THE OC - BARTON'S PLANS FOR 2005

THE OC star MISCHA BARTON has big plans for 2005 - she hopes to learn how to drive and buy her first home.

The pretty actress admits she's on the hunt for a "fixer upper" home in Los Angeles, so that renovating it can become her hobby when she's not working.

She says, "Every place my family and I have ever lived in is a fixer-upper and there's something rewarding about buying a place like that.

"In New York, we bought a loft space that was in a factory and converted it into a real loft. In London, we pretty much built the whole house."

And she plans to get her driving licence so that her mother doesn't have to taxi her around all the time.

She adds, "I know she's getting tired of it... It's something I know I have to do, but when I see how the paparazzi follow cars I'm in, I'm so glad I'm not driving because I know I'd get flustered."