'Project Runway' judge, Nina Garcia, on motherhood

"Project Runway” judge, Nina Garcia, wears many hats.

For starters, she's in her 10th season as judge of the Lifetime hit show, she's also the fashion director for Marie Claire magazine, a wife and a mother of two sons, Lucas and Alexander.

In May of this year, Garcia was one of the honorees of the annual Outstanding Mother of the Year Awards at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan and I had the chance to chat with her about motherhood, her kids and balancing it all.

Q. How do you balance your work and family?
“Set aside time for your work and your family and stick to it religiously. I am passionate about my family; it's a priority and I care especially about my work. I do both of them with incredible love because I love both of them. When you are at home with your family, it is important that you are as present as you are when you're at the office with your colleagues. I think what falls through the cracks is my social life. I don't have much of that lately. But they are both very fulfilling, what I do at home and what I do at work. And a lot of people at work are my friends so that's how I get my fix.”

Q. What have you learned since you've become a mom?
“To breathe. And to think this too shall pass and it's just a stage and it's not the end of the world. To stay calm. It's a very different thing. Having been in the professional world for so long, you want immediate results. Motherhood is very different -- it's all about patience.”

Q. What have you learned from your kids?
“That it's all about the little details. They notice everything. You have to give them all the love because they do notice every little detail. And be mindful of what you say or what you do in front of them because they notice it.“