Retro Crochet Magic

Well. I've gotten several (and by that I mean four) urgent requests that I get some pictures of my apartment up. By my calculations, in the land of blogging one request represents about 100,000 people, so we are looking at close to half a million people who are waiting to see what in the world I have done with the place. All I can say is soon, I promise. Trust me that it is a stunning creation of Safari Apartment Shabby Chic with just a sprinkling of Retro Crochet Magic. I know that combination is being done to death lately, but I'm keeping it fresh. The thing is it is just such a nightmare working with photographers, especially when you have one as temperamental as mine. These creative types! I seriously have to give her a pep talk just to get off the couch. And the person I'm using to stage the place is just a disaster. When you catch her on the wrong day she will seriously just lose it if things aren't looking like her "vision" and have to sit on the floor, eating coconut pudding and watching Frasier until the fit passes. What do you guys do to motivate your staff? Should I try another flavor of pudding?

In the meantime, I've come up with a tutorial that I think will be very helpful for everyone on creating more seating in your home. For those of you who visited my Boise casa, you may remember that I was heavily into my camp chair period. Moving to the big city of Atlanta, I've realized that I really need to take it up a level, but I still cling to my roots. So (and here I'm letting you in on a little of the Retro Crochet Magic) I've created a camp chair revival piece that I'm quite happy with.

As you can see, I started off with a space that was seriously menacing. It was just one dark, blank, cord-y cry for help.


So with a little help from these friends (and a shout out to Becca who made my beautiful wedding afghan that I adore!)

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I came up with...


Pure Magic! I'm calling it Orange Grandma Whimsy, a postmodern masterpiece. I like that it represents my frilly, girly, bright-mod side, but it also has my sporty side hidden underneath, ready to pounce whenever the mood takes me.

And just in case y'all (I can't actually say it and sound natural in real life, so I'm trying it out here) have similar melt downs with people you know and love, here is the recipe for coconut pudding:

Coconut Pudding
from Cooking Light 2007

1 3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup light coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/4 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Place milk and coconut milk in a medium, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl, stirring well. Combine half and half and egg yolks, stirring well. Stir egg yolk mixture into sugar mixture. Gradually add half of hot milk to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return hot milk mixture to pan, bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until melted. Add coconut and stir.

Spoon pudding into a bowl and eat. I recommend Season 9 of Frasier.