many months of planning have led to the beginning of construction of urbàna cityspa & teabar, an urban nirvana that we hope will be your favorite place to escape the world outside. a spring opening is scheduled at charlotte's carmel village, and we invite you to celebrate with us. special events to be announced, but for now, sign up by january 31 for a free bottle of teany tea, available soon at urbàna. just click here to contact us, and type in 'teany tea' under comments.

even if you're not in san francisco on january 26, the ideas behind this film make great tea for thought. yerba buena cultural arts center will present tea by frank scheffer, based predominantly on "tea opera" by tan dun, the composer best known for his music for crouching tiger, hidden dragon. it follows tan dun's belief that every stone, plant, person or tea leaf has a soul, and as tea is created from two hostile elements (fire and water), tea turns to a metaphor for peace. the film includes "breathtaking images of tea ceremonies, a chinese puppet play, and landscapes inspired by tea, brought together in swirling, graceful montage." we love the idea that the spirit of tea is a reflection of the human soul.

ashiatsu oriental bar therapy™ comes to charlotte at urbàna cityspa & teabar, with a room dedicated to this luxuriously therapeutic modality in which the therapist holds onto parallel ceiling bars and uses his/her feet to do the work. 'ashi' means 'foot' and 'atsu' means 'pressure', and this ancient form of bodywork was done by buddhist monks, based on traditional chinese medicine. although it shares the same asian roots, ashiatsu oriental bar therapy™ is western in application and technique and is performed on a massage table. the therapist's feet are able to cover more surface area than hands and deliver a deep swedish massage that is loved by athletes for reducing muscle pain, by people with chronic low back pain, and also by anyone who needs to destress tense shoulders and hips.

urbàna makes it easy to give an escape to someone special. giftcards may be applied to an array of products or services, including couple's massage.

go to www.escape2urbana.com for the perfect valentine.

artist natalia nakazawa, born in charlotte and now of NYC, will exhibit at the grand opening of urbàna's carmel village location in charlotte. check out her statement here, then check out her work at www.natalianakazawa.com or at urbàna: "i graduated in 2004 from the rhode island school of design. my senior year, i organized a trip to brazil and spent a month teaching arts and crafts to children living in the favelas of rio de janeiro. it was a turning point for me both artistically and spiritually. i came home with new concepts and a fresh look to paint and color -- all inspired by rio's vitality and spontaneity. the children living on the coast are full with the ocean. they are half human, half fish. bare feet playing soccer on the beach, salty hair and fluid eyes. i came back to the states, entered my studio on the opposite side of the world, turned my painting upside down and started all over again...."

we wish you a fresh page, a continuance of all that's right in your life, a vision of what can be better, and the will to be all you can be, without sacrificing self/soul in the process. and we wish you time to relax, to celebrate each day, to be good to yourself, to touch someone else's life, to taste the tea.