She’s the owner of eponymous Rosie Pope Maternity, author of the new book Mommy IQ, star of Bravo’s “Pregnant in Heels” and mom of three young kids. I spoke with designer Rosie Pope shortly before the birth of her third (we were due a few weeks apart!) about her business and making it all work. Here are three great tips she shared with me:

Organize old-school. We have a huge chalkboard in our apartment that’s near the front door. It has information like who’s picking up oldest son up from preschool; supermarket shopping that needs to be done; if anything needs to be turned in for a school trip so our nanny and family members are on same page. Nobody else can touch it! I normally fill out the board on Sunday evenings.

Prepare the night before. I shower and make lunches in the evening. I try to incorporate my sons in basic things I do in the morning—like sit in the bathroom with me when I put makeup on. They end up painting on the walls with makeup brushes. But we’re doing it together, so it’s a bit of quality time.

Surrender to the chaos of motherhood. It took me being pregnant with my third child to let go of the control. Some days we look around the messy apartment and cry. I did just fall over a Tonka truck. There’s icing in my hair. But my kids are smiling and laughing. It sounds so cliché: you talk to people to who don’t have kids and they roll their eyes, and think it’s crazy that I’d rather be playing with my kids in this chaos than sipping a martini in my Christian Louboutins. But it’s true.

In one shimmery stride, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton has brought back sheer pantyhose. Well, I couldn’t feel more vindicated! Readers will know that I’ve stood by the nude stocking as a necessary wardrobe element in certain professional situations, like job interviews. Apparently, they’re royal protocol as well, which is why Kate donned them during her recent trip to Americas. You can’t deny Kate looked great in each and every one of her designer ensembles– and fashion insiders agree her nude stockings looked “elegant” not dowdy. Love it! Nude hose are now flying off the shelves in Britain. Will America be next? Just be sure to get a high-quality, lightweight sheer version, like Spanx All the Way.

Photo: Lionel Hahn – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Maternity maven Liz Lange began her career as an assistant to a features editor at Vogue, but it never felt like the right fit. After meeting a struggling clothing designer, she caught the fashion bug, and begged him to let her apprentice. “I still didn’t have any intention of starting my own line,” she says. That is, until she saw her pregnant friends squeezing into regular clothes and became obsessed with an idea to create maternity fashions that were cuter, tighter, and stretchier than what was on the market.

First came her high-end line (loved by celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker) and several boutiques, then a wildly successful marriage with Target.  Having sold her company for a reported $50 million in 2007, her newest ‘babies’ are a non-maternity line for HSN called Completely Me, and a shopping newsletter with her sister called Shopafrolic.  “I’ve never written a business plan for anything I’ve done,” Liz says. “For me, it’s very organic—jumping on new opportunities that come my way.” Below, more work and life secrets from the designer and mom of two.

Currently reading: “My friend Alexandra Lebenthal’s fantastic page turner The Recessionistas and Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (the CEO of Zappos.com).”

Must-have make-up item: Laura Mercier bronzing gel. “I mix it with my moisturizer every morning to give my skin that tan, glowy look.”

On trusting yourself: “The first year of my business I was paralyzed. Some days I just lied in bed in a curled-up ball when I could have been getting things done! I was asking for validation instead of actually doing something—instead of just believing in my gut instinct and going forward.”

Can’t live without: Constant blow-outs. “My hair is my obsession and I just can’t do it myself. Embarrassing but true!”

Hiring m.o.: Passion matters more than a fancy resume. “One of my best employees ever was a girl who wrote me a very specific letter when she was still in college, describing her excitement for my brand and her experience working for a competitor. She started as an assistant, and was eventually our marketing director.”

Fave vacation spot(s): Palm Beach and the Mayan Riviera with the kids during the winter, Paris in the Spring, Capri in July

Holiday stay-slim secret: “All year long, I never just eat to eat; I only eat what I love. (Okay, and I work out with a personal trainer 3 times a week so that I can eat what I love!)”

Advice for recent grads: “Spend your twenties allowing yourself to try a lot of different things. If there’s some way you can focus on what you might love—something that doesn’t feel like work (at least not all the time)—chances are you’ll end up being very good at it and making money.”

Wish for the new year: Clarity and contentment

To learn more about Liz, visit her website, or check out her latest venture, Shopafrolic.

“I’ve never stayed in a job just for the paycheck,” says cookbook author and former magazine editor Silvana Nardone. “If the passion is gone, I’ll leave and try something else.” During her career, she’s walked away from magazines to open an Italian bakery, then returned to become the founding editor of Every Day with Rachael Ray. Now, she’s left again to focus on writing books. Her recently released cookbook, Cooking for Isaiah, was inspired by her son’s diagnosis with gluten intolerance.

What’s helped her navigate out of the corporate terrain and back again? Having a strong internal compass, for one. A fan of flip-flops and jeans, she’ll leave in her nose ring for a job interview. “I don’t even own a suit! What you see is what you get,” she says. “Sometimes that works, especially because I’m in a creative industry, and other times, people feel I’m too naive.” As an editor-in-chief, she encouraged her employees to put family first. “People were really surprised when I told them ‘of course you should go see your kid in the play!’ You don’t have to suck up to me. Just do your job and do it well.”

That’s an approach Silvana has taken in her own career: focus on the product, don’t get bogged down in politics. “I want you to experience the best I have to offer,” she says. “Whatever I do, I throw myself in 100 percent. You have to go for yours and fully embrace it!”

Here, a few more secrets from the baker turned editor turned gluten-free GGG:

Perfect day off: Farmer’s market, cooking and eating together casually in the kitchen while the sun sets in the background.

Always in my pantry: Popcorn kernels and chocolate chips, in no specific order.

Organization strategy: Lists that I glance at every now and then.

Secret to a great meal: Fresh conversation and ingredients.

Working-from-home outfit: Comfy cords, chunky turtleneck sweater, slippers, cup of hot green tea.

Kindle or iPad? iPad

Best beauty tip: Less is more.

To learn more about Silvana (or, for fabulous cooking tips in general), visit www.dishtoweldiaries.com.

Photo credit: Stephen Scott Gross

Dear GGG, How high is too high of a heel for a law office? I have a pair of sky-high chunky platforms that I’m dying to wear, but I’m not sure if they’re too over-the-top. And what about if I’m going to court? — Paula*, age 34, Chicago

Hi Paula! When it comes to office attire, you can follow the same maxim for good writing: When it doubt, cut it out! I’m all for self-expression, and shoes are one of the best sartorial ways us gals get to do that at work. But if it feels more like a date-night shoe rather than a conference room shoe, it probably is. A four-inch height stiletto (plus, maybe, a 1/2 inch platform like the Nine West pump at left) is probably your max, with a slightly lower, thicker heel best for court. Definitely don’t wear shoes to work that could verge on, well, stripper heels. What exactly constitutes a stripper heel?! You know it when you see it. It’s a combination of shoe material (perhaps patent, Lucite, or anything shiny), heel height and thickness (about 5 inches by 1 inch), and platform (at least ½ an inch).

Have a question for GGG? Email debra@thegogettergirls.com!

Photo: Nordstrom