How do you know when your hair dryer is dying?

I think my hair dryer is on its last legs. Whenever I use it (which is daily) it makes this very loud crackling sound. It's such an odd and concerning sound that when Jeff hears it he always remarks "that doesn't sound normal". Agreed. However, it still heats up and still dries my hair, so it's still serving its sole purpose. It does smell a little funky when I use it and I swear it's going to burst into flames one of these days without warning.

I'm not even sure what the shelf-life is for a hair dryer these days. I think this one is about 2-3 years old. It's not a high quality hair dryer but it gets the job done. I hate to break down and buy a new one since this one seems to be working perfectly pretty well. I also don't want to get out of the shower one day with a wet head and find that my hair dryer has decided to quit working. Or worse, start drying my hair only to witness flames coming out of the dryer and towards my head! It would be comical to witness though. :)

Today's sewing project: kitchen apron

Just wanted to share today's sewing project:

(Please ignore the model who was still her in pj's and had been sewing for the last 2 hours)

My mother-in-law had picked up a ton of fabric for me at her local thrift store, and included in that pile of fabric were these two prints. It was really pretty simple. I cut my pattern to fit my body based on where I wanted the top and bottom of the apron to hit. I measured my mid-section so I knew how wide to make it. My mom had picked up a huge bag of bias tape at a garage sale last summer and in it was the perfect shade of green to match this fabric. I sewed the bias tape on the edges, hemmed my top and bottom, sewed on the ties, and then added 3 pockets with buttons (for decoration) and VOILA! it's done.

I have to do a bit of baking this week and I can't wait to try it out. The only thing I'm nervous about is how it will wash. It's cotton fabric so it should be fine. Guess I'll find out soon enough. I hate to say it, but this is only the 3rd thing I've ever made for myself. I need to start doing more sewing for me. All in good time.