As you know Troy and I snuck away to Santa Barbara for a few days. It was such a treat to have a few days to ourselves, taking the time to see the sights and catch up with some much-needed “us” time.

We love to travel, especially when it’s not too far away from home. California has been our destination of choice, as it’s one of our favourite states because it just has so much to offer!  I instantly fell in love with Santa Barbara and it’s relaxed-yet-sophisticated charm.

Everywhere you go there’s a touch of colorful mosaic tile. From street numbers to benches to decorative borders – it’s everywhere! Oversized terracotta pots with gorgeous blooms and endless olive trees, too. (Am I setting the mood or what?)

I love everything blue and white lately, hence my two outfits in this post. Especially pottery and mosaic tiles!  As you can imagine seeing all the blue and white tile on every corner made me want to bring some home with me.

While we were in downtown Santa Barbara we stumbled across a little store packed with gorgeous terracotta and beautiful painted mosaic tiles and decor. I left with little pinch bowls and tiles that I’ll use for an upcoming DIY. I loved it all!

I just adored walking around and discovering the streets of this charming shopping district. It was all so crisp and clean, full of sun-bleached buildings and tons of healthy food options! The honour bar (above) was one of our favourite lunch spots, the kale salad was amazing!

I’m obsessed with yummy nut milks; we even discovered a nut-milk frozen soft serve with fresh berries at one of the juiceries, perfect for Troy’s healthy sweet tooth!

Everything about our shopping date was perfectly relaxing, and a treat to be alone- just to two of us sans kiddos! I regularly questioned why we don’t live there, or have a cute little summer home here. I mean, it is perfect! Hot sun, delicious food and blue and white mosaic decor – I left Santa Barbara as one happy momma! As well as some souvenirs to include in my home decor at home, I’m so in love with it all! 

We ended up using our credit card for most purchases on this trip. Credit cards are no joke. We take them seriously, evaluating cards and comparing benefits to find the one best suited for our needs. Plus how could I leave this gorgeous pottery behind? The blue designs were just perfectly simple and elegant.

We’ve been loyal Amex customers for years, so when I was approached to become an Amex Ambassador for the Blue Cash Preferred Card, it made sense. With the amount we travel (and shop) in the States, the benefits of the card couldn’t be beaten! There’s an annual fee of $95, but the great part is you can easily earn cash back on almost all of your purchases!

I’ll be sharing a few of my Blue Cash Preferred Card adventures over the next couple of months here and over on my Instagram feed. Sadly, we can’t tour Santa Barbara for each of these adventures, but we’ll always have our memories and gorgeous souvenirs!

This post is sponsored by American Express. As always, the opinions are mine!