Summer entertaining and supporting Heart of Haiti @HEARTofHAITI

Summertime is a good time in our house. My husband has most of the summer off from working. (I say most because he does end up working about two weeks out of the summer.) We used to have an end-of-school/beginning-of-summer party, which morphed into my husband’s birthday party.

We love to entertain.

When the weather is nice, our guests will find themselves on our back deck and in the back yard. We have several trees that keep things cool and our summers aren’t ridiculously hot – we’re pretty fortunate in that regard.

In anticipation of summer guests, I worked on clearing off our back porch last weekend. I tend to keep things simple out there to avoid a lot of upkeep. A few chairs, a table, our grill and a lantern or two is really all I need. Whatever I can do to keep things simple makes everyone else most comfortable.

The folks at Heart of Haiti recently sent me this Jonas Sunflower Metal Lantern made in Haiti to add a little more to our porch. The lantern is beautiful and I’ve been searching for the perfect spot for it to live.

I did hang the lantern before deciding to place it on the table outside. I want to hang it in a more permanent place, but we have a family of birds in our hanging birdhouse, so I have to wait a couple of weeks before disturbing them. (See how we’re looking out for all families? Even bird families.) I’ll move the birdhouse soon.

For now I’m using battery operated tea lights for some extra lighting and ambiance. This piece is made for a candle, but with a little one running around, I didn’t want to go that route right now. (Also, I don’t trust myself with outside candles. I don’t always remember to put them out.

The Heart of Haiti line is made in the town of Croix des Bouquets. Sales of the lanterns like I received allow the metal artisans to send their children to school and support their families. The line for sale through Macy’s helps support over 550 artisans and their families.

All of the gifts are handcrafted. I love that I’m giving back to one of the 4500 extended family members when I purchase one of the decorative Heart of Haiti items.

Right now you can get Macy’s Heart of Haiti line in a few physical locations, but you can find all of the Heart of Haiti items online.

Have you heard of Heart of Haiti? If so, have you purchased any of their items? I have a few other things (like an ornament) that I absolutely love. The products are high quality and beautiful.

For more on Heart of Haiti, visit them on Facebook or Twitter.

**I did receive a metal lantern in exchange for this post. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.