title: Convert a String representation of a Dictionary to a dictionary
body: <p>How can I convert the <code>str</code> representation of a <code>dict</code>, such as the following string, into a <code>dict</code>?</p>
  
  <pre><code>s = "{'muffin' : 'lolz', 'foo' : 'kitty'}"
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I prefer not to use <code>eval</code>. What else can I use?</p>
  
  <p>The main reason for this, is one of my coworkers classes he wrote, converts all input into strings. I'm not in the mood to go and modify his classes, to deal with this issue.</p>