to agree)!

Been having a blast, Melbourne. See you for show number 3 tonight!

Eating my way through Sydney Airport

Hey all,

Sorry I’ve been gone, but since the end of the South American leg of Beyonce’s Mrs Carter Show involved a whole lot of jet setting and no sleep, my immune system crashed on me when I finally got home.

So I spent a good two weeks in bed being sick. However, I did manage to get out of bed to go to a gala event with my sweetheart!

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Damn. I accidentally just erased all that I wrote.. Now I have to type it all again. (On this iphone) agh.. Ok here goes take 2..

Besides getting in a lot of rest this break I also did work on the second episode of Adi’s Jazz Kitchen cooking show! I’m very excited to put it all together and release it to you guys as soon as I recover all of the data that is on my hard drive that just crashed :/ it sounds bad, I know.. But I’m sure that once I come across a Genius Bar, we’ll be set!
Anywho, back on the road again. Stuck in Sydney airport.. See video below.

Mr Bear is here too..

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That’s all for now. See you soon,
Kiwis!

Backstage Experience: Medellin, Colombia

While backstage a few nights ago in Medellin, Colombia, lots of interesting discoveries occurred. First, while finishing up our makeup and hair we had a visit from La Escuela Kolacho (The Kolacho School). This was a group of kids that studied hip hop and dancing as a part of a program to keep kids off of the streets. They were just yet another very inspiring group of people that I have met in South America. Here’s a clip of one of the kids showing us how it’s done:

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Part 2 of my discoveries in Medellin come from Dani and I in catering. I discovered one of my new favorite foods! The granadilla! It’s a fruit native to Bolivia, Venezuela, and Colombia and tastes similar to a passionfruit but is sweeter!

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The granadilla has black seeds on the inside and surrounded by a pulp. It may look weird but it’s so yummy and packed with Vitamins C, A, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium! As you can see by this video however, I need to work on my eating technique of this fruit. That last bite wasn’t so lady like.. :p

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Caracas, Venezuela and Medellin, Colombia

I know I’m a little late on your post, Venezuela! Thank you for the most adventurous show I’ve ever experienced! I’m grateful for you! At this point in the tour, just the traveling alone is enough to wear you out.. So I decided to stay in the hotel for our time in Caracas, but loved experiencing the mountains of Venezuela on the way from the airport to the hotel!

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While at the hotel I had some pretty good food! I think one of the top dishes of this leg so far is this one: crema de auyama: (pumpkin soup)

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It was the most comforting dish and reminded me of home. (Can you tell I’ve gotten a little homesick, yet? Lol) Comes with the territory.
One of the best moments in Caracas was going to Benihana with Rie and sitting next to two couples from Venezuela (both speaking Spanish and one couple knew Italian too) Rie didn’t know a word of Spanish or Italian.. And mine is very broken in both languages, yet we had a full dinner’s conversation talking about where we were from and how we like South America and all.. What an adventure that was. Rie and I left the dinner and she said “Adison, that was SO MUCH FUN! Like one giant game of charades!” Hahaha and it was!

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Today is actually the day of the show in Colombia.. So I hope you guys are ready, Medellin! We got here yesterday, after the quickest plane ride I’ve ever experienced.. (2 hrs but I was passed out for the entire thing) I fell asleep before the plane took off and when it landed, I woke up and started freaking out because I didn’t know where I was, but the more alarming question was, who was underneath my bed shaking it. I really thought I was being attacked by the boogie monster. (Rough, I know). To give you a better idea of my flying experience yesterday.. here’s Mr Bear and I after 2 hrs of sleep and waiting for 5 hours in the airport. Wait, this one needs a proper intro.

Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce to you the most glamorous part of the road..

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I’m going for Miss America with that shot.. Jeez Louise. My point is people.. Is that this job isn’t all makeup, heels, and fabulousness. It involves a whole LOT of looking like that. Anywho..

Luckily I woke up enough to experience the winding mountainous roads and beautiful landscape of Colombia. I wouldn’t of been able to sleep even if I wanted to the way the bus driver, Weavie Wonder (ba dum psh) was flying around the corners like we were in an Aston Martin.. Plus the whizzing by of the motorcyclists.. Turning the corners like they’re in a video game and going by so quickly it sounded like a bumble bee was permanently in my ear. The views and the weather were stunning, though:

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I’m looking forward to playing for you tonight, Colombia!
Have a beautiful Sunday, all!

Belo Horizonte Adventure!

Today was our day off in Belo Horizonte and it was such a blast! Brazil, you are such a beautiful country with amazing people! At first I didn’t think anything was going to happen outside of the hotel today, since we’re all pretty unfamiliar with Belo Horizonte, but it turned out to be a day full of adventure, thanks to our lovely tour guide, Raquel!
Let’s start at the beginning. First was the Central Market:

My mind goes into overdrive whenever I’m in a market, especially a fun one like this! There were so many colors, scents, shapes and sizes.. I wanted to try everything! (I’m not kidding, our tour guide Raquel was like “wow she really does want to eat everything doesn’t she?!”) Starting with empadas.. the perfect balanced bite of crusty dough, salty beef, and melty creamy cheese. Ah, heaven! Rie wanted to get more to bring home, they were so good! Here’s Rie, Bibi, Raquel, and myself:

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Next up was the Brazilian cachaca, explained to me by Raquel:

We chased our empadas with the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever tasted. yum!

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Not only were there lots of yummy things to eat, but there were lots of babies! Here’s Larry’s new friend:

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Our next stop on the Belo Horizonte Adventure was to hear a little bit of a very happening Brazilian pop band, Jota Quest play in the park!

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Continuing on in our music/food/adventure filled day, we stopped to enjoy acai bowls with granola and banana! Apparently the acai fruit is known in the amazon as the “viagra of the amazon”.. Little fun fact for ya.. 😉 lol!

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The best part about eating this antioxidant packed snack is the color it turns your tongue..

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After that we took a drive with Praca Do Papas in mind as our destination and took in the scenery and happened to take a roller coaster ride! (??) I mean, we drove down the steepest hill I’ve ever seen in my life. The one in the video yelling “we’re all gonna die”.. yeah, that’s me.

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Belo Horizonte, thank you for an amazing adventure packed day filled with food, music, breathtaking views, a rich culture, and lots of love. My heart goes out to you and I cannot wait to play for you all tomorrow night!
Eu amo voce!
Adi

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