The Toronto Star from Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 191

STARWEEK MAGAZINE DIVERSIONS LIFE SERIAL Scott McGillivray CELEBRITY SCOOP Candice Accola BY JOHN CROOK ZAP2IT Not only has The CW's breakout hit The Vampire Diaries avoided a sophomore slump this season, but the critically acclaimed drama series has managed to build upon a successful first season and become even richer and more satisfying. And you can credit much of the show's new impact to Candice Accola, the relative newcomer who has taken her role as neurotic teen beauty-turned-vampire Caroline Forbes and turned it into a fast ticket to stardom. Accola, 23, says she didn't know Caroline was going to become a vampire until just before season two began filming, but she couldn't be happier about the new opportunities this plot twist has given her. "The writers have just taken the show to a new level this season, and it's been SO great to be a part of it," she says. "I think it's great to play someone who is in her How to make your home pay for itself BY BRIAN GORMAN It's all over but Junior hockey, the bowl games and the bills.

So now might be a good time to be thinking about ways to bring in money. And that's where Scott McGillivray comes in, with a Boxing Day Income Property marathon Sunday, Dec. 26, on HGTV. McGillivray is a carpenter with a marketing degree, so he knows renovation, and he knows a little bit about presentation and sales. Each week, he visits a couple with a mortgage and some kind of spare property and helps them get the most out of the latter and put the least into the former.

For example, in one episode, a couple with a mortgage are stuck with a basement apartment no one seems to want. Small wonder. The kitchen looks industrial. The living room lacks a window. There's no closet in the bedroom.

The carpet is such Candice Accola a horrible color that it actually improves with wear. The solution is a $10,000 makeover that transforms the subterranean space into something that looks like a pricey high-rise condo. What can make your mouth water is the bottom line on all this. The owners' mortgage payment is $1,100 a month, and the property ends up renting for $950. On the other hand, there are just enough nasty surprises involved in the renovations to keep things interesting.

The basement renovation reveals a leaking foundation that involves a lot of digging, and a patch job could double the cost of the work. Still, when the job is done and the owners are looking at having their mortgage paid for them, you might start eyeing the babies and calculating the days until they grow up and move out. teens, because that is a time in your life when everything is changing. It's the very beginning of the journey we call life, and you're making mistakes and trying things out, and there's a constant learning experience. "It's believable that these characters are going through so many changes and SO many different layers are coming out, because they have flaws and they don't have it figured out.

That's exciting to watch, and it's exciting to play." The actress began auditioning for roles while working on a successful career as a singer, but acting is her first love these days. "I still love music in my heart and my soul, but I just didn't love it as a job," she says. "There are certain things in your life that you love it, but once it becomes work, it just sucks the fun out of it. That's what happened to me with music." BORN: May 13, 1987, in Houston; grew up in Orlando, Fla. FAMILY TIES: Her father, Kevin, is a cardiovascular surgeon, while her mother, Carolyn, worked as an environmental engineer before becoming a homemaker; one younger brother.

GETTING HER START: Accola moved to Los Angeles at age 16 with her mother after her singing landed her a contract with the now-defunct label Maverick Records. She sang backup on the Miley Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds tour in 2008. TV GUEST ROLES: How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, Greek and Drop Dead Diva FILM CREDITS: Include Juno and Deadgirl. unfe.